Welcome to Anime of the week. For this week, I will be recommending an action/fantasy anime: Hai to Gensou no Grimgar.
Jan 11, 2016 to Mar 28, 2016 (Winter 2016)
Fear, survival, instinct. Thrown into a foreign land with nothing but hazy memories and the knowledge of their name, they can feel only these three emotions resonating deep within their souls. A group of strangers is given no other choice than to accept the only paying job in this game-like world—the role of a soldier in the Reserve Army—and eliminate anything that threatens the peace in their new world, Grimgar.
When all of the stronger candidates join together, those left behind must create a party together to survive: Manato, a charismatic leader and priest; Haruhiro, a nervous thief; Yume, a cheerful hunter; Shihoru, a shy mage; Mogzo, a kind warrior; and Ranta, a rowdy dark knight. Despite its resemblance to one, this is no game—there are no redos or respawns; it is kill or be killed.
It is now up to this ragtag group of unlikely fighters to survive together in a world where life and death are separated only by a fine line.
This series takes a very interesting perspective on the action/fantasy genre that is hugely popular throughout anime. The main character(s) aren’t ‘chosen ones’, they don’t have extraordinary powers, they have no quest for power or justice; they are regular people, stranded and powerless. Their only goal is to survive for as long as they could. It definitely is a change of pace for the genre and a good reason to start watching.
One drawback for the series is that it’s too real. The characters are realistically dumb and therefore makes some bad mistakes. This could pad the runtime with unnecessary conflict and their patheticness is sometimes just too painful to watch. Nevertheless, it is a good anime that reminds viewers that you do NOT want to live in a fantasy world. Ever.
1 Season – 12 Episodes
Thank you for reading this week’s Anime of the Week! If you have an anime that you would like to recommend, please leave your suggestion in the comments!
