So story wise, chillin in my 30s follows the basic formula of an OP assistant to the Demon King’s army getting kicked out due to jealousy and taken in by a small village in the country side. What sets it apart from some of the other shows in this style like Beast Tamer, is that 1:There’s no harem, so the MC’s relationship with the main female lead takes priority and develops naturally. It’s not like one episode they’re together. It is a slow build-up and really rewarding when it happens. 2: The MC being a middle aged guy brings a level headedness to the story that a lot of these fantasy shows lack. None of the usual fan-service and perverted antics, it’s nice to get a mature MC who just wants to go about his daily life.
The story’s first 6 episodes or so are pretty slow paced, usually revolving around the MC accomplishing some task to support the people who have been kind enough to take him in. But I found these tasks to be really satisfying. There’s a little bit of world building and some backstory hints for the MC, but they don’t really begin to pay off until episode 8 or so. Once the new characters get involved in the story is where things really picked up for me. The past 4 or 5 episodes were the highlight of the series for sure. I loved how everything came full circle from Dariel’s past. I will say the big twist with Dariel’s origin story was pretty predictable and kind of boring for me, but at the same time it was consistent with the overall story, so can’t be too mad. Again, I am really glad they didn’t go the harem route, instead actually giving us female supporting characters with a little bit of personality.
The art style is really nice in this, Encourage films have done Gochiusa and also Deaimon and this show is up there with those for me. Solid animation, banger OP, no complaints in the technical department. Fights are on the generic fantasy side, but not everything has to be ufotable to satisfy me.
Chillin in my 30s is not the most original show in the world. It does have a lot of the usual fantasy tropes. MC who doesn’t realise how OP he is, girl who instantly falls in love with MC for no reason other than him existing and being nice to her, etc. But, it still manages to be enjoyable because of the MC’s maturity and the interactions between characters. I would not call it a must watch, but it’s certainly one I enjoyed and I think if you liked Banished from the Hero’s Party or Beast Tamer, you will like this.
Chillin in my 30s gets 8 out of 10.
