First Impressions: Granblue Fantasy the Animation 2: Recap and Review

Granblue Fantasy is a role-playing game by Cygames, released in Japan on March 2014. The first season of Granblue Fantasy The Animation aired between April 2nd and June 25th of 2017. It was animated by A-1 Pictures, with the second season being animated by MAPPA. Season 2 premiered on October 4th of this year and will have 14 episodes. Like my review of Fate Grand Order Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia, Granblue is better understood if you had at least seen the first season (Streaming on Netflix). Basically, a farm boy, Gran and his companion Vyrn stumble upon Lyria. She’s a mysterious girl with the power to connect to Primal Beast. Together with her guardian Katalina Alize, the four join forces to protect Lyria, while defeating the Erste Empire.

Having gained some fame, Gran and his skyfaring crew are dining together. They’re given a job from Sierokarte, the owner of the “Knickknack Shack.” Sierokarte believes that the mission will result in the discovery of a Primal Beast. The following morning they head to the tiny island and learn that there’s been an “ominous sound,” emanating from somewhere. While searching for the location of the sound, Gran and the others run into children trying to retrieve a dropped wood sword. While retrieving the sword, Gran and Vyrn hear the sound more clearly and rescue an injured young girl.

The girl is Aliza, who’s on a journey as part of her martial arts training. They locate the sound as, Aliza reveals that she known exactly what they’re looking for. It’s a Primal Beast, trapped in a force field of “dark essence.” They’re discovered by Pommern. He leaves them to face the primal beast, Tezcatlipoca. Gran and Aliza fight the beast. Gran notices that there’s a dark crystal at the base of the beast’s neck. They notice that it can’t see through fire, so Aliza decides to use her Fangs of the Dragon and Talons of the Phoenix attacks. Lyria summons a Primal Beast to help. Gran jumps on the back of the Tezcatlipoca and manages to destroy the crystal. Lyria “tames” the beast and captures it.

As a video game adaptation I like Granblue Fantasy. As a series, Granblue is generic. All the RPG elements are present, mages, cute talking magical creatures, airships, summoning and a evil Empire. If your looking for a series that’s going to change your understanding of anime, Granblue Fantasy isn’t for you. The series hasn’t really done anything new, but it is a solid video game adaptation.