Forum - View topicKing's Raid: Successors of the Will (TV) (w/ index).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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King's Raid: Successors of the Will (TV) Genres: adventure, drama, fantasy Themes: demi-humans, demons, sorcery Plot Summary: A hundred years ago, King Kyle defeated the Demon King Angmund, leading to an age of peace for the kingdom of Orvelia. Now, the fate of the apprentice knight Kasel takes a turn when word arrives of Demons appearing in his region. Klaus, a fellow trainee who is like his older brother, goes off to investigate and doesn't returns. The Great Sage Dominix sends Kasel, along with a team of trusted allies, to find his friend and to seek out a sealed holy sword that can save the land. ---------------------------------- EPISODE INDEX (Clicking on the episode will take you to my post that has a summary, comments, and screen-caps) Episode 01: The Demons That Lurk in the Moonlight Episode 02: The Truth Revealed Episode 03: What the Predecessors Left Behind Episode 04: The Forest and The Elves Episode 05: The Power of the Holy Sword Episode 06: Maven of Fire Episode 07: The Target of Hatred Episode 08: Memories in the Eyes Episode 09: Scars of the Dead Episode 10: Individual Motives Episode 11: Orcish Pride Episode 12: The Time for Trial Episode 13: To My Dear Friend... (re-cap) Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Episode 17 Episode 18 Episode 19 Episode 20 Episode 21 Episode 22 Episode 23 Episode 24 Episode 25 Episode 26 Another series I saw in the Fall 2020 Preview Guide, but with not discussion thread, so here it is. According to some Wikipedia info I found, this is based on a side-scrolling RPG mobile game. I will follow this show for a few reasons: 1) I like fantasy anime, especially if it's supernatural. Judging by the summary, sounds like it already has that vibe to it with demons and a magic sword. 2) Co-animated by OLM (Oriental Light and Magic) who did Berserk (TV/1997), and that's some good dark fantasy material for reference. Thankfully, this is no Berserk situation where they have a manga to adapt and have to wait it for to finish (which I don't think Miura ever will..). 3) Scheduled for 26 episodes. That's a good length to tell a story. Hopefully that story won't suck. 4) Kaito Ishikawa is the main actor. Love him as Genos in O-PM and Naofumi in Shield Hero, and now he's back doing more fantasy stuff. I have high hopes he'll play a great character. I'm gonna' see if can review this. It's got potential, and I'm pretty good at getting to the point. I'll try to keep the episode summaries as spoiler-free as possible. But keep in mind, since there is a story, some of these summaries might contain vital details that can't be avoided. If I have to, I'll use spoiler tags. Last edited by Tony K. on Sun Oct 02, 2022 6:23 pm; edited 17 times in total |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 01: The Demons That Lurk in the Moonlight
Summary: Gives you a tiny glimpse in the prologue at King Kyle who fought the Demon Lord a hundred years ago, then goes to intro. Introduced to the main character, Kasel, and his best friend Clause. Reports of demons in the forest make way to the castle. Clause takes some guys to investigate, doesn't report back, then Kasel tries to go with his other friend, Frey, to go find him. ---------------------------------- Comments: Not as dark as the key art in the opener makes it seem. As you can see in the caps, it's actually quite bright in terms of color palette, and the overall picture has this soft look. Character designs feel a little generic, and a lot of the women have big boobs, but I think it's that the subtle kind of fanservice, 'cause they don't really go beyond that (nothing ecchi, so far). Some of the backgrounds are pretty nice (see caps below). The animation itself varies, especially in the action sequences. It's not great at its peak, but it makes due. Voice acting is okay. Since the characters aren't super-developed, yet, I wouldn't say there are any particular performances to write home about. I do like the music, though. The OP theme reminds me of late '90s / early 2000s fantasy shows. It's a peppy J-pop tune, and then KOTOKO sings the ED, which I'll always remember her for Shana (love th ED she sang for that one). The score has some good ambient pieces, too. It sounds like mostly traditional instrumentation to give a nice fantasy vibe and compliments the show nicely. From the beginning, I thought it would be more along the campy shounen-y side, but then I saw a guy's arm get chopped off by a Demon (see cap below). That was a pleasant surprise, so maybe it'll be a good balance. The story pacing is a little slow this first episode, as it focuses less on characters and more on world building, some slight political undertones, and then finally gets to the Demon stuff towards the end. But! Stick with it. I won't say in this post, but the story does build up with each episode. Read about 'em as I get there! ---------------------------------- Caps:          
Last edited by Tony K. on Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:35 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4158 |
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I was worried this was just going to be one as this show is far more complex than it really needs to be; I'm still trying to figure out why the Dark Elves fit into the story. Up to Episode 3: What really impressed me was the exposition dump by Dominicus in episode 3. I immediately noticed one particular character came out of nowhere while another disappeared entirely so I thought I thought "OK, how much of that was a lie" only to be see Cleo, the guy's apprentice, say "I don't know how much of that was true" in the next episode. Well, she doesn't trust her own master, that's curious. And even if what Dominicus said was true, he put Kasel's mother in a time suspension for a hundred years, let her bear a son and then just die "unattended" in some village somewhere so her son can conveniently become an orphan. Only one part of that was to "save the world as they know it", what was the deal with the rest of it? Petty, cruel and very controlling or was he just careless for one year out of a hundred? And then there's what I think really happened. Story has potential and it appears that the show is not afraid to pull any punches.
