Hortensia Saga

It’s that time again for a medieval fantasy action adventure. Sorry folks. If you’re expecting the popular and long running Fire Emblem franchise to finally get its due anime adaption, looks like you’ll have to wait longer. A lot longer. Or forever. Because it is the obscure Sega’s Hortensia Saga that got adapted back in early 2021. Don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of it. Yeah, I too didn’t even know it existed until I read about animes to watch for the season. Not that I play Japanese RPGs either. So what’s new about this series? Uhm, nothing really. A peaceful kingdom being thrown into turmoil when some rebels kill off the royalty so the young ones flee, bide their time and would one day return to claim their rightful throne. Yeah… Maybe they should’ve adapted Fire Emblem instead…

Episode 1
Looks like some guy didn’t like the king of Hortensia’s reward. So he turns into a werewolf and kills him! Right before the eyes of his daughter, Princess Mariel too. At the same time, the Camellia rebels rise up to ambush and attack the guards and people of Hortensia. Fernando Albert, Maurice Baudelaire and Adelheid Olivier heard the duke of Camellia is rebelling. They go save the princess in time but Fernando fights till his last breath against the werewolf. Alfred who is Fernando’s son thought father has returned. Nope. It’s uncle Maurice. Alfred being given his father’s sword, I guess you know what that means. A brief history tells us Hortensia is blessed with fertile land and other nations always wage war for it. Thanks to its principalities of Olivier and Camellia, they stayed safe. Until Grand Duke Rugis F. Camellia revolted. With the king dead and Mariel missing, a young Prince Charlot took over the throne. Maurice resigns from his royal palace position so as to serve and train Alfred who has become the lord of his dominion. Nonnoria Folley the emotional maid is panicking that Marius is gone. He is the boy whom Maurice picked up when his village was burnt down during the rebellion. Yeah, he is depressed how things worked out. Everyone has problems. Alfred finds him and although they’re sad about their lost loved ones, they vow to do something about this and get stronger. 4 years later, Alfred with Marius as his squire, leads his troops to stop the advancing Camellia forces at the Erp Forest. When they arrive, they find all their men dead. The survivors are killed off by Roy Bachelot who is an expert archer. Alfred and Marius take on him but are inexperienced. Only with Maurice’s help, they manage to stay alive but by that time Roy has achieved what he wanted and has his troops retreat. Nonnoria glad Marius is okay (she didn’t think he was dead, did she?) and Alfred remembering father’s words to protect the things he love. Yeah. You bet he is going to get stronger and become a knight like his dad always wanted. Alfred and Marius can’t sulk forever so they have each other to rely on and move forward stronger.

Episode 2
As if you didn’t get the hint already, Marius told Mariel to cut her hair and assume another name. This is the identity she will have to live with for the rest of her life. Then as narrated, the irony despite this world has floating island and dragons, monsters are of fairytale?! Anyway, with Rugis’ uprising, monsters have been frequently appearing. After returning from an errand, Nonnoria, Marius and Qoo stop by Alfred’s family grave. Nonnoria remembers the family took her in as a maid when all her relatives died. She became close to Alfred’s sister, Bernadette since they are of the same age. However Bernadette was born with a weak body and perished when the carriage fell over a cliff. That’s why she wants to work hard and doesn’t want to lose anymore loved ones. Then they hear a couple of local kids, Doris and Conny talking about some shapeshifting monster legend in the caverns. Conny is adamant to go see it but Alfred warns him not to go as it is dangerous. You think that kid listens? So just to be safe, Alfred, Marius and Maurice head there just to check. But soon and true enough, Conny’s mom comes running to the mansion to say her son is missing. Since Nonnoria and Qoo are only around, they pack their bags to go in search. Is Nonnoria packing to migrate to another country?! Ironically, they get lost! But it leads them to Conny. Thank goodness he is okay. But they have to run from monsters! Clumsy Nonnoria is going to get owned but she does what she believes always works: Call out to Alfred! Miracle AKA plot convenience makes her wish comes true again!!! The monsters are cut down but they find themselves in a spring. Then they see a werewolf. Marius becomes paralyzed with fear seeing the werewolf who killed her father. She passes out and further flashback shows Maurice escaping with Mariel from the castle. Balthauser Dreadnaught showed them a secret way out but he himself chose to stay to protect Charlot. He warned Maurice there are parties trying to make the royal family their puppets and believes the culprit is Pope Alexis Vall d’Hebron. Ever since taking the papal throne, the king started changing in a strange way. Hence he wanted Maurice to take Mariel far away from the pope’s reach and only return when the time comes. Maurice is safe and the werewolf turns out to be an illusion. Rather, that’s the shape changing monster who reads your memories and transforms into your worst fears. Everyone heads home in one piece. That’s enough adventure for tonight.

