ubaldo51 - 2017-02-18 21:17:21

One of the best anime I have seen (maybe top 5). Its simple, group of people “spawn” in a new world and have to survive like in some mmorpg, except its real, its no video game. I had feeling like its similar to SAO or other anime, but this one is unique. There are no levels, no quests, no stats (only skills), they just have to earn money to buy food and bed. The soundtrack is absolutly amazing. Graphic is pretty, has its own style, I liked it. If you want something pretty and calm from fantasy genre, this is your winner.

stroman.pedro - 2016-12-27 15:28:27

Every team must work together with one another all while being able to play off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Well, this just so happens to be one of the keep components of why Grimgar could be considered to be one of the Winter 2016 season and is one of the major factors as to why I decided to make this review in the first place. So instead of waiting around, why don’t we go ahead and jump right into the review!

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~Story 6/10~
The story of Grimgar is something that I feel as if is hard to get a grasp of due to it being heavily character focused rather than story focused. In the long run the story goes pretty much nowhere. A thing that bothers me about the start of this show is how we the viewer are introduced to the characters by seeing them wake up with amnesia in the sense that they can remember their names but can’t remember their past, yet they can remember their names. Aside from that, I enjoy seeing the realism in the fantasy world that our characters live in one where death is permanent instead of simply being respawned back into the world time and time again which just so happens to be unlike some other shows that I have in mind cough Re:Zero cough. Other than that I personally really enjoyed it quite a lot more than I originally expected, although it did take me a few episodes of convincing which I believe is due to the show’s extremely slow pacing.

Alright now that I think I got a little bit off hand how about I get back into talking about the plot of the show.

The first four episodes is pretty much just seeing the characters interact with one another while struggling with being able to keep a roof over their heads, buy food to eat, or even purchase a spare pair of clothes. Throughout the duration of the show you will soon begin to notice how at first the gang is so weak that they can’t even defeat the weakest monster in the game, but slowly the group learns to get stronger and learns how to cover each other’s strengths and weaknesses to their highest potential. But the thing that surprised me the most about this series is how there is an underlying message about being able to work together as a team yet when something doesn’t go their way they always end up getting up and moving on, this is best shown through the way how each of the characters end up going through the stages of loss throughout the series.

~Characters 8/10~
As I explained earlier on in the review about how Grimgar is more character driven rather than a story driven, then you might notice how these characters happen to be working together all for the same goal yet they all have vastly different personalities. With this being said I decided to take inspiration from my Osomatsu-san review and keep these character descriptions fairly short all while saying my personal issues with the character.

Haruhiro is an awkward yet reliable member of the Thief Class to whom of which is forced to grow the most throughout the series which I appreciate. He annoys me at times due to his inability to make quick decisions without risk of harming another member. I just wish I could see more of him because he felt like his character was nothing but wasted potential. In the end he turned out to be the cliched main character show seems the weakest of the bunch but ends up having to rise to the occasion to save everyone else he knows, some examples of this type of trope-like character are as follows: Eren from Attack on Titan, Yuu from Owari no Seraph, and Tatsumi from Akame ga Kill. Luckily for Haruhiro, he just so happens to be better written than all three of those characters combined.

Manato is considered the observant leader of the group who just so happens to be a part of the Priest Class and is the one who is calling the shots for the group. My major problem with him is how he seems so perfect in the series yet you soon realise how he is a fool that resulted in him making a massive mistake that ended up shaking the entire dynamics of the team.

Ranta is a strong character how has an undenying willingness to attack yet he happens to also be a quite sensitive member of the Dark Knight Class. Over all this character annoyed me at times to the point where I just wanted to punch him in the nose yet there were also some points in time where he really impressed me with his willingness to go on and never give up. Too bad this can’t save him from the fact about how he is a male tsundere.

