Content Warning: Blood, sexualization of a minor in an adult body, fan service
What’s it about? Born and raised in rags, not riches, Hajime Shinonome exists quietly in Komai Village. But when he discovered Rirui, an abandoned child, in the midst of a monster attack, he finds his life quickly change to accommodate a new ward in a world filled with unexpected dangers and gentle moments.
I have a weakness for a story where a guardian takes in a child ward. It’s why Moribito, both the novel and the anime adaptation, remain one of my favorite stories. I love the concept of an adult-figure taking care of a child and showing them that the world is full of good, safe adults who care without asterisks and ifs, ands, or buts.
Now, that’s not why I picked this: in truth, I didn’t know that was the plot here. I picked this because I’m thirty-three and definitely identify with being an adult on the daily grind. So imagine my surprise when we come across Rirui being devoured by a slime, and this story ends up as something else. But that’s for the meat of the review—I’m not going to yap about that right up front. Then again, it’s clear I’ve got thoughts so…let’s get into it!
Episode 1 shows a life of hardship for Hajime. His rags truly are that: rags that barely keep him clad as he fends of fiendish beasts and the constant hunger gnawing at his belly. Life is one big trick for him: he steals and is beaten, he fights monsters and is thwarted. But somehow, he manages to find a patch to adulthood and a better future.
Enter Rirui—a ward who, like Hajime, faced hardship. Only now, Hajime’s an adult and he gets to write the future for them both. Thus starts a very simple, but potentially profound relationship between a child who needed understanding over pity, and an adult who gets to right the wrongs done to him through healing.
I’ll admit, this is not a deep anime, but the first half was perfectly okay. It’s your standard inexplicably named Japanese guy living in a world he shockingly wasn’t isekai’d to. But what makes it different is that Hajime isn’t an adventurer seeking revenge or even particularly powerful. He’s your everyman in a fantasy world where socioeconomic stratification still exists, but somehow, he found a way to happiness and is more than willing to share that. It’s sweet and a reminder that action-adventure fantasy doesn’t need to be swords and sorcery and slavery.
We understand, at base Hajime and to a degree, Rirui. They’re both filling certain archetypes of this world’s poor, going from rags to moderate comfort in a realm filled with magic and beasties. That said, it’s not necessarily compelling in the way, say, Campfire Cooking, is. It doesn’t have that anime special spice that makes a story like that interesting, though mayhaps I should let Daily Grind cook a little.
Still, upfront, it’s kind of rote: Hajime saves Rirui who gets herself into confrontations with monsters that make her have a childish, and truly age-appropriate, reaction. I imagine that can’t be the case forever because, quite frankly, it would be annoying on all levels. And while it provides a foundation for Hajime to grow into a caretaker, there’s just something kind of hollow in this premiere.
This feels like something right up my alley, and yet…I feel as hungry as Rirui for something more. That might have to do with the mid-episode twist where Rirui wakes up in a buxom adult body, and her new dad feels the need to comment on how big her boobs are now. It doesn’t seem like it’s setting up a sexual relationship so much as making jokes about how awkward Rirui is in her adult form but….I have one fear, y’all.
In the end, watch this if you think it’s your thing. You can easily binge it in a day when it’s complete if you really want, but honestly…there’s other, and better, things to follow this season.
Comments are open! Please read our comments policy before joining the conversation and contact us if you have any problems.