Let me start by zeroing in on the mystery aspect. The idea is that seven heroes show up to go and slay the Demon God. The problem is that there are only supposed to be six. Moreover, something happens that turns it into a locked-room mystery where one person definitely appears to have bad intentions. So far, so good. I thought it was a pretty intriguing twist on the “heroes go to defeat the big bad evil guy” trope.
There is a lot of interpersonal drama, accusing, blaming, convincing, fighting and who knows what other interactions between characters, all in an attempt to figure out who the fake hero is. Unfortunately, barely any of these interactions are based on logic, facts or clues. With some mysteries, it’s fun for the viewer to puzzle out what has happened by paying attention. Don’t even try that with Rokka no Yuusha, because there is no way to figure the mystery out. The solution gets pulled out of someone’s ass at the end of the season, and there is no way to have foreseen this. So as a mystery, Rokka no Yuusha fails completely.
Now, why do I give this a “mixed feelings” rating rather than a straight-up “not recommended”?
For one, some of the characters are entertaining to see in action, be it combat or dialogue. Especially the main character, Adlet, is pretty interesting when he’s not going off on his “I am the strongest man in the world” spiel. He’s not really all that powerful, but uses a lot of gadgets, tricks and the power of science in general to accomplish his goals. This is unconventional in a setting where powerful people tend to be full-fledged warriors or special magic users called Saints.
Anyway, character designs are fine for the most part and it was fun enough to see them interact with one another. Especially the bond between Adlet and Fremy was worth seeing develop. At least Fremy is a tsundere character for whom the tsundere aspect actually makes sense. Aside from those two, Hans was quite the character as well.
The backgrounds were all drawn very well, but the 3D CGI looked awful.
Sound effects were fine, and the soundtrack was well chosen for each scene. I can appreciate it when these choices are done well.
Finally, the Mesoamerican-inspired setting was quite novel. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in an anime. We even got to see alpacas/llamas, and random background characters wore a lot of colorful fabrics. My only gripe with this is that while the background art was good and the setting unusual, most of the series actually takes place in a single area. This is such a missed opportunity. We could have seen so many more beautiful sights if this hadn’t been the case.
Unfortunately, the series’ finale is unsatisfying. This season felt like a single arc that sets the stage for so much more and would transition into a completely different second season. But there is no second season. Which is a shame, because the ending leaves many big questions unanswered. Apparently only the first volume of some light novel has been adapted and did poorly enough not to warrant a second season.
As badly as the mystery sucked, I still mostly enjoyed my time with Rokka no Yuusha. If only because it was different from the norm.
