This isn't your typical flashy fantasy show, it's more of a slice of life drama slapped with an isekai perspective – it's about groups of seemingly random people that are summoned for the purpose of becoming low-ranking, unskilled conscripts where many end up as little more than cannon fodder. Their purpose is to take care of all the jobs that proper guild members are too busy to bother with. This show follows one such group, comprised of people that were too weak to be chosen by any respective guild; hopes and goals start off simply trying to maintain some sort of livelihood in a world they know absolutely nothing about.
Many seem to have issues with the pacing and I can respect that, as it really just comes down to personal taste in that regard. If you're the type that doesn't tend to enjoy more character study-based plots or find things slow when there aren't big fights and world-changing events being met then chances are you won't think much differently here. While there is progress throughout, there's not going to be an overpowered hero that looks as if they can sweep the evil out of this world with towns of people kissing the blood-soaked dirt they stand on. Progress also doesn't happen due to some forgotten secret or dormant god-tier ability within the characters, jettisoning them to the levels of the guild members within the first few episodes. It's slow-going, it's hard, requires forethought and planning, but most of all, it's actually dangerous and consequential – they need to be able to rely on one another.
This show is a strangely grounded take on a high fantasy tale. One of the first things that stood out to me were the interactions with the goblins. The group decided early on that goblin hunting was their best, safest bet towards avoiding homelessness and starvation, but it wasn't only difficult for them due to their lack of training and skills. The goblins were portrayed as living creatures with some level of intellect, capable of feeling pain and having a sense of self-preservation. The group had to struggle with the idea of ending an intelligent lifeform that was screaming in agony and desperation, one that didn't want to be ended nor was there for simple sweeping plot points. This idea was carried throughout the show, and at times even made me question the perspectives of the creatures they attacked.
Later on, I noticed virtually none of the guild members or leaders in town were irrationally hostile towards the group. Nobody was attempting to plot and backstab them, none of the leaders refused to help, nobody was trying to rob them or get in the way of progress as everyone is essentially in this together – they're all dealing with the same old nonsense that comes with the lifestyle of hunting these creatures. This is especially highlighted in the pub that the group was fond of visiting, as there were multiple times I expected some arch-enemy to appear with nothing better to do or someone to challenge them for the sake of plot. In fact, it was the other way around, as the struggles of the group came from within rather than from any particular outside source. These little unexpected twists on such a cookie-cutter genre really made the show.
Now here I will say there is a lack of world-building and lore that may turn some off. As the viewer you basically only know what the group knows, and their first priority is learning how to survive not figure out the history of the town and befriend everyone in sight. That said, there were times where they could have easily avoided a situation or learned more about an enemy by asking around first, possibly utilized a wider net of contacts to rely on in general. This issue actually was addressed early on with one tragic, hard lesson; however towards the second half of the show it was if they put the blinders on again.
Something else that bothered me was one particular trope that the show did fall into, the ecchi undertones. Too many times did a shot consist of some random tits 'n ass with maybe a sexual reference or two thrown in, really wasn't needed outside one episode if at all. Though to be fair most of it did stem from one character that had his own issues to deal with and the others in the group didn't appreciate it.
Anyway, overall what makes the show is the group cohesion within an unknown, unfamiliar, yet bizarrely grounded fantasy setting. Their survival isn't easy and it's not meant to be, as at the end of the day they're composed of multiple insignificant people only dragged to this world in order to take care of the small stuff.
