Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special (ロード・エルメロイⅡ世の事件簿 -魔眼蒐集列車 Grace note- 特別編, Lord El-Melloi II-sei no Jikenbo -Rail Zeppelin Grace note- Tokubetsu-hen), also known as Waver, Reunion, and the Magic Lantern ~ Therein lay all the answers as to why you chose me.~, is a 2021 television special based on Makoto Sanda’s light novel series The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II with illustrator Mineji Sakamoto and a continuation to the 2019 anime series. The special was directed by Makoto Katō and produced by studio TROYCA, with script composition writer Ukyō Kodachi, character designer Jun Nakai and music composer Yuki Kajiura. The special first aired in Japan on December 2021.
Background:
“Lord El-Melloi II returns to another wonder of magical mystery! Years after the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fate/Zero, Waver Velvet – the boy who fought alongside Iskandar, the King of Conquerors – has assumed the title Lord El Melloi II. In this position, he takes on myriad magical and mystical mysteries for the Clock Tower, the mecca of the magecraft world.”
Plot Synopsis via Aniplex of America, November 2022.
After broadcasting the 2019 series Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note, Aniplex and TROYCA revealed a new special episode would be released which eventually aired on New Years Eve in 2021, two years after the first special aired for the series. Now unfortunately they haven’t announced any more content for the anime since, and in addition this particular special episode is also anime original, which means the anime remains incomplete in terms of adapting the source material. The light novel did eventually receive a sequel series but Aniplex and Type-Moon seem uninterested to cover more, especially considering their main focus currently have been Fate/strange fake as well as the other Type-Moon property Witch of the Holy Night.
With this special episode we see Lord El-Melloi II suddenly turning into his younger self, the same appearance he had from Fate/Zero. Probably for fanservice but it’s an original story so why not. The same team behind the anime series all make a return as well.
Aniplex of America secured the streaming and home video rights for Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special in the United States & Canada as well as the United Kingdom & Ireland, which simulcasted on Crunchyroll. No UK distributor has yet to sub-license the special this time around at the time of this write-up.
Limited Edition Contents:
Aniplex of America have been rather inconsistent with the Fate releases. Sometimes they’re DVD sized, sometimes they’re Blu-ray rigid boxes and then sometimes they’re slipcases with Blu-ray cases. Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special is more in-line with Fate/Grand Order -First Order-‘s packaging but without the transparent cover.
The limited edition Blu-ray release is presented with an o-card slipcase featuring a obi-strip wrapped around the side of the set, an digipack case housing the disc, and a 18-page special booklet featuring information about the special, character designs, background artwork and interviews with the creator and director of the series.
The strip wrapped around the side of the set includes the information and specs so that the main artwork is clean and can be kept inside the set for safe-keeping. The limited edition Blu-ray set was released for an SRP of $49.98.
Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special was ordered together with its main series as well as the Mashle: Magic and Muscles series from the Crunchyroll Store during its final sale before the store locked out most consumers to be exclusive to their Mega Fan & Ultimate Fan tiers. Price for this set were $39.98 each.
Physical Contents:
- O-card slipcase with clean artwork
- Digipack case packaging
- Obi-strip wraparound includes specification and details of the set
- 20-page Special Booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Aniplex of America
Released: 15th November 2022
The limited edition Blu-ray release for Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special contains the special episode on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring done by Aniplex.
The set includes the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and the Bang Zoom! English dub commissioned by Aniplex of America with optional English subtitles for the on-screen text.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the Blu-ray disc is region accessible to players set to A & B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese, English |
| Audio | Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 English Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English, English (On-Screen Text) |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-25 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- PV (00:57 runtime)
- Blu-ray & DVD Announcement CM (00:17 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Aniplex of America for the United States & Canada.
The limited edition Blu-ray set is available exclusively through the Crunchyroll Store (currently for $39.98) which is now locked exclusively to members who are on the Mega Fan tier (£6.99/m or $13.99/m) or Ultimate Fan tier ($17.99/m). That said, you can get around this by ordering at Robert’s Anime Corner Store (currently for $47.87).
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