Fighter mage cleric thief, of course I'd recognize the classic dungeon crawler party. They have all the bases covered but if you can expand your party to six members, picking up an Elven Archer and a Dark Elf warrior mage would be a good way to fully round out the group. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 02: The Truth Revealed
Summary: Kasel and Frey go out to try and find Clause, get ambushed by demons, and then some female witch appears. Fight breaks up, witch disappears, then they meet a sorceress named Cleo and her guard, Roi. Cleo says she works for the Great Sage, and that she's supposed to take them to meet him. They go to the Tower of the Sage, meet him, and it ends on a cliffhanger right when he's about to start explaining stuff. --------------------------------- Comments: Pace picks up a little, but introduces some new characters, so it's more of a bread crumb, than a big bite of the story. The witch lady seems to know something, but she disappears pretty quickly. Cleo seems like she'll be the occasional comedy relief. She's one of those spunky gals, but not the annoying kind. And Roi just kinda' seems to be there in the background to keep her in check (calls himself her "babysitter," which seems fitting, the more I think about it..). There are some pretty cool wide shots of backgrounds and scenery in this one as they make their way to the Tower of the Sage. The sage himself seems pretty neutral, and it's hard to read him. There's a little more political intrigue that's built up in the capital, so the show seems to be laying out a few subplots, which will hopefully get resolved or come full circle at some point. Overall, the episode is a bit of a stepping stone to #1. It advances the events from that one, and progresses just enough to keep you interested. But keep watching, because #3 has a ton of backstory in it! ---------------------------------- Caps:          
Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24155 |
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@ Tony K. - things have changed a bit since you were last active. We now longer need to use spoiler tags for information that has been revealed in an episode that has been released. The assumption is that these threads are primarily for the benefit for those who are watching the show and anybody who isn't caught up should proceed with caution. That's why the first person to post about an episode after it has appeared puts that episode number at the top of the post so anybody who isn't caught up knows when to stop reading.
Naturally, the rule about using spoiler tags when providing info from original sources, like manga, which haven't appeared in the anime yet are still in effect. I'm digging this title. It's just a straight ahead fantasy adventure story without any isekai elements and that's just fine by me. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Ah, good to know! That will make things a little easier, then. Thanks. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24155 |
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No problem. And let me just say how great it is to have you back and active. I can already tell you're a shot in the arm that this forum desperately needs.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yeah, going through some of the old discussion threads I'm trying to bookmark for the Index, there seems to be way less activity. When I was still active about 5 years ago, these things were booming with conversation.
