The best way I can describe Grancrest is a shoujo version of Berserk with no memorable characters or success at world building. From start to finish this anime is a gigantic mess with few (if any) redeemable qualities.
Story: Grancrest starts with a Romeo/Juliet style wedding between two rival kingdoms being violently interrupted by a 3rd party. This wedding would have meant world peace but now for laughably underdeveloped reasons, it cannot proceed. On the macroscale, this leads to hostilities between the kingdoms and allows the “age of chaos” to continue. We are then introduced to the two main protagonists Theo, a low ranking, wandering knight and Silucia, a novice mage in search of a worthy master. They form an eternal pact within 3 minutes of meeting one another and begin their quest for world domination.
Grancrest tried to create a world full of intricate diplomacy, clever battlefield tactics/strategies, political intrigue, shifting alliances and high fantasy. And in another universe, it may have come close to Berserk or Code Geass or Game of fucking Thrones but alas it did not. The main problem is that the characters and the plot line were kinda---dumb. The conflicts were dumb and the solutions to said conflicts were dumb. Theo would get himself in a pickle where he’d be outnumbered 100 to 1 and the brilliant solution was simply to just win. There’s a city in your way that’s ruled by an enemy lord? Just give an impassioned speech at the gates and get them to pledge their undying loyalty to you—done deal.
One thing I should mention is that this anime is bloody as hell. We’re talking decapitations, spears to faces, burning etc. Soldiers’ lives are worthless in Grancrest and they get slaughtered in droves—hence the Berserk comparison above. This doesn’t add maturity or gravity to Grancrest at all, instead it backfires. Imaging cutting between castle guards getting ruthlessly butchered and cutesy, blushing romance scenes between the MCs. It’s a schizophrenic train wreck.
This anime relies on characters’ stupid decisions, deus ex machina interventions and easy-to-fix misunderstandings to simultaneously prolong and resolve conflicts. It was very unsatisfying and failed to even answer some of the basic questions I had after episode 1 like how does magic work and what is a “crest”.
I recommend against watching this anime unless you feel like going on a brain cell safari.
