As the first multi-episode mystery, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo does all right in setting up its case while having all sorts of Fate crossover from every series in its main timeline. From Fate/zero to Fate/hollow ataraxia, there is plenty of connections to make if you are an avid follower of Fate with the discussion of the two mages that the clock tower is sending over to fifth Holy Grail War and Kairi Shishigou becoming involved in the case. If you liked Sisigou in Fate/Apocrypha, then he’s pretty much the same person you know and love in this iteration, albeit without Mordred. Other characters like Reines shows why she is the equal counterbalance in the partnership between her and Waver. In her first case, she is shown to be witty and playful by enticing Waver to come into her bed for the sake of advancing her magus bloodline while heaping insults on his third-rate magical circuits. It’s not just her personality that she brings to the table as the mystic eyes that she processes is a necessary part in how the case moves forward. Unlike all the cases that precedes this one, the workshop in question isn’t used to reach the root but for the conservation of humans into artificial fairies that would open a portal to another realm. The cases in Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo are structured in a way where it doesn’t allow for the audience to solve the case on their own as it omits key information until the case is nearly solved. Instead, it’s more of a showcase in how the magical system can creatively implemented with the the less explored aspects of the mystic eyes. It has been featured in other Type-Moon works like Kara no Kyoukai but never combined in such a way like how Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo does its stories.
All this culminates into a payout of the most grandiose battle yet where Gray is swinging her scythe, Shishigou firing shotguns and throwing grenades, Wills is dual wielding knives and Waver is pathetically firing his pea shooters against a horde of Black Dogs. The best moment goes to Gray unleashing her Rhongomyniad and smashing a beam attack into the horde of Black Dogs and the portal itself. It isn’t the series defining moment like Saber using her first massive Excalibur attack in Fate/Zero, but it does make for a damn good scene. Sadly, it doesn’t do jack shit against it despite being hit by the literal artifact that fastens the reality and illusion of the world That’s where the anime original character of Willis comes in as he closes off his story by willingly crossing the boundary between the Age of Man and the Age of God. I am pleased with how this show deals with anime original content and source material as the quality between the two is fairly indistinguishable.
Looking forward, the anime looks to be done with showing off original content and will begin adapting volume six which will hopefully give us the backstory to how Grey takes on the appearance of King Arthur and eventually becomes Waver’s apprentice. This also neatly leads into the Rail Zeppelin story-line where the Willis mystic eyes were purchased by his father in his plans to open the gate to another realm.
