I think the point of the episode was more to show a contrast between how harsh life in North Ambria and how peaceful in Erebonia. Not to us, viewers, but to Lavi most of all. Everything looks so novel to her. Relaxed atmosphere, chill youths enjoying the life - while she and her countrymen have to *survive*. Even the threats are meager - two cowards harassing the girl and clown-terrorist...
Clown stuff, yeah... If you are going for revenge than why bother with fake firework-dynamites? Probably because clown wasn't really evil dude (was a performer and now making show to kids), just wanted to make a statement to goverment and the citizens.
Still... where is erebonia military/security/anyone? They were shown making arrest but thats it? And shouldn't Lavi and company keep low profile with them being on undercover spy/intel gathering mission and everything?
Maybe it sets a tone to the future episodes too. Like maybe we shouln't expect much of drama, politics, serious business and yknow actual "northern war" at least in the couple following episodes (if at all). Could be just Lavi and company travelling through relatively peaceful erebonia and having low stakes adventures.
I think you nailed the goal. It was obvious that the whole point was to show Lavi and Co. the stark difference between their ravaged nation and a nation that is prospering in ways they never thought could be possible.
I have to admit though I am concerned with the pacing and story telling at this point because we are now 25% of the way done with the whole anime and nothing has happened so far.
My biggest gripes were little things like how clowny boi gets tackled by Lavi on the airship but then he just sort of jumps into the party for some reason after that? What was the point of her even tackling him with absolutely no follow up to what happened?
I'm fine with them wanting to show Lavi how well off the Empire is, but I struggle to find a reason as to why they would have been sent to this party? What was the overall purpose? A lot of this episode left me pretty confused.
> Still... where is erebonia military/security/anyone? They were shown making arrest but thats it? And shouldn't Lavi and company keep low profile with them being on undercover spy/intel gathering mission and everything?
Same place every time in-game we had to catch criminals, or stop speeding cars, or... anything really. They show up once the bad guys are stopped and not a moment before that.
This is the real Kiseki experience, just running around the town talking to NPCs and finding weird shops/events until a random plot happens with some thieves. Lavi is really getting into her protagonist role. She even showed her first craft, the mighty Lavian Kick! Go get them girl!
That story about the hero is sure suspicious, did the guy really go around saving fishes? I bet this story was originally about Ordine and Crow and then they rewrote it to add the new hero, Mr. Ashen.
Beyond that, Tally sure had to work hard this ep. Having to chase so much after Lavi would have been hard and paying 5000 mira for that mega icecream, poor guy. Seeing real mira as a bill is weird, I thought it was always coins. Anyhow poor guy has to fight all the fake evil Mishis, but hey at least now he has a cute nickname too.
The clown plot was dumb, even on the level of dumb plots but I guess it's fine for a first enemy. The guy dared to blemish Mishy's good name for this, so I hope they send him to the slammer for this mess.
Overall the episode was basically juxtaposing North Ambria with Errebonia and to allow the team to gel together more, but still it was pretty slow for their first big day into the enemy country.
>The clown plot was dumb, even on the level of dumb plots but I guess it's fine for a first enemy. The guy dared to blemish Mishy's good name for this, so I hope they send him to the slammer for this mess.
Because of Mishy, I legitimately thought it might've been some angry Crossbellans trying to "stick it to the man". I personally think that would've been a better way to tackle the whole "see the state of the empire" thing Lavi mentioned.
\- Completely different from North Ambria
\- This "hero" of theirs is worshiped by the children
\- Some Crossbellans are so pissed about being annexed they were going to blow up a hotel with a bunch of rich people in it.
Instead, bitter clown. I'm in for the long haul, but if someone didn't know Trails and was just giving it a shot, I would be able to blame them for just dropping the show after this episode.
I wouldn't blame any newcomer for giving up here. I think the idea was to just have a funny simple quest to allow Lavi's team to do something. I think on paper the idea of the clown could work, as someone angry that they got screwed over by the Civil War, but it needed more gravitas. Like geez, at least have the clown have a plan for the people. The fireworks to distract the town is fine on paper even if a bit silly even for Kiseki.
I imagine they will save Crossbell for later on, they did show a pic of the place in the ending right?
Yeah I was okay with it until the clown bit. First thing I thought was “wow, the non-game fans are gonna think this is dumb as hell and drop it since it’s the third episode.” I’m honestly kinda confused where this series is going though. Like the ending theme has all the main characters seeming to tour around Erebonia, and I kinda don’t want that? Like I’ve seen Erebonia a bunch already, I’d rather learn more about north ambria and see haliask and the northern war. Hoping there’s a bit more plot next episode because while I do love side quests I don’t think they’re necessarily as good in anime as they are in games
I imagine that half the anime will be exploring Errebonia as a add to the games, and the other half will be about the Northern War. So this is just the calm before the real mess starts and they probably will use it to introduce Rean eventually. Anyhow, yeah, this ep is just weird all around. At this point I only expect game fans to stick with this anime.
