Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin

I though it was made pretty clear that she was trained to be a knight her whole life, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else.

My impression too. It was pretty clear that her father had her trained that way.

I like the dynamic between Ikta and Igsem, more friends than lovers and I'm sort of hoping it stays that way. They work well together, each having strenghts the other lacks and it would be refreshing to have a main couple who could remain as friends for a change.

I wonder about that actually. I get this feeling that a lot is going under the surface and that many things are left unsaid. The only thing that's obvious it that for both of them the other is the most important person. It'll be interesting to see how this turn out.

What really made the episode so good, and in fact the best part of Alderamin right now, is its focus on Ikta and Yatori's relationship. It's raw, genuine friendship, and it's really great to see that they an anime boy and anime girl can be so close to each other without being romantically involved.

Episode:

Oh look, supporting characters are going through their own character arcs. Neat.

Start of a new arc. They are sent somewhere in the ass end of the empire, where there wasn't an external attack ever, only some local barbarians, and even those were calm for a while. Good place to send your trainees.

You deserved this one Ikta, that was sexual harassment. I'm starting to think he's a masochist. He knew she's going to hit him for that.

Ah, military, where the incompetent can be commanding officers and just push all the real work on the second in command.

That guy is 26?!

So, Igsen aren't just a warrior clan, their strength is literally legendary and pretty much keeps the order in the empire. No wonder Yatori is such a badass. Nice fight.

Give it to Ikta to get in trouble from sheer laziness.

You can't just go and confiscate all the books in plain view of everyone if you didn't actually had such orders. How did he think it wouldn't be noticed?

Also, why are the books kept outdoors? That makes no sense.

I wonder what do they keep in that cell. Must bee important if the barbarians consider is "a half of the world".

The barbarian leader looks ridiculous, even by fantasy standards.

So, we get the first real military battle. With Yatori and Ikta here, this will not end well for the opposition.

This series continues to impress with a nice slower episode this week with some good development for the other characters. Yatori continues to be cool and the new lieutenant seems like a good character, which means he will probably die. As for what is in the cell for the cliff-hanger, my guess is its spirits of some sort seeing as it came right after a brief discussion of the spirit worship of the barbarians.

Ah, military, where the incompetent can be commanding officers and just push all the real work on the second in command.

Not that it's much different out in the real world...

but gee, you have an uncrossable mountain range shielding your country from invasion, local tribes that are barely accepting your empire and then you piss them off by stealing some sort of revered magical item from them? But the tribes have been quiet these past six months?

Well, you have to wait for your protagonists to arrive after all.. I wonder how much the writers have looked at the Indian Mutiny, because it has that sort of feel of the North West Frontier to it.

Kanna is going to die, isn't she?

BTW, this series has a page now.

I'll try to expand it a bit when I have the time.

@mwisse The tribes have probably been staying quiet because the Katjvarnans have their sacred relic. They look like they've been preparing for a large-scale battle.

@Kayeka I sincerely hope not, but I am curious about Kanna's role in the larger scheme of things.

Sweet.

Very nice episode all around. Matthew gets a lot of respect for pushing on even though he knows he's outclassed. Also nice to see the invincibility of the Igsems be elaborated on.

I found this series interesting because it feel like we are seeing the Mook side of the "Evil", (or more specifically the Jerkass) Empire yet everyone willing to follow them for now. The whole battle seem like the commander dumb idea to get points and expect a win that will blow up in his face. While Ikkun will have to setup plan were everyone will be happy.

Considering some of the things shown in the OP, I suspect that you're being very optimistic about the solution making everyone happy.

Episode 7:

So that's what they stolen. No wonder they are so pissed off. The empire main problem seems to be it's stupidity rather than evil. Racist assholes can be found everywhere but only an idiot would put them in charge of dealing with people they hate. That's just asking for trouble. At least it's just that one guy, since apparently the Central wouldn't agree to a Purge.

Yattori really is easy to talk with for being... well herself.

The Princess always leaves when the action gets good. What's even the point of bringing her in the first place?

So someone been inciting the tribes to go to a war. Interesting.

Yeah, the first offensive will probably end in a disaster. Also, that girl who got introduced last episode has a big red shooting mark on her forehead. I'll be surprised if she lives to the end of this arc.

Man, did I mention that the ED of this show is awesome.

Alderamin continues to be the Anime of the season for me, being all kind of awesome, smart and interesting.

That's of course a classic imperialist excuse: it's not our maltreatment of the natives that got them to revolt, but foreign agitators.

