Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Final Episode (13): Wrapping up

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Well, this episode doesn’t really wrap things up, but I think it’s a decent character moment for Waver right up at the end. Gray has a cute moment with Waver when she finally gives him the gift, but I don’t think there was much else. I think this series worked well as a Fate series, but I didn’t think it worked as a mystery show. It’s kind of a shame, since I think it would be a good combination, but the show was enjoyable overall.

I like this moment. It’s something we’ve seen before, but I’d forgotten about it with the arrival of Doctor Heartless. Now that I think about it, I think the series cut to Adashino when Luvia and Shishigou figure out that she’s related to Heartless. I think that’s a solid use of misdirection at that time.

Other than that, I think this episode was mostly flavor. I guess it sets Waver up some more for a potential second season, but I thought it meandered a bit.

I thought it was cool to see Waver give up on the Grail War in the end. It’s been said to him multiple times throughout the series, but he was clearly trying to give himself peace while pretending to honor his friend’s legacy. In the end, he chooses to move forward on his own path to truly honor Iskandar.

I liked this scene at the end between Waver and Iskandar a lot. It felt like Waver was finally owning up to himself and moving forward. Looking back, I think he ends up with a decent character arc, ultimately finding his role as the teacher.

Final Score: 7/10

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 12: True identity

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Well, this wasn’t a bad episode to end the arc. I felt like everything fit together in the end, and I understood more than I did in previous episodes. That being said, I don’t think I was properly equipped with the knowledge to guess the culprit before Waver’s final deduction (evidenced by the fact that I got it wrong last week even after it was technically revealed). Perhaps, this is one of those mysteries that’s better watched the second time around.

I know that Waver explains that the healing magic was what tipped him off to Caules, but was that really the only hint? It might be enough for him to go off of, given that he’s Caules’s teacher, but it’s not a great clue for the audience. If I watch this arc again, I wonder how much I’ll be able to pick up on things that Heartless does as Caules.

While pinpointing the exact culprit wasn’t the easiest task, I do commend the arc for making it pretty clear that a third party was involved. I’m not sure how I feel about the attempts to misdirect through Adashino, but I don’t think that Heartless came out of nowhere. I think the show does a good job of tying him together with the Animusphere investigation and the detour into the Forest of Einnashe in the previous episodes. His connection to the previous arcs are admittedly more shaky, though.

I thought only Fate/Grand Order was allowed to make up new Servant classes.

While the final battle was a bit of a mishmash of powers, I really liked Karabo’s fight against Faker. Based on the visual presentation of this scene, it looks like Karabo was using the memories of Faker’s attacks against her. If so, I think that’s an amazing way to fight, since it’s taking advantage of the enemy’s strength while keeping track of the flow of battle.

Given how the episode cuts off in the end, I wonder what the next episode will be. This battle seems incomplete, so I find it hard to believe that it will be a new one-episode mystery. Is there going to be some sort of epilogue? If you ask me, they’re making it out like Faker and Heartless are set to return as recurring enemies.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 11: Suspenseful bidding

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Yeesh, this series really does enjoy its cliffhangers, doesn’t it? Anyway, it seems like we’re right up at the conclusion for this story. Given that this week’s episode ends with Waver seemingly pointing out a culprit, I wonder what is left for the last episode in the arc. Hephaestion’s story is still unresolved, so it could just be an extended battle.

Well, Hephaestion’s comment about being a replica like Gray is becoming more interesting. I forgot that Waver saw all of Iskandar’s subjects, so he has more expertise here than I thought he did. Waver later acknowledges that she could just be using the name Hephaestion, so maybe there’s more to it.

I get that Olga-Marie didn’t have the greatest relationship with her father, but this statement makes her incredibly pitiful. I can certainly understanding wanting to hear praise for your effort, but she’s not giving herself the best of representations.

