Another dazzling episode 12, no doubt. This episode felt a little more grounded in the characters no less. More importantly, we got some real character beats that I felt grounded significantly better than the current regular try. While there was some tonal whiplash from the events of the episode, It is thought the solid characterisation helped carry it.
Souma and Carla's scene before the fight is a wonderful microcosm of my points with the series, as well as the strengths of this particular episode. First, they have a dialogue about Souma's position on the battlefield, or lack thereof, as Souma explains that, asking, he is not a frontline combatant. Rather, he helps decide strategic objectives and acts as a bargaining chip if captured. I understand the metatextual reason for doing this.
It needs to be made clear to the viewer (who may be expecting an extra-fantastic approach to kings in battle) why Souma does not do great heroics and does not step forward. I can understand that. However, from a textual point of view, I don't understand why it's Carla he's talking to about this. Not only does she come from this world, but I got the impression that it was already official and that she and Liscia had been in the academy together. I really feel that she should already know these things.
In any case, it was a very good time to go to war. Well, it hit the right emotional depth I must say, the animation itself leaves a bit to be desired. Honestly, I found I wanted more reserved and limited animation strategies, rather than "seeing" movement; growing up and watching Record of Lodoss War too often, I'm used to a lot of panning over images that aren't and Kawajiri-like cutscenes on the screen, with no other movement. I'm fine with being lied to.
Cayo and Julio also had an excellent scene, surprisingly. I think the voice actors really lived up to the depth of the scene and the stakes of these explicit characters. Towards the end of their brief back and forth, I found myself invested in whether or not Gaius survives, which surprised me given how little we learn about them and have seen them. I think having a scene with a clear stake in which Souma was not involved in any way helped a lot, along with the cliffhanger along with his daughter.
I've said before that I have a hard time with Isekai stories, I tend to go for fully realised secondary worlds and being all in that fictional house. So moments like this are effective for me.
I find the "let's put on a show, gang!" angle at the end of the episode less successful. I understand the point of these scenes, but there's something I just miss. In another anime, this might have been an excuse for extra salacious material, but that doesn't really happen here. But at the same time, the sensible stuff seems a bit confusing. It seems to be about boosting morale despite food shortages and or the pains of battle, but the problem of food shortages was easily dismissed in the previous scene. Moreover, the battle has been resolved so briefly and neatly - by what we have seen on screen, no less - than it is flat for the viewer. The music is good, and the songs are literally quite nice and pleasant for the short time we have had with them.
Problems aside, I can say that this was one of the best episodes of the season. Other episodes made more use of realism/feelings, but in my opinion, this one had real emotion and human engagement.
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