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Year: 2016
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Episodes: 12
Rating: 4 out of 5
What if you woke up in a world with no memories of your past and no idea where you are? You meet several other people in the same situation as you. When you step out of a building, you see that you are in a new and fantasy world straight out of some game or Dungeons and Dragons. What would you do? How would you survive? What are the rules and structures of this world? Grimgar, Ashes & Illusions is an anime where several people wake up in a new world and must figure out how to survive or perish.
Overview
A group of individuals (Haruhiro, Manato, Yume, Shihoru, Ranta, and Moguzo) awakened alone in the darkness. They have no memories of their life or even their own names. They soon become aware that they are in an unknown building, and when they step out, they are in a medieval type of land. Thrown into this new world, they must figure out a way to survive and soon realize that they must accept jobs in this new world that are dangerous on all sides. They soon learn that they are in the world of Grimgar.
One by one, people start forming teams and soon Haruhiro, Manato, Yume, Shihoru, Ranta, and Moguzo are left with no group. They create their own party to survive this new world, each taking on a job and training before setting out. Manato becomes the leader and priest; Haruhiro becomes second in command and a thief; Yume trains to be a hunter; Shihoru gains training to be a mage; Moguzo is a gentle warrior; and Ranta is a pain in the ass dark knight. As the party sets out, they soon learn that Grimgar is no game and one of death and survival.
Review:
I have watched all the seasons of Sword Art Online, and they are really good. I have seen a few other anime series where the main character gets trapped in a game or enters a game. Some that come to mind are Overlord, Log Horizon, and a few others. Those anime series are fun and have many comedic elements to it. Grimgar, Ashes & Illusions is almost the complete opposite of those anime series. I am telling you that this series is the realest of how things might be in a game.
Like Sword Art Online and Overlord, the story revolves around a group of people who wake up in a room in a new world. What is different and mysterious about this one is that no one remembers how they got into this place. It is almost like they have been transported into a new world. I don’t know if it is a game at all. The anime never explained it, which is why it is so good: you wonder why they are in this new world and how they arrived.
The anime shows that the characters form a party and train at specific jobs or traits. Think of DND or Elden Ring, where you pick what class you want to be in. Where this anime diverts from anime series like that is the realism of what the party has to go through. In other series, the subject of money and characters’ limitations are pushed aside or not even thought of. In this series, the characters must go on little missions to earn money. I love that the missions are challenging and usually find scraps. As time passes, they start getting better and better to earn some money and live a little bit better. Just like in SAW, when a person dies, they die, and you see the ramifications on the group. This is why watching is so good: you realize the slightest misstep and are gone from the world. When that one character died, I thought he would respawn, and things would be good. NOPE! Dude was gone and the priest was like, “Sorry, death is death.”
When one person dies, the anime shows what happens next to the party. Who becomes the leader, and will the party survive? What happens when you have two people who disagree on something? Do they stick together and work it out, or do they bounce and do their own mission? Haruhiro takes up the mantle of being a leader after it. What needs to be realized is that he goes through it, and you see how tough it is with his group. For example, they go on a mission, and another party thinks they took their stuff, and he must fight them and explain.
I must admit that the animation is above average. I was thinking that it would suck ass, but it is actually really good to look at. What is great about this anime is its style for this mythical world and its characters. You get the standard purple-haired or red-eyed person, but it works in this anime because it is a fantasy world. I like how goblins or orcs are drawn without any pupils and have yellow eyes. When the characters fight the goblins, the animation is smooth with their movements and doesn’t look clunky or drawn weird.
I would go into major detail about the characters, but if I do, it might reveal things about them. It is best to see who they are and their personality. I’ll discuss Haruhiro as he is the main character. The series revolves around him and his inner thoughts. He is kind and thinks about the feelings of his group. Even though he has it out with one of his comrades, he shows that he cares about him. I wish the anime explained more about him and where he came from. You get glimpses of it when he dreams, but it is never really explained. Maybe they wanted to have more mystery to the characters.
I highly recommend this series. It is a new and different take on people getting trapped or transported to a new world. The realism of the characters’ dealing with situations is spot on, and I like how it is shown throughout the series. The dynamics of the party and the different personalities add to this strong anime. Watch it after SAO or any other anime where characters get trapped in a new world.