Adashino’s not making a great case for herself in this episode. As I’ve said before, I mostly see her as too obvious to be the culprit, so I have a hard time accepting it. However, the scene at the end of the episode certainly seems convincing. She seems to be activating something with Trisha’s head.

The auction scene seemed a bit off to me. Waver puts effort into winning the auction only to effectively give it up in the end. Is there meant to be more to the bidding after his deduction? I get that he most likely needed to see how the auction played out to make his conclusion, but I wonder if the series will explain that. Stopping the auction seemed like a desperate play for him, which makes me wonder how much he actually has planned.

I mean, I guess this is what I should expect from a Fate show.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 10: The nature of the crime

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It’s certainly starting to feel like the pieces of this mystery are coming together. It’s nice to see Waver back in action this week, since many of the characters seem somewhat hopeless without him. I’m not sure I’m totally on board with how the time manipulation is being used in this episode, but the way it’s invoked is interesting, at least. I don’t know if it’s because I inherently have trouble following this series, but I’m not sure I’m convinced of the culprit yet.

I liked Waver’s mental argument with Kayneth, even if Kayneth isn’t my favorite character in the world. I think Waver has decent motivation for joining the Grail War again, even if he acknowledges that Iskandar wouldn’t recognize him. He just wants to prove that Iskandar had the qualifications to win all along.

I think I’m okay with the fact that the battle between Gray and Hephaestion just ends. I wonder if Hephaestion’s interactions with Gray are meant to parallel Iskandar’s past with Waver in some way. I’m curious about the fact that Hephaestion says that she and Gray are the same while commenting on Gray being a replica of Saber.

Trisha’s involvement in her own death didn’t go the way I expected, but I like how it was used here. Adashino as a character seems to perpetually rub me the wrong way, but I do like the idea of Trisha attempting to hide her eyes even if she couldn’t avoid her death.

I have trouble buying Adashino as the culprit, even if the series seems to be pointing at her. The scene cuts to her after Luvia mentions the “man without a heart” having a sister-in-law on the train, and she certainly seems to know too much. I definitely don’t buy Karabo as the culprit, since he seems to have no control over his eyes.

Well, that’s one way to solve the problem. Hey, Melvin’s here to be useful, right?

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 9: Zombie chef

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Well, I guess the plot continues to thicken. This week’s episode seemed like a weird detour (a bit literally), but I suppose Waver needs some time to wake up. I think I can somewhat see things starting to come together, so I look forward to seeing how the series progresses.

I don’t know if I’m being unintentionally dense with this series, but I always find myself second-guessing my understanding after seeing the explanations. So, let me get this straight. Invocation is basically a budget version of the Servant summoning used in the Grail War that involves allowing the Heroic Spirit to temporarily possess a mage’s body. That certainly makes the identification of suspects more interesting.

I liked seeing Olga-Marie figure out Waver’s intentions on the Rail Zeppelin based on what she’s seen already. She’s pretentious, but at least she has a brain to back it up. I always find characters who go through that kind of deductive reasoning to be cool.

Jean-Mario was a pretty funny character to introduce to the series. I wasn’t expecting Trisha’s death to be linked to a series of deaths from the past, but it certainly makes me feel better about suspecting her. That’s especially the case after hearing that Trisha also asked Jean-Mario about it. I’m sure it’ll just end up being revealed that she was independently looking for the culprit, but I can always hope.

I have to hand it to Melvin. He makes a strong entrance. Yeesh, how did he even find the train?

Hmm, this definitely looks like some sort of storage spell that was specifically intended for Olga-Marie to find. Given the comment about the precise coordinates of the spell within the train, it certainly seems like something that a person who could see the future might prepare. I’m just throwing that out there. I don’t know how Adashino is supposed to factor into this, though.

Gray seems to be having a lot of fun out there. Add certainly seems to have some cool powers, so I’m curious to see more of their fight in next week’s episode.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 8: Old friends

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It looks like this arc is going to justify its length by balancing multiple stories at the same time. It’s probably still too early to tell how that will go, but it seems interesting so far. Waver seems to handle some of his Iskandar issues in this episode, so not too much time is devoted to main mystery. For whatever reason, it looks like the episode ends with Melvin deciding to join the story as well.

