Hai to gensó no Grimgar

If you watch this and then Phantasy Star Online 2 The Animation, you might understand what I am referencing in my review for PSO2. You might get it because even though they are both anime series set in an RPG world, there is an astonishingly massive difference between them. This difference can be seen right off from the first episode, despite the fact one is science-fiction, and the other is a fantasy adventure. The world and the narrative of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash present something new that has not been seen even in shows like in SAO, Log Horizon, or Overlord. It has some enjoyable characters who build suspense. However, we have not seen one important extra thing before; the main protagonists do not remember anything! In every previous anime series with this setting, characters are obviously trapped in the game, and it is clear from all the references that they are from our world. However, the characters always knew they were in the game, knew the gameplay, knew exactly what to do. In this show, they are just more or less clueless. So far, we have always gotten concepts focused on what to do when you know you are stuck in an RPG (try to escape, adapt, take over the world); however, now we have something that begs the question: "What would you do if you were in an RPG game and did not know it?". This question is both intriguing and original, and for that, I am pretty interested in watching how it unfolds. Like PSO2, the anime's creators wanted to lure us in with combat right from the start, although in this show, they did not show us how "cloying" the main male protagonist would look at the end. They just showed us a bunch of characters getting it on with two goblins. I was immediately amused and liked this. Then when they explain how it is with the characters, one understands exactly why they cannot do it. Plus, we have a bunch of teenagers in this show, so even though there are hints of disappointing looks and silly sex-themed crap and subtext, you find them believable in this regard too. They are believable because they are not old enough to know that hormones are crap. So this show does not feel as cheesy as other fantasy adventure anime series. Overall, the whole anime series feels incredibly believable for where it takes place. The characters are not over-the-top; they have their weaknesses just like everyone else and come across more like wimps, even though, to be honest, that is what almost everyone from today would probably be like if they were thrown into this harsh world. The soundtrack and animation are great, the narrative style is enjoyable and unique considering where this narrative takes place. I really would not expect a slower and relatively calm pace with an emphasis on the characters' psychology in an anime series in such a setting. Well, indeed, this leisurely pace and male protagonists who are fighting with themselves much more than with monsters will not be to everyone's taste. I am lucky enough not to be one of them, so I really enjoyed this unique work. 9/10. (11.01.2016) (vähemmän) (lisää)

Not knowing how he actually got to watching the season in the first place, even though its synopsis smacked of nothing less than a travesty, and when the animation studio involved also did not raise his hopes up, the poster and trailer perhaps even making him grow tired, and the director's name evoking associations with the kitschiness of the artwork of his previous movie venture, Hromino's review was written quite incredulously with a smile on his face, and a five-star rating emerging, the first five stars awarded to an anime in two years. This was a thoroughly pleasant surprise, in retrospect appearing to be a successful attempt to avoid the mistakes that another anime by the same studio based on similar themes suffered from. Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions is a TV show that primarily focuses on character believability, and it does not hesitate to sacrifice action scenes, faster narrative pacing, or epic grandness of story to achieve it. The audience's ambivalence is justified, as the expectations of the above and the subsequent discovery that all of this is completely or entirely absent in Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions can naturally lead to a sense of disappointment. For me, however, the opposite is true. The characters are thrown into an unfamiliar world, finding themselves in the same boat, so to speak, as villains having trouble killing even a small goblin, are forced to get used to the unfamiliar world. However, apart from the alien world, they also have to get used to each other in order for the disparate group to act cohesively; and it is the building of relationships between them, listening to each other, trying to understand each other despite their aversion to each other, adapting to the next member or, on the contrary, coping with the loss of another member that the creators have managed to portray to perfection. Everything feels natural, believable, fluid, nothing is forced, the silences and the unspoken things also functionally serve the narrative, and as the characters form bonds with each other, the audience also gets used to the characters. Another important element of the narrative, I think, is that there is essentially no single hero who overshadows the other characters in terms of his abilities or the focus of the plot on his person. There is the main hero, Haruhiro, who comments on the plot, but he is more than a little far from being truly "heroic"; compared to the rest of the team he does not abound with any special talents, the plot rather just flows around him, and in terms of narrative significance, he is given the same emphasis as the other team members, so thankfully there is no recurring problem of an overly powered character with whom the audience has no need to sympathize. However, if anyone feels that Grimgar is someone who thrives on merely commenting on the grim lives of the poor souls stranded in an alien world, they would be mistaken. Along with the increasing understanding among the members of the group, the characters' mental maturity and fighting abilities improve, and this is vividly demonstrated to us in the last more action-packed section of the season. Plus, if we add to the positives mentioned so far the very well executed artwork, and soundtrack, we have a great course that I have been sampling with great gusto every week. It could be faulted for its somewhat sparser, more static animation in places, as well as a couple of vocal tracks that seemed rather disturbing and intrusive in certain scenes, but fortunately it does not change the final impression – and the final five stars. If a second season is ever made, the creators can count on me to be watching again. (28.03.2016) (vähemmän) (lisää)