I noticed the ANN Episode Reviews, and it looks like it started right about when I phased out. I'm guessing most people just chat about stuff over in those, since it feels more streamlined? But I've always avoided the Talkback forum, 'cause there's just so much stuff that goes through it and usually so many volatile, casual, or one-time users that post crap comments. I feel like anything posted in there is on impulse, and then more stuff keeps appearing so fast, you never really have time for anything to settle in and it's just bang, bang, bang, go. At least in Series Discussion, we've got the luxury of time. Somebody watches something, posts about it, and then other people reply. And even if it's just one person talking all by themselves, there's no pressure of any kind, 'cause that's exactly the beauty and purpose of an online forum in the first place: to discuss, inform, or learn things at your leisure. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 03: What the Predecessors Left Behind
Summary: Picking up from the previous episode, the Great Sage, Dominix, tells the story of Kasel's true heritage: that he is the son of King Kyle. Essentially, Kasel's mother, Arlette, had to be separated from Kyle, as it was against the plans of a political marriage. After Kyle's father died, he assumed the throne, but found Arlette amidst the chaos of the Demon invasion. Kyle's half-sister, Illya (a dark elf), was trying to develop a false Holy Sword to help the battle effort, but something happened, which led to the eventual persecution of dark elves from then on. During his battle, Kyle was said to have defeated the Demon king Angmund, but afterward, he and Angmund just disappeared. A sorcerer named Malduk, had supposedly been working for Angmund, and after the battle, he was attempting to re-summon the Dark Lord during the "Nocturnal Sun." To do that, he needed the Holy Sword Aea, and a wielder possessing Kyle's blood. But Dominix had prevented that by putting Arlette to sleep, then awakening her a hundred years later, where she gave birth to Kasel. However, her village was attacked, and she was killed, leaving Kasel an orphan. Dominx tells Kasel that the Holy Sword has three seals and that he must travel to various places to unlock each one. His first destination is to meet Lorraine, the Grand Sage of the Forest of Elidora. ---------------------------------- Comments: Sorry about the long summary, but there's a lot of information, and I even skipped some parts, because there's just too much to explain. This is a *big* jump in the plot, as there's a ton of backstory to King Kyle, the appearance of the Demons, some of the reason for why the dark elves are outcasts, and a huge wild card in whoever and wherever this Malduk is. But holy crap, for about 17 minutes of dialogue, I feel like it just explained hours upon hours of history, intrigue, and conspiracy about how all this Nocturnal Sun and Holy Sword business may be setting up to be somebody's master plan. I seriously felt like I watched a giant RPG cut scene, and it was brilliant. Props to composer Masahiro Tokuda, as he continues to have some outstanding background music, especially for this large exposition. It's quaint, yet moody, has a very "fantasy" feel to it, and the choir was a really nice touch. I don't even wanna' begin to start theorizing where I think this is heading. There's still 23 episodes to go, and I feel like so many factors haven't even introduced themselves. You got Riheet and his possible dark elf uprising in the works with that scheming Moriham fellow, that witch lady Maria and how the heck she fits into any of this, and then Kasel and his group still have to go around places to unlock seals for the Sword. What other big twists await them just from the trip alone? This is shaping up to be very good series. It just keeps piling more intrigue and progression. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
Last edited by Tony K. on Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:53 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 04: The Forest and the Elves
Summary: Kasel and co. make their way to the Forest of Elidora. They run into some Demons, where Roi shows off some of his skill. They are then assisted by an elf named Selene who knew of their journey and was waiting to escort them to Lorraine. While en route, the forest senses the presence of humans and attempts to trick them into getting lost, thinking they were a malicious bunch. They are then guided back by a treant named Necha, who they decide to rename Chibi (because of its speech). Selene informs the group of her mistrust for humans as they try to settle for the evening. During that time, an older treant is heard being killed by forest a Demon. The Demon almost gets Kasel, when Chibi saves him, but is killed in retaliation. Kasel goes berserk and kills the Demon in a rage of vengeance, surprising everyone with his loss of control. Lorraine emerges. ---------------------------------- Comments: So yeah, just when I thought it was gonna' be a quick little trip through the forest to their destination, we basically see a child get killed, and Kasel absolutely loses it. This show continues to have some real flashes of total unexpectedness. First ep.: guy gets arm chopped off, another gets an arrow into his forehead. And now fourth ep.: we see a plant kid get mercilessly obliterated. This is getting deceptively darker as we go, it's so exciting. Roi showed off his skills, and he seems to fit the classic thief archetype perfectly, so far. He wields daggers, is super fast, and even has a scar over his eye. We know Frey is the white mage, and I guess Cleo is supposed to be a black mage? I think Selene will eventually join them. And then maybe Riheet and Ripine, or maybe just one, might join them at the very very end. I feel Riheet is gonna' be like Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, where he's kind of a loner anti-hero with his own ambitions, has some growing pains and/or a tough realization, then finds himself by joining the good guys. Or maybe not, I have no freakin' clue what this show is gonna' do, anymore. It also seems that a lot of demi-humans and other beings really dislike humans. Can't say I blame 'em. The selfish ones are usually so bad, it gives all humans a bad name. It's looking like Kyle and Kasel are the only exceptions. Maybe that charisma runs in their blood? At any rate, ep. #5 show will some nice resolve and character progression for Kasel, but then we get more damn intrigue. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
