This is a fun show to watch. It is not groundbreaking, or trying to impress with something it is not.
If you need an anime to give you some motivation to help push you to do something, this will deliver. It wears its meaning on its sleeve, and it can browbeat you with it often. It has enjoyable fight scenes, and training montages.
This is a show about about the power of perseverance, wrapped up with fun characters, enjoyable art style, and pacing issues.
It has flaws. But what show doesn't? It has some fan service, some plot holes, and a few bland one-off characters. No singular bad moment stays around long enough to leave a bad taste though. The pacing though is a bit strange in the second half. The first part of it is fairly well paced, and the story moves quickly along. The second half gets mired down a bit. It gives us time to learn about about some of the supporting cast, and their history, and makes the ending very rewarding. But it could have been shortened by a bit, and I would have liked to see some more of what the second half of the party was doing on their side mission.
The cast is enjoyable, but there are not enough episodes to make them feel more 3D. The magic system is nothing new either. It is not trying to re-invent the wheel with any concept. But it is great for old farts like myself who sometimes need to her that it is never to late to start something you have been dreaming to do.
One thing that I do want to explicitly say that I like about this show is that it does a good job showing the difference between talent and practice. The Party are all people who are talented, but put in the work to make themselves the pinnacle of their craft. The main character is someone who has started becoming an adventure at 30 years old, with no innate talent*, but has the will to not give up and push through his own mental blocks.
When he goes for his first test to raise his ranks, he is able to see difference that his hard work has made. And what happens when people rely on talent, and don't put in the time to practice. These are the main entry-level villains of the show, slightly less menacing than Saturday morning cartoon villains, but they are simply there to prove a point, not to be the big bad. Watching them get their comeuppance is very rewarding and fun.
I personally hope that this anime gets more seasons.
This is my first review, I hope that you give this show a chance.
Side observation: I have just gotten back into anime after a long break. It seems that there is now a higher influence of German fantasy compared to English fantasy in character naming, character design, and fighting styles. It is refreshing. Threw me for a loop when I noticed it.
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