Episode 3
With Charlot at the throne, Alexis has taken the role as his guardian. This means the church effectively rules the land and all Ecclesiastical Knights rank higher than royal knights now. Alfred and Maurice are summoned to the capital. Old friend, Georg Dalmas who is the Ecclesiastical Knights’ captain has a mission for them. 2 years ago at Petale village, a plague that seemingly turned people into stone had the entire village being quarantined. Now, there are reports of monsters looking like those people. They are to investigate to see if the cases are related. Rendezvousing with Marius, they talk about the legend about a witch casting that plague. Marius thinks it is a hogwash story the church created just to scare people into obeying their will. Upon entering Petale village they see a guy, Deflotte Danois being attacked by zombies! Resident Evil, not! Marius tries using a flower and chanting a charm (taught by Nonnoria as this legend is supposed to ward off zombies). Didn’t work. Alfred singlehandedly kills all the zombies. Deflotte assumes they are Ecclesiastical Knights and doesn’t like them. As they look around for clues, they see Deflotte praying at the grave. They realize he is a villager here. He fled a while ago but heard stories of it from his travels. He came back to mourn them. Since he doesn’t recognize the zombies, at least this is good news they aren’t villagers. Maurice believes those zombies are those demons from other worlds.

Entering the church, they read the priest’s diary. The priest is Deflotte’s father. Until his last breath, he kept praying to God. Deflotte is saddened father kept relying on God. It was the main reason they drifted apart. When mom died, talk about Deflotte taking over as priest has Deflotte leaving the village and father going so far to disown him. Suddenly Ecclesiastical Knights surround them and accuse them of trespassing. Hence they will burn them all. Deflotte gets upset that they don’t think anything of the villagers’ sacrifice. Alfred defies them since Deflotte is here to mourn. Suddenly a huge zombie pops up. I think he’s a viking… One blow enough to own all those dumb Ecclesiastical Knights. The rest fight it but it has regenerative abilities. Until Marius recites that charm that it had some effect for them to cut it down. After making his last mourning, Deflotte reads the final entry in his father’s diary that states he is the last survivor. But he was glad his son wasn’t around when this pandemic happened. Now they need to go to the capital and find out the truth about this and wonder if Georg ratted them out since those Ecclesiastical Knights know Alfred as a royal knight. Maurice also suggests Deflotte coming along with them and to become a royal knight since he has the qualities. Especially Alfred who needs people like him who are devoted to their homeland. Can he say no to that?

Episode 4
As narrated, the nation of Dayereh has long been trying to conquer Hortensia. Thanks to Camellia protecting Hortensia, they have been kept at bay. However with Rugis’ uprising, both nations now join hands against Hortensia. As Alfred and co head to the capital, they see a group of merchants massacred. Because their goods are still intact, they are not killed by robbers but monsters. Alfred stumbles into a pair Dayereh twins. He plans to take them to the next village, Varila to take care of them. Oh damn, they take a liking for him and always hide behind him. But Varila is in no shape to take them in as their corrupted lord has taken all their money and food and fled. With the townspeople left to fend for themselves, they are remodelling his residence into a church in hopes God will save them. I guess the important point to focus is that they need hope. Upon reaching the capital, they meet Bertrand de Bosque who is a squad commander of the royal knights. He and Maurice know each other and he will gladly help take the twins in to the orphanage. Deflotte and Marius are tasked to accompany them while Alfred and Maurice report to Georg. With Marius’ mind wandering about, she loses sight of the twins. Alfred and Maurice tell Georg about what happened. It seems Georg has no idea about it and can only think of a couple of people who can authorize the use of the Ecclesiastical Knights without his knowledge. Suddenly the church is being attacked by monsters. The culprit is the twins, Saria and Elva. They confront Alexis and demand him to hand over the relic. Luckily Alfred and co arrive in time but are shocked to learn the twins are the ones behind everything. The murdering of the merchants to summoning the demons and killing all these guards. They also admit they are sent under Rugis’ orders. They like Alfred and don’t want to kill him so better stay out of their way. So what if he doesn’t? I guess they’re ready to kill him then. Just when Alexis neutralizes their powers, here comes a dragon to fight them. Can they? Don’t worry. Black Knight, Didier Vialdo is on a whole different level, fighting the dragon like as though he is dancing. Eventually the twins escape via the dragon. The dragon’s true form is a hot chick named Theresia. Maurice takes note of Alexis and Didier since both are the men Georg stated who can engage the Ecclesiastical Knights without his knowledge.

Episode 5
The principality of Olivier was a great ally to Hortensia. After the death of Leon, his daughter Adelheid took over his role. However, because she opposes the church, Olivier was stripped of its title and annexed into the kingdom as one of its territories. Alfred and co are on their way to see Adelheid. They remember Georg’s words about the 2 factions within the church. Georg is under the moderates while those radicals circle around Didier who is an autocrat. With the pope promoting Didier, the balance is now threatened. Alfred talks to Adelheid about suspicious activities at Torrent River. Adelheid would love to help but she cannot act since her hands are tied. Soon, Ecclesiastical Knights led by Didier are rounding up random women. They are on a witch hunt. This is an excuse because their target is Adelheid. Knowing that she is still looking for Mariel, they accuse of her using Mariel as an accomplice in her schemes. Hence she is accused of rebellion and plotting to overthrow the kingdom. Adelheid agrees to be arrested on condition her citizens are not touched. As soon as she gets arrested, Camellia forces beach at Torrent River. Adelheid needs to stop this invasion so the arrest is put on hold for now. Both sides clash as Adelheid faces off with her sworn enemy, Roy. She swore revenge on him for playing a part in killing her father. She wants to fight him herself and doesn’t need Alfred and Marius’ help but apparently the hero needs to remind her she is important to her people. When the dragon flies over, it is signal for Camellia to retreat. They could’ve taken over Olivier had they continue but why retreat? Roy says it is to protect her. Adelheid returns to be arrested but Alfred soon realizes Roy’s words. Because Adelheid rallied her troops to victory, who will boost their morale? Because Adelheid’s actions prove she remains loyal to the kingdom, Didier agrees to release her. Though, this doesn’t clear her of suspicions. Later, we learn that Theresia told Rugis about Adelheid’s imprisonment that she saw in her vision. Hence that’s why Rugis ordered the attack. While it might seem to help Adelheid and the church won’t blindly move against her, as Adelheid still opposes the pope, having the kingdom with split factions favours Camellia.