You can hardly call Ikta an imperialist though. It's not like the two things are mutually exclusive. There probably are some foreign agitators, but Empire abuse sure made their job easy as hell.

edited 20th Aug '16 1:54:29 PM by Shlugo_the_great

Oh, I know, right? That instant bond she formed with Ikta was so conspicuous, and now she's part of the attack that's doomed to fail because the main characters haven't gotten involved yet.

She's about to get sacrificed because the author wanted to drive home the "War Is Hell" theme, but didn't have the guts to kill any of the main characters. Which is a shame, because in my opinion, Haroma would've been perfect for the role.

It's often a bit of column A, bit of column B. The empire's oppression is plenty of reason to go to war, but you still need weapons, supplies and know-how to actually be successful, so you turn to foreign "allies".

edited 21st Aug '16 12:56:55 PM by Kayeka

Yeah, in those type of stories, bonding with a main character when you are not otherwise important to the plot is just a ticket straight to the afterlife.

Well I was right about what was in the cell. This was another good episode and I do find it interesting that the spirits appear to be solar powered. The brash lieutenant is probably my favourite of the new characters from this arc after this episode as it seems that he is a bit more interesting than he appeared at first. The I agree that the book girl does look a bit doomed at the moment but there is a (very) small chance that it could go the other way and she could end up in charge.

I have to agree, this is definitely my favourite of the anime that started this season (Re:Zero is probably my favourite overall but that started last season).

What worries me about this show is how focused it has been on Ikta from the start, and how "science" is being portrayed and talked about. The first, is a textbook Marty Stu, count conversations not related in any way to him or where he isn't mentioned or on scene vs those that are, and that's just a hint; the second is irritatingly childish and sounds more like some flimsy paraphrasing of the archetypal "Reddit Atheist" character.

edited 22nd Aug '16 3:03:42 PM by Rareitor

Unfortunately, I think the overly preachy portrayal of science in this show is a done deal. I just try not to cringe whenever it's brought up. "Thou shalt be lazy" should totally be a commandment though.

One small point of interest: when Yatori gives Ikta some food. She said she was saving that food for herself. You could interpret it as Yatori being generous enough to give up her rations, but I think it's more that she considers helping Ikta as helping herself. D'awwwww.

Chances aren't looking good for Kanna...

Ikta being Mary sue, or this case a Mary Tzu is debatable yeah he won the mock battle easily, but they were lead by overconfident jerk that follow textbook playbook, the first battle was to show Ikta had talent. This time he going up against piss off warrior rebel on her home turf and maybe the superior officer that started this fight. Ikta can already see the big picture and has yet to figure out a solution that the survivor would be happy. I doubt it, but it not impossible.

The problem I have with the portrayal of science is that the show is not talking about science of what in specifics it is Mathematics, Chemist, or something else. Ikta rant is mostly research method, observance, and challenging establish facts. An Aesop that need that to be drop like anvils no doubt, but there little example seen so far from other characters and Kanna may be dead before she learn how to apply it.

edited 24th Aug '16 5:32:26 AM by demecowen

Episode 8:

I always do enjoy an elegantly carried out battle plan, and Ikta deliver it twice this episode, turning what would otherwise be a hard battle into a simple clean up. Nice.

This episode really makes clear that the region is basically a dumping grounds for all the Empire most incompetent officers. Those guys just suck.

Lots of good character stuff this episode, from all the crew. I especially like the unwavering trust and understanding Yattori has for Ikta. Others might not understand him, but she always does.

And yeah, we all knew it was coming but it's not any less of a gut punch... Kanna died. And the worst thing is, Ikta could have tried to save her, but that would be a stupid, irrational decision that would put his comrades in danger. Even his military genius is not omnipotent and can't save everybody - this is the reality of war.

Alderamin continues to be awesome and amazing.

This was a good episode that shows both the advantages and disadvantages of Ikta's way of war, the first use of proper snipers in the setting was cool. Kanna's death was inevitable from the point where the soldier she was bonding with compared her to his mother but it was still a shame. It also looks like the 'barbarians' have their own military adviser feeding them tactics, we will have to see how Ikta deals with him.

Kanna's death was really handled elegantly. Instead of making her demise a generic statement about war being hell, they instead presented that she could have been saved had Ikta decided to push onward, even if it was a tactically poor decision. It made her passing a lot more have to meaningful, and I have to commend the writers for it.

And yeah, the officers range from useless wusses to pathetic jerkasses. They've been really spoiled.

Snipers are going to rule this nation

Also: Matthew is ripe for taking several levels in badassery down the line.