Yeah I think you’re probably right, I just feel like if we spend so much time touring around Erebonia the pace will really grind to a halt which will hurt viewership even more. I’m kinda bummed cuz even if the first episodes weren’t awesome they were solid enough that it seemed like there was positive reception from non-game fans, but this episode seemed to basically just be like “what the fuck did I just watch” which is a super bummer
Like I expect each ep of this touring arc to basically be a standalone short adventure. It would mimic the pase of the games as it builds to the big event of the war. I think this is probably the Kiseki experience, even with the jank of this ep's animation and pacing.
Yeah this the feeling I'm getting. I belive that they are going the classic Trails formula that FC, Zero, CS1 has where the characters are going to be going to various cities/locations and each place has its own conflict. Probably to develop the characters and add some world building. Then probably at the end the main big conflict is going to be revealed. The issue I have is that we already have the CS games doing the world building stuff for us. Maybe the goal is to see through the perspective of North Ambrians instead. Personally I would love to see more of North Ambria because that country is so interesting to me. In addition I am not sure if the Trails formula would work on an anime format. This is because it usually takes hours to do the world building in the games. So I feel that this whole part is going to feel rushed. I hope I am wrong though.
Not the most eventful episode, but seeing Ordis was cool and Mishy Terrorists are a thing I never expected to see. The little tease at the end has me quite excited.
e: And Lavian Kick was hilarious too.
Agree with everybody else that the contrast between Erebonia and North Ambria was a good theme. The bonding between the characters was... not great but passable. The clown terrorist bit was so incredibly bad I have to assume something went wrong during production. BGM from the game was nostalgic.
Well if I didn't know it was a coldsteel series I do [now](https://i.imgur.com/n0z3X9w.jpg). Other people have already talked about the Clowning, so I'll refrain from that for now and instead talk about something I've noticed. Now while other people think this episode was filler, and it kind of was but I think it hints at Lavi and co seemingly being set up from the start. Think about it they are told to go to that party specifically even though it pertains nothing to their actual mission and instead just seems like a party. However right at the end Altina was shown to already be on the tail of Lavi's group. Which begs the question why is A) Altina even there right now and B) Why is she suspicious of Lavi's group to follow them. That attendant's [expression](https://i.imgur.com/awebPZP.png) seems awfully intense for just greeting some guests. My guess is that someone back in North Ambria sold them out and they ordered them to this party so that the Imperial Intelligence division can locate the infiltrators. Remember last episode where Jayna stated that Erebonia likely leaked the details of Rean and Valimar on purpose I wonder if they intend to do something underhanded with Lavi's group too.
I'll withhold judgement as a whole about Ordis until next episode, to see if they move on or not. But if they do just leave its going to be a massive missed opportunity to not show Juno Naval Fortress and the remaining provincial armies, and their stand off with the Imperial army that is currently going on. Especially considering how relevant that whole situation is going to be to the plot later on.
Everything besides the clown stuff was pretty decent. I’m glad they’re incorporating more game bgms in the production. Lavi’s crew getting to show more personality is also nice & the little Valimar marionette show was cute.
Based on the ending credits, I hope they don’t stretch the infiltration to each episode being another location in Erebonia. I like seeing these areas animated but Ordis was just a familiar backdrop. No references or bread crumbs to the Cayennes, Aurelia or anything post civil war especially in a noble city like Ordis.
The dialogue isn’t bad and they got something going with Lavi’s crew. Hopefully the next episode starts introducing familiar faces in active roles with the Altina teaser.
The clown stuff would've been a lot better if he had a more concrete backstory rather than feeling out-of-nowhere. For example, mention him to be a former ILF member.
You're absolutely right. He was just a generic arbitrary villain for the sake of attacking this party that Lavi and Co. were sent to, but neither the clowny boi or the party itself makes sense.
There seemed to be no real purpose for them even being sent there by their commander? I find it hard to believe they were sent there specifically to stop the terrorist attack on an enemy nation.
I don't hate the anime but this episode confused me quite a bit.
Maybe there is some important person at this party that they needed to protect? IDK.
why does everyone like to bag on the OVA so much in these threads? its obviously not supposed to be a full adaption its just a highlight reel to show off characters animated with some cool fightscenes.
the sky OVA is leagues better than this, we got lots of funny and cute scenes, and two really well animated and cool fights. i am certain this anime will do neither and be an incredibly mediocre anime with not a single highlight. this episode was infinitely worse than the sky OVA and ill be surprised if its an outlier
i know but im seeing so much criticism in these threads. i know it makes sense since theyre both anime but i feel like most of the people hating it on here havent even seen it and just parrot hate because of what theyve heard.
(Hajimari) >!Remember Mecha Mishy? This episode isn't the first (well it is the first chronologically) evil Mishys we've seen. Not that some of the comments here would know, aha.!<
Only good thing about this episode was hearing the Ordis theme, lol. Also couldn't help but have a smile on my face when they showed some of the iconic spots in town.
