Episode 7 "They Were Goblin Slayers"

"Please don't forget that pain."

Besides the weight of Manato's death, this week's episode of "Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" is mostly about moving forward. In particular, Haruhiro continues to step into his new shoes as leader and tries to get everyone to extend a branch toward Mary.

The bonding experience is heartfelt, but this episode also appears to be a setup for the coming weeks, as now the group has finally developed a rhythm with fighting goblins and making money. There's definitely a sense of looming darkness - after all, they could die from a bad move at any moment.

But then, after three episodes of almost no hints at where and what exactly Grimgar is, Haruhiro questions his new skills. Again, there's the vibe that Grimgar is some kind of MMO and the characters just don't remember the real world. But then again, there's no way to be certain (unless you read the novels).

While "Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" has never centered itself on being constantly bombarded by action and adventure, the subtle hints that nothing is what it seems make for an internal conflict that's worth exploring.

The breadcrumbs that have been offered so far have been the misplaced memories, the unexplained hierarchy of Grimgar, and now the ability to see and feel unnatural killing skills. While these breadcrumbs are definitely interesting, the series is now dangerously close to going off balance with how it has focused more on the character development than this plot.

That is to say, the balance works until there's no more internal conflict for the characters to sustain. Given the relatively low action now that the tragedy of Manato's death is slowly becoming a distant event, it seems necessary that the next episode will have to crack this plot mystery wide open.

Or, in the very least, there needs to be an event to really test the characters again. Otherwise, "Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" will have fallen much shorter than original expectations.