Mogzo is the tank of the team due to the fact of him being part of the Warrior Class. He is large and stature yet kind at heart which just so happens to be one of my favorite types of character traits in anime, an example of this type of character in anime is Gouda from Ore Monogatari. One thing that I love about him is how he looks like someone who should belong on an American Football team, he is really the type of person who enjoys doing more detailed work like cooking and paintings instead of being head honcho in the group. It saddens me how Mogzo’s character is pushed to the side a lot in the show and I feel like he could have needed more screentime than what he ended up getting.

Yume is the fun and lovable Hunter Class member of the team. She is debatably the bravest of the entire team yet she struggles to reveal her true emotions at times. The thing that just so happens to annoy me or more specifically her fans is how she is seen more as a ploy to insert some fanservice into the series. I honestly do not know what it is about her but I just never ended up growing a liking to her. Although I must admit, that ass action is on point.

Shihoru is the quiet and observant Mage Class member of the team. She is seen to be too afraid to fight so she ends up supporting her fellow team members instead through healing them. The thing that bugs me the most about her is how she is too afraid to admit her feelings to the group and is so quiet at times that I even forget how she is even a character in this show.

Mary is the recruit member of the group and at first she is seen to be stubborn and selfish but once you slowly learn her backstory and realize what she has gone through you will probably grow to like her just like how I did. Mary is by far the best character in the entire show and is obviously best girl, Haruhiro x Mary ship is best ship btw. I was in awe at this character since the minute I was introduced to her and is the sole reason as to why I never gave up on this show because I was close to dropping it.

The Goblins of course these aren’t a part of the team but the interesting thing about them is how they are the main enemy that the group practices on. They also happen to be a mini-civilization of people who want to do nothing but defend their home and each other. They are in a sense a family who has thoughts and emotions. They are a race in a sense, one that is just misunderstood. Seeing them being slaughtered by our party members is just heartbreaking because over time they have really grown on me.

The reason as to what I loved the most about this series is how you can see the characters develop slowly over time. Each of the characters have vastly different personalities and ideologies at the end of the show compared to their previous selves; this change in ideologies occur due to the their previous experiences that they had to conquer and accept over time.

“Everybody’s got something they are not very good at, but we cover for each other because we are a party,” Manato.

~Music 6/10~
The music in this series is a bit off in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, the soundtrack is one of the best to come out of Winter 2016. The problem that I happen to have with this soundtrack is how it just does not fit with the themes of the show. The insert songs are most specifically the biggest problem with the soundtrack due to the way in which they are implemented into the particular scene in of which they are placed in. I remember at one point where I thought it was the end of the episode due to the insert song being played at full blast while having everything in the scene muted, this happened to occur almost every single episode.

The opening I feel as if is extremely fitting for the show it first starts off fairly slow then quite quickly it is thrusted into a world of excitement, adventure, and fun. There is a bunch of twists and turns in a sort of panic and disorder than soon comes into a sweet harmony, a song in of which each instrument plays for each other’s weakness. This song I feel as if is the perfect representation of the show and is personally one of my favorite openings to come out in the year 2016 thus far. Also I love the usage of the violin in this song, an instrument that I personally love listening to in any song.

And finally for the ending theme, I personally enjoy how down to earth it feels and the emotion that it portrays which represents the harsh and grounded realities that the characters in this show are forced to remember day in and day out. I find the simplicity of having an theme song where all they have in the video is a single picture just having the camera slowly panning to every single character in said photo. This is something that I believe might not work for most shows however for this one it works perfectly.

If you were to ask me, my personal favorite insert song from the soundtrack would have to be “Stand on the Ground” by K(N)oW_NAME.

~Art/Animation 7/10~
The art and animation for this show is an interesting one to say the least. The thing that sets this show apart from most is the watercolor background that is consistent throughout the entire show. I swear that every five seconds of this show has a new wallpaper which is ripe for the picking. If you are interested in seeing these backgrounds I decided to post them all in a slideshow at the bottom of this review.

