Seriously, since when did this series become so awesome? The first season already was good, but I didn’t really classify it as the best of the season, but it seems that with the second season, the overall quality of this series has increased tenfold. Perhaps even more! I seriously consider Wellber no Monogatari as one of the best shows of the season at this point. Seriously, the past few episodes have been nothing but awesomeness.
Very few series can claim the level of character-development that Tina went through for the past four episodes. Every single episode was contributed to flesh out her character. The first one was about her relationship with Rita, the second episode was about her past, the third episode was about her revenge, and now this episode carries this even further when she starts falling in love with Galahad. Finally I can claim to like another love-story, because this is more than just an attempt to create some superficial rivalry. The creators really know how to use it, and with one episode, the entire love-relationship between her and Jin got thrown apart.
The two of them could get back together in the first episode, just like the first season did. I admit that back then, it felt a bit superficial, but I have no such feelings this time. I feel that whether or not Tina or Jin get back together doesn’t matter at this point. It’s going to be awesome either way, especially Jin can’t deny that he actually proposed to Tina. That scene was SO worth it!
I can now understand why the creators put Galahad in the main party. Originally, I thought that they just did this because of the huge popularity of the guy, but the guy was really meant to shake up the feelings of both Tina and Rita. At least with this guy, I can understand why the girls fell in love with him. He’s hunkier than all male harem-leads combined together.
Seriously, Shion no Ou is getting competition. The past episodes have been amazing, and it really feels like the creators know what they’re doing. This spells out lots of potential for the rest of the season. 🙂
And so it has ended. I’m not sure what to think of some of the elements. Overall, this was a good ending, but there’s one thing in the episode that… didn’t really make sense, to put it in such a way.
I’m referring to the Bergerac and Jin’s amazing ability to bring down an entire castle. I don’t know… it seemed a bit too much, although it was quite hilarious that they accidentally hit the gunpowder-room in their attacks. ^^; The only explanation for such a bad defence of the city would probably be that Guernia was in full charge. ^^;
Anyway, about the rest of the ending, it wasn’t emotional or shocking like the episodes in the middle part of the series, but nonetheless, it felt ‘good’. It doesn’t try to be overly dramatic for its final episode, and instead it finishes Guernia’s back-story, kills him and saves Rita. Nothing more, and I like how focused this ending was. In the end, the series didn’t suddenly change its style, like lots of anime do, now that I think about it. The ending doesn’t feel weird, and there isn’t any information that we should have known. That’s the thing with original anime, they can be exactly planned, instead of manga-adaptations that aren’t done yet.
Also, what really surprised me was that we never get to see who killed Rita’s parents. I actually feel that this was the right thing to do. Suppose, for example, that she did find the guy. Not only would that cost at least one episode, which would probably have been replacing one of the earlier episode, which means less fleshing out for Rita, Tina and Galahad. Also, this would be incredibly forced. I mean, what is the chance of that same guy still being in Greedam? Perhaps, in the future we can get a continuation: Greedam no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Greedam? That would be quite awesome, as there’s enough of the setting left unexplored to provide a second story, without feeling weird.
Also, after thinking back at it, I really liked Guernia this episode. His development was well worth it. I originally thought that seeing his mother make out with a different guy caused him to go crazy and kill her, but things are a bit more subtle than that. He did hate his mother afterwards, but that’s not why he became his former self. It seems that he just couldn’t forgive his mother, no matter how hard she tried. Her lover was executed, and because of all the strain, and the trust that she lost from her husband, she committed suicide. Galahad at that time was poking the eyes out of a doll that resembled his mother. After that, he’s been enjoying poking the eyes out of every woman that had eyes, similar to her. And Rita was one of them. The twist: he fell in love with her once she stabbed him. ^^;
His death, by the way, was quite nice, and an original one as well. Okay, we’ve seen anime before where we see the bad guy mortally wounded and alone, but Guernia was too cute when he never really reflected on himself, and instead drank a cup of tea in his chair before the ceiling above him collapsed. ^^;
Overall, I really recommend Wellber no Monogatari for a light adventure-series. It, along with Seirei no Moribito caused me to become a fan of Studio IG, and from now on, I’ll be looking forward to their next releases. Wellber no Monogatari really showed that they know what they’re doing, and that a good story needs some good backgrounds and fleshed out characters to work. It’s quite impressive that it found the time in 13 episodes to develop 6 major characters, while the other major support-characters only had the function of narration, contributing to the story without stepping in the spotlights themselves.
Sayonara, Rita, Tina, Galahad and Guernia. It’s been fun.]]> 
And there’s only one episode left! The semi-final episode has two purposes: to give some last-minute fleshing out for the final two important characters who have yet to receive sufficient development: the princes of Wellber and Sangatras, and to put the chess-pieces in the right position for the finale.
Especially the bits of new information on Guernia were really appreciated, as up till now, we haven’t really seen what’s in his mind. This episode, however, revealed the reason why he was interested in Rita in the first place. After all, Rita won’t become queen once her father dies, so it wouldn’t make any sense for Guernia to marry her with the eye on world conquest. The reason he went after her was because she resembles his mother.
This perfectly explains why he tried to kill her, back in episode one if you take his twisted mind in account. He killed his own mother, and I can imagine how he’s planning to do the same thing for Rita. During this episode, he didn’t make any suspicious move on her yet, but I suspect that he first wants to make her his, before making his move.
Rita’s brother (forgot his name, sorry) also turned out to be quite interesting for the plot. It seems that he finally got fed up with how his father never does anything to counter Sangatras’s attack, and when a group of rebels, fighting against the war delivers him some blueprints for the battleship that will be forming the core of Sangatras’s army, he decides to ignore his father and sabotage it. The plan works quite well to stop the war, though it’s less unfortunate for Rita, who had been captured by Guernia earlier, as it seemed to have sped up Guernia’s moves on her.
