Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

[MFauli]

I´m happy about what happened. Ranta is the best character in this anime, so him getting the spot light at the end was nice. I fully expect him to survive, maybe even defeat Dead Spots. He WILL activate his demon summon, since it was hyped up over the course of the entire show. If it takes this long to go into effect, it´s not unrealistic to be able to defeat a strong foe like Dead Spots.

Now I just hope the others give Haru some shit for leaving a comrade :P

And Shihoru should totally become Ranta´s cumdump, now that he´ll have proven himself a hero. Look at how she grabbed his hand when he offered her help. Totally a couple, I tell you! :P

[Kraco]

This was one of the better episodes. Even the typical Grimgar-slow part in the beginning made sense when the undead appeared. After all, we hadn't seen, especially of late, too much of Mary's old crew, so if the ghouls had simply walked in without such an introduction, the effect would have been a fraction of what it was. The crazed giant kobold was also very nice. Naturally the best part was Ranta's. Like I have been saying, one can be a functional member of a team of adventurers without being all buddy-buddy with everybody else. This episode was a perfect example of it.

I have a feeling Ranta won't die. Of course he still might since this series in general is going for quite a nihilistic or pessimistic view of the life of monster hunters, but perhaps he won't. It just seems to me that between Manato and Mary's past, the old deaths are still carrying their effect, so a new one isn't necessarily needed right now.

[shinta|hikari]

Like I have been saying, one can be a functional member of a team of adventurers without being all buddy-buddy with everybody else. This episode was a perfect example of it.

That isn't what happened though. Ranta actually behaved like a proper team member this time.

Not only did he help his non-friend up to her feet and try to give advice to Haru, he even risked his life to save him.

So either Haru's lecture actually worked, or Ranta is a tsundere. Maybe all Ranta's blathering and dumb ass replies were all just a cover for his insecurities, but he never really meant any of them. Maybe he wants to be friends with everyone but is just too clumsy/shy to admit it.

If he really were an ass, he would've abandoned Haru or complained when he fell, but he did neither.

[Kraco]

It's exactly what happened as far as I can see. I have no idea why you think you can't work with somebody unless he's your friend. The world is full of people who do. Armed forces are full of people who risk their lives to save mere coworkers or total strangers, not best buddies.

Of course you might also be correct and he's just a terrible tsundere, but there's little evidence of it yet. Since this is anime, based on a light novel, that's quite a high possibility, but I do hope it's not the case. It would be refreshing if "I'm not here to make friends but work and earn money" was, for once, genuine. If this anime had continued for a longer time, I also wouldn't have minded at all if Ranta had found a bunch of people more like his own dark knight kind and switched groups immediately, becoming friends with those others. That would also have been realistic, just like the extreme difficulty of combat and losing members.

[shinta|hikari]

I have no idea why you think you can't work with somebody unless he's your friend.

I never said this. Sigh. I explicitly noted instances where Ranta behaved very poorly as a team member. I never said he needed to be friends with his teammates. What he needed to do was treat them with respect, which he did in this episode.

Of course you might also be correct and he's just a terrible tsundere, but there's little evidence of it yet.

Except he gave advice and just risked his life to save the guy he was supposed to have intentionally "friendly fired." Plus he didn't seem to mind getting left behind for the team. Plus he helped a fellow member to her feet, something he did not have to do, and is a sign of camaraderie.

In short, Ranta acted completely un-Ranta-like this episode, for some reason or another. Even Haru said so. Heck, I bet everyone watching was surprised when he did. Heck, I'm sure it was intentional by the author...

[Kraco]

Except he gave advice and just risked his life to save the guy he was supposed to have intentionally "friendly fired." Plus he didn't seem to mind getting left behind for the team. Plus he helped a fellow member to her feet, something he did not have to do, and is a sign of camaraderie.

In short, Ranta acted completely un-Ranta-like this episode, for some reason or another. Even Haru said so. Heck, I bet everyone watching was surprised when he did. Heck, I'm sure it was intentional by the author...

I fully disagree. He doesn't like it when somebody comes between him and his prey. That's why he may friendly fire. The others should have noticed that ages ago. The other things you mentioned are normal teamwork. Of course for some matters his degree of teamwork will depend on the level of danger they are facing. When they are hunting some weak goblins or kobolds, he likes to fight alone and especially deal the finishing blow alone because his class requires that. However, when the tables are turned and they are being hunted by an overpowering foe, it makes sense he would rely on the team more. There's no contradiction there. The only problem might be that there has never really been a single scene in this show where those people would have really discussed about their individual goals and roles. Add to that the fact that whenever Ranta opens his mouth, the others will are already sighing and wondering what idiocy they are going to hear this time. So, it's no wonder the team stays more like a lose collection of adventurers than a solid military unit.