The problems I have with this show’s art and animation is how the character designs stick out and just look pasted on top of the screen rather engraved with their surroundings. The other thing that bothered me was how at certain moments in the show you the viewer might be able to see the characters bodies being moved from side to side instead of actual walking which I feel is a cheap cop out from animating a short scene.

~Final Thoughts~
Overall, this series really surprised me. I was expecting yet another Danmachi-like series which it kind of is… in a way. The exception here is how realistic and dark the show truly is. At first I hated a lot of the characters however over time they began to grow on me. Also Mary is best girl Winter 2016, and how Grimgar had my #1 favorite opening of the season. The english dub is decent at best however I would recommend you watch it in sub instead; I feel as if the emotion of the vocal performance is lacking in certain scenes in the dub. There is one thing in this entire review that I have neglected to mention… and that one thing is how this series got shafted, in order to be good and reach it’s full potential Grimgar would have ultimately needed at least twenty four episodes. I feel as if with the show being only twelve episodes long that there should be so much more story to tell; I feel as if there is so much more story to tell than what we ultimately ended up getting.

In the end with quite a large amount of thought, I ended up deciding to give this show an 7/10. And would say that it is well worth your time to check out, Grimgar is a series that I would say is not a must watch even tho it is a good one at that.

~Similar Anime Recommendations~
DanMachi, Haibane Renmei, KonoSuba, and Log Horizon

champlin.brett - 2016-11-20 08:42:25

This anime is my 3rd most recommendable of the year!
It's a well done character driven, realistic version of a trapped in a fantasy world!
It even has fan service that actually helped with characterization!
And probably has some of the most best animated scenes of any other anime this year!
It does have a slow pace, as it does occasionally spend several episodes of nothing happening, but even those episodes are good, because it adds small development to the character, and makes them more realistic!
Overall a very stunning looking anime, with really well developed characters, and a pretty good story!
Thanks for reading!

zhaley - 2016-08-03 01:00:06

This is an anime in the style of "trapped-in-an-MMO" with a twist where they don't remember anything about their other lives.  It has quite a few emotional scenes and a lot of musical accompaniment, so it may not be for everyone, but I would definitely say give it a try, especially if you're a fan of fantasy and MMORPGs.

larson.cletus - 2016-07-21 02:32:08

Very slow-paced anime, and I normally enjoy those. Unfortunately, this one was just excessive. The story was way too slow, and it was annoying that they'd suddenly play music for about 10 minutes of the entire episode in the middle, showing very, very small exchanges between characters and what they did in their free time. Animation was definitely nice though. The best was probably the character development. I'm not one to remember names, so I'll just say this, the girl with purple hair, she's the usual weak female of any anime and I'm very tired and frustrated with that image. Then again, what did I expect. Anyway, these are just my opinions. If anyone disagrees with me, let's agree to disagree, peacefully.

mariano.damore - 2016-04-24 17:46:34

It's all about the artwork. The backgrounds are extremely detailed and eye-catching. The character's design and animation is neat, elegant and dynamic.
The plot, however, includes several holes; there are characters who are introduced and then never heard of again. The first three chapters are slow paced and if you're not a sensitive viewer you don't get attached. When tragedy strikes, it doesn't feel scarring... rather, you wonder why everyone cries so much during so many chapters over someone whom they had met just a month and a half ago.

I wouldn't categorize this either as an "action" anime nor as an "adventure" anime. Rather, I'd describe it as eye-candy drama set in an eye-candy fantasy context.

kirsten.bahringer - 2016-04-05 13:55:14

VIDEO VERSION

When you hear the words “Trapped in a video game” you automatically think of Sword Art Online or Overlord which are both obviously masterpieces much like the film The Room. However, Grimgar actually managed to surprise me! Instead of an action fantasy show, I got a slow burn character drama that just so happens to be in a fantasy setting. The show’s god tier pacing truly does help, it’s a slow show which lets the audience witness characters genuinely build up emotions and creates this really gentle calming atmosphere to immerse you inside its world. The pacing also aids in portraying the passage of time, much like slice of life shows like Non Non Biyori, which helps slowly unfold the changes within the Za Warudo and its characters. 