Episode 6
Marius tells a famous legend of Juin Island whereby a stone giant protected a lost princess and returned her home. I guess Deflotte is too busy having his own beach episode than listening to her. Apparently Alfred and co are here to investigate claims of a fake Mariel. Because of that, a voluntary army led by Jim McNeil is growing stronger. Time for Mariel to do her usual speech. Damn, is this an idol meet or something? No wonder the fans are growing! You bet Marius is way embarrassed by her spunky attitude and needs to put a stop to this! Yeah, even more so a lousy stone giant performance made out of some crappy contraption. Later the people report about the church’s witch hunt for Mariel and want to strike back. This puts Mariel in a tough spot as the people worry they’ll find her here. Oh, looks like those twins are already here. Alfred and co talk to Mariel and know she is fake. Instantly Mariel comes clean. She is Marie and is putting up this show because it all started because along with Jim who is her childhood friend, love to play this. So when the people saw them, they thought they were the real deal. Because they were oppressed by the church, the duo continue this charade so as not to disappoint them. Alfred wants her to come clean so as to protect her from the witch hunt but there is the dilemma of people becoming unruly because of the lies. Speaking of them, here they come. Jim and the people thought Alfred and co are baddies so they scuffle for a while as Marius takes Marie to run. Hiding somewhere safe, more of Marie’s tales of her childhood time with Jim. Marius can understand her plight since she is somewhat in her shoes keeping a secret. So I guess hurting the ones close to you is worse than protecting the masses? Hence Jim and Marie gather everyone as they make their confession. As expected, the crowd becomes unruly because they have been lied to. Suddenly the crappy stone giant moves to attack them. Courtesy of the twins. Time to have fun. Seeing Jim protecting Marie, the people rise up to fight back. They manage to destroy the machine but it is going to fall on Marius. The real stone giant protects her?! Or so it seems? The twins loses interest and leave. In the aftermath, Alfred will put a good word in their report. Jim and Marie decide to start afresh helping this island and if they ever need their help one day, they’ll be glad to return the favour.

Episode 7
Alfred and co investigate Cocon Village since it supplies Hortensia with herbs but rumours say it has now turned into a ghost town. Upon arriving, Ecclesiastical Knights are seen guarding the entrance and shooing visitors away, claiming the village is flooded. Deflotte who came here before, knows a way to sneak in. Looks like a pretty normal village. They meet an ex-priest, Adel who tells them that the church suddenly took control of Cocon 2 years ago. Adel was sent to Petale when the plague was rampant but he got scared and abandoned the people. He is now here to atone his sins. He shows them the local hospital that is heavily guarded and believes people are being experimented upon by the plague inside there. The rest are shock to hear this but apparently there are many other places where there were outbreaks but the rumours died down and those afflicted went missing. Adel can show them a secret pathway to get in from the sewers but Alfred is hesitant. He thinks of reporting to Georg first. However Marius thinks he is scared of the church and there will be people dead if they delay this. Alfred then has to explain about his position, the reason why he cannot easily raise his sword. If he gets charged, he will be stripped of his land and title, his people will be under the control of the church. That’s why he can’t move carelessly. This has Marius rethink her thoughts about what she can do for him. Inside the sewer, Qoo ironically fears the undead. Isn’t she a spirit herself? Anyway, true enough, zombie attack!!! Luckily they’re easily dealt with. The gang is shocked to see scores of sick people lying around. They are afflicted and waiting to die. They have to hide since somebody is coming but Deflotte gets knocked down by Gaston. This huge guy who swings a cannonball like a lasso? Adel recognizes Dr Graff who is the hospital’s doctor. Seems this guy is doing experiments and claims he is only giving people drugs so as not to feel pain. Also, this is all an order from the pope. Deflotte wants the rest to escape and report back but seeing how he got owned by Gaston (big guy doesn’t feel any pain too), you bet Marius can’t let him die alone and goes to support him. What a waste because Alfred too comes out of his hiding. Now he realizes protecting his domain isn’t the only thing, but his friends too. That power is enough for the trio to defeat Gaston. Before Alfred could arrest them, here is Didier. Alfred wants to arrest him but he easily knocks them down. Because of that, he realizes Marius’ true identity. He claims her as the witch of this plague and accuses the guys as her conspirators. Arrest them.

