Blair Loveday
Anime series can have some long names, but not many are as long as Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside.
With the premise in the title, I figured it may be worth a watch, and I can honestly say, it kinda is.
The series follows a young man named Red in a magical world.
There is a massive demon lord and the only person who can stop him is the Hero. Red, or as he was known then Gideon, was a member of the Hero’s party thanks to being the brother of the Hero. The problem is that he isn’t that physically gifted, better than many, but not Hero’s party material. Some of the other party members tell him that so he bails.
Fortunately Red actually isn’t that fussed about being a hero.
He is very gifted at finding materials and has a bunch of other skills like cooking. So with his love of this, his whole goal in life is to own his own apothecary shop. This leads him to find a nice village where he uses the name Red to keep own the down-low and start his more chill life.
Hence the “I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside” part of the series title.
While he is living his more quiet life his old friend Rit stumbles upon him and is quickly sold on the life he wants and a relationship booms. They kick off their shop and, well, I won’t spoil any more of the show. The show is very slice of life, but with the aspects of fantasy action around it, which makes for a unique experience. The best thing I can say about it is it’s just a chill show. It’s far from a top series for the year but it is a nice one to pop on and enjoy, and sometimes that is just what you need.
The art and animation is solid, and the voice acting is great.
The music can be a bit meh at times, but on the whole there is a very decent show here worth your time. It gets a bit thirsty at times, which isn’t exactly uncommon given the premise. The characters are much better than expected.
They actually manage to give them some really excellent time to shine and the relationships are much better than expected.
If you are looking for the next great fantasy adventure anime series, it probably isn’t this.
If you are looking for a nice, chill, unique slice of life in a fantasy world then I highly recommend checking out Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside.
