Hi everyone!
Today I will be introducing “By the Grace of the Gods” a new fantasy Isekai series by studio Maho Films. It is directed by Takeyuki Yanase who did such anime as In Another World with My Smartphone and If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord. The anime is based on a light novel series written by Roy and illustrated by Ririnra. It also has its own manga series published by Square-Enix in Gangan Online and Manga Up.
Premise
Ryoma Takebayashi (Adult: Hiroki Yasumoto, Child: Azusa Tadokoro) (as pictured above) is a 39 year old salaryman who has lived a life of misfortune. He works at a “Black Company” which provides little pay and lots of overtime. One night, Ryoma collapses and dies after suffering a brain hemorrhage from sneezing and banging his head on the floor. In the afterlife, Ryoma is greeted by three gods, Gain: The Lord of Creation (CV: Motomu Kiyokawa), Lulutia: The Goddess of Love (CV: Kikuko Inoue) and Kufo: The God of Life (CV: Makoto Koichi) who offer to reincarnate him in their world. Ryoma accepts their offer and gets reincarnated into the body of an eight year old boy. Ryoma then spends three years learning magic, creating potions, training slimes and generally adjusting to life in the forest.
One day, Ryoma comes across a group of knights led by Reinhart Jamil (CV: Daisuke Ono) of the Jamil Duchy. Noticing their injured friend, Ryoma helps them heal their comrade from a bear wound and invites them to his place. After letting them rest at his place for a day, they part ways. Weeks later, Ryoma receives a visit from Reinhart and his family who invites him to live at their house. From there, Ryoma’s new life begins.
Impressions
Okay, so that’s the basic premise of the first episode. The series itself is a fairly average. But the writing does provide a light-hearted and cheery entertainment to its viewers, making it good for a casual watch. The animation and character designs are pretty interesting. It’s a little funny how much of a stark difference there is between adult Ryoma and child Ryoma. Though it does pander to stereotypes for characters like Reinhart. So far it seems more slice of life than adventure, but we will just wait and see what happens.
The show has an excellent cast consisting of favorites like Daisuke Ono, Azusa Tadokoro, Saori Hayami and Takehito Koyasu. It has also been licensed by Funimation, so this will likely get a dub too. The lively soundtrack is provided by Hiroaki Tsutsumi who has done the music for Dr. Stone, Jujutsu Kaisen and Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor. Ryoma’s voice actress, Azusa Tadokoro, also sings the opening theme song, “Yasashii Sekai (Gentle World)” which is a sweet love ballad. While MindaRyn sings then ending theme song, “Blue Rose knows,” which is a lively soft rock song.
Overall, By the Grace of the Gods is a pretty good series for those who want something nice to watch. I definitely recommend giving it the three episode rule and I think people of ages will enjoy Ryoma’s tale.