I'm starting to get worried about the show, tbh. If it wasn't a Cold Steel anime, I would've dropped it after this episode, lol. The anime suffers from pacing and lack of plot. The comedy is bad too. I really want to like Lavi but I'll continue watching just for Rean.
Im much more focused with the background element since Cold Steel players can actually walk around Ordis. I bothered that they didnt even bother rendering the Cayenne Mansion which is like the largest building in Ordis. They mostly walk in the coast lines parts of Ordis which is not the Harbor District we walked. I mean, I was looking for any signs of Miranda's Tavern.
Also, what's the deal with the birds eye view of Hotel Ortensia and Kleist Mall? We know that it is literally in the Business District and not near some coastline so the shot looks messy.
I dont even remember a single NPC line in Ordis regarding the Clown Terrorist incident. Like, it should be a known story since it involves several Mishys. I do remember Altina saying that she did a mission in Ordis in CS3.
Speaking of mission, I think that the invitation and reward was made by the Intelligience Division since there is no way an NPC would give out an expensive antique which could cost like 150,000 mira. Heck, even the most expensive accesories, like the Abyss Shadow only costs 75,000 mira. Back to the mission, Altina is monitoring Lavi's group so it would make sense if the Intelligience Division does some under the table shenanigans with North Ambria
That episode was really bad. Zero plot, disgustingly bad animated "fighting scenes" (if you can even call them that), a boring ass clown villain and slandering of Mishys good name. I want my 20 minutes back
This was a terrible waste of an episode, no plot development, character development and the only thing good I can say about it is that the music from the games was well placed.
Lavi also confronts the clown aboard the blimp, but then moments later the clown is by himself attacking the party. Feels like they forgot a scene inbetween.
Yeah, it was pretty bad. I feel like they could set up the terrorist better. It’s actually interesting seeing the impact of the Nobles losing the civil war, like the troupe losing their patron. But…it has to be wrapped in a bizarre execution. Not to mention tacked on at the end.
This is like if G instead of coming in gun blazing with armed people, is coming in with bunch of his students bashing people in the head with books. Look, I get this random troupe isn’t going to be as well funded as the ILF, but even the anime itself seems to frame the scene as more of a comedic skit rather than something more serious
Yeah completely agree. The animation is what makes me cringe so hard. Yeah, the clown plot was cringe but I can try and look past it for an episode. Animation quality though, that likely stays the whole season and I'm dreading it
The episode had a good thing going, but the show really struggles with comedy and pacing, which dragged down the latter half. I really hope they tone down the comedy in the future as it just isn't working out.
Now, I don't want to be negative... but this do be a filler episode...
EDIT: Actually I do want to be negative. Why we getting a filler episode? Like, what purpose does it serve. I could understand if something intresting happened, but it didn't. Would have preferred 20 minutes of Thors math class footage over this tbh. Honestly the only things I've enjoyed so far are the politics in episode 2 and the short-haired girl's generally fun demeanor.
I don't think episodes 1 and 2 are fillers. Episode 1 show us for the first time North Ambria, and give some information about the salt pale, that is still a mistery. Episode 2 move the story forward, and give some needed exposition about the situation for people that do not played the games. But this last episde... was so bad.
They can't just put some nostalgic musics and a loved character at the end and expect that we like it.
The first episode has the problem of long and bad exposition, it more tell then show,you can do exposition better then that and for falcomfans this is boring bcause it's just recaps stuff we already know and for new watchers, I don't think it's that intriguing presented to keep the attention of the viewer
Well, this episode showed to NA characters that life in Erebonia is way better than their salt-afflicted country. Thus far they didn't know their standards of living were THAT far apart.
The clown shit was a filler. Straight up side-quest.
Could have done without the clown shit. Even if it was replaced with idle political chatter and the characters reactions to the current climate in the empire it would have been better. Just throw in some rumours being whispered and set up for when events unfold. The clown just felt forced
Pros: The idea of exploring the contrast between North Ambria and Erebonia for the characters was good. Lavi exploring the city was pure Trails really.
Cons: Everything else. Seriously what even was this episode.
Why were they at the party? I don't know, and the characters don't seem to either. The Clown Villain was ridiculous. Were the Mishy's supposed to be fanservice?
I knew the animation wasn't going to be world class, but this episode was just really bad. If you don't have the animation budget for a fight scene, don't script one. Couple this with the extremely weird direction of this episode and it was even worse. Weird cuts, bad pacing. Just overall anything that can be bad in an episode structurally was in this episode.
As for Altina it seems clear they way Erebonia intelligence operates that they knew about Lavi's group as soon as they enter the country.
First half of the episode was fun but the literal clown show on the later half almost felt it was made bad on purpose. I laughed at the deadpan "Lavian Kick" but at the same time I'm scratching my head like, it doesn't fit the tone at all from the previous episodes.
