Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 13
Source: Light Novel
Episode Summary: Red is a quiet man, well-liked among the citizens of Zoltan, but with a personality that leads many to believe he might be obscuring parts of his past. And in truth, he is; he was once among the hero’s party that was set to confront the demon lord, but though Red’s wide range of skills and blessings as a “guide” provided him with many valuable abilities as an adventurer, he was eventually convinced that his services were no longer needed. As his sister Ruti became well-known as a heroic leader, Red allowed himself to fade into the background.
Now Red lives a slow life in Zoltan, holding onto the modest dream of building an apothecary shop and putting his survivalist skills to good use. When he rescues a village child using his knowledge of medicine (despite the actions of some careless heroes who set fire to the forest), Red works out a deal to get his shop built. When Rit, a well-known loner adventurer stops into town, she seems curious about Red and about the life he’s chosen to lead.
Impressions: Note: I’ve gone back to a different method of screen-capping that’s more tedious, but with better results (including the nicer-looking web version of the subs).
Fantasy worlds and the stories they encompass provide almost endless potential. While traditionally our entrance point as the audience is alongside the hero and their quest to accomplish something great, just as with history sometimes it’s the smaller, more intimate stories that are the more interesting ones. Similar to last season’s Drug Store in Another World, our protagonist Red’s goal is about living a satisfying slow life running a pharmaceutical shop. Whereas that series’ atmosphere seemed more focused on the softer, low-stakes drama of its well-established isekai hero, in this case we’re getting some more focus on Red’s previous life and skills and what he left behind.
Red’s status as a fantasy party retiree isn’t necessarily by choice, and I think that adds an interesting angle to the story. In this world, people’s abilities are defined by certain God-given traits that they have from birth. This outlines how some folks become mages while others take up the sword. As a “guide,” Red has access to a broad swath of skills meant to help support the hero’s party and aid them on their journey – to a point. But as they say, a jack of all trades is a master of none and his abilities top out in their usefulness eventually. Though he may feel some injustice in this (flashbacks seem to suggest he was unwillingly let go from his post and that he aspired to things that were perhaps outside of his skill set), it’s simply the way of the world.
As we meet Red, he’s making vain attempts at leaving it all in the past, using the skills that he’s developed to make a new career and being coy about his actual skill class. One thing I think this episode does a good job of making clear, though, is that it’s extremely difficult to pretend you’re unable to help with a situation if lives are at stake; Red breaks some rules to slip into adventurer territory to obtain a rare medicinal herb, and there we’re treated to the sort of situation that arises when inexperienced (or outright uncaring) guides are utilized – a forest on fire due to irresponsibly discharged fire magic. It’s so easy to discount the necessity of those whose skills don’t provide them with the same flash and celebrity potential of a sword-slinging hero. Yet, their value truly comes into focus during those times of crisis where their specialized knowledge proves necessary.
The last few minutes of the episode mark the arrival of Rit, another well-known adventurer whose face appears all over the key art and the OP. Her part in the story is still a mystery at this point, but she seems quite intrigued by Red and his position of regard within the village. Perhaps she’s someone else in search of a slower-paced way of living?
Pros: This is a “slow life” story the actually seems to have a little bit of meat on its bones. Neither a comedy nor a straightforward slice-of-life thus far, it provides some interesting narrative detail fleshing out the world and the protagonist’s situation. While I wouldn’t say that Red is a particularly interesting guy on his own, his story, which draws from feelings of inadequacy and wanting more for himself than what he’s been given by default does a lot to fill in those blanks.
Cons: The system under which the heroes operate is very video-game-y. Like a lot of fantasy anime it seems to want to fall back on those tropes – leveling up, class systems, magic weapons, etc. – rather than develop its own elements more organically. On one hand it’s a good time-saving shorthand. On the other, it feels very simplistic and isn’t very interesting on its own. I’m just not typically a fan of it.
Content Warnings: Fantasy violence.
Would I Watch More? – I could see myself watching more of this. This episode did enough work to establish an intriguing situation for our character and there are clues that perhaps some of his former associates might make appearances later on. I’d also like to know more about Rit, since she’s apparently important enough to be plastered all over the official series artwork.