Rud is the tank for his adventuring party. He is a shielder with a defensive stat of 9999, the highest ever known. But Rud doesn’t just raid labyrinths with his party for the riches—he is on a quest to find a secret treasure of legend hiding in one of the labyrinths that is said to have the ability to grant any wish. Rud’s wish? To cure his beloved sister Manicia of her illness. One day the leader of Rud’s party, known as the Hero, confronts Rud in public about his unknown skills that seem to be causing trouble for the party. Rud tries to defend himself, but the Hero makes the drastic decision to kick Rud out! While it is fairly obvious the Hero has ulterior motives (Rud is being replaced by two girls, leaving the Hero as the only male in the group), Rud accepts the situation and decides to go back to his hometown and care for his sister. He then meets a group of younger adventurers who have been hired to help an old man safely travel to another town, and decides to join them so that he can hitch a ride to get home. On the way, they encounter a strange girl with white hair and ripped-up clothes named Luna, who helps Rud discover his true skills as a protector.
The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero’s Party certainly gets the annoyingly long title award, but I was surprised to find this episode quite charming and wholesome. Fans of Dungeons and Dragons and RPGs will find a lot to like here. The protagonist Rud is an enjoyable person to watch, as he is used to acting in a supporting role in the group rather than being a leader. You can tell he genuinely cares for the people in his life, most of all his sister, and that his role as a tank and defender mirrors his protective personality. The mysterious girl Luna is also wholesome—she is a cinnamon roll of a person who matches Rud’s compassion with her own. Protect her at all costs! The rules of the fighting and magic system of this world will feel familiar to those who play RPGs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad. I feel like I’m watching someone’s unconventional Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and I mean that in a good way! It helped me orient myself in a new world that has fighting, magic, class systems, special skills, and more. I am hoping that future episodes will allow for some more inventive use of roleplaying conventions, but that isn’t what I need in order to become invested in a new series right from the first episode. I do need characters with motivation and pathos who I can get behind. The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids mostly succeeds at that, at least enough to make watching the first episode a fun experience and to get me curious about what will happen next.
Still, there are a few aspects of this episode that feel conventional in a negative way. Having a “hero” who is actually a big jerk and doesn’t want to share a spotlight with another guy is fairly predictable. And although we believe Rud really cares about his sister, we only see her in his imagination, and his love for her is fairly over the top. There are a few other moments that I will withhold judgment on until I see how future episodes handle them. First, when the Hero kicks Rud out of the group, other members of the party seem sad, but ultimately everyone walks away from Rud. If this isn’t addressed in future episodes, that will be fairly disappointing, as it seemed like a genuine moment of possible conflict with these other side characters. Secondly, the revelation of Rud’s special skills seems rather quick and costless, without any buildup. The series could go the route of using the knowledge of his skills in compelling ways, but I can’t help but feel it would have been more engaging if they had been discovered along the journey. Time will tell with future episodes. From a technical perspective, the show is just fine. The opening and closing theme songs are quite good. And while the animation and soundtrack are nothing special, they do their job in serving the story and the characters, which is where the episode is the strongest. So for now, I’d recommend fans of fantasy and RPGs give The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero’s Party a watch, even if the title is difficult to say in one breath.
The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero’s Party is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
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