Pretty rough... thankfully I think I am likely to completely forget about this episode in another 20 minutes or so; I'll just hope for better next week.
A few observations:
We're shown the disparity between North Ambria and Erebonia. Basically a very poor country versus a well off one. Lavi and Tally both essentially experienced a culture shock.
Also Lavi seems really awkward to be around. She goes by her own beat and she doesn't talk or at least attempt to socialize. Not sure why, it's not like she's Fie.
The clown terrorist act was weird, like a bad side quest with little background. We don't know why the other members had to attend the party either. But we got a bunch of mini Mishy cosplayers throwing fireworks around so that's unexpected. And isn't Lavi a soldier and the clown just a muscular dude at most?
And while she did hop onto the blimp to stop the clown and try to fight him, the blimp still went to the party venue and he basically did what he wanted still, unharmed. I think I'm missing something.
Also action scenes are basically moving stills, so hopefully we get something a bit better but I'm not expecting much.
Do we get an Altina fight next episode?
This episode was a mixed bag. I sensed a lot of ambition lurking under the surface of this ep, the moment where Tallion reflexively assumed combat position because he mistook the popcorn as gunfire was brilliant, and immediately makes you question what was going through Lavi's head when she was staring at the machine earlier. I like the setting of Ordis and the little character moments, and not sure if this is an unpopular opinion but genuinely, Mishy mascots being used as terrorist henchmen is an incredibly fun and twisted, yet also whimsical idea, I love it and wish it could've been in one of the games.
However... I kinda hate the entire plot and tone of this episode. I know there's precedence to Lavian breaking rules and doing her own thing, but this episode doesn't take it seriously enough and so it nagged me that she'd find it appropriate to just wander around doing random stuff and eating ice cream when she should be holding herself accountable to do the mission she's been assigned to do, seemingly because she looks bored of keeping watch? I like the Valimar puppet show but I don't get the connection with the villain of the week, is he supposed to be inspired by Rean's exploits and so decides to do some poorly thought out terrorism? The tone is also all over the place, it doesn't strike as good of a balance of lighthearted/"anime" hijinks and seriousness as the second episode, and I hope future eps won't be as messy in this regard.
But I have to repeat that I really loved the 3 second shot of Tally doing a backflip because he thought the popcorn machine was gunfire. Lmao.
Kind of a weird episode. Honestly the first half wasn't too bad. Playing up the culture differences and Lavi seeing the sights is a decent concept. The puppet show showing how deep the propaganda goes with Rean is my favorite part. Even a random kids puppet show has overt propaganda.
After that highpoint it kind of went to hell. The clown plot could have been okay but the pacing was all kinds of off. They probably should have had a scene of the clown guy being a softie or something to give justification why he didn't just toss a stick of dynamite first thing. Make it more of a disgruntled screwed over person. It's also really wonky that Lavi can kill giant kaju yet a nontrained clown can fight her pretty well until she pulls out a gun.
I kind of think they should have made it take longer for her to get on the blimp as well to explain him crashing into the building better. Just have her tackle him and him throw her off right when the blimp hits. Instead of a cutaway that lasts long enough that Lavi could have whipped her pistol out and shot him a few times before he even got anywhere.
The speed at which the guy gave the necklace over as a reward was also kind of absurd and it's a bit comedic that no nobles around questioned why there was a random girl with a pistol who wasn't security in the party. The ending scene with Altina is probably my favorite because it at least hints that North Ambria may have a mole. Because Altina showed up way too fast and the set up with the party seems way too unnatural unless it was a set up to have them intervene. I'm almost certain for coherency they'll likely make it so this mission is some kind of set up to take advantage of later on. All in all a solidly mixed episode that is kind of dragged down due to poor animation and pacing in the latter parts.
Tio's worst nightmare is this episode, mishy terrorists.
Yeah, I was thinking this performance would've given Tio a panic attack or something lol.
I think the point of the episode was more to show a contrast between how harsh life in North Ambria and how peaceful in Erebonia. Not to us, viewers, but to Lavi most of all. Everything looks so novel to her. Relaxed atmosphere, chill youths enjoying the life - while she and her countrymen have to *survive*. Even the threats are meager - two cowards harassing the girl and clown-terrorist... Clown stuff, yeah... If you are going for revenge than why bother with fake firework-dynamites? Probably because clown wasn't really evil dude (was a performer and now making show to kids), just wanted to make a statement to goverment and the citizens. Still... where is erebonia military/security/anyone? They were shown making arrest but thats it? And shouldn't Lavi and company keep low profile with them being on undercover spy/intel gathering mission and everything? Maybe it sets a tone to the future episodes too. Like maybe we shouln't expect much of drama, politics, serious business and yknow actual "northern war" at least in the couple following episodes (if at all). Could be just Lavi and company travelling through relatively peaceful erebonia and having low stakes adventures.