Episode 8
Oh Alfred, regretting that you shouldn’t be in this cell? Should’ve thought about that before you got captured. He thought Lucan de Luch who was a captain of the royal knights would hear him out but looks like he is in charge of this prison as he tells them that the witch will be executed. As Marius rues for dragging everyone into this mess, we see her Mariel counterpart being confronted by Charlot. She claims she has been trying to keep this kingdom safe. However he asks why didn’t she come to save him then? Why did she leave him all alone? Please help. Trauma level shooting up. I guess it’s time to wake up for her interrogation. Can’t wreck her pretty face so Didier excuses the torturers as he knows well she is Mariel. He then lets her know the truth and unlocks her memories. After her mom died, her father dabbled in some forbidden magic in trying to bring her back. That is when Hortensia fell. So everything that has happened was because of him. Didier caught Mariel peeking around and sealed her memories. Now that Mariel feels so bad, I guess she’s going to accept her death sentence. Meanwhile Alfred and Deflotte manage to escape because 2 stupid guards were only escorting them?! THEY SHOULD’VE KNOWN BETTER!!! But more guards come. How? Here comes Maurice! Damn, an old dude is enough to turn the odds into their favour many times fold?! Maurice stalls Lucan to let the rest go rescue Mariel. Wow. See them rush (they even got dressed?!) as Alfred rushes in time to barge into the execution area, kill some guards and throw his sword to cut the rope! Great f*cking convenience! Now Alfred has to fight Didier. Yeah, he is going to lose at this rate but he doesn’t care. As long as he can rescue his page. But that won’t happen because Bertrand, Adelheid and her Olivier army as well as the Juin folks are here to help! How? Adel ran around Hortensia on his horse to call for help. Damn, Hortensia must be a small place! But how does he know Alfred’s allies?! Anyway, a big brawl. Reminds me of One Piece’s war of the best whereby pirates vs marines trying to save Ace. Yeah. That. Lucan has now turned over a new leaf as he fights against Didier. He isn’t alone as he has Adelheid and Maurice. When Alfred finally saves Mariel, Didier escapes. Mariel still sad he risked his life for all this. Well, she’s still family, right? Back home, Mariel reveals the truth about herself but still feels useless she didn’t do anything but caused everyone trouble. Cue for Alfred to tell about his dad’s great words to be a knight. Because Alfred pledges his sword to protect her.

Episode 9
With Mariel’s survival spreading throughout the land, more and more people are joining the liberation army to fight against the church. Mariel is uncomfortable with Alfred calling her and as a princess and wants him to remain calling her as Marius. But she punishes Deflotte for all the rudeness he did on her. And that is by making him serve as her knight. Nonnoria who is sick of being left alone, wants to join in this fight. Being too dangerous this time isn’t going to cut it. Hence she shows off her archery skills that Maurice has taught her. Okay. You can come this time. They receive a message from Adelheid. She brings them to the small home of Lacroix. Mariel is instantly put asleep as Adelheid assures them no harm will come to Mariel. Lacroix is actually a witch. So that isn’t just an excuse cooked up by the church to get rid of inconvenient people? To be precise, witches are actually the guardians of the Magonia lore (those ancient fairytales the people of the land somewhat believe). Lacroix was peddling medicines until she crossed paths with the church and is now seeking refuge in this place in Olivier. Mariel dreams of everyone celebrating her birthday. Happy times become sad times as we see her mom die and her father using a relic to revive her. Lacroix explains this all powerful relic can make your deepest wishes come true if you can control its power. Hence the real truth behind witch hunts is to take the Magonia relics. Mariel is tempted to use the relic to change all the tragedy into the happy future that should have been. However Alfred stops her because he is confident that she can guide others to more happiness. With that, she rejects the temptation and returns to reality. She has passed Lacroix’s trial. Noting that the pope has the relic, they have to get it away from him. Theresia sees a vision of the upcoming battle at the capital and a certain someone dying. Because she is too weak from all the visions, Rugis will take care of it. Mariel rallies the liberation army to fight for the true peace. As they march towards the capital, they are surprised to see Camellia forces doing the same. However the Dayereh twins draw first blood by attacking the liberation army. Let’s have some bloodshed fun!

Episode 10
Flegel Dreadnought who is Balthauser’s grandson offers his squad to go into battle against the rebels. In exchange, he hopes the pope will consider his earlier request. The pope agrees and will even lend him his elite Paladin Corps. Before the twins could have fun, they are stopped by Roy. Initially they don’t want to listen to him nor do they care about the plans. Until he mentions their actions will put Theresia in danger. Yeah, they’ll be (reluctant) good twins now. Roy apologizes to Alfred that this is not part of their plan. He also promises not to take any hostile action against the Mariel’s forces. Shortly, Paladin Corps start attacking. With guns! Don’t worry. It’s not semi-auto or anything. Just muskets. Because of the reloading time, this allows Alfred and co to defeat them. They then discuss about these guns in which Adelheid mentions she saw them in secret reports. This means the Ecclesiastical Knights should have them as well. As for Camellia, although they are also fighting against the church, as long as they don’t get in their way, they’ll just let them be. It seems Flegel sent the recon squad to test out the muskets and expected them to die. But learning that Alfred is commanding the front, it’s time for him to settle the score. The decisive battle is now at Racines River. Alfred’s side are shocked to see Balthauser’s squad against them. But they don’t see that old fart around except Flegel. Has something happened to him? The plan to cross the bridge begins with Bertrand and Deflotte pushing huge slabs of rocks for the musket users to take pot shots at. Yeah, because nobody notices Alfred’s side flanking them by crossing the river! The river isn’t that wide nor deep?! HOW COULD FLEGEL NOT SEE THIS?! Yeah, too drunk on his visions of victory. With Olivier’s archers providing support, the rebel army is winning. Flegel tries to snipe at Alfred but Roy takes out his musket. As Alfred predicted, Camellia forces have come to their aid.

