Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions (2016)
[灰と幻想のグリムガル]
Director: Ryosuke Nakamura
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Starring: Yoshimasa Hosoyo, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Nobunaga Shimazaki
Episodes: 12
Synopsis:
A party of rookies struggle to attain the strength they need to survive in a fantasy world.
Impressions:
This is a series I'd been thinking about checking out for a while now and I'm glad I finally got around to it. The first fight sequence does a fine job of setting the stage. Our heroes are pitifully weak, undisciplined and impoverished, just scraping by on their sign-on bonus which is quickly running out. I realize Goblin Slayer came later, but I was thinking of the fumbling rookie party from that and the scary thing was that they were actually more competent than our heroes here. (Good thing the goblins aren't nearly as bad as in GS.) We have a lot of room to grow, both individually and as a group. The series plays with a lot of standard RPG tropes in a somewhat more realistic setting. Mobs are more than just loot fodder (even though they're still treated that way) and day-to-day survival is on a razor's edge.
Action junkies won't like the slow pace, but I appreciated that character and atmosphere were given greater emphasis. Don't get me wrong. The action is pretty good when we get it, but it's not the first priority. Our lead Haruhiro can be a little too passive at times (I did think it was an interesting choice to make the party's thief the MC) and Ranta's aggressively abrasive personality may grate on the audience more than it does on his comrades (though he does have more to his character, he can be pretty insufferable a lot of the time). As far as worldbuilding goes, I feel it's a bit wasted that the militia is the only option for the new arrivals and the guilds only provide minimal training, but part of the point is to stick to the premise of the average RPG and build from there rather than making a more organic sort of world.
Overall, I was quite satisfied with my experience. If you think you'd be in the mood for a slower, more introspective sort of fantasy isekai, check this one out. Honestly, I'd say it warrants a place in the collection.
Rating:
Own It