Last edited by Tony K. on Sat Nov 14, 2020 10:21 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 05: The Power of the Holy Sword
Summary: Upon defeating the Demon, Lorraine asks Kasel if he thinks he's worthy of the Sword, saying if he's not, it could destroy him. They decide to rest for the night, but before that, Frey wanted to bury Chibi in his favorite play spot. Afterwards, Lorraine has a private conversation with Selene asking if she thinks Kasel is worthy. At first, Selene can't decide. She goes for a walk and sees Kasel at Chibi's grave. He apologizes to Chibi for not being able to protect him. Chibi's seed resonates with that and sprouts a tiny leaf. Kasel swears to become stronger. After seeing this, Selene reports back to Lorraine and decides that he is trustworthy enough for the power of the Sword. Lorraine casts a spell that unlocks a small hidden power within Kasel. The forest Demon resurrects itself, but Kasel dispatches it easily. As they head out of the forest, they encounter Maria. ---------------------------------- Comments: This was a very good followup episode. I feel Kasel showed genuine humility and remorse for how he reacted to Chibi's death and came out of it a little wiser. The sight of him going apeshit was shocking, and I'm glad he had such a quick turnaround. Other than that, this episode was the classic "don't judge a book by its cover" parable. Selene already seemed pretty hesitant to trust humans, and the rage fit didn't help. However, she saw the good in Kasel and his vow to become, not only a stronger person, but a better one (emotionally). Whatever Lorraine did to unlock some of his potential also really helped. He says he didn't feel any different, but he was definitely not the same as the first time he fought that Demon. Maybe Aea has some kind of magical link in their blood that makes them super focused and better fighters or something. And as each seal is unleashed, he gains that something each time. And then there's Maria. Oh man, why'd she have to go mentioning the goddess Lua and people being her puppets. If they're gonna' go down the "False God" route, that's a *whole* other can of worms when you start flipping belief systems and possibly entering the realm of role reversals, where the good guys are actually bad, and vice versa. If they decide to do that and pull it off well, this'll be crazy good. Finally, I wanna' say I really like Lorraine's design. She reminds of an elegant mix between Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War and various incarnations of Princess Zelda. I think it's also the fact that I like the color green, and her eyes and hair highlights really go with her costume. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 06: Maven of Fire
Summary: Kasel and co. are making their way to meet the orc chieftain for more Holy Sword business, but Cleo decides to stop in a famous town she's heard of. While there, she manages to spend all of their money on food and gifts. To make some of it back, the crew has to work of it. They end up in the employment of, one, Madam Volf. ---------------------------------- Comments: From the preview, I thought this was gonna' end up as a kind of filler episode. Surprisingly, it turned out be a character-builder for Cleo, who we learn was more than likely one of those socially awkward prodigy children that was a genius in her craft, but oblivious and not-so-great at everything else. It was said that she didn't get out of the tower much, so I guess you can equate this to giving candy to a kid for the first time, then letting them in a candy store with a credit card. It was a little painful to watch, since she seems to have no concept of the real world. But I think the transition between them going broke and the lesson she learned from being around Volf paid off pretty well at the end. I honestly thought when the Demons attacked that Volf was gonna' die. They already killed a child two episodes ago, so why not an old lady, too? Thankfully, Volf's presence doubled as a two-fold lesson: 1) To let the past go and move on, which I feel is common sense, but I know a lot of people always have trouble with that. 2) More importantly for Cleo's sake: that magic (particularly the fire kind) is a powerful double-edged sword that can help or destroy. It destroyed a part of Volf's world, but she saw the determination in Cleo to wanna' defend her friends with it, and I think Cleo did a great job learning to focus it a lot better than earlier in the episode. Here's hoping when the time comes, she'll really get to show off her abilities. It might feel like baby steps in the grand scheme of things, but I see it as a blank slate having some pretty meaningful words added to it. And poor Roi had to sell one of his daggers. I hope it wasn't any kind of important heirloom or anything. Next episode looks like a Dark Elf, one (finally!), so that should be exciting to see where that subplot is headed. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4158 |
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I thought Roi sold a stolen dagger. If it was his property, I don't think he would have sold it in some back alleyway.