Flegel’s side is losing heavily as his men suggests a retreat but he is stubborn to stay on and fight as he goes crazy revealing he has sacrificed Balthauser to get here. Blaming Alfred, Flegel thinks he has a brilliant idea. Uh huh. Challenge Alfred in person! How the f*ck did Alfred and co did not see Flegel sneaking up and attacking?! Oh yeah. Social distancing while discussing. As both guys engage their sword duel, Flegel complains about his own predicament how he is often compared to Alfred. However Alfred has everything ended to him unlike Flegel who has been called a disgrace. In short, Flegel is just jealous, right? Yeah, what privilege is he talking about? In the end, he loses. But wonder why he isn’t scared? Because he has a secret gun! Damn, Alfred fast enough to deflect the bullet and cut it?! WOW!!! Now you scared, Flegel? But he’s still blaming Alfred. Mariel steps in to explain the truth that Alfred had to climb out of despair after losing everything to protect everyone. Can he do that? So they just leave him to think instead of asking him to join? I think they know he is a jerk and won’t learn. Because just as asshole Flegel thinks of a cowardly attack from the back, a soldier comes up to him and shoots him! But this is all within expectations of the pope who believed he did his role in buying them time. Because now it’s time for the relic to be ready.

Episode 11
The rebel army barge into the capital. Everyone is glad to see Balthauser still alive. He apologizes for all that has happened and failed in his duties but for now Mariel has him take control of his old squad. Charging deeper into the capital, they are faced with Ecclesiastical Knights under Georg’s command. Maurice fights him so as to force out of him why he has been the pope’s dog all this while. On the other hand, Didier fights Alfred, Mariel, Deflotte and Adelheid. He’s still too good for them. Mariel trying to ask him why he is fighting for the pope and if this is what he feels? Is this some reverse psychology? If feelings were important turning the tide of the battle, I guess battles could be won so easily. Didier remains steadfast in protecting the pope and continues to own everyone. Until he is about to kill Mariel. Alfred jumps to protect her. He gonna die? And suddenly, WTF magic produced by Mariella?! Just some light show, huh? Enough distraction so that Alfred can stick it deep into his chest. A heavily injured Didier retreats.

With the Ecclesiastical Knights rounded up, Georg reveals why he stayed with the pope. He once studied clergyman with him but along the way, he realized how crooked and twisted he was. In the shadows, he killed those who do not agree with him. Because he is so revered and adored by many others, Georg realized he couldn’t abandon those who were innocent and pure but were blindly loyal to him. So that’s the reason? Oh wow. How many pure and innocent Ecclesiastical Knights have died now? Meanwhile the pope has finally gotten the power he needs for the relic. It seems he has gathered all the hatred from the people for this power. Flashback reveals his dying mom told him that she once lived by the king’s side. He then blamed the king for abandoning his mom and hence began his path for revenge against the Hortensia royalty. Mariel and the rest discuss in sneaking in to take down the pope. Doing that means the Ecclesiastical Knights will surrender and avoid any more bloodshed. They are after all the same people under the kingdom of Hortensia. Balthauser shows them a secret underground path for royals to use during emergencies. Meanwhile Rugis and the Dayereh twins also sneak in. He doesn’t want them to kill but to look for the relic. Of course the twins have this ulterior motive of not giving it to him if they find it first. Alfred and co trudge the underground sewers. Oh dear. Zombies! Deflotte stays back to fight them because apparently, he wants hot chicks to cry over his heroic death. Yeah. Whatever. You guys just get going. In the castle, the gang find it strange there are no guards everywhere. Adelheid parts ways because she heard somebody calling her. Turns out to be Leon, zombie version! Likewise, the rest are shocked to see Fernando, zombie version!

Episode 12
4 years ago when the king failed to revive his queen, Alexis told him the relic’s main source is the strength of the people’s hopes and wishes. And because he is well known hero throughout the land, he suggested to make him angry in order to invoke that power. So as Rugis pleased to the king to lend more of his support to fight against the Dayereh, the king then accused him of being useless and brought up rumours of his plot to overthrow the kingdom. He is then arrested but the last straw is when he ordered to burn everything down in Camelia. Rugis became overwhelmed with anger and it is that power that turned him into a werewolf which he is unaware of and slaughtered everyone. Looks like Alfred and Adelheid could hear the voices of their fathers. They want to be killed so as to go in peace as their bodies are now being controlled by Alexis. After all that reminiscing and resolve, I guess it’s finally time to put them to rest. Goodbye, fathers. And just like that, that is how you exorcist a spirit too! Maurice has received fatal damage from the fight so he lets the young ones move forward. Want to spend some time with Fernando, eh? Heck, you’ll be spending time with him from now on!!! HAHAHA!! Oops… Oh dear… RIP Maurice :’(.

