Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

When you wake up, what is the first thing you think of? Now I can't speak for everyone, but generally I would say for myself it is to eat or something regarding my own well being. There are two reasons for this, firstly we care first about ourselves before others and secondly because we desire to live. Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is an Anime exploring both these ideas, within a world that is not the same as ours - it is in fact a fantasy.

Plot
Now with this type of genre and structure we have to make something really clear, the story will have limited value in the way that we assess it. The reason I say this is because it's focus is not on story goals, the goals are really simple and that is simply survival and what that involves as imperfect characters. Yet for the sake of the review structure I have included this point to make clear why I am not going to discuss it in the same fashion as I would your more general works. Instead I will move onto the character part of the review.

Character
This story is encapsulated by what the characters experience. Everything is about what it means to survive in a world that they are brand new to but not completely unfamiliar to. The characters are very weak at first and is made clear from the beginning of the series. Who the main character is in the beginning of the show is vague at first, but the experiences of the characters lead us to understand the intricacies of each individual characters internal struggles. Each character is explored moderately and two are explored very in depth, there is one character that gets left in the dark unfortunately and is just a typical trope which is I would argue the only downside to the entirety of the show. There is one aspect I want to address and it seems to be a problem for a lot of people I speak to, people consider this an isekai genre show. When I watched this, I didn't get that experience at all. Instead what I got was a deep character driven story about survival. I don't remember one conversation regarding returning to another world, or anything about trying to find out why they are in this world now. Rather what I heard was conversations about what they were experiencing at that moment in time, they weren't focused much on the future or the past, because today held enough problems for them as it was. The characters didn't feel forced they were just real.

Art Style and Animation
This is actually a very important part of understanding the characters. And should not be a separate section but for the sake of semantics I will keep it. The animation in this show is so amazingly detailed, that each individual character shows their personality through detailed facial expression. I am not only speaking about the human characters also for the sake of the goblins and other fantasy creatures. The animation brought what the characters were dealing with internally and showing the struggle through their face and their shaking hands after killing a goblin, through the sadness of the realities of life. It showed the heaviness of death, but at the same time didn't ignore the beauty that the world itself was engulfed in. The scenery of the towns and atmospheric lighting is absolutely beautiful and gave an internal impact for each character's experience. The directing didn't ignore the size differences in characters, it attributed the fighting styles of each and made each form of fighting work in the way that they realistically should. The animation is nothing short of some of the best I have seen.

Music
I am a music fanatic so I am always the harshest when it comes to this. [Know Name] is a fantastic band, that I never heard of and they are the ones who are to praise for the outcome - not forgetting the support from NIKIIE and AIJ. The best way to describe the soundtrack is to really think about your own experience of life. The way you consider the basic things in life will drastically affect the way you consider the music in Hai to Gensou no Grimgar. Because in the end this anime is focused on the realities of life just within the context of a fantasy world. It is directly relatable to us as humans because they aren't any different to us. Each piece of music is appropriate to the characters experience of the world. Be it the early morning crisp of the day, or the vain effort of our everyday struggle with ourselves. The cloudiness of a sad day, yet remembering the knew day ahead. Never forgetting the seeds planted and the germination to come before the growth.

To conclude, Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is an Anime about experience. It is about remembering the importance of not only thinking about yourself. It reaches out to us to remind us that we are not alone, even if we feel like that is the case. There is always someone out there waiting for you, to be with you and struggle alongside you. My final rating of this is 9/10 it is overall a fantastic show that lost some character development opportunities, but the rest of the show is impeccable.
I recommend this to any fantasy lover and anyone looking for a slice of life with good action and character drama.