Episode 6, flashback to Cleo's mom or at least her voice if not her face. She may be a high level mage or Government placed but it would also suggest deceased. Episode 7: It turns out the Dark Elf siblings are orphans as well. So.. well, I was going to say it's highly suspect that more than half the cast are orphans but half the cast are also connected to Dominix one way or another. The weird part is that it seems to me like it's all the same woman too. Even Disney tends to stick one or two dead parents but 3 to 4 dead moms? That's just careless. Or intentional. I do like the way this series is paced, a throwback to the "we know how this will play out in advance" 26 episode animes of the pre-streaming days. I like the cast but I still don't see how the Dark Elves fit in yet even as I have a pretty good idea as to "why". |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 07: The Target of Hatred
Summary: Upon another successful repulsion of Demons, Riheet and Black Edge are ordered to join forces with Orvelia's knights, led by Princess Scarlett. Meanwhile, Zierro, son of one the council members, is upset by this and tries to have Tamm, the youngest member of Black Edge, "taken care of." ---------------------------------- Comments: So we finally get some Dark Elf action, and it's pretty intense. As if the very obvious and overt racism from Zierro wasn't enough, Tamm almost gets killed, and Riheet nearly kills Zierro. And Riheet, who's usually a pretty calm, collected, and calculating guy, was pretty livid. I think that's a nice contrast showing his dark and angry side, which will just continue to build till he actually needs to unleash it. Surprisingly, Princess Scarlett seems very level-headed. Up to this point, a lot of royalty/nobility depicted in the series have seemed either really shady or just kind of petty in general. She actually seems to have some common sense and manners and also a decent grasp on her role as commander, which is apparent by openly taking Riheet's advise on tactics. A warrior princess who is competent seems like a rarity, these days. So I hope her character turns out be as potentially cool as I think she can be. Moving on, we have the presence of another goddess: Lea, the goddess of darkness. Lua and Lea; I'm guessing they're sisters or something, so it should be interesting to see how they delve into that mythos. And speaking of which, they finally showed Malduk! At first, I had my suspicion that maybe Dominix was a secret villain hiding in plain sight and was actually Malduk. I guess that proved me wrong, thank goodness. And is it just me, or is he chained to the chair? Whatever the case, the plot has really thickened! I can't believe it's only episode seven, and we already have *so* many groups of people with their own agendas or mysteries: - Kasel and co. going for Aea - Riheet and Black Edge planning a coup - "The Old Guard," Dominix, Lorraine, and whoever was with King Kyle a hundred years ago - Malduk and Maria - King Angmund and the Demons - Lua and Lea, the goddesses of light and dark - Scarlett and the Knights of Orvelia - Moriham and whatever he's planning - The other aristocrats - And then we still don't know what the heck happened to King Kyle Next episode, though, looks like it'll have some backstory on Frey. I like that all these character building episodes are starting with the women, first, as I feel they don't usually get a lot of exposition in big plot-driven shows like this. I'm definitely looking forward to that one. Again, great soundtrack for this series, and I think they got opportunities to show off some really good background art, this time. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
Last edited by Tony K. on Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yeah, wasn't really sure as I don't remember seeing that dagger anywhere else. Maybe he just owns a bunch, or maybe he did steal it, since he's a thief, after all.
It does seem like something more than coincidence. And now we have a little of Frey's backstory in the next episode. All the main characters, Kasel and co., Riheet and Ripine all seem to be around the same age. I think it's "assumed" that Kasel's mom was killed by Demons. We've only seen short flashes of her with a bloody face, but with no confirmation on the actual cause. Then Rihett and Ripine's mother looks like she was killed by a human. We know Cleo's mother died at some point, but now how. And Frey's is to be determined. And at this point, we've also got at least four people who've been alive since Kyle's time: Dominix, Lorraine, Maria, and Malduk, plus who knows how many others they might introduce, later. But it's a couple (man and woman) on each side, with both men being sorcerers and both women being magical in some way. Hm..
Of all the races that exist, so far, we've got Humans, Elves, and Dark Elves (and maybe Demons?). The only regular Elves we've seen were Lorraine and Selene, but they live in the forest. But why just the females? Are there males, and are there more Elves in general? Do they just live in the forests? All the Dark Elves seem to have lived in regular society at some point, but I'm still wondering why there are even both kinds to begin with. The whole coup thing I can understand because of the Humans blackballing Illya for a power grab. But yeah, the "how" and the "when" could fill in some gaps. Maybe they'll explain that in another episode or two down the line. |
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