In the hall, they stumble into Charlot. How the f*ck does this kid recognize his older sister whom he has not seen for years?! Anyway, looks like he is no longer brainwashed so he gets out of the way so Alfred and Mariel can fight Alexis. Pope reveals he is behind all this just to unite the people with a common enemy. Of course that is all BS since he further reveals it is to make himself ruler of the land as his ultimate revenge against the royal family who treated his mom like a plaything. Oh my, the irony of a man of God summoning demon powers to fight. Damn, he’s a hot sexy demon babe now?! How can mortals fight him?! Oh. That weird light power from Mariel helps imbue Alfred’s sword with something. But all that isn’t enough yet as Rugis is here to settle the score. He has not forgotten that anger 4 years ago and everything he did was an act that led up to this. With Rugis’ help, Alfred and Mariel defeat Alexis. Rugis and Mariel talk about the relic that must be eliminated from this world. But he feels ashamed to fight alongside Mariel after years of seemingly betrayal. Oh damn, Alexis still alive and mocking at this pathetic scene? With the sky turning red, Rugis demands the relic but Alexis says it is no longer here. It is now with Didier as it belongs to him in the first place. Didier escapes and Rugis soon turns into a werewolf. Alexis gets killed by him and as Alfred fights him, he too gets killed! OMFG! Rugis escapes. Dying Alfred lies in Mariel’s arms. Lots of emotional talk. Don’t die, please. Okay then. Let’s go home. Next thing we know, Mariel ascends the throne as queen as she addresses her kingdom to return its future that it was supposed to have. So all those dead still alive? Including Alfred?! However Lacroix notes that in actuality, Mariel has committed a taboo. She invoked her secret power that revived things and has not realized that Alfred has actually died. So… A demon is inhabiting Alfred?!

Hortensia, Here’s A Coup!
Holy Horten-sh*t?! WHAT THE F*CK?! And here I was thinking the final episode was being so rushed that I was expecting a generic and typical happy ending. Yeah, I was ready to dump sh*t on that. Perhaps they knew I was going to do that so they surprised me with this even weirder route that opens up a hell lot of possibilities. Heck, a hell lot of can of worms. Because with such a cliff-hanger ending, so much more questions are thrown up in the air. Like what the hell is really Mariel’s power. Or what actually happened to Didier or his goal. What about the rest of the characters? Like as though they were just throwing in ideas for the final episode and just winging it and this was what they came up with. Oh well. I am not sure if they want to make us who are curious to continue finding out by playing the game. But with my somewhat bitter sentiments at this point, I’m just going to pretend that all this sh*t ever happened and continue living my life. Yeah, the power of me not giving a sh*t is much more powerful than any Magonia lore here!

Story wise, it feels pretty generic and nothing special. In today’s era where we’ve come a long way from all the tried and tested, despite the story about revenge and coming of age has been used and done to death, it all depends on how well the story is told. Unfortunately for this series, it just sounds pretty plain and boring even though overall it is not that all bad. We just needed something stronger than your usual rightful heir to the throne returning to take their rightful place trope. Like I said, it is not that bad and the plot itself is just rather okay. But looking back in hindsight, I wasn’t really impressed either. Basically the entire Hortensia Saga is just one big complicated civil war if you think about it. Uh huh. Not only they have to fight off the threat of an ally turned enemy, now they have to fight against the corrupted church that is having stranglehold on the nation. So it’s a multi-way battle for the future of the kingdom. Of course the cliff-hanger ending that opens up a lot of possibilities especially they have to deal with demons and now. It’s a bit too late now, isn’t it?

Making it all feel a bit weirder is that there isn’t much of magic in play. You’d expect that there would be some sort of sorcery and witchcraft involved but that feels very sparring throughout the series. So it’s just one big typical medieval setting and magic only comes to play whenever the plot convenience commands it. Therefore I’m not too sure if I should be feeling disappointed or not since well, this is a fantasy genre so it could be also my fault for putting up such expectations in this magic department. And not to say that I love the subject of magic in the first place. Sheesh. Oh yeah. Demons in the end. Possible. Mariel trying to fix reality via her magic seems so much like rushed BS. Just saying…

As for the characters, lots of mixed feelings but overall if I have to be honest, they’re pretty meh and cliché. For instance, Alfred and Mariel FKA Marius are your typical main characters and heroes of the series. Feels pretty boring if you’ve seen what they’ve went through so far to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. Alfred, the son of a slain hero continues to uphold all his values and justice because as a noble, that is what is expected of him. Pretty good for a guy. But pretty boring. Mariel, the princess who goes into hiding and waiting till the day till she could take back what’s rightfully stolen from her. Pretty sympathetic for a young girl to go through such a trauma. But pretty boring as well.

Hence for most of the part when she was masquerading as Marius, I always keep asking how the heck she managed to keep her gender hidden. I mean, if they are boys around the same age, wouldn’t they like at least take baths together?! Unless Alfred is so goody two shoes that the thought of bathing together with his own page is embarrassing. I know this is convenient to help conceal Mariel’s identity, but it is just mind boggling when you think about it that nobody else especially Alfred who has been living the closest to her couldn’t even tell. It is safe to say that Alfred has never seen Marius with her shirt off! And that is just pretty weird when you think about that as they’ve been living together for so many years. So their relationship is just pretty wholesome, huh? I guess that dispels the need for any unnecessary romance building up. Yeah, who got time for romance when the kingdom is under threat? So despite as weird as all that may seem, a reason why it makes their relationship and dynamism feel so boring. Now to think that Alfred is really dead, it really changes the whole ball game and it really sucks to think that he might be a different person and poor Mariel not knowing it. So that opening credits thingy where Alfred disappears in the end and leaving Mariel/Marius alone was some kind of foreshadowing?! The more I think, the more confusion and dislike building up in me. Sheesh. Thank goodness no relic here to gather my hate.

