So Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is one of those hidden gems that usually comes out of nowhere and we wouldn't hear it from again. It's a great series with a kind of tragic and good development. It's a fun rollercoaster ride from top to bottom. I guarantee you it's one of the best isekai out there that deserves more attention that you think. It could even go toe to toe with mainstream one if it was only given a chance. So here it is.
So before writing the review I watched the anime and read the light novel so this might contains a bit of a spoiler if in light novel. But don't worry, I'll focus more on the anime.
Story:
The story is really refreshing. Although, they excluded alot of things that is really important later on but it seems clear that this anime was designed to be one-off season only without any continuation seeing how things end. Everything is alive in this place. The story is not like any isekai you see where the author is some kind of people who just love to see girls fall inlove to MC like they don't even know how love works and just put every beautiful girls in the story and falls inlove with the MC. It's not like this, it has a nice ring to it that take things slow and you'll definitely see how people work hard to get things not some overpowered one. You could also say it's one of those series that has a realistic tone about being an adventurer like not everything is an action but also you're weak early on but if you train hard you will succeed but maybe fail and if you fail you can die. The downside is just that the pacing is slow that was why it didn't get enough traction to the fans just become some hidden gems. This is also probably the reason why it didn't get a season 2 aside from the it seems it's really fixed to be one off season.
Art:
Art is simply amazing! It's gorgeous. I am not an artistic person so I am bad at describing the art. The color pallette didn't change if something happens just to show that people in this world is just another life in another world and that they're not some special people. This is also were the part when they're just doing some slice of life thingy, you can enjoy the art by just sitting back relax and enjoy. The coloring of the background is like a water color drawing which is really easy on the eyes. You'll fall inlove to the setting of the Grimgar and the fortress city of Alterna. The art also reminds me of Dark Souls.
Sound:
The music is actually good, the OST is good. It actually keeps playing in my head. Also, just a normal walking in the city or woods is a cool music one which you can listen to. If only cities in real life has BGM I would choose this. Also, during the fight scene putting some rock song onto it bring the beauty out of it. You'll definitely feel the tense and suspense of the action.
Characters:
The characters of this anime is really relatable if not likable. They have each and every personality like most but what made them different from other isekai is that they have SOUL. The soul that made them stand out and unique to each of everyone. You'll feel that one character is hiding something (which was revealed on some side stories in novel and that I was right! :D) You'll definitely see their growth in every aspects of their life. Once, they were just kids that looks like playing along in life but things changed and you'll see how they do things differently. You'll find one character annoying, one lovable, and one's kind of cool. So if you're not into beta males brain dead MCs (I am looking at you smartphone isekai) then this is for you.
Enjoyment:
Dude, this anime is a rollercoaster ride of trust and emotional damage. It's kind of dark with some light art style. The enjoyment of this anime depends on person to person. But I am the kind of person who liked to balance Action and Slice of life. As I played MMORPG before I kind of understand how Grimgar works. It's actually one of those animes that turn game mechanics into life. It also teach us that how one's death could affect everything so if you're into a dark anime with light setting then this is for you.
Overall:
Like I mentioned earlier, Grimgar is one of those hidden gems that deserves your attention. It's not as flashy as other isekai. They're not overpowered to be real they're the underdogs. So if you like rooting the underdogs Grimgar is for you. Ao Jyumonji just made a masterpiece that for me can rival big names in High Fantasy genre if he can polish this novel. So cheers to you!
