An Anime Review 'Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note'

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note, is a 13 episode long anime that is based on the manga by Sakamoto Mineji, and Sanda Makoto, set within the Type Moon Universe. The show was produced by TROYCA (Re:Creators, Aldnoah.Zero), with directing duties handled by Katou Makoto (assistant director—Re:Creators, episode director—Aldnoah.Zero), with series composition handled by Kodachi Ukyou (Fate/Apocrypha, Boruto: Naruto the Movie), and music composition by the great Kajiura Yuki (Pandora Hearts, Fate/Zero). The three leads of Waver, Gray and Reines are played by Namikawa Daisuke (Beck, Days), Ueda Reina (Kekkai Sensen, Little Witch Academia), and Minase Inori (FLCL Progressive, Re:Creators) respectively.

The show follows Weaver, a character from Fate/Zero, 10 years after the events of the Holy Grail War. We find him at a place in his life where he is longing to see Iskandar once more, and as a result is wanting to participate in the next Holy Grail War. The first episode is used primarily to show how Weaver ended up in the place where we would see him for the remainder of the show, what he had done in the time leading up to the events of this show, and really setting him up as a character, while also introducing a couple of the characters that we would be seeing throughout the show. The next five episodes goes on to have a very episodic story structure where he plays a detective and solves various magical related crimes with the help of his cohort. The setup of each of these cases are intriguing and they serve as a fascinating way of developing the types of magic that exists in this world, and the relationship between the various magical entities, while solving them with creative explanations.

The remainder of the show takes place in the titular Rail Zeppelin, where we get to see a Murder on the Orient Express styled case unfold. Once more, the setup for this segment of the show is well done; however I did find my interest starting to wane significantly as a result of the slow nature in which the story was progressing. There are moments within this segment of the show where the pace of the show would grind to a halt before it would start up again. This start/stop nature of the story prevented me from becoming completely invested in what is happening on screen. That being said, when things are moving along at a brisk pace it is entertaining to watch, and curiosity was raised, the show is incredibly engaging to watch. What’s more, by the time the ending came around teasing the second season, I started to understand why this season felt as if this was a glorified prologue to the far more interesting story to come. Which is ultimately a shame, because of the fact that this season managed to beat my interest into submission by sheer boredom. That being said, I did watch the entire season, and so I would go so far as to admit that there were enough positives for me to keep watching, and so if a second season does come out, I will give it a chance.

The characters ranged from being quite interesting to follow, to being completely one dimensional, to being so pointless that it would not have made a difference if you had replaced them with a cardboard cutout. What is even more disappointing is the fact that many of the uninteresting characters are mainly present in the Rail Zeppelin arc of the show. Thankfully the titular character, Lord El-Melloi II, or Weaver, was an interesting enough character to latch onto, because of his tenacity and the fact that he is far weaker than most of the individuals that he has to fact gives him the added bonus of being the underdog. Gray, despite having a great character design, was both underutilized, and a let down as far as a character goes. We were given allusions to an incredibly fascinating origin for her, only for it to be left by the wayside unexplored. Many of the other characters stand out because of visual signifier that is established early on for them, and are hardly ever developed beyond being a caricature.

Visually, the show felt drab, muted, and uninteresting to look at. There is a washed out look that is present throughout the show that makes it visually uninteresting to look at, despite the fact that some of the designs that are on screen are beautiful. While there are characters that manage to stand out from each other, there are also a few characters that I could not tell apart at all, added to that the fact that they are incredibly uninteresting to pay attention to made it so I cannot even tell you their names. The characters all have a stiff posture to them, and always feels like a drawing rather a drawing mimicking a person whenever the characters are talking to each other. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few moments, a majority of the show are people either sitting and talking or standing and talking. (I am a massive Sorkin fan, so characters talking is my jam, even then these segments fall short). To contrast, there are moments when there is a battle when the TROYCA that we all know wake up and give us a stellar segment of animation. The greatest travesty in the show is the total underutilization of one of the best anime composers of our time, Kajiura Yuki. Admittedly the opening and the endings were great to listen to, however there was nothing of the rest of the show that remotely stood out. This is the first time that I have ever been left underwhelmed by a Kajiura Yuki soundtrack, which is something I never thought that I would ever say.

Ultimately, is this a show that I recommend for you? No; while I managed to derive some enjoyment, and some positives from it, this is a surprisingly boring affair that you do not need to be a part of. Instead, go watch Fate/Zero. If you do have the inkling to watch the show, it is available to watch on both Funimation and Crunchyroll.