Ah, isn’t this just always the case when you have a convenient power? It just fails to work for story reasons. That being said, I do like this idea of having a perpetrator who is invisible to time. I have no idea what it means, but it could be cool. I’m also wondering whether the same perpetrator is meant to be responsible for everything on this train. I think it’s better if it isn’t just one common culprit.

I appreciate the story’s efforts to bring the side stories from earlier episodes back into the spotlight, but I really do hope the story doesn’t settle on a single person to explain every mystery. I think at least Iskandar’s mantle should be something different. Either that or the train itself is responsible for everything somehow.

It wasn’t hard to guess that Hephaestion would be someone related to Iskandar, but her entrance was pretty cool. I’m not personally a fan of the warrior mentality in general, but I think she does a good job of challenging Waver in a meaningful way. She’s not just a powerful presence, since she also has some personal significance.

I also like that Waver personally faces off against Hephaestion after her speech. He’s generally a weak fighter, but he’s still willing to step in for his friend, even if it ends up injuring him in the end.

I don’t really know what Luvia and Shishigou are doing on the side, but it’s fun to watch the two interact. I’ll be curious to see how that investigation eventually comes back to the main story.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 7: Murder on a train

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It looks like we’re locked in to this story for a while. Looking back, I probably should have noticed that the full title for this series mentions Rail Zeppelin. This sketchy train for trafficking Mystic Eyes certainly explains why the series has spent so much time on them so far. I’ll be curious to see how Waver fares in a longer mystery story. He tends to solve things immediately, so I wonder how things will change up over six episodes.

Most of this episode was spent introducing characters, so there’s not too much to comment on so far. It certainly seems like we’ll have plenty of suspects for this mystery. It’s also kind of hilarious that Olga-Marie is a familiar face despite the fact that I know very little about her character. Thanks for that, Fate/Grand Order.

It also looks like there will be a bit of a parallel story in this arc involving hidden support from Shishigou. I think it would be cool if this brought in the other side characters as well. Flat and Svin really didn’t get much more than an episode to do stuff in this series so far.

I’m admittedly not very versed with auctions, but I’m not sure how Olga-Marie’s recruitment of Waver helps her. Isn’t adding another bidder just a way to increase the final price? I suppose it’s a magic auction, so the rules could be anything.

So, this train has a set of Mystic Eyes to see the past and another set to see the future. I wonder if that’s supposed to be important or something. Karabo has certainly been suspicious throughout the episode. His dramatic entrance makes me think he’s just a distraction, but he was definitely listening in when Waver reads the letter from whoever stole Iskandar’s mantle.

Honestly, Trisha’s mysterious personality made me wonder if she’s the ultimate mastermind in this story. I suppose it’s still possible since her head was missing. However, it could just as easily mean that it was taken because of her Mystic Eyes.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 6: Adding too many toppings

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Well, I don’t have too much to say about this episode. It’s largely a side story, focusing on Gray, Luvia, and Reines. I think it’s entertaining enough, but it largely felt like down time. It’s interesting to see more of Luvia, I suppose. I didn’t expect her to be a major character. The episode seems to end by setting up a larger story, so I’m curious to see where the series goes from here.

It’s a minor point, but I really question how this story is structured. The episode starts out with the girls in the middle of their crisis, and then goes back to tell the story of how they got there. I feel like this technique is generally intended to make you wonder a bit, but I didn’t get that sense while I was watching. I guess I question how much is really gained by doing it.

That being said, I did enjoy watching Reines, Gray, and Luvia interact with each other. Luvia and Reines seem to have fairly similar personalities, so they clash well. Meanwhile, Gray feels like she’s stuck between them despite arguably being the strongest of the three.