Thematically, the show is about coping with loss, discovering confidence within oneself, survival of the fittest and teamwork. To describe the coping with loss theme would enter spoiler territory but most of the show heavily focuses on that aspect which, like the rest of the themes, was handled maturely. After a pivotal event people started criticizing the anime for being “too slow, boring, lacks of a plot….”Nigga wha? Stop choking on a condom, I think you’re losing brain cells. This non-progressive section of the story is about the characters gradually coming into terms with the concept of death itself, they’re sad, despondent, split apart from each other and are clueless on how to progress as a group. They’re acting realistically, and by criticizing the anime for that will make me automatically assume all audience members want are explosions, nonstop action and fanservice. Based on the audience score for Batman v Superman I assume so. 

There are rarely any moments where the dramatic scenes are inexcusable, when characters do cry it’s used sparingly for a cause at the right moments so it’s not overly melodramatic whereas a show like Nagi no Asukara has the characters crying more tears than there is water in the damn ocean. Initially, the show’s dialogue was a bit hit or miss with some occasional terribly misplaced comedy at the end of engaging scenes, but gratefully after a certain point the show quits that poppycock because when the dialogue is juicy, it’s juicer than juicy juice. Infact, while I adore the dialogue exchanges and how each character interacts differently towards other characters providing more substance to their meaningful individual conversations, I love how the anime is able to adopt the show don’t tell attitude that many pieces of media lack. Example being our good ol’ Katniss Everdeen of the group, Yume, who mentions she has a desire to improve her abilities which is shown through seeing her climbing a mountain in the background or simply throwing targets in the morning. She never tells the audience what’s she’s doing, the show allows you think about what’s she’s doing which is respecting the audience as intelligent thinkers. Speaking of subtle improvement, you constantly see the characters work more and more cohesively as a team by enhancing their abilities, fighting techniques and communication skills. It’s all about what Manato said “A party is supposed to cover up each other’s weaknesses” and I couldn’t agree more myself.

The survival of the fittest aspect is a vital component used to demonstrate the harshness of the world. Since the world is so ruthless and money, much like our world, is a necessity in terms of safely living, what do the characters have to do? The characters have to kill not because they WANT to, the key word is HAVE, they don’t want to kill but must in order to survive. Even Ranta says “It’s kill or be killed, no offense” and the show constantly brings up honoring the fallen enemies as actions the characters always do. Heck, the first time they kill a goblin, they don’t yell Hip Hip Hooray! Instead they’re left traumatized, and we see how this affects the characters throughout the whole episode. I’m tired of so many shows being like… GASP, I JUST KILLED SOMEONE, I’m going to drink tea and eat cookies now. It’s those types of details that makes you stand back and say “Damn, that was some good writing on the author’s part, good job! Have a Peggy Award!”
In terms of powers and abilities, I appreciate how Grimgar makes damn sure you understand the details of the abilities the characters use. Anything is better than that one overlord scene where the Overlord himself was spouting 20 spells without us knowing what the fuck was happening. Explosion in my pantsu magic, Yaoimatsu magic like nigga, what the fuck you even saying. However, there are conceptual flaws the hurt the show a bit like the whole amnesia thing not being explained as well as how the characters ended up in the world in the first place. I honestly would’ve preferred if the characters were originally from Grimgar and at a certain age they are forced to venture on their own to seek a class they desire to become which would’ve eliminated the problem. Thankfully that’s not the main goal of the show so it isn’t a huge complaint, they aren’t trying to leave the world, they’re immersed within it and trying to live their lives normally.

The ending was solid allowing for a satisfying conclusion that allowed all the themes that were portrayed throughout the show to come full circle.

The Characters

Honestly, while the characters aren’t written as deep as let’s say, Evangelion, they feel like human beings portraying real feelings of denial, depression, and reacting differently to situations as they learn and develop as people.