Besides, even if he's dark knight, he's still a knight.

[shinta|hikari]

The knight comment makes no sense. Haru is a thief, but he never steals anything.

Well, risking your life to save others is a very selfless act, not something you'd do for someone you don't give a shit about. I'm willing to bet Ranta is just a socially awkward softie, but we'll see.

You gotta admit that most of what comes out of Ranta's mouth is nonsense, so I can't blame anyone for not listening to him.

[NeoCybercoin]

Guessing Rant will survive after being buried and forgotten by the kobolds. And as far as I can remember his 'demon' isn't something people can see but instead tells him where enemies are and that it can take over his body. Think that said that in the earlier episodes. I believe Yume said the demon was nicer than him.

[shinta|hikari]

I remember something like that.

I don't get Haru's plan though. They plan to go around to save Ranta, but isn't Ranta cornered by Kobolds right there? What would going around to another well help?

What they should always bring with them is a rope... You know, like the one Yume uses for her hobby.

[MFauli]

You gotta admit that most of what comes out of Ranta's mouth is nonsense, so I can't blame anyone for not listening to him.

Disagree. Ranta says things that a real person would say. Admittedly, he doesn´t know what´s really going on, but I´d say going out to slay monsters every day, accepting that fate, and only thinking about slowly getting by with the money you earn from doing that, is more nonsense than talking about girls and boobs and whatever.

Also, as I said, I totally foresaw Ranta doing all he did in this episode, so you´re wrong here, too :P

[Kraco]

You gotta admit that most of what comes out of Ranta's mouth is nonsense, so I can't blame anyone for not listening to him.

Yeah, it's naturally fully his own fault that the others aren't willing to listen to him, as he's always talking shit and pulling off stupid stunts. However, these guys are still rather weak, even if not miserably weak anymore, and in order to really get significant rewards from their hunting trips, they need the team. While it's annoying to listen to Ranta, the others should realise that as long as he's a member of the team, their combined total strength is much higher. Thus they should make an occasional effort to listen to him to understand why he does the silly things he does and what they could do to adjust their own behavior accordingly and what Haru should do to adjust his plans and tactics accordingly. I'd imagine if the others purposefully dropped their condescending and despising attitude for a moment and asked him a few things seriously, without trying to advice him, he would also answer seriously. There's no way he wouldn't enjoy talking about his own way of fighting and how he wants to fight.

If Haru had seen to this single thing, we would have never had the discussion where I called Haru a worse leader than Ranta is a member.

[shinta|hikari]

While it's annoying to listen to Ranta, the others should realise that as long as he's a member of the team, their combined total strength is much higher. Thus they should make an occasional effort to listen to him to understand why he does the silly things he does and what they could do to adjust their own behavior accordingly and what Haru should do to adjust his plans and tactics accordingly.

Or Ranta, being the minority, could adjust to the team and be less of an ass? Oh wait, he just did that this episode.

[Kraco]

Or Ranta, being the minority, could adjust to the team and be less of an ass? Oh wait, he just did that this episode.

After this many episodes it's clear Ranta isn't going to magically change. He even told Haru in a very direct and straightforward manner that he's not going to change and Haru just has to deal with it. He's minority, yes, but I'm not talking about the others needing to change much. They only need to change how they deal with Ranta during combat. That's it. There's no need to change anything else. Ranta himself hasn't left despite the others looking down on him and the others haven't kicked Ranta out despite being annoyed by him. So, it's clear they can tolerate each other generally speaking. They only need to make sure nobody dies because of friendly fire.

You seem to think he changed during this episode, I don't think he changed at all. That's something we will never agree on. Unless the next episode presents a totally reformed Ranta for pure (unintentional) comedy.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't think he'll change completely, but it's obvious he changed a fair bit in this episode. I'm not even basing that conclusion on my interpretation of his actions. I'm basing it on how the characters in the story, such as Haru, Yume, and Shihoru, reacted to Ranta's behavior. They were literally wide-eyed with Ranta this episode. Haru even explicitly said that Ranta wasn't acting like himself.

It's up to you to make assumptions about Ranta's behavior and rationalize it any way you want, but I'll side with simplicity and agree with the characters in the story.

