Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

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This is my favourite Isekai and one of my favourite LN's out there. Nevertheless, this story is flawed and I can see why some people would not like this. The biggest flaw is that the story really takes its time and some times it reeeeaally drags which might be a turnoff for some. But I do think that this (sometimes) flaw can be the LN's greatest strenght most of the time. Because it makes it possible for the character development to be handled with such care which is hardly seen in anime.

Story - 8-9

I think the story is one of the aspects of this LN ... which can't really be explained well because, well... the characters are just trying to survive and get by. Without knowing the full context you could think that this is just a slice of life/survival show which Grimgar definitely borrows from. I think it is more comparable to the likes of a "Walking Dead" tho. The characters try to survive, sometimes they have specific goals and sometimes they have to fight of people who want to harm them but overall they are just trying to secure their place in this world. I'll leave it at that with the story because it still has some mystery to it which souldn't be spoiled.

Characters - 9

The characters are absolutely the best part of this LN. Those who have watched the anime might think that the characters are interesting but nothing exceptional or remarkable. I think this is partially the animes fault and the way the characters are handled in it. Ranta, Yume, and Moguzo are handled fine. You can expect them to act the same in the LN. Shihoru feels a bit flat in the anime but that just comes with the medium and the necessity of cutting content from the light novel. Haruhiro was extremely mispresented in the anime tho. He is called Old Cat so he should have droppy Eyes and baggs under them but in the anime he looks way more generic. The way he acts also doesn't match the way he does in the LN. Haruhiro is kind off supposed to be self-doubt incarnate but in the anime that doesn't really shine through.
Now about the actual character writing: It's slow. The characters develop slowly but that means this development is handled with an intimacy and care which you can't really find in any other isekai. That includes the character relationships. Haruhiro's party has such a strong bond that it feels like they'd do anything for each other. It has a sincerity to it which I can't really describe. In romance anime or battle shonen there is often some kind of insincerity between the rivals or the main couple for example. Grimgar doesn't really have that. Characters say they love each other or they cuddle with each other or they throw themselves into dangerous situations just because they care abound the bond they have. It obviously isn't like that from the get-go but Haruhiro's group grows so clos because of all the shit they go through together.

World - 9

It's in the title. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. The Fantasy part is clear, Fantasy=Magic, Beasts, Monsters and so on. The Ash part is the one which makes Grimgar different from other isekai worlds. Grimgar is a dying world abandonded by the gods. People turn into undead because of the No-Life King's curse and basically anything that breathes is trying to survive and ready to kill you if you try to interfere. In contrast to other isekai worlds t doesn't feel like as if humanity is a nature-defying power, building huge cities and being the dominant species. In Grimgar there are no big cities. Humanity is just like the other races part of a dying ecosystem called Grimgar. Because of that, Grimgar always has a certain mystique to it and a sense of dread is looming over the group at all times.

Overall - 9

Grimgar might not be the most complicated story-driven political fantasy LN but it is definitely the rawest isekai LN I know and if you are interested just pick it up and see for yourself.

I will try to make this spoiler free and not too long 😊. I have read the 18 current volumes (no idea how many chapters Xd) and I would say this is a great LN but it will probably not work for everyone. This LN is very different from what most Isekai does, it takes a more “realistic” and dark approach which I enjoy. Some would probably say that it is too slow (which I can understand) but that is what I like about it.

Story: 10/10
Interesting plots and sub-plots during the entire series (so far) and nothing seems rushed. Amazing worldbuilding that the ... author presents well.

Art: 10/10
A very unique style which I really enjoyed. Nice character designs.

Characters: 10/10
Amazing characters with great development throughout the LN. Loads of interesting, funny and captivating side characters that further improves the series.

Enjoyment: 10/10
As you can probably tell by now, I loved reading this LN. The only thing I could say that some might not enjoy about the series it that it can be slow sometimes (which I like, but I understand that some people dislike that) or if you dislike when the MC is “underpowered”.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for a fast-paced Isekai with an overpowered MC, then this is probably not for you. Otherwise I would highly recommend that you try this out. I would also recommend that you read at least the first 4 volumes, if you still do not like it then you probably won´t like the LN.