Haruhiro is our main protagonist who is a part of thief class. He’s characterized as the average joe, albeit kinda awkward but eventually due to a turn of events he has to deal with the pressures of becoming a leader. Throughout the course of the show his lack of confidence is where his development stems from as he learns to believe in himself for the better of the party. He’s not a person who’s trying to become the strongest, he’s a person who’s trying to help him and his party survive in a harsh world. He must learn strip away from his dependency from Manato to becoming an independently thinking character.

To dichotomize the main character we have Ranta, a dark knight. He acts as the annoying person of the group whose ideals constantly clashes with the rest of the cast as well as Haruhiro’s methods on how to lead the party which often leads to conflict between the two. However, he’s actually self-aware of his obnoxious actions and remarks which he uses in order to keep the group glued together and have something in common they all dislike. Regardless of his actions, Ranta only wants what’s best for the party and has moments when he truly shines, develops and learns how to be a team player by slowly accepting Haruhiro as a leader despite them not meeting eye to eye. He also displays realistic human emotions with an example being him self-reflecting after killing a Goblin for the first time, it’s moments like those that makes this rude party member actually shine and feel genuine. Also, he’s voiced by mah Favaro from Bahamut which is dank as hell!!

Mary, a priest, is the true shining star of the show. If you had Vladmir Putin, Osama Bin Laden, the entirety of ISIS and Obama in one room, and Mary walked in, everyone would instantly stop trying to kill each other to bow down and stare in awe at her. Initially I would’ve defined her as a simple kuudere, devoid of any sort of personality and is honest, blunt, to the point. But then, the show throws in a backstory which gives a valid reason as to why Mary’s emotional repressed state of mind makes logical sense while giving a huge middle finger at the audience for thinking she’d be some standard kuudere. As the anime slowly progresses and she becomes more accustomed to the party members she begins to blossom having a more positive outlook on life and starts expressing her emotions that she kept suppressed for so long. By also confronting her past and looking towards the future she was able to fully develop as a character who doesn’t allow her negative past to define her as a person and consume her.

While the rest of the cast doesn’t get the amount of focus the 3 aforementioned characters you can sense a great determination for growth within all of them, making everyone likable. Manato is the leader of the party who mostly interacts with the main character while also successfully brings the group together as a reliable chief. Yume is an archer who is characterized as humble and funny yet has difficulty conveying her feelings to others much like the semen demon Shihoru who is an extremely timid mage that lacks communication skills but acts as great support for the team with her magic. Mogzo, otherwise known as overweight Guts, is a warrior class man who utilizes a huge sword to take on brute type enemies. He has a kind heart a really loves to cook making him a joy to see onscreen. These 4 are the weakest characters in terms of development, especially Mogzo, Shihoru and Manato which pretty disappointing because beyond their personalities there was nothing to scrape beneath what’s seen at the superficial level which is sad because they’re onscreen a lot throughout the show.

The Art/Animation

Grimgar has a unique visual aesthetic that is extremely beautiful and generates more life into its world. The neat water colored canvas appearance is consistently stunning to the point where mostly every single background can be called a wallpaper. Screw 5 wallpapers per second, we got Grimgar!!! The way the colors exceeds the boundaries of the lines of objects amplifies the water color style making the architecture, forests, mines and the town all look gorgeous, lush and pleasing to the eye. The imperfect line-work is in a way, perfection. The character designs ooze with creativity and highlights the assets of their own classes with Ranta wearing darker colors to present himself as a dark knight and characters like Yume and Haruhiro wearing light clothing due to their close range, swift and agile style of combat. Now’s my chance to give props to the animation because it’s pretty nice, the fight scenes had decent choreography with a considerable level of intensity and some characters have added minor quirks instead of them remaining still. However, the walking animation sometimes looks like the characters are glued onto a popsicle stick and is moving left and right with the background moving but the legs not. But ooo baby, let’s not let those inconsistencies fool you, this show has some GOAT cinematography to accompany the art style. There are slick zoom shots to allow the environment to consume you, establishing shots are a beauty to look at and there’s skillful usage of lighting, especially during forest scenes where you can clearly see how the light seeps through the cracks of the leaves in the forest. Aside from a few inconsistencies I’d go as far to say that the art/animation is sublime.