[Kraco]

Right. The characters that always keep looking down on him and treating him like an annoying idiot. Surely the best judges of all. He didn't change. He merely showed a new side of himself in that unprecedented situation. Since it's a situation that had never happened before, how would they know? I bet nobody knew beforehand Haru would so willingly leave behind a team member to save himself, huh. Even if it was the smartest thing to do in order to reorganize and sneak behind the kobolds' backs using a different route.

[shinta|hikari]

Why are you bringing Haru into the conversation?

Revealing a "new" side of yourself is no different from changing from the POV of other people. The point is, his attitude this episode was not something he showed to anyone before, including you, me, and the rest of the characters. Your conclusion that it is a secret side of him, which may well be true but is irrelevant, is just an assumption on your part.

The characters who actually live and quest with him are the best judges for his character. We viewers don't even see him alone without the rest of the cast. What do we know?

EDIT:
Just to be clear, I'm actually in the "he's an awkward tsundere" camp, so I'm totally fine with this cooperative Ranta being his true personality. However, the fact is he did not behave anywhere remotely as amiable in the past compared to this episode. So whether this is his true personality showing or him changing to be nicer, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is this isn't the Ranta we've seen so far.

EDIT2:
Onto more meaningful things. And this.

[Kraco]

Why are you bringing Haru into the conversation?

He's the one missing the dead man, Manato, the most, even to the point of talking to an imagined ghost. So, it wasn't given he could leave behind a team member to their likely death, even if it was the most sensible choice from a leader.

However, the fact is he did not behave anywhere remotely as amiable in the past compared to this episode. So whether this is his true personality showing or him changing to be nicer, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is this isn't the Ranta we've seen so far.

There was never any need for him to act like this. It's also possible that it has been slowly building inside of him, an annoyance of feeling unappreaciated and undervalued by the others. That would feed his need to show off (like a kid). Because he certainly was showing off, like he always is.

EDIT2:
Onto more meaningful things. And this.

As expected, Mary is winning! Thawing a kuudere is the best.

[NeoCybercoin]

I think Ranta mostly acts the way he does because he feels their lives aren't in any real danger as long as they are in a group. But when Deathspot showed up he realized that thing along could wipe out the group so he did everything he could to make sure they all make it. The group never has never seen this side of him because there was never a need to show it. Sure his communication skills need word but he demonstrated he doesn't need to talk to know what the others are doing in combat as was shown when he and Haru fought together.

[MFauli]

Not sure I can agree with that, Neo. Ranta should know from their first attempts at killing a single Goblin and failing to do so, that fighting is dangerous and risking your life.

As I said, I think Ranta is the most "real" character in this anime. Of course, he has no way to know about the real circumstances (or does he?), but he acts like somebody who indeed is playing a game and doesn´t bother to treat it like a serious, real situation. Maybe that´s what you also meant, Neo. Ranta clearly thinks this entire world is, to be blunt, bullshit. He doesn´t accept it, he doesn´t care about it. But he also doesn´t know what to do otherwise. So he keeps tagging along, blurting out annoying lines of annoyance (lol) and that´s it.

The only other character that once showed a similar level of unwillingness to accept this world was Shihoru at the very beginning, where she was all timid and depressed. But that´s changed. Bow-girl is a complete maniac, and berserk-guy and Haru have drowned themselves in meaningless busiwork.

It sucks that this anime will never get to the point where we find out more about the whole surroundings of this world, how they were trapped inside a game and such.

[Kraco]

As I said, I think Ranta is the most "real" character in this anime. Of course, he has no way to know about the real circumstances (or does he?), but he acts like somebody who indeed is playing a game and doesn´t bother to treat it like a serious, real situation. Maybe that´s what you also meant, Neo. Ranta clearly thinks this entire world is, to be blunt, bullshit. He doesn´t accept it, he doesn´t care about it. But he also doesn´t know what to do otherwise. So he keeps tagging along, blurting out annoying lines of annoyance (lol) and that´s it.

I frankly have no idea how you could reach a conclusion like that. None of them treat this world like some pseudo-reality they are trapped in. They know of nothing else. If they behave differently from each other, it's because not every person is carved from the same tree. These people probably had nothing at all to do with each other in their previous lives. They retained some basic behavior patterns and values (and random words), but that's all. Ranta is like he is because that's his personality. He's not like that because he wouldn't give a shit about that world. In fact it seems to me he cares a lot more about it than some others. He's actually enjoying what he's doing, despite their low prospects and poor living conditions. He's not simply struggling forward from day to day like the others used to. He's getting out everything he can from being a dark knight.