During another random scrolling for new shows I came across The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained To Death By The Most Powerful Party Became Invincible and went wow that is a long title. So I decided to watch it. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this but in spite of that I ended up rather surprised by what this show had to offer. This is a story starring Rick Gladiatol a man in his 30’s who started his dream of being an adventurer late in life and was rarely supported due to his age. He ended up joining the most powerful party and in two years of the most intense training he refined his skills and began pursuing his dream.

Starting with the story I was amazed at it’s quality. First we have a protagonist in his thirties which is rare for anime and then to use that age as a great storytelling mechanic. People continuously doubt Rick because to them he’s just an old man starting off on a journey most people begin at childhood. So everyone assumes the opportunities for him to succeed in that quest have passed him by only for him to use the results of his brutal far surpassing cruel training to prove them wrong. Rick trained for two years with a party of S ranked adventurers, Orichalcum Fist, and refined his strength, magic and technique to heights seemingly unrealistic to the world around him. This is a very reoccurring theme in the show and one that really emphasizes a great lesson of never giving up on your goals.

The story also has a second theme centered around it that is a bit less obvious. Rick is a character who had no natural talent and had to work hard to refine his skills to a point where he could even attempt his dream. In his way are a series of various characters who were naturally gifted. Characters who were great from the start and used that natural talent to reach incredible heights. So with this we also see the clash between hard work versus natural talent. Sure natural talent will get you far but if you’re lazy and don’t refine that skill like Rick did it had a ceiling and Rick’s journey and his conflict with these characters served as a reminder that no matter how naturally talented you are you shouldn’t rely on that alone to succeed in life.

On top of a rather compelling story. We also have very interesting characters. The members of Orichalcum Fist include Reanette a dark elf who travels with Rick and supports him. Rick suffers greatly from self doubt and often undervalues his skills and Reanette makes for a wonderful support system. It’s a dynamic that is very enjoyable and I loved the moments where Reanette reaches past Rick’s doubt and we see Rick’s confidence improve. Then you have the group leader the orc Broughston. He’s an intelligent and powerful warrior who conducted Rick’s training. I can’t tell you much about why he’s a compelling character as those are all spoilers for great parts of the story but what I can say is I was moved by his goal and just how well he was used towards the end of the season. I had literal chills watching him and Rick in a spoiler moment.

The rest of the members of the party are kind of just there so I’ll move on to the rest of the supporting cast. You have a mixture of detailed and one note characters. The detailed characters have very well fleshed out stories and the pacing in how those stories are told is done very well. The one note characters are very intentionally one note and serve to enhance the story dynamics like the battle of natural talent versus skill refinement. Having such a diversified cast mixing detailed and one note characters made for an ever changing story that had an incredible hook with it. You never really knew from the start what kind of character you would get and so each one was an interesting surprise.

The fight scenes are also really good and equally diverse as the characters. Because Rick is overpowered due to his training you do have a lot of fights that end quickly in order to show this skill gap. With that being said you also have some gems in the middle where the fights have an emotional weight to them and some are legitimately challenging. The last fight at the end of the season is probably one of the most enjoyable fights I’ve seen in anime all year. The pacing, the story behind it and the character development all came together beautifully.

Overall I picked this show on a whim because the title was long. I ended up with a show that left me in awe with it’s masterful storytelling. The characters were a mix of compelling individuals with perfectly designed one note adversaries and the fights were entertaining. I was glued to my screen watching this show and if we get a season two this is going to be a show I prioritize.