Record of Ragnarok Season 1 Episode 8 Recap – Grace Abounding

Flurry

Ares feels the pressure in the arena. Hermes thinks Zeus could only last about five minutes in his new form due to the damage to his body. The old god is quivering as his muscles continue to compress.

Zeus strikes Adam with a combined speed and power of his new form: God’s True Right. Still, Adam copies it and counters. Zeus hits with his left, but he’s countered again—the exchange continues countless times.

Göll is impressed but Brünnhilde isn’t. She sees Adam’s eyes. The strain of the battle is causing the human’s senses to overheat. Each of Zeus’ punches is formidable, but Adam’s system will soon collapse under the strain with too many punches coming in at once.

The veins in Adam’s eyes are bursting; he’s bleeding. Zeus’ body is also tearing itself apart.

Attrition

This fight can’t go on for far too long. It’s a battle of attrition. Which glass will break first? Loki laughs as he watches the match. Even the slightest trigger will cause any one of them to overflow. It is only a matter of time.

The audiences are at their feet, both human and god. Ares is in awe—he has never seen a more beautiful fight in his life.

But Brünnhilde is worried.

Both crowds cheer. Adam’s family is in tears, praying as hard as they can. The Valhalla Arena is popping off.

Every event in the world is caused by various triggers brought from seemingly insignificant things. This one comes to Adam as a droplet from Zeus’ bloodied face, causing him to lose sight. 

Blinded

Zeus sees the opportunity; he finally lands a strike. Adam is on the defensive for the first time in battle.

A flurry of strikes rains down from Zeus as Adam desperately defends.

The humans call out for a stoppage, but then time slows down. Adam hears a baby crying. His resolve strengthens as he promises to protect it. 

Adam grabs Zeus’ head after getting hit. Punches fly from both camps in a frenzy. It seems as if the fight will never end, but finally, Zeus crumples to his knees; his muscular body collapses. It’s over.

Hope

Adam has his fist raised to the sky, unmoving. Heimdall realizes he’s already dead.

Zeus laughs. Adam already died moments before Zeus collapsed, yet still, his body kept throwing punches until the very end. 

Zeus praises his foe. No one has ever put him on his knees like that.

We see Adam and Reginleif’s souls shatter, and the crowd cries. Now that two of their combatants have fallen, it seems as if humanity is on the losing side. But not quite; the humans have all their hands raised in the air. Adam has left a significant inheritance to his children: the power to fight back at the gods.

Third Fighter

Göll confronts Brünnhilde back at her study. She is angry at her sister’s death. Hrist tells her Völundr means they must become one with the human, so they die along with the fighter. 

Brünnhilde binges on pies, relieving herself from stress. She receives a message. The gods have Poseidon as their third combatant.

She’s trying to pick the next fighter when someone else comes in, and volunteers—Kojiro Sasaki from Japan is an old samurai with a strong touch.

Our Thoughts

Okay, I know the battle animation could be a lot better, but I really think this anime is gaining on me. The writing is definitely carrying the load. And once you’re invested in the human underdogs, it’s easy to get hooked. I rate this a 3.8/5.