Other characters not really impressed either. We’ve got Deflotte who is a bit crude and coarse because with Alfred and Marius/Mariel being so wholesome, it was going to be as boring as f*ck. Even so, Deflotte’s uncouth personality still feels a lot tame compared to other crude and rude characters I’ve seen in other animes. I guess he is not of royal lineage so he isn’t knowledgeable about all the elegant royal protocols and the likes. Then there’s Maurice the guardian and father figure of the young ones whom he looks after. Lost his brother, lost an eye, then lost the other eye, before losing his life. Heh. Pretty okay dude but because he isn’t main character, pretty forgettable. Not as forgettable as Nonnoria whom I feel is written as a joke character. But not entirely one either since it is such a waste to turn a cute maid so. Hence she is more like a clumsy character for those who have this sort of fetish and her constant whining of always being left alone, well, what do you expect? You’re a maid! And hence she learnt some fighting skills so she could go with them into battle. Loneliness problem solved! And also there’s Qoo. The most useless animal mascot ever. I don’t even remember what this little magic creature does except just to provide some minimal screen time cuteness. Qoo can actually be 100% done without in this show. His existence is so that we won’t be shocked if we see other mythical creatures like dragons. Other characters fighting alongside Mariel also feel forgettable. Just to show us that our princess has lots of people who are still loyal to her. From Bertrand to Lucan to Balthauser and even the Juin Island duo. They don’t really matter in the end.

Rugis initially has been casted as the bad guy seeing he went against tradition and betrayed the kingdom he is supposed to serve. But of course as we see through the minimal snippets, there is something more than meets the eye and that he might not be the actual villain to boot. Yeah, when you have handsome guys like Roy on his side, it is one of those giveaways that tell us such enemy isn’t actually the real enemy. Too bad Rugis now has the infamy of being the guy who took away Mariel’s loved ones. Twice! As the focus is mainly on the Hortensia side, there are many things we are unsure of from the Camellia side. Like, who this Theresia babe is and the reason Camellia teamed up with Dayereh. It’s sad we can’t find out more about them due to the direction of where this anime headed. The same can be said for Olivier but since they are on Hortensia’s side, we don’t really give a hoot so Adelheid as their sole representative (in terms of characters) would suffice.

For now, the true antagonist is the pope and he has made very minimal appearances throughout the series. We are given a short glimpse of why he turned evil but I doubt that would make us feel sympathetic for what he has done or planning to do. I suppose it is to avoid turning him into a one-dimensional villain by attaching his own short back story and past. My guess his revenge against the Hortensia royalty isn’t just the death of the royalty. Because he would’ve just killed Charlot as he is just so close to him. Queen is dead. King is dead. Princess is missing. What fun would his revenge be if he just easily killed of the prince? So turn him into a puppet and do whatever bidding as he tries to unlock the secrets of the relic. With Charlot so dead on the throne, sometimes I think he is actually dead already! Hey, there are zombies in this series, right?! It’s a good thing they killed Alexis off. Less one headache to worry about. Unless he comes back in zombie form! Oh God!

Sometimes I feel the dangerous one is Didier because up till the very end, I still can’t understand how he thinks. The way he talks feels like he has an ulterior motive. His loyalty to the pope is only because he is hiding a hidden agenda of his own and would unleash it when the right time comes. I mean, look at all his actions taken against the heroes throughout the season. He could’ve actually finished them but he couldn’t. Like as though he’s waiting for something… But it could be just me overthinking. And due to the ending, I’m beginning to even question his identity. Because he never takes off his mask, I am wondering if he is actually a demon to begin with. I mean, strange teleporting ability, being nearly fatally harmed by Mariel’s light magic and the relic belongs to him. Don’t you think all that is suspicious? But it could be just me overthinking again. Hence nobody is a more straight and direct sleazebag than Flegel because he is really one-dimensional despicable and it’s a good thing he was rid of after just a single episode appearance.

The action scenes are just passable. After all, it is war between the nations and since there are no machine guns, you’ll have to do with a lot of melee attacks and at most, archers. Hack and slash! Hack and slash! Archers to the fore! Pretty generic especially when you see skirmishes from troops of opposing sides. Even Alfred’s sword skills are just pretty meh. From the way he fights his enemies, it looks like he needs more training. But I guess it would’ve been weird if he started chanting some strange magic move that would give him the edge over his opponents. Yeah, imagine Alfred shouting “Bankai!”!!! Oops, wrong anime! But you get the point. That’s why you have other characters wielding different weapons for some visual variety like Deflotte with his lance, Maurice with his axe and Adelheid with her spear. It’s not surprising there are a few blood scenes, blood spilled from the battle but if you’re going to get squirmy seeing such, you’re in the wrong show because Barney & Friends may be the show you’re looking for.