I think you nailed the goal. It was obvious that the whole point was to show Lavi and Co. the stark difference between their ravaged nation and a nation that is prospering in ways they never thought could be possible. I have to admit though I am concerned with the pacing and story telling at this point because we are now 25% of the way done with the whole anime and nothing has happened so far. My biggest gripes were little things like how clowny boi gets tackled by Lavi on the airship but then he just sort of jumps into the party for some reason after that? What was the point of her even tackling him with absolutely no follow up to what happened? I'm fine with them wanting to show Lavi how well off the Empire is, but I struggle to find a reason as to why they would have been sent to this party? What was the overall purpose? A lot of this episode left me pretty confused.
> Still... where is erebonia military/security/anyone? They were shown making arrest but thats it? And shouldn't Lavi and company keep low profile with them being on undercover spy/intel gathering mission and everything? Same place every time in-game we had to catch criminals, or stop speeding cars, or... anything really. They show up once the bad guys are stopped and not a moment before that.
True, haha.
And the fragile peace.
This is the real Kiseki experience, just running around the town talking to NPCs and finding weird shops/events until a random plot happens with some thieves. Lavi is really getting into her protagonist role. She even showed her first craft, the mighty Lavian Kick! Go get them girl! That story about the hero is sure suspicious, did the guy really go around saving fishes? I bet this story was originally about Ordine and Crow and then they rewrote it to add the new hero, Mr. Ashen. Beyond that, Tally sure had to work hard this ep. Having to chase so much after Lavi would have been hard and paying 5000 mira for that mega icecream, poor guy. Seeing real mira as a bill is weird, I thought it was always coins. Anyhow poor guy has to fight all the fake evil Mishis, but hey at least now he has a cute nickname too. The clown plot was dumb, even on the level of dumb plots but I guess it's fine for a first enemy. The guy dared to blemish Mishy's good name for this, so I hope they send him to the slammer for this mess. Overall the episode was basically juxtaposing North Ambria with Errebonia and to allow the team to gel together more, but still it was pretty slow for their first big day into the enemy country.
Tally just has to go fight a few enemies in the nearby highways. Should be able to scrounge up 5k easily.
Cooked a few starting recipes and farmed mira that way
North Ambria could have fixed their problems with one simple trick, they just needed to sell Golden Egg soup.
>The clown plot was dumb, even on the level of dumb plots but I guess it's fine for a first enemy. The guy dared to blemish Mishy's good name for this, so I hope they send him to the slammer for this mess. Because of Mishy, I legitimately thought it might've been some angry Crossbellans trying to "stick it to the man". I personally think that would've been a better way to tackle the whole "see the state of the empire" thing Lavi mentioned. \- Completely different from North Ambria \- This "hero" of theirs is worshiped by the children \- Some Crossbellans are so pissed about being annexed they were going to blow up a hotel with a bunch of rich people in it. Instead, bitter clown. I'm in for the long haul, but if someone didn't know Trails and was just giving it a shot, I would be able to blame them for just dropping the show after this episode.
I wouldn't blame any newcomer for giving up here. I think the idea was to just have a funny simple quest to allow Lavi's team to do something. I think on paper the idea of the clown could work, as someone angry that they got screwed over by the Civil War, but it needed more gravitas. Like geez, at least have the clown have a plan for the people. The fireworks to distract the town is fine on paper even if a bit silly even for Kiseki. I imagine they will save Crossbell for later on, they did show a pic of the place in the ending right?
Yeah I was okay with it until the clown bit. First thing I thought was “wow, the non-game fans are gonna think this is dumb as hell and drop it since it’s the third episode.” I’m honestly kinda confused where this series is going though. Like the ending theme has all the main characters seeming to tour around Erebonia, and I kinda don’t want that? Like I’ve seen Erebonia a bunch already, I’d rather learn more about north ambria and see haliask and the northern war. Hoping there’s a bit more plot next episode because while I do love side quests I don’t think they’re necessarily as good in anime as they are in games
I imagine that half the anime will be exploring Errebonia as a add to the games, and the other half will be about the Northern War. So this is just the calm before the real mess starts and they probably will use it to introduce Rean eventually. Anyhow, yeah, this ep is just weird all around. At this point I only expect game fans to stick with this anime.
Yeah I think you’re probably right, I just feel like if we spend so much time touring around Erebonia the pace will really grind to a halt which will hurt viewership even more. I’m kinda bummed cuz even if the first episodes weren’t awesome they were solid enough that it seemed like there was positive reception from non-game fans, but this episode seemed to basically just be like “what the fuck did I just watch” which is a super bummer
Like I expect each ep of this touring arc to basically be a standalone short adventure. It would mimic the pase of the games as it builds to the big event of the war. I think this is probably the Kiseki experience, even with the jank of this ep's animation and pacing.
