How would you rate episode 5 of
Romelia War Chronicle ?
It's fascinating that we begin this week's Romelia War Chronicle with a flashback to happier times with the Prince and his party during the campaign against the Demon King. I had assumed that the “rejected by the prince” setup was exactly that: A formulaic starting point to kick off Romelia's true adventure. It isn't like there seemed to be much love lost when Romelia finally went her separate ways from her former fiancé, after all, and neither he nor his new belle Elizabeth have factored into the story again since the premiere. Here, though, we see that Romelia and Henri really did share a connection back in the day, and he was even openly appreciative of the tactical advantages she was able to provide by consulting from the sidelines. Elizabeth's arrival frames her as much more of a scheming nemesis than I would have expected, too. It's another choice that exemplifies how good this series is at trusting its audience and letting the story play out in its due time. Even now that the show is opening up more with Romelia's inner monologue and flashbacks to key moments from her past, our heroine is shaded by just the right degree of elusiveness for where we are in the narrative.
In the present day, Romelia and her troops are still fighting to survive against the horde of lizardmen we met last week. Ray, in particular, is shaken up over the way his incompetence led to Al getting Yamcha'd into the dirt. We know that Administrator Serbeck is drooling over the possibility that Romelia's company will get completely wiped out, too, so it isn't like our heroes can expect any reinforcements to come and save the day. Once again, our outmanned and outmatched warriors have their backs against the wall, and it will take all the quick thinking and willpower they have to make it out of the woods alive. If that isn't a great premise for a TV episode, then I don't have any idea what a good one could be.
Thankfully, for all of the men under Romelia's command, our heroine continues to demonstrate a keen aptitude for getting her men out of a jam, but good. She may not be the best fighter, or the most experienced commander, but she possesses that innate skill for motivating and communicating with her men so that they will listen, which essentially counts for 90% of the success of any leader worth their salt. She's also good for the ten percent of the time that a firmer hand is required. As Al learns from painful firsthand experience, Romelia is going to get her men out of this battle intact, even if she has to hold them down and force disgusting healing herbs down their throats until they are blue in the face.
It's not just about having the skills to convince people to do things they would otherwise consider reckless and suicidal, either. Ray's lesson of the week is to trust that one major screw-up isn't going to be enough to convince Romelia to send him off to die on the front lines as a matter of principle. The woman truly believes in her plans and her ability to keep her men alive. Now, it could very well be that Romelia War Chronicle is using this episode to set up some truly impossible choices that Romelia will have to make down the line. Sure, a guy like me can play Fire Emblem with the Permadeath option turned on, but that's only because I know I will restart the level from scratch the moment any of my units take a critical hit. Romelia doesn't have that luxury. While I like that Ray gets the chance to prove himself this week without becoming a Redshirt Fillet, the sadistic part of me is hoping that the story will start to put the screws to Romelia and her men in a much bloodier fashion before too long.
Until then, I can be perfectly satisfied with triumphant victories and the sudden unlocking of narratively convenient spellcasting skills for our knights. I knew that it was very unlikely that Al and Ray would eat it this early in the story; they have, after all, been blessed with the gift of having uniquely colored hair that sets them apart from the other soldiers in the background. Plus, with the production values being a touch more consistent this week, the spectacle of victory against the dino-douchebags is a welcome one (even if the show still isn't going to be winning any awards for its animation anytime soon). Five weeks into the season, I can safely say that Romelia War Chronicle is in it for the long haul. This continues to be a very fun and well-written fantasy adventure that deserves an audience.
Romelia War Chronicle is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.