Overall, Wellber no Monogatari turned into a fine anime. It’s not anything ground-breaking, but it sure does know how to tell a story. The only two screw-ups this anime made was the weird horse-movement and the fact that Rita just walks around a bit too much in the open for someone who’s being hunted (especially considering the talking tank that accompanies her, which indeed was quite rare). Still, those are just minor issues. It’s got some interesting characters with quite a bit of development for a 13-episode series. It wasn’t rushed, and no actions really feel that forced when compared to other 13-episode series of its kind. Overall, it’s a real recommendation if you want something light to watch. If the subs ever finish, that is.
Still, it’s now time again to ask the question: will this anime be able to end well? So far, it has compelling characters, but you really need to do something extra in order to prevent your ending from screwing up. I don’t want to, but I fear that the ending will be just a standard one with nothing added. Guernia is going to die, probably by the hands of Galahad. The only thing that can probably save it is the mysterious killer of Tina’s parents. We still have no clue who the heck he might be, which means that the creators saved this guy for last. Let’s hope that the phrase “saving the best for last” applies for this. Oh, and Rita’s brother seems to be hiding a secret from Rita as well. That can prove to add something too.]]> 
And Wellber no Monogatari is coming towards its end, with only two episodes left after this. You’d suspect a “calm before the storm”-episode, but instead it decides to develop its side-characters a bit more. This definitely was a Galahad/Jamill-episode and a great one as well!
Finally we get a bit more development between the two, and we finally learn how the two got together. Basically, Jamill was an excellent soldier, while Galahad was close to Guernia, and they often got put in the same missions, in which the combination of the both of them excelled like no other. After a while, they began to feel for each other. It’s nothing special, but it’s so much better than no explanation at all.
This probably was the episode with the slowest pacing of the series. Especially the later half is really focused, and with a good reason: Jamill dies! First she gets stabbed in the eye by Guernia, after he tells her how he killed his mother, who “cheated” on him. She then goes to search for Galahad, who ended up in a peaceful farming cottage. When she finds him, it seems that she’s still on Guernia’s side, as she tries to make him go back. When he refuses, she challenges him to a “shooting duel”. Galahad shoots anyway, since he’s seen her skills, and he’s in now way as fast as she is. Jamill, though, refused to shoot, and so she gets hit by Galahad. Great moment. 🙂
Now then, I do wonder wonder what this anime has in store for us for the final two episodes. So far, the best thing of this series has been the change to an actual serious storyline, but something tells me that the creators planned to save the best for last. So far, we’ve got three elements of the storyline left unsolved: the war, Guernia vs. Galahad and the murderer of Tina’s parents.]]> 
This definitely was a cute episode. Basically, Rita and Tina make up again, after Rita finds out about the misunderstanding. It seems that this arc was mostly meant to flesh out the pair of them a bit before the finale starts. A “calm before the storm”, in a way, though that doesn’t mean that everything was light-hearted.
Both Rita and Tina turned out really touching. I have to say that, while the ending was a bit too coincidental, it was nicely found, and unlike any other Deus ex Machina I’ve seen. I really wonder what the creators have in stall for us for the final episodes. It definitely realizes that it needs to build up first, and something really tells me that they’ve been planning something very interesting for the finale of this anime.
About the only thing I felt disappointed over in this episode was that we never get to see the reunion of Tina and her boyfriend. After she wrote such a lovely letter to him, he came all the way to Sangatras just because of this. Apart from that, though, it was a great episode.
Oh, one thing though. Someone 
I think that with this, it’s become clear that we’re dealing with a 12 or 13-episoded series here. While it would be awesome to see what it could do in 26 episodes, the development shown in the past few episodes has gone way too fast for such a series. It’s a pity to see that such an excellent series will be over in one month. Still, something’s telling me that the creators saved the best for last, as yet again, this episode was a great one! 🙂
Last time, we saw Galahad betray Jamill, while this episode breaks up Rita and Tina! It all starts innocently, when Tina pays a visit to the local casino and nearly gambles away her gun, before Rita stops her. From that moment, Rita starts to get doubts on Tina, which can’t be taken away so easily. When Tina then sells some of her stuff to buy a birthday-present for Rita, everything goes wrong.
During Tina’s little screw-up, somebody recognized the two of them, and decided to take advantage of this by disguising her as Tina in thief-form. Rita hears the rumours about this woman, and when Tina comes to her with an expensive-looking birthday-present (which she bought with her own money, by the way, in fact, she sold her old thief-clothes in order to get the money, and these clothes were stolen again by the mysterious woman), Rita thinks she bought it with the stuff she stole. Tina is disappointed by this, since it’s Rita’s birthday, of all things. In the end, the two part ways, and I couldn’t help but love it. 🙂
On other news, Jamill figures out why Galahad betrayed her when she visits Guernia, and the king of Wellber sends a messenger to Rita. I’m not sure what that message is, but we’ll probably find out in a few episodes. I’m quite interested about this series will spend its final episodes. So far, it featured some excellent development, the characters are fleshed out well, now all that’s left is to use this in the finale. Unlike a series like Good Witch of the West, I don’t believe that Wellber no Monogatari has any source material, so it could be perfectly planned out from the beginning.
I also wonder, how did that woman know about Tina? How did she know about the outfit she wears when she goes out stealing? We also still don’t know who killed her parents in the past. What will Galahad’s role be? Will Jamill desert Guernia as well? Will the war actually happen? Lots of interesting questions to make some great potential for a finale!]]> 