Review of Banished From The Hero's Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life In The Countryside

I felt like this anime tried to compact many things at once, adult romance, various character development, growing sibling bond, and somehow incorporate some action into it. I would not say it is the worst anime that I have watched but I was I definitely felt disappointed halfway through watching the season. When I watched the trailer I was excited for a non-ecchi, slice of life fantasy, with a little romance and comedy. ( I know there are many people who are interested in this kinda anime ( you do you) but that is not what I signed up for. I was not completelyincorrect about my assumption of the show but the trailer was also not the best at providing a holistic preview of the anime either.

The sibling development was well done, that is to say, that it was clear that person A missed their sibling whom they relied on. This becomes something that becomes too much to ignore and they work together to build back the bond.

That being said on the relationship/ romance side I felt like the fact that the MC and "wife" attempts at a serious adult relationship was lackluster and took away from the good parts of the anime. There were points in which the two would get "heated" however it seemed more like two children who we're pretending to be adults. It felt like the MC was taken from a shounen/ slice of life and plopped into this anime. The depiction of the relationship's development was quite segmented. I am not an expert on relationships but I would assume that if you are portraying a relationship in a mature and adult fashion every part of their life would somehow add to the relationship ( as they are learning more of each other). It felt like I watching a slice of life/ fantasy/ action anime then boom relationship. If you have ever watched an American 2010 rom-com I think this anime would fit well into that category. Little development of characters somehow they find each other the movie climaxing in a sexual encounter and/or happy ending. I may be biased because I did not think that the romance aspect of this anime would turn out like this but this is just what I think of the anime.

Looking back I wish I knew what I was getting into maybe I would have a better opinion of the anime but the fact that I came into it thinking differently I am disappointed. The anime itself is based on a quite fragmented storytelling style. The use of multiple perspectives especially the perspective of the sibling was something that I kept wanting to watch.

Lastly, I wish there was a rating between pg-13 and R. I did not think it was necessary 7 months ago however a lot of the anime that was released recently ( last 6-8 months especially) should be recategorized in between these two or given an R rating. I feel like it would be better to know what you are getting yourself into- but I am sure that the producers had a reason.