It’s also kind of nice to see Gray attempt to think like Waver in the situation. She doesn’t get all the way to the answer, but I think that makes sense. The mystery becomes more of a collaborative effort.

Trim’s outburst in this episode was surprisingly hilarious. I wasn’t expecting her to be anything more than background noise. It’s probably more hilarious than Luvia’s sudden wrestling moves, which are funny in their own way.

I do like that the reasoning behind the incident is addressed in the end. It’s a bit of a shaky conclusion, but I like that it fits with Gray’s initial deduction. I’m just not sure how I feel about a security system deeming the three girls as treasures that shouldn’t leave the store. I mean, it’s Luvia’s store, right? Why doesn’t this happen to her more often?

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 5: Fairy magic

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I guess the extra episode is meant to show off more of the combat in this series. Honestly, I’m still not sure I’m convinced on the mystery aspect so far, but the series has been entertaining so far. I do like the general principle behind the mysteries, but I get a sense that too much is kept from the audience to make Waver look more impressive. It’s funny to see him in actual combat this week, though.

It seems to me that most of these stories revolve around Waver immediately coming up with the right answer and spending most of the runtime proving himself. I don’t mind this approach, since it emphasizes evidence over just coming across the solution.

I think Gray’s story is interesting, even if I also think it’s just a way to inject Saber (Arthur) into the story again. At least, she seems to have a legitimate reason for being a clone of Saber. It seems like that was actually her intended purpose.

Reines and Waver have a surprising amount of give-and-take in their relationship. Given how smug Reines tends to be, I’m totally okay with this.

This again? How many of the mysteries in this series are going to be caused by the supposed victim? To be fair, the mysteries have some distinctions that give them their own layers, but it’s strange how similar they are at a fundamental layer. Maybe I’m just reacting more to the idea of researchers doing sketchy things.

Oh look, it’s discount Excalibur. That aside, I think my favorite part of this stormy fight was Shishigou’s interaction with Waver in the middle of the fight. In comparison to the other abilities used in the fight, Waver uses some fairly wimpy magic blasts.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Episode 4: This rainy mansion setup seems familiar

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It looks like we’re finally getting our first multi-episode mystery for this series. I look forward to seeing how the story develops over this period, and I hope it’s not just stretched out for cliffhangers. One potential downside that I noticed is that an insane number of characters (and more importantly, names) were introduced in this episode, which might make it hard to keep track. So far, the story itself doesn’t seem too impressive, effectively mirroring a typical murder mansion mystery, but it’s too early to tell.

I appreciate that the mysteries in this series have a overall end goal. In the end, Waver is desperately attempting to gain enough influence to rejoin the Grail War and fulfill Iskandar’s wish. It makes some of the developments throughout the series feel more meaningful, like this conversation between Reines and Bram.

Were Mystic Eyes such a prolific thing in other Fate series? This week’s episode introduces two new types of Mystic Eyes, and it’s not even the first time this series has mentioned them. Is that just the theme of this series? I was only aware of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception before this series.

I found it a bit funny that the mystery starts with Waletta stating that Wills could be the only culprit because he was a Necromancer. The episode goes on to not only confirm that Waletta is a Necromancer but also introduce an entirely different Necromancer into the mix. Honestly, I was convinced that Waletta was covering for herself as the culprit before the development at the end of the episode.

Uhh, I guess this seems important?

Oh hey, I remember you from Fate/Apocrypha. I didn’t realize that Shishigou was a Necromancer. Although, that series took place in an alternate universe, right? Either way, I’m sure he’s here to make things fun.

Well, I knew I’d be in for cliffhangers. Strangely enough, I don’t find this development too damning. There’s an entire episode left to investigate, so I have to wonder if Waver’s initial deduction in this situation is wrong for once. That being said, the fact that lightning strikes would make a body hard to identify and the fact that Waletta was the first target of my suspicion makes me question this revelation a lot.