The Sound

The soundtrack for this anime is off the chain, it might sound like I’m trying to dick ride this show, but I’m not, the soundtrack is actually lit as hell. The calming pieces are soothing to the soul but when characters are ready to rumble, oh man, the anime knocks the roof off the house with some popping rock pieces that get you pumped up! Yes, even more pumped up than that show about the cute little anime girls exercising, which might I add is just wrong on so many levels but hey the angles are great! I love how the ost was implemented, with many diverse new tracks during different fights to provide a unique audio/visual experience for each fight. The opening is fantastic to listen to and is the perfect entrance into the show while the ending song has a melancholic tone to it that leaves you with a sad feeling knowing the episode is about to close. Voice acting was exceptional and was able to enhance the emotions and personalities of the characters, especially Ranta! 

The Verdict
While the show isn’t perfect with some conceptual flaws, earlier episodes not being up to par with the second half, and some undeveloped characters, this show definitely is an underrated gem that got instantly overlooked due to the crap produced within its genre. With great themes, spectacular art, and a calming slow atmosphere, this is a very good show that I enjoyed tremendously. Who knows, maybe on a rewatch I might call it greatness! But man, oh man, we need season 2 right here, right now!

grayson74 - 2016-04-02 15:57:34

This anime has plenty of action and feels. watching as the characters gradually become more confident, stronger and get to know each other better. the art style is also something different. One point missing from the story rating only because of a certain missing kiss. 
Overall i can really recommend this anime!

meagan.wisoky - 2016-02-15 01:58:33

Basically some random people are sent from our world into a Medieval Fantasy RPG and they don't remember their home-world. The anime's taking the more realistic route here, as a gay dude gives them necklaces, 10 silver coins and tells them to kill some goblins or be his personal toy (you wish I were joking about the last part).
Anyway, a few of the more "cool" people band together and make it through super easily like my ex best friend's shlong inside my ex girlfriend's vagoo, and the main protagonists (7 of them) make a party and suck huge ass at adventuring, not being able to kill a single goblin. Yeah, a single one, with, like, a rusty sword. Also when they do kill it at some point they spend the rest of the episode being traumatized.

Although, following these casuals around is really immersive and you never know what's next as being very low level exposes them to the most basic wounds and mana issues (food doesn't heal and there are no potions, worst RPG 2016). The anime treats the character with great care and consideration though, just like in Game of Throne but without the incest (or maybe not, we're not told about their relations to begin with)

Embark on the magical journey of shipping one of the two girls with one of the 4 guys and see if you guessed it right, which you most likely will not (as of episode 6 some people already lost their ship bingo). Hopefully no "we're siblings" plot twist either.

On a final and more serious note the animation and sound in general are good, the combat rather intense, the interpretation intended as realistic as possible (and good at that) and the anime as a whole is a very good demystification of the genre, making weeaboo trash going from "i SOOO wanna go in sword art online and be a boss and hit on asuna my waifu best girl" to "yeah well that's a hastle i'd rather hit on my body pillow it's safer"

dsporer - 2016-02-06 12:37:41

While this anime is still airing I want to share my first impressions. Purely based on the episodes I saw so far.
The graphic design is awesome, I really like the artwork, it's reminding me of some Ghibli movies with its simple characters and beautiful background. The story is slow paced, giving you time to appreciate the little details of the depicted world.
Though it's too early too talk about the plot, I get the feeling that it's going to be different from other RPG-like animes. The way they made it so realistic is somewhat refreshing and at times a bit disturbing too.
I have great expectations on this one, I hope I won't be deceived!