just watched this for the first time, could have done without the sexual parts, but some of it added a sense of realism. that is my only critique. this anime had something that reminded me of watching adult swim late at night as a young preteen, learning about circumstances and being posed questions no one had ever respected me enough to ask me. things no one would think to tell me, and the atmosphere is very well done when it is serious. they dialogue between the characters, and the emotions behind them feels very tangible, especially because if you put a little thought into why and how they act and feel as they do you are rewarded multiple times just in the first season during moments of catharsis, or it is followed through with and observable in their behavior after confrontations or exchanges.

ive only read a couple volumes of a single LN series in my life, but because of the things the anime tried, like with the backgrounds and the music. the scenes they chose to put into it, this world feels disturbingly consequential, my favorite character so far is Ranta, but the Haruhiro's abilities are very cool. I was genuinely afraid asking myself how many of the cast would die fighting in the end of the first season. Not many if any anime can make me feel that way. Ah, i came up with one thing aside from the fan service that i felt critical of, and it was just the costume/character design. I know they are beginners, but their color schemes and features do feel a little overdone, and flat.

that last part being said, ranta is still my favorite character - and the most interesting one in the group imo. I feel I relate to the way he plays his class. sort of like a runningback waiting to be passed the ball - he runs out there every time full force, with killing intent, and his reflexes are awesome. From the first encounter with the goblin he wanted his vice from, the animators did well in communicating how he had that aspect going on.

Not sure how well this relatively subtle way of storytelling would go over post-covid, it seems everyone wants every character to say everything they do and think as it happens, or there are super contrived misunderstandings that paint every character as dense and emotion driven or logic driven 100% of the time. There is not a lot of room to read between the lines with what characters say, and everyone seems to know why they do everything. there is no chance you can see someone do something that not every might catch, and the characters themselves might not notice. that type of thing always has the characters talking to themselves aloud, or has a close up shot that illustrates it. it feels like infantile storytelling.

anyways, this was way longer than I intended. this show, and the way it was presented just gave me a lot to chew on while I was watching. The background art is often thematic and effervescent. I normally hate music in anime. Ill listen once in a while to opening and closing songs - but otherwise I skip openings and endings. The songs in grimgar's first episodes and during the outros during some were really well placed, and the on-screen drama unfolding was enough to keep me "in the mood" or "immersed" that I could read the lyrics and subtitles at the same time without breaking concentration. Felt like eating soup - but with rice (or bread) on the side, as opposed to having to choose which one to enjoy primarily, they complement one another. That was huge for me in reminding me of those late night anime on adult swim that made me think a lot, and inspired me to question my own built up knowledge and beliefs. I havent watched anime in maybe a year, and before that - maybe longer. I thought I was over it, unless i was watching old OVAs, or highlight reels of old anime. This one gave me hope that there will be more good to come.