Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight - episodes 6 to 9

Emotions and lava abound in this set of episodes, which end up jumping ahead ten years: a time where everyone is either much older or deader.

Orson gets many good scenes here, and the tragedy of his existence is played up. The ambiguous feelings of Shiris about him emphasise this greatly. Their last scenes (at least for now) in episode eight were very harsh and touching. Who is to blame for what? Hayama Nobuyuki's performance as Orson was impressive, keeping himself in check until the very few times he was allowed to show a burst of emotion. That's all over now.
The other important scenes were those between Kashue and Ashram, kings of their respective countries. Ashram's party had no allegiances to each other, so it was ironic that the only person who really supported him was actually from Kashue's kingdom. Kashue defends his own honour, which poses the great heroic question: is breaking the rules of warfare dishonourable if it puts an end to the battles? These questions are important to the running of countries and diplomacy.
Ending this arc where they did was a wise decision but it raises another, not philosophical, question: will there be Pirotess?

Then ten years pass. Characters introduced in the first couple of episodes have grown and are now able to become major characters. Spark and Little Neese seem to be at the fore here, with Parn looking much older and Deedlit looking a little wiser. It's unclear where they're going to go or what they're going to do, but they have some sort of promise. Realising that these characters have been in the OP all along makes the whole thing a lot more exciting.

Finally, Welcome to Lodoss Island goes from strength to strength: Seeing Orson invested with childish emotions, asking Shiris for milk ("I didn't think it would work"), and the continued caperings of Kashue and Parn are well worth it. It's just a pity that the progression of ten years isn't represented in these segments.

Chronicles of the Heroic Knight is much easier to become absorbed by with its compelling story and especially its music. These were very, very early DVDs, however, and they look it.