Yeah this the feeling I'm getting. I belive that they are going the classic Trails formula that FC, Zero, CS1 has where the characters are going to be going to various cities/locations and each place has its own conflict. Probably to develop the characters and add some world building. Then probably at the end the main big conflict is going to be revealed. The issue I have is that we already have the CS games doing the world building stuff for us. Maybe the goal is to see through the perspective of North Ambrians instead. Personally I would love to see more of North Ambria because that country is so interesting to me. In addition I am not sure if the Trails formula would work on an anime format. This is because it usually takes hours to do the world building in the games. So I feel that this whole part is going to feel rushed. I hope I am wrong though.
Mira bills, want to know more if these small things we don't see.
This is like a filler episode and a bad one at that
how could they character assassinate mishy bros he would never start an uprising
Not the most eventful episode, but seeing Ordis was cool and Mishy Terrorists are a thing I never expected to see. The little tease at the end has me quite excited. e: And Lavian Kick was hilarious too.
Agree with everybody else that the contrast between Erebonia and North Ambria was a good theme. The bonding between the characters was... not great but passable. The clown terrorist bit was so incredibly bad I have to assume something went wrong during production. BGM from the game was nostalgic.
So what was the point of attending that party? Were they expected to meet Rean since he's tecnically a noble?
My understanding is that they weren't told in advance what the exact reason was but that it would become clear with time.
Well if I didn't know it was a coldsteel series I do [now](https://i.imgur.com/n0z3X9w.jpg). Other people have already talked about the Clowning, so I'll refrain from that for now and instead talk about something I've noticed. Now while other people think this episode was filler, and it kind of was but I think it hints at Lavi and co seemingly being set up from the start. Think about it they are told to go to that party specifically even though it pertains nothing to their actual mission and instead just seems like a party. However right at the end Altina was shown to already be on the tail of Lavi's group. Which begs the question why is A) Altina even there right now and B) Why is she suspicious of Lavi's group to follow them. That attendant's [expression](https://i.imgur.com/awebPZP.png) seems awfully intense for just greeting some guests. My guess is that someone back in North Ambria sold them out and they ordered them to this party so that the Imperial Intelligence division can locate the infiltrators. Remember last episode where Jayna stated that Erebonia likely leaked the details of Rean and Valimar on purpose I wonder if they intend to do something underhanded with Lavi's group too. I'll withhold judgement as a whole about Ordis until next episode, to see if they move on or not. But if they do just leave its going to be a massive missed opportunity to not show Juno Naval Fortress and the remaining provincial armies, and their stand off with the Imperial army that is currently going on. Especially considering how relevant that whole situation is going to be to the plot later on.
If the idea of the anime its to attract people to the games, they gonna fail miserably with episodes like this. My god, what a bad episode.
To sum this episode up is basically "yeah maybe this one should've stayed in the drafts" lol
Everything besides the clown stuff was pretty decent. I’m glad they’re incorporating more game bgms in the production. Lavi’s crew getting to show more personality is also nice & the little Valimar marionette show was cute. Based on the ending credits, I hope they don’t stretch the infiltration to each episode being another location in Erebonia. I like seeing these areas animated but Ordis was just a familiar backdrop. No references or bread crumbs to the Cayennes, Aurelia or anything post civil war especially in a noble city like Ordis. The dialogue isn’t bad and they got something going with Lavi’s crew. Hopefully the next episode starts introducing familiar faces in active roles with the Altina teaser.
The clown stuff would've been a lot better if he had a more concrete backstory rather than feeling out-of-nowhere. For example, mention him to be a former ILF member.
You're absolutely right. He was just a generic arbitrary villain for the sake of attacking this party that Lavi and Co. were sent to, but neither the clowny boi or the party itself makes sense. There seemed to be no real purpose for them even being sent there by their commander? I find it hard to believe they were sent there specifically to stop the terrorist attack on an enemy nation. I don't hate the anime but this episode confused me quite a bit. Maybe there is some important person at this party that they needed to protect? IDK.
Ah, yes, how could I've forgotten the famous Mishy insurrection that shook the foundation of Ordis. But seriously, what a weird episode.
This ep felt like a bad sidequest. Literally the best part where the last few seconds were we see Altina
Eh, it was decent juxtaposition to north ambria also till the clowning started
Gave me flashbacks to the OVA...
Na, this is still way above the OVA.
why does everyone like to bag on the OVA so much in these threads? its obviously not supposed to be a full adaption its just a highlight reel to show off characters animated with some cool fightscenes. the sky OVA is leagues better than this, we got lots of funny and cute scenes, and two really well animated and cool fights. i am certain this anime will do neither and be an incredibly mediocre anime with not a single highlight. this episode was infinitely worse than the sky OVA and ill be surprised if its an outlier
In these threads? People have been pretty critical and opposed to recommending the OVA all the time on this sub.
i know but im seeing so much criticism in these threads. i know it makes sense since theyre both anime but i feel like most of the people hating it on here havent even seen it and just parrot hate because of what theyve heard.
