‘IMPROOVMENT’ is a phrase often used to demean others who might be more than pedantic in improving themselves. I always disregarded that insult as there’s not enough people motivated to improve themselves or the world around them. Though being so caught up in your image and how you look to others can become unhealthy, there is nothing wrong with doing good for yourself. But what happens when you’ve finally reached the top? You did the time, you reaped all the rewards, and your help isn’t needed anymore. What do you do then? This show tries to find the answer to that question and many more. It’s not the flashiest show of the season, but it tells a damn compelling story. The show is littered with helpful advice that you can apply not only to yourself, but also your workplace. I wasn’t expecting much from a story about a good guy turning bad, but the clever storytelling, twists and character interactions/development throughout made this show one of the highlights of my week. What was it about this show that made it such a joy to watch unfold? What separates it from your typical D&D inspired fantasy anime?
I didn’t expect a fantasy show (or a show about a post-dystopian future however you want to look at it) to educate the viewer on how to make their workplace more efficient. But also get deep into philosophy. Asking the viewers what is it you’re really living for? Are you actually living for your own happiness or just to please and seek approval from others? In the story we follow Leo, a hero, who is so overpowered that not even the humans, who created him to fend off creatures from another world, want anything to do with him and are afraid of his power. Feeling like a crumpled piece of paper tossed to the side, he sets out to join the demon army he single-handedly destroyed so he can have revenge on the humans. This raises many questions such as, why would the hero want to join the “bad guys”? And couldn’t the hero just eliminate civilization himself without the assistance of the villains he already defeated? The show answers all these questions in clever and emotionally gripping ways that I do not want to spoil. Though I will say that at some point it’s revealed that the demon army aren’t all bad people.
In fact, their leader (Echidna, and the entire army plus generals aside from Mernes) follows the philosophy of a goblin from long ago (Eibrad) who believed in peace between the humans and demons. Echidna’s only goal is to retrieve the philosopher’s stone so that the demons can live in a peaceful world free of bloodshed. The stone however, is sealed away in the human realm and of course, it’s human nature to attack that of which they fear. This presents a moral dilemma, that this entire time it’s entirely possible that Leo’s reason for existing was brought on by nothing but fear by the humans. We also learn of each of the general's personal dilemmas and have an episode dedicated to each. Showing Leo teaching them how to manage their duty better and learn new skills along the way.
Personally my favorite to least favorite general goes from Lily, Mernes, Echidna, Shutina, then Edvard. That’s to say I still liked all of them, however there’s no denying that Lily’s unrequited love for Leo, even up to the twist climax, is something I rooted for. Her issue is handling logistics, and let’s just say that a young girl who can shape into a 600 ft tall wildebeest isn’t the best at business management. In her episode, it’s Leo’s job to teach her how to become a better leader and to not be afraid to ask others for help. Mernes has issues socializing, Eibrad is unaware of abilities, power, and talent he’s born with and expects everyone to be at his level, Shutina doesn’t know how to delegate her workload onto her subordinates, and Echidna is tasked with making sure everyone is doing their job. Each of these episodes are great, and had it stayed with the episodic-like nature of Leo gaining the acceptance of a general per episode, I’d still consider this show a good time. But after Leo’s true intention and desires are revealed through flashbacks and him possessing something integral to Echidna’s mission. Once all is revealed a little after the halfway point, the plot does a 360 backflip and becomes something even more profound.
While the story and characters managed to leave such an impact on me, how about the other components such as the voice acting, soundtrack, and animation? Firstly voice acting, this was a case where I think everyone gave a solid performance, but I’d give the edge to Eibrad’s VA during the heart to heart conversation he had with a more stoic Leo in a flashback. And Lily’s VA for being so full of spunk. Staying in character and giving a great performance as Lily even when put in dire situations, involving being forced to attack the love of her life. And I just have to say, but SPOILERS! During the final battle where Leo is fighting everyone, I noticed that Lily takes the brunt of the beating. It’s bad enough that she’s seeing a side of her love that she’s never seen before, but to get the point across of how serious he is, he dishes most of his cheap shots onto her and berates her the most. That was probably the most emotionally draining part of the series. Had to get that off my chest, end of SPOILERS! But aside from those two, I think everyone was serviceable, and Edvard’s VA was also solid, doing a good job giving Edvard a brooting, but hearty and warm voice.
As I said earlier, this show isn’t particularly flashy despite it dealing heavily with both fantasy and magic. So in terms of animation, there wasn’t much to note aside from the fight scenes, which are fun and exciting to witness. My favorite being the battle between Edvard’s goblin army and these anti-demon mechs they’re made to fight and teach Edvard some humility. The final fight was well animated and fun as well, though the outcome and progression was rather predictable. Also I thought the foliage and Earth terrain covering modern office buildings in establishing/long shots was unique and cool to see, and reminded me of a moss covered stone. The music wasn’t anything memorable, aside from the second ED being a great closure to each episode. Though I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the amount of times I chuckled after hearing the OP each episode,”IKITE IKITE IKI TSUKUSE!” then the rest of the song plays and it’s alright. Reminded me of the opening track of Mieruko-Chan’s anime, with its “YAMETE YAMETE, MO YAMETE!”.
Anyways, was there anything about the show that made me go Yamete, Yamete, Mo Yamete? Well, as I said earlier, it’s a great show with plenty of surprising twists but it’s not particularly flashy. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel sluggish at times. In fact, most scenes are just people talking. If you’re expecting a fast-paced action oriented fantasy anime with explosions and magic spells galore, then you’ll get some of that here but you’re better off looking elsewhere as they’re few and far between and aren’t the focal point of the show. The conversations between characters can also drag on for a while and feel like they’re talking in circles just for the sake of padding out the run time. There’s also a handful of characters we see once or twice and never again. Only serving as temporary plot conveniences.
But despite the slow burn nature of this series, I was still bewildered at how many great morals and bits of great advice in a show I had no idea was about improving yourself and your approach to life. I was pleasantly surprised at the show making a statement about issues rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy anime, that’s what makes it so much more compelling to me than your run of the mill isekai or D&D inspired story. Which can all be great, but don’t usually offer as much substance or nuance to their dilemmas and morals as Yuusha Yamemasu does. Though it can get somewhat tedious, I’d still recommend this to anyone looking for a medieval fantasy show, but takes an introspective look at how it presents its story and characters.
