Picture this (or remember it): your first day at your new job after your seniors take the training wheels off. You take that first customer service call. Or you make that first fancy order of a triple shot, half soy-half oat, extra hot, light foam, cinnamon sprinkle venti cappuccino. Did you feel a rush of excitement? Or did a heavy, black ball of despair drop into your stomach? And what if that pit in your tummy never left? That feeling is impostor syndrome and is the premise behind the new fall anime, Let This Grieving Soul Retire. Can this running joke last an anime season? Let’s explore how!
Fake It ’til You Make It (or at least to Retirement)
The anime Let This Grieving Soul Retire (嘆きの亡霊は引退したい, Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai) has several predecessors using a misunderstanding that snowballs until a character can’t come clean anymore. King from One Punch Man is a simple otaku who became an S-Class Hero because people always found him at the scene of a dead monster. He’s a little less nervous after befriending Saitama. But that anxious King Engine will beat again in the upcoming third season.
The Hero Masayuki from the most recent season of Tensura has the Unique Skill “Chosen One.” It’s more like a curse that gives him incredible luck, making his companions think he is more skilled than they are. Another isekai anime, The Eminence in Shadow, gives Cid Kagenou (the lead character) immense power. But he’s always nervous that his harem of demihumans will discover he makes up fanciful stories to hide his ignorance about his new world. At least he can play the piano and defeat any enemies that costar in his fanciful tales about “The Shadow.”
Heartburn in the Shadow of Success for Let This Grieving Soul Retire
Krai Andrey (voice actor Kenshou Ono also plays Yuuri Briar in Spy × Family and Mono Shinobino in Komi Can’t Communicate) follows King and Masayuki’s circumstances the closest. The world of Let This Grieving Soul Retire is a fantasy setting of organizations for treasure hunters and rankings like adventurer guilds. Krai tagged along with his childhood friends, who aspired to be the strongest party of “Hunters.” Regrettably, Krai quickly realized that his skills paled in comparison to the exceptional talent of his partners. But his friends continuously interrupted him as he asked to quit.
So, Krai eventually landed at the top as Master of the renowned Hunter Clan, First Step, and Leader of the infamous Hunter Party, Strange Grief (嘆きの亡霊, nageki no bourei, lit. Ghosts of Grief, so “Grieving Soul” is a prosaic translation). That is how to fail upward, the anime.
Comedy permeates Krai’s situation. Keeping the secret that his abilities don’t match his Hunter Level has gone on too long. And no one would believe his confession because his reputation is too much. His solution? Escape with his limbs and clan’s dignity intact! But will his friends and the women who love him let him? Fanservice, harem dynamics, and sympathetic cringing will bring an audience back each week.
Family Affair for Childhood Friends Won’t Let This Grieving Soul Retire
Three of the six kids who became Strange Grief are a brother and his sisters. The Smart siblings, Ansem, the brother, and his two sisters, Liz and Sitri, have different classes and personalities. Sitri is an alchemist, and Liz is a thief. Ansem is a paladin whose armor’s size turns into a running gag. Yes. The two sisters are in love with Krai. I have my eye on Liz because of her dark skin and toned body. The mage of Strange Grief, Lucia Rogier, is Krai’s stepsister! Let This Grieving Soul Retire will cover all your bases for love connections this season. The group’s charismatic swordsman is Luke Sykol. Krai wishes he would have stepped up to become Strange Grief’s leader.
Let This Grieving Soul Retire’s Next Generation of Fanservice
The anime’s first episode spends more time introducing complications into Krai’s escape plan. Liz’s thief apprentice, Tino Shade, will stop at nothing to adventure at Krai’s side. She provides most of the cheeky fanservice in Let This Grieving Soul Retire. Newcomer Rhuda Runebeck has yet to show off her goods but can’t hide her chest armor puppies forever. Eva Renfield, Krai’s put-upon Clan Vice-Master, will supply all your glasses and black tights needs. She even has red half-rim glasses! Hnngggh!
Impostor Syndrome is Real and Fake
Remember how I said you would experience sympathetic cringing at Krai’s antics? Here’s the kicker of a punchline for his inferiority complex: He deserves his reputation and high ranking. The first thing you notice about Krai is how many artifacts and relics he wears. His true talent is knowing how to use the relics and treasures Strange Grief collected from the Vaults it explored. He’s a genius party tactician who compensates for lacking offensive and defensive skills by using items. Krai faked it until he made it in Let This Grieving Soul Retire. He merely never let go of his impostor syndrome. And even better, I’m sure if he confessed to his friends (if they ever let him complete a sentence), they would already know how he uses artifacts. That’s why they chose him to be their clan master.
A common theme in any story that originates from any user-generated content website is wish fulfillment. This story started at the Shousetsuka ni Narou site before its light novel adaptation. The flavors run from revenge against bullies, starting over after a drone salaryman existence, to recognition for your efforts. Let This Grieving Soul Retire is a dream-come-true story about others knowing your talents before you do. How cool is that? And it has a lesson for you. You were never a fake.
Let This Grieving Soul Retire (Nageki no Bourei wa Intai Shitai) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
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Thank you for reading this blog post about a non-impostor who receives the harem attention he deserves. Is the cheeky fanservice meaty enough for you? Or do you need some more breast and dark meat? Wait until the second episode for thigh-in-tights action! Let us know how you feel about that in the comments below.
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