Hope this was helpful

"OMG! Finally someone succeeded in creating something good!"
That was my first thought when i saw the anime. The art, the story, the dialogue, the world... All of them were something I've always longed for but never found.
So, after the anime ended, of course I had to read the source material to find out what happens next.

Like I've said, the world of Grimgar is fantastic. It is something any RPG lover would feel like home. And after reading the 1st volume "Afterword", I was like "huh, this author sounds like me". I was reading volume 3 and I was imagining how the anime would look like. ... "oh, nice. Oh, so this is the perfect way to end the season. And the next one can start like this.. I can already see it. Uuuuuhhh, its gonna be great!" Well, all I can say spoiler-free, is that the books go downhill after volume 3. Or starting with volume 4. And the reason is: the couples. At a first glance it might look like something that shouldn't impact the story too much. Wrong! You can have dragons, a normal guy or a genius doing heroic feats, you can kill some dear characters and still it will work itself out. But if you put the wrong people together, well, that's the part that makes or breaks a masterpiece. Or should. These days its all about forums and novel clubs and whatnot. "OMG! You watched the anime but you haven't read the source?" And the "tricked" person will praise the same bad things of the novel to other persons and so on, and so on. By volume 6 I was almost shouting "Oh, c'mon! How could you screw it up that hard? WTF?!?". And I won't even start with the whole inner monologue. Some people might say that's for character development. Those people would be wrong. Very wrong! I usually don't care if is isekai or not, if it is harem or not, if the chars are overpowered or not, if the pace is slow or not, but when you copy/paste the same damn inner monologue over and over again, well, that's where I draw the line. Again. It was cute for the first volumes. Even understandable. I mean I could see the struggles and understand why. I was oki even with the very slow pace. The changes don't happen overnight. I get it. But changes do happen, even for a mediocre person. The way the MC is described as. So when you get to the final arc and and the inner monologue is the same... But hey, the author made some quick buck with every new volume, even if the story is s**t. "Hmm... Should I make him a bit smarter? Learning from his past mistakes? Well the deadline its too soon I can't be bothered to think about that now. Lets copy/paste the same thing over and over, but in a new decorum. I really need that money to keep flowing in until I figure it out..."

By the end, the loser (author) starts to pick up the pace of the events, but the "writing" is the same (horrible), tries to manipulate the reader's feelings with some nonsense character killings, the art is more and more on the way to ecchi (not a bad thing, obviously, but why now? You've finally figured it out that you can't attract readers with the story anymore?). Anyway, you get the gist.

World: 10/10. Spectacular!
Art: 6/10. Meh. Its only about characters. And even that is not top-grade. I mean, if you went for "lets draw some cute characters and hope it will attract readers", you could at least make sure the drawings/proportions are the same. The last volumes are even worse, trying to keep the readers hooked with sexier drawings (if the writings sucks, what else can you do?)
Couples: 2/10. The author messed up big time.
Return value: only if you can stop to Volume 3. It is better to just watch the anime.

In the end, all I can say is that I had high hopes and unfortunately it feels like I was robbed of something precious. It would be nice if authors could get sent to jail.
You know, it is funny. I keep writing this review and I keep breaking down 'cause I remember how he destroyed something that could've been the foundation of a new era for this genre. I've never did this, but he's the first person I'd spit in his face and then look at him with utter disgust.
Anyway, do yourself a favor and watch the anime, read the first volumes and then stop. I know we want an ending, some closure, but don't. What I mostly regret is that the author made money after me. He tricked me (and probably many more) with his first volumes. For the first time in my life I wish some fanfic would appear, canon the first 3 volumes and correct this mess.
With a bit of luck, we'll never get a new season. But if we do, lets hope they change the story.