Art and animation are pretty standard too. Good looking characters and their military outfits feel like it is more for aesthetic purpose than for fighting. Yeah, how do you fight in those really good looking garbs? I don’t know, but they did. Yeah, got to look bright and colourful in this dull medieval world, no? My personal peeve is that Marius’ uniform actually looks better than Mariel’s current one. I don’t know, it makes her character look a lot better and respectable because come Mariel, it feels like her princess outfit is like a nightwear that she uses to go to bed for? It just doesn’t feel right. I guess it is to show that Marius and Mariel are both different genders. I don’t know how this could fool the characters in the series because Marius looked pretty girly to me from the start. Pretty boy face then, huh? It’s a shame no such bromance started with Alfred because this kid is just too wholesome. No wonder this series is so boring!!! The mid-intermission shows map locations of certain places in the continent but I doubt it would prove anything useful unless you’re really interested in the geography of the land.

CGI is also used but they are mostly used on the foot soldiers. Although it is not that bad but it is quit noticeable. Which brings me to the topic of how these foot soldiers from all the kingdoms look pretty much the same! Are they freaking clones?! Yeah, everybody sports the same moustache! OMFG! I know uniformity is a must in military units but I can’t believe they all have the same moustache style too!!! Yeah, Hortensia’s king may be dabbling with the dead but is the military dabbling with cloning techniques?! No wonder so many foot soldiers died and nobody gives a hoot about them. They’re just clones anyway. This series is done by Lidenfilms who seems to be picking up steam with a few projects in 2021 like Urasekai Picnic, Hataraku Saibou Black, Tateoba Last Dungeon… (name too long for a lazy me to type), Sayonara Watashi No Cramer, Tokyo Revengers and Seven Knights Revolution: Eiyuu No Keishousha, after being mostly in hibernation mode during the 2020 pandemic.

For the voice acting, it’s nice to hear Yui Horie playing a major role again after many years of on and off roles. As Marius/Mariel, she still hasn’t lost that trademark voice of hers. The many others I recognized are Yuu Kobayashi as Adelheid, Kenjirou Tsuda as Maurice, Kana Asumi as Lacroix, Takehito Koyasu as Fernando and Bertrand, Tomokazu Sugita as Flegel, Takahiro Sakurai as Lucan, Shizuka Itou as Marie, Tetsuya Kakihara as Leon, Shigeru Chiba as Graff and Kikuko Inoue as Hortensia’s queen. Rie Kugimiya as the Dayereh twins suspiciously remind me of yet another twin roles that she helmed. Remember those dastardly twins in Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle? Yup. Almost an exact situation. I wonder if there’s a conspiracy behind this. Because Charlot doesn’t have much lines, I failed to see it was Miyuki Sawashiro behind the character.

The other casts are Yoshimasa Hosoya as Alfred (Reiner in Shingeki No Kyojin), Yuichiro Umehara as Deflotte (Courier in Akudama Drive), Shuuichi Ikeda as Didier (Shanks in One Piece), Kenji Nomura as Rugis (Ushiyama in Golden Kamuy), Kazuma Horie as the pope (Rusty Rose in Fairy Tail), Takaya Hashi as Balthauser (Inuarashi in One Piece), Takuya Eguchi as Roy (Hikigaya in Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machigatteiru), Atsuki Tani as Georg (Stolz in Majin Bone), Reina Ueda as Nonnoria (Akane in SSSS.Gridman), Aya Uchida as Qoo (Kotori in Love Live), Toshiyuki Morikawa as Jim and Adel (Julius in Black Clover), Yuka Ootsubo as Theresia and Bernadette (Kyouko in YuruYuri).

The opening theme is Leader by My First Story. A dramatic rock piece that fits the kind of genre this series is but too bad, I didn’t quite like it that much. Another rock outfit for the ending theme, Yasou To Hakuchuumu by Mafumafu. Didn’t really like this one either. Yui Horie shows her singing chops for the special ending in episode 8, Veil. Couldn’t hear the song properly since that episode didn’t have a proper ending credits and there were conversations that overlap with the song. So had to sample it from YouTube. Has some great strings in it to add some drama and emotions to the song.

Overall, the series had some potential but trying to adapt something from a game into just a dozen episodes, I can see why many felt disappointed since it tried to pack and rush a lot of materials into a single season. Though, I won’t go so far to say that it could have been better had it took its time and flesh things out via double cour. Especially that weird cliff-hanger ending that just feels so weird and unacceptable after all that we’ve seen. Once more it shows how hard it is to adapt something from one source that has a lot more stuffs which includes interaction and decisions from the player, into something condensed that only turns you into a spectator. It is sad that the adaptation has turned into something average and run of the mill. Nothing really extraordinary. Not sure if this impacted the game but at least it did bring some exposure since we are well aware this was adapted from there. Although I do not regret watching this and it isn’t a total disaster, but at the end of it all and thinking in retrospect, I just wished it could’ve been slightly better. Like how, you ask? Oh, maybe monsters from another dimension dropping in to invade and hence everybody puts aside their differences and work together to fight the phantom menace! And Mariel a descendent of angels remembering her true power as she restores the land and the people she loves! Generic! Crap! Fail! No wonder they didn’t hire me to write the story. And that’s why I also understand why Fire Emblem won’t be getting any anime adaptation soon. Or forever.