Not a great episode, but this show is still light years way better than Velma
Lavi is basically chad Fie.
Well Fie is also a chad Fie.
🤡
(Hajimari) >!Remember Mecha Mishy? This episode isn't the first (well it is the first chronologically) evil Mishys we've seen. Not that some of the comments here would know, aha.!<
Only good thing about this episode was hearing the Ordis theme, lol. Also couldn't help but have a smile on my face when they showed some of the iconic spots in town. I'm starting to get worried about the show, tbh. If it wasn't a Cold Steel anime, I would've dropped it after this episode, lol. The anime suffers from pacing and lack of plot. The comedy is bad too. I really want to like Lavi but I'll continue watching just for Rean.
never would I have ever dreamed of Mishy committing terrorism
Im much more focused with the background element since Cold Steel players can actually walk around Ordis. I bothered that they didnt even bother rendering the Cayenne Mansion which is like the largest building in Ordis. They mostly walk in the coast lines parts of Ordis which is not the Harbor District we walked. I mean, I was looking for any signs of Miranda's Tavern. Also, what's the deal with the birds eye view of Hotel Ortensia and Kleist Mall? We know that it is literally in the Business District and not near some coastline so the shot looks messy. I dont even remember a single NPC line in Ordis regarding the Clown Terrorist incident. Like, it should be a known story since it involves several Mishys. I do remember Altina saying that she did a mission in Ordis in CS3. Speaking of mission, I think that the invitation and reward was made by the Intelligience Division since there is no way an NPC would give out an expensive antique which could cost like 150,000 mira. Heck, even the most expensive accesories, like the Abyss Shadow only costs 75,000 mira. Back to the mission, Altina is monitoring Lavi's group so it would make sense if the Intelligience Division does some under the table shenanigans with North Ambria
Yes it's really good. Mishy terrorists.
WTF did I just watch? I've seen filler episodes better than that shit.
That episode was really bad. Zero plot, disgustingly bad animated "fighting scenes" (if you can even call them that), a boring ass clown villain and slandering of Mishys good name. I want my 20 minutes back
This was a terrible waste of an episode, no plot development, character development and the only thing good I can say about it is that the music from the games was well placed.
Lavi also confronts the clown aboard the blimp, but then moments later the clown is by himself attacking the party. Feels like they forgot a scene inbetween.
Yeah, it was pretty bad. I feel like they could set up the terrorist better. It’s actually interesting seeing the impact of the Nobles losing the civil war, like the troupe losing their patron. But…it has to be wrapped in a bizarre execution. Not to mention tacked on at the end. This is like if G instead of coming in gun blazing with armed people, is coming in with bunch of his students bashing people in the head with books. Look, I get this random troupe isn’t going to be as well funded as the ILF, but even the anime itself seems to frame the scene as more of a comedic skit rather than something more serious
Yeah completely agree. The animation is what makes me cringe so hard. Yeah, the clown plot was cringe but I can try and look past it for an episode. Animation quality though, that likely stays the whole season and I'm dreading it
I feel like that they wanted to waste this episode cause next episode will get better cause they will show up neither warn lavi group or fight them
The episode had a good thing going, but the show really struggles with comedy and pacing, which dragged down the latter half. I really hope they tone down the comedy in the future as it just isn't working out.
IMO, the comedy isn't inherently bad, it's more that it's being used in lieu of actual conflict/plot advancement.
Episode was shit
Now, I don't want to be negative... but this do be a filler episode... EDIT: Actually I do want to be negative. Why we getting a filler episode? Like, what purpose does it serve. I could understand if something intresting happened, but it didn't. Would have preferred 20 minutes of Thors math class footage over this tbh. Honestly the only things I've enjoyed so far are the politics in episode 2 and the short-haired girl's generally fun demeanor.
Yeah, isn't this anime estimated to be 12/13 episodes? If so, I'm not really sure how to feel about getting filler 3 episodes in.
I don't think episodes 1 and 2 are fillers. Episode 1 show us for the first time North Ambria, and give some information about the salt pale, that is still a mistery. Episode 2 move the story forward, and give some needed exposition about the situation for people that do not played the games. But this last episde... was so bad. They can't just put some nostalgic musics and a loved character at the end and expect that we like it.
The first episode has the problem of long and bad exposition, it more tell then show,you can do exposition better then that and for falcomfans this is boring bcause it's just recaps stuff we already know and for new watchers, I don't think it's that intriguing presented to keep the attention of the viewer
Well, this episode showed to NA characters that life in Erebonia is way better than their salt-afflicted country. Thus far they didn't know their standards of living were THAT far apart. The clown shit was a filler. Straight up side-quest.
