Even with it's beautiful art, Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is a disappointing addition to Isekai genre

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar has some of the most beautiful watercolor background I've seen in an anime in recent memory. In fact, it was this art that kept me watching this show past the first few episodes. Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is yet another isekai anime in an already over-saturated genre. However, it does have some unique points that make its premise interesting enough to not be dropped immediately. Grimgar plays with a lot of Isekai tropes, such as amnesia and adventure guilds. However, what makes Grimgar so intriguing is the realism with which it portrays these tropes. As the abandoned members of the people transported over to the new world, there are no geniuses among the main cast. This made for a very realistic portrayal of how an average person would fair in suddenly being transported to a world without modern technologies. We get to see the main cast go through their mundane chores, worry about money, and trying to learn how to fight. Indeed, we don't even get to see the cast kill a goblin until the second or third episode (and it takes all six of them surrounding one lone goblin to do so)

Spoiler, click to view

, and even then, during the fourth episode, one of their party members dies.

▶ However, there were many parts to this show which also grated on my nerves. First, the pacing was so freaking slow. Like even slower than a baby crawling slow. I have not read the manga or light novel, so I do not know if this was a scripting issue or an issue with the original story, but whoever chose the pacing did not do a good job. I understand the slower pacing adds value to the realism and overall themes of the story that was being told, however, there is such thing as too much, and this definitely crossed the line. As mentioned a little tangentially earlier, if it were not for the art, I would have dropped this show around the second or third episode. Luckily, when I was at my wits' end around the fifth or sixth episode, the pace started picking up a little bit, and I was able to finish out the show. Overall, the final arc was good, but slogging through the beginning does put quite a damper on it. Second, while the songs used throughout the show were all quite good - or rather, I had nothing really negative to say about them - the overuse of montages superimposed over music in what was essentially integrated/embedded music videos was not. It was excessive and persistent and likely contributed to the show's pacing issues. The time spent on the songs would have been better used for some plot or character development. However, I believe someone mentioned the show being sponsored by some musical company, which seems a likely reason as any to have this many song breaks in the show (although I have yet to be able to confirm this as fact...it is likely true though as the same band, (K)NoW_NAME, recorded OP, EP, and OSTs). ▶ Thirdly, and this may be just a personal issue, but the character Ranta grated on my nerves so much. He continually ignored people's boundaries and insulted people, only to get all broody and insulted when people wouldn't coddle his feelings. Then, when Haruhiro tried to communicate with him, clearly trying to get a better understanding of him, he seemed to be insulted that Haruhiro could not read his mind and wouldn't open up to him after being shut down by him multiple times. He was brash and overconfident and refused to work as a team or open up. I know this is an archetype within anime, but it has to be one of my most hated ones. Overall, there were some points that I would rate neutrally, such as their magic system. It wasn't the best but wasn't the worst, and not much really stood out from it. There also isn't much lore available for the world the cast has been transported to,but since that wasn't the main focus of the story, I wasn't super pressed about it.

So, with all of these points in consideration, __I would not recommend watching _Hai to Gensou Grimgar___. I rate is a 65/100, however, most of the score comes from the art and the redemption from the final arc. The pacing is simply too off for me to willingly subject someone else to it. While Grimgar had a great concept going for it, it ultimately failed in the execution of it, which is a disappointment and a shame.