This is sort of a new trend for me but I’ve really gotten to watch a few “I’m Actually The Strongest” type shows. Animes where the protagonist is seen as weak but is actually stronger than everyone else. Typically these take a pretty similar routine but Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest manages to find its own unique spin to it. Our story stars Ein who was given a low ranking appraiser skill. Seen as worthless by himself and his peers he is left to die in a dire situation but in his attempt to escape finds the spirit of a world tree, Yuri. Ein is then healed up and his damaged eye replaced with a Spirit Eye which levels up his appraiser skill and unlocks power neither he nor the world has ever seen. In return for her help he is asked to help her find her family, the other spirits of world trees and together they embark on an adventure.

I want to talk about the story first because it’s rather interesting. It’s not all that complex and chooses to focus on a few reoccurring topics. You have Ein helping Yuri reunite with her family and that is the core of the story. In the background you have the demons trying to cause chaos and destruction which becomes the primary challenge Ein and his party face in their journey. It’s a formulaic and kind of straight forward but well told story because it allows it to focus on what makes this a wonderful show which happens to be the characters.

Everything great about this show falls on the shoulders of the incredible cast it makes up. Using the character development of Ein it tells a lot of important life lessons as he grows as a person. Ein is a wholesome and kindhearted individual and the story uses his growth to emphasize the importance of being kind to others. It is through his kindness that he got so much help from Yuri and all of the other characters he meets along the way. It’s great to watch as the Ein in episode 12 is a much different character than the one we see in episode one. The cast is pretty big as we meet Yuri, several other spirits of world trees, their respective guardians, and other miscellaneous characters. Because the story is about Ein, many of these characters are relegated to the background for most of the season. With that being said when they appear they are all very entertaining, unique and the banter between them consistently works. Oftentimes when I see shows like this with a large cast it makes some characters forgettable or bland but we really don’t see that here at all.

The show also has a very harem theme to it which I had to stop and think about. Harems tend to have mixed results with me when the harem is part of the show and not the central theme of it. They tend to either be well done or they feel like an unneccsary addition that detracts from the main plot. Where the theme of the story is how Ein grows through his kindness of others the harem is actually a beautiful aspect of this show. The characters fall in love with Ein entirely because of his kindness towards them and it just further adds to the wholesomeness of this show.

The show features a lot of combat but it’s clear the fighting is not the selling point of the show. Because Ein gets very over powered rather quickly the fights go from fairly drawn out to over almost instantly. This is fine because what we do get shows off Ein’s growth as a person quite a bit and we get to see how he gets more powerful over time. Ein ends up acquiring a large number of skills that he uses really well both individually and in combination with each other. So while most fights are quick they manage to entertain.

Overall I just love how wholesome this show is. Ein is a gentle and kindhearted person and his good heart is on full display as it draws people to him and even creates a harem of characters. While the large cast means a lot of characters fall in the background the characters all maintain their own individually and the banter between them consistently entertains. I ended up feeling very relaxed watching this show and it was a hard one to take a break from as I had to see more. So if we don’t get a second season I’m genuinely going to be upset by that.