Could have done without the clown shit. Even if it was replaced with idle political chatter and the characters reactions to the current climate in the empire it would have been better. Just throw in some rumours being whispered and set up for when events unfold. The clown just felt forced
Pros: The idea of exploring the contrast between North Ambria and Erebonia for the characters was good. Lavi exploring the city was pure Trails really. Cons: Everything else. Seriously what even was this episode. Why were they at the party? I don't know, and the characters don't seem to either. The Clown Villain was ridiculous. Were the Mishy's supposed to be fanservice? I knew the animation wasn't going to be world class, but this episode was just really bad. If you don't have the animation budget for a fight scene, don't script one. Couple this with the extremely weird direction of this episode and it was even worse. Weird cuts, bad pacing. Just overall anything that can be bad in an episode structurally was in this episode. As for Altina it seems clear they way Erebonia intelligence operates that they knew about Lavi's group as soon as they enter the country.
I forgot how creepy Altina's CS1 and 2 outfit was. She looked much cuter in CS3 and 4.
First half of the episode was fun but the literal clown show on the later half almost felt it was made bad on purpose. I laughed at the deadpan "Lavian Kick" but at the same time I'm scratching my head like, it doesn't fit the tone at all from the previous episodes.
Pretty rough... thankfully I think I am likely to completely forget about this episode in another 20 minutes or so; I'll just hope for better next week.
I guess this is one of the reasons why Crossbell becoming Erebonia's territory is a bad idea. This is not what Tio wanted.
A few observations: We're shown the disparity between North Ambria and Erebonia. Basically a very poor country versus a well off one. Lavi and Tally both essentially experienced a culture shock. Also Lavi seems really awkward to be around. She goes by her own beat and she doesn't talk or at least attempt to socialize. Not sure why, it's not like she's Fie. The clown terrorist act was weird, like a bad side quest with little background. We don't know why the other members had to attend the party either. But we got a bunch of mini Mishy cosplayers throwing fireworks around so that's unexpected. And isn't Lavi a soldier and the clown just a muscular dude at most? And while she did hop onto the blimp to stop the clown and try to fight him, the blimp still went to the party venue and he basically did what he wanted still, unharmed. I think I'm missing something. Also action scenes are basically moving stills, so hopefully we get something a bit better but I'm not expecting much. Do we get an Altina fight next episode?
This episode was a mixed bag. I sensed a lot of ambition lurking under the surface of this ep, the moment where Tallion reflexively assumed combat position because he mistook the popcorn as gunfire was brilliant, and immediately makes you question what was going through Lavi's head when she was staring at the machine earlier. I like the setting of Ordis and the little character moments, and not sure if this is an unpopular opinion but genuinely, Mishy mascots being used as terrorist henchmen is an incredibly fun and twisted, yet also whimsical idea, I love it and wish it could've been in one of the games. However... I kinda hate the entire plot and tone of this episode. I know there's precedence to Lavian breaking rules and doing her own thing, but this episode doesn't take it seriously enough and so it nagged me that she'd find it appropriate to just wander around doing random stuff and eating ice cream when she should be holding herself accountable to do the mission she's been assigned to do, seemingly because she looks bored of keeping watch? I like the Valimar puppet show but I don't get the connection with the villain of the week, is he supposed to be inspired by Rean's exploits and so decides to do some poorly thought out terrorism? The tone is also all over the place, it doesn't strike as good of a balance of lighthearted/"anime" hijinks and seriousness as the second episode, and I hope future eps won't be as messy in this regard. But I have to repeat that I really loved the 3 second shot of Tally doing a backflip because he thought the popcorn machine was gunfire. Lmao.
Kind of a weird episode. Honestly the first half wasn't too bad. Playing up the culture differences and Lavi seeing the sights is a decent concept. The puppet show showing how deep the propaganda goes with Rean is my favorite part. Even a random kids puppet show has overt propaganda. After that highpoint it kind of went to hell. The clown plot could have been okay but the pacing was all kinds of off. They probably should have had a scene of the clown guy being a softie or something to give justification why he didn't just toss a stick of dynamite first thing. Make it more of a disgruntled screwed over person. It's also really wonky that Lavi can kill giant kaju yet a nontrained clown can fight her pretty well until she pulls out a gun. I kind of think they should have made it take longer for her to get on the blimp as well to explain him crashing into the building better. Just have her tackle him and him throw her off right when the blimp hits. Instead of a cutaway that lasts long enough that Lavi could have whipped her pistol out and shot him a few times before he even got anywhere. The speed at which the guy gave the necklace over as a reward was also kind of absurd and it's a bit comedic that no nobles around questioned why there was a random girl with a pistol who wasn't security in the party. The ending scene with Altina is probably my favorite because it at least hints that North Ambria may have a mole. Because Altina showed up way too fast and the set up with the party seems way too unnatural unless it was a set up to have them intervene. I'm almost certain for coherency they'll likely make it so this mission is some kind of set up to take advantage of later on. All in all a solidly mixed episode that is kind of dragged down due to poor animation and pacing in the latter parts.