English Dub Review: Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World “Encounter: The Two Nations’ Ultimate Weapons”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Two houses both alike in dignity, er, I mean, two nations at war pit their champions against each other in this star-crossed fantasy romance. The episode opens with an explanation from both our protagonists of the “astral mages”, powerful witches who can wield astral power, and The Empire, the technology-driven nation home to those who oppose (and have been supposedly harmed by) this strange force. The witches control The Nebulis Sovereignty, a paradise ruled by the descendants of the Grand Witch Nebulis. The explanation ends with our soon-to-be-love-interests each claiming that they’ll put a stop to the senseless fighting with “the crusade that will change our world.” Cut to a prison cell in The Empire, where a witch is being held, only to be freed by a “Saint Disciple”, who is revealed to be our male protagonist, Iska, the youngest person in history to have earned the title. A year later, he stands before an extremely Zoom-like computer set up that grants him his freedom in exchange for the capture of The Ice Calamity Witch, a “purebred” from the Nebulis line. Iska accepts, requests his crack team of Nene, Jhin, and Mismis who reunite to form the Defense for Humankind Third Division Unit N07. Due to being imprisoned, Iska is supposed to be an unknown. His friends are worried it’s a trap, but he’s determined to see it through to stay free. As the scene ends, he states that he’ll do anything to end this senseless war, which was also why he freed the witch a year ago, despite his actions leading to his imprisonment. The group arrives at a reactor, only to find out it’s likely to get attacked soon. Jhin clarifies that the war won’t be stopped by logic alone. As they head to the front, they’re attacked by a group of astral mages. Nene deploys anti-astral force flares, and Jhin and Iska make short work of the group, before another witch appears with a golem. Iska sends the rest of the group off to face this new contender, Rin. He demands to see the Ice Calamity Witch, but Rin refuses. Lady Alice, the Ice Calamity Witch appears on her own, reveals her icy attack on the reactor, and quickly destroys it. The two introduce themselves and face off, but before she’s able to destroy him, he reveals he wants to end the war, and forces her to unexpectedly step back. The two of them reveal their shared goal, before she literally falls into his arms. The encounter leaves her shaken, and she retreats to her castle before attending a play in Neutral City. There, she borrows a handkerchief from, who else? Iska, himself.

Our take

Alright, I wasn’t originally interested in this series (romance anime isn’t really my jam) but I will admit to being intrigued. There’s… a LOT of tropes that anime fans will recognize (the classic “falling into someone” incident, “we’re going to work hard and change things!” energy, and of course, chosen one obligations on both sides) and well, the title itself covers the plot pretty thoroughly.

Right off the bat we have the established conflict of a nation driven by technology vs. one that draws its power from the natural world, a classic set up that is usually used to critique industrialism, but this series could go a variety of ways. Iska (voiced by Jason Liebrecht, who may be pulling inspiration here from his previous role of Train Heartnet in Black Cat) seems to be generally aware of the flaws of his home nation, and is driven by a higher need to “do what’s right” rather than to fight for The Empire, as exemplified by his previously treasonous actions. This perspective is shared and further explained by Jhin’s statement that at this point, the war is being driven by blind fanaticism. An unexpected level of self-awareness, for sure, but hopefully it doesn’t leave the only character development in the series to be romantic, rather than some form of redemption.

Aliceliese, for her part, isn’t just another tsundere love interest. She’s crazy powerful, and driven by nearly the exact same ideals as Iska, although she seems more convinced of her nation’s role as liberators. We’ll see if that’s truly the case as things progress, I’m sure. Emily Neves (who voices the titular character Kanade “Angel” Tachibana in Angel Beats!, among other iconic roles) imbues our Ice Witch with a cool, calm, even (dare I say?) icy demeanor from her very first appearance. But far from a one-trick pony, she showcases her impressive range by softening after Aliceliese’s fall, then sobbing through the play she and Rin attend later. We’ll have to see in later episodes how her interactions with her grumpy, protective friend and attendant, Rin (voiced by Hayden Daviau, who’s also Yasuko Koenji in The Helpful Fox Senko-san) develop as the star-crossed romance heats up.

Overall, this is a solid first episode that seems to be setting up a fascinating world, realistic motivations for fighting, and a hopefully not-too-sappy love story that I’m interested in learning more about. The art is also fantastic: detailed and delicate, but with enough edge to not make the action scenes seem silly or out of place. Two things that stood out as somewhat unique are the flyaway hairs that most of the main cast seems to sport, and the somewhat odd, but exquisitely detailed pupils. This may be my first encounter with Our Last Crusade, but it won’t by my last!