Grimgar is an anime that has a slow pace, no doubt about it. Getting into this for the first few episodes, I was honestly confused with how it could, and would, progress. The answer to that was beautifully. I encourage even those who have read the light novels to give this a watch as the characters are portrayed loyally to the source material.
Characters: Normally, you start a review with the story, but in this case I feel more compelled to discuss what drives the story the most, the characters. The interactions and emotions displayed in the show are lifelike, and possess a human quality not found in many anime to date. i would discuss the entire group, but that would ruin part of the show, so I'll discuss the three I felt had the most impact on my viewing.
You have the MC of the group named Haru. Haru is not your typical leader, but after a series of events, he is forced into the role and must overcome his own insecurities as well as learn to understand others. He isn't a battle genius, nor is he an amazing combatant. Hell, he even takes on the style of thief, which is not a normal class for a leader per say. His character acts as a sort of foil for the next character, Ranta.
Ranta is a hard-headed, stubborn, and sarcastic person. He follows orders poorly, and is often screaming more then thinking; however, he isn't obnoxious if you understand his point-of-view. i would say he acts as a foil to Haru as well, but that's also not entirely true as he does try to think of the team, despite how it appears.
Manato, is a character that serves as a role model for the rest of the crew. Sort of like that guy in highschool you felt the need to be just like despite not knowing him all that well. He possess the qualities of a leader and acts as one. He does his best to understand others and is quite proficient at doing so. he's loyal, intelligent, and an overall nice guy.
Story: So, the story is covered in the synopsis above; however, it's not done much justice in said paragraph. The story is definitely character-driven, and even centers around the characters in meaningful ways without losing focus on the group as a whole. What does occur in the story can be considered boring for the first part by many. Drawn out and unnecessary, and that's quite honestly, not fair. This is an anime where if you don't like the first episode, you should try at least two more. Preemptive judging is how many people dropped this show without getting to the section that really kicks it up a notch. No, the story doesn't progress faster, but it becomes clear why they did take it so slow and will continue to do so. It's necessary to clearly develop the characters and keep them human. Take it an episode at a time and pay attention to the little details, it'll be worth it, I promise.
Art: Not much to say here other than, gorgeous. It's well choreographed and wonderfully drawn. The backgrounds are always full and breathing life into the characters and monsters they fight. The faces are expressive and eyes show clear emotion etched into them. At times, you can easily tell what someone will say or do, just based on their facial expression beforehand.
Sound: The anime adaptation is actually funded by a music company, so you can imagine how the music will sound. Perfect. It plays the right BGM at all times, and even sometimes only plays the music, which sounds bad, but it's executed so well that you don't need dialogue in those segments to understand what's happening. You just know. The Ending is also very fitting for the tone of the anime, and gave me goosebumps every time I listened to it.
Enjoyment: Well, if you can't tell by now what my enjoyment was, you probably didn't read the full review. Easily 10/10 and I would recommend this to anyone who can appreciate an anime that's not afraid to take it a bit slow and only speed up when necessary.
Please, if you're considering watching this anime, do it. It's definitely worth your time to get through the first few episodes. Try to enjoy them as well, pay attention to detail and this anime will easily be one of your favorites too.
