Now streaming on Netflix, Record of Ragnarok follows a sequence of one-on-one battles between 13 Gods and 13 humans to decide the fate of humanity.
The action anime narrates a very direct storyline, and largely focusses on the one vs one battles, with the characters’ backstories being revealed during confrontations.
Despite this, there’s a lot of detail thrown around during the course of the anime, leaving the viewers with questions if they miss something.
Don’t fret, we have you covered with answers to some of the most prominent questions from Record of Ragnarok.
What exactly is ‘Ragnarok’ in the anime?
Every thousand years, all the Gods assemble to decide whether to let humanity survive for the next 1,000 years. On this occasion, they decide to destroy mankind, but the Valkyrie Brunnhilde suggests a Ragnarok.
According to Article 62, Paragraph 15 of the Constitution of Valhalla, Ragnarok is “a final one-on-one battle between the Gods and mankind”.
It involves a tournament of one-on-one battles between 13 humans and 13 Gods. The side that wins 7 battles first comes out victorious.
Notably, the law has never been exercised since the birth of humanity as the thought of man prevailing over Gods was thought to be unfathomable.
The true purpose of the clause was just to serve as amusement to the Gods, who considered themselves far above humans.
While the Gods initially laugh off the idea of a Ragnarok, Brunnhilde cleverly manages to convince them by suggesting they were scared of humans.
What is Valkyries Brunnhilde’s plan?
Valkyries are half human half God. By suggesting a Ragnarok, Brunnhilde was actually staging a rebellion against the Gods and providing the humans a chance for survival.
While the thought of mortals competing against the the Gods was deemed ridiculous, she had ensured that they would go toe-to-toe with them.
However, her discussion with Hermes suggests that there might be more to it than simply protecting humanity. Her true objective, if any, could come out in the subsequent seasons.
What is Volundr?
The Gods draw their power from their divine weapons. Compared to them, human weapons are simply toys.
To even the playing field with the Gods, Valkyries perform ‘Volundr’, the act of binding a human with a Valkyrie. As a result, they turn into the human’s choice of divine weapon.
Randgriz turns into a Halbert for Lu Bu, Regendleif turns into a Knuckleduster for Adam, while Hrist becomes a sword, and later dual swords after being shattered in half.
Due to the bond of souls, if the human dies, the Valkyrie will perish along with them, such is the nature of Volundr. And if someone dies in the afterlife, they turn into nothingness; there is no passing on.
What happens to Mjolnir during Thor vs Lu Bu?
As per legend, Thor cannot wield his divine hammer Mjolnir without using his divine gloves. However, this notion is proved false.
In reality, the gloves protect Mjolnir from being crushed by Thor’s grip before being fully awakened.
It turns out that Mjolnir is alive, and begins throbbing after being ‘awakened’, allowing Thor to use its full power without the gloves, which are actually weighted.
Who are the Einherjar?
When Goll suggests that the 13 fighters for humanity are the final hope, Brunnhilde informs her that she’s wrong.
The fighters from humanity will be warriors who will be revered through time for being god slayers and be known as ‘The Einherjar’, the representatives of mankind in Ragnarok.
Why does Zeus fight Adam instead of Shiva?
Adam’s original opponent was Shiva and the announcer for Ragnarok Heimdall had even announced him as the Gods’ representative.
However, during his entry, he is confronted by Zeus and Hermes, with the former repeatedly requesting to take his place for the second fight.
After the suggestion of fighting it out, Shiva ends up yielding, and lets the head of Gods fight Adam in his place.
In hindsight, the lineup of Thor, Zeus and Poseiden indicates that Zeus wanted a strong start and or perhaps couldn’t resist the thrill of fighting any longer after becoming excited at figuring out Brunnhilde’s plan.
How does Adam copy Zeus’ moves?
Since God created the first man Adam in his own image, Adam has the same potential as Gods themselves.
This allows Adam to replicate any Godly moves upon witnessing them through his special ability ‘Divine Reflection’.
Adam gains the upper hand by copying Zeus’ special moves such as Divine Axe, Meteor Jab and even the special move he learnt from his father, the titan Kronos, a jab which stops time itself.
What is Zeus’ final form?
Zeus’ final form is known as ‘Adamas’. It allows Zeus to compress all his muscles to their absolute limit as they creak with boundless energy.
Due to the immense amount of energy stored by the compression, every punch that Zeus throws in this form is the strongest ever. However, Adam even manages to copy this.
But copying such powerful energy takes a toll on Adam’s nerves, who uses Divine Reflection in the entire fight. This is what ends up leading to his defeat.
Who is Adamas?
Adamas is not just Zeus’ final form. It is also the name of his and Poseidon’s elder brother and second eldest son of Kronos.
Resentful of the fact that his youngest brother Zeus was chosen as the leader of Olympus, he stages a rebellion. When he approaches his younger brother Poseidon to join him, the latter slew him instead for his revolt.
There were originally 13 Gods in Olympus, but after Poseidon killed Adamas, he decided that his elder brother never existed, erasing him from history and leaving only 12 Gods of Olympus.
What is The Number One Under The Sun title?
Kojiro Sasaki had never won a single battle in his life. Instead, he surrendered every time and simulated battles against his opponent in his head until he won.
The only time he did not surrender was against Musashi Miyamoto, and ended up being killed by him.
Musashi’s lifelong goal was to become the greatest swordsman in the world, which would give him the The Number One Under The Sun title.
After witnessing Sasaki during his battle with Poseidon, Musashi concedes that it was Sasaki who had surpassed every swordsman and is the true ‘Number One Under The Sun’.
Will there be season 2?
With just three out of the thirteen battles having taken place, it is all but certain that the series will return with a season 2. But Netflix is yet to officially confirm this.
If the order of three battles per season is continued, the show could potentially have at least three more seasons, if renewed.
Also Read: Castlevania season 4’s burning questions answered