Yamada Kenichi is a hardcore gamer, but he’s sick of games that end their service after a few years, and he scoffs at the hardest level of most games, deeming them not challenging enough. But his curiosity is piqued when he discovers a game that is said to go on perpetually and offers a “hell mode”—and within that mode is the summoner class, which has been assigned a ridiculously high difficulty level. Yamada, of course, is game—and then, as occasionally happens in Japan, he is sucked right into the game. Born as a baby to a serf couple, the brave Rodin and kind Theresia, “Allen” learns that “hell mode” means slow growth and years of grinding just to get a step or two ahead. And his summoner class? It’s just insects and small animals at first, and it doesn’t seem to mean much when his non-magical childhood friend, Krena, is stronger than he is with the sword. But slowly and surely, he’ll grind away to become a winner at this game.
Just another isekai. You might be tempted to think that—and certainly, it smells like a generic one. Allen looks like Rudeus, has a sharp attitude like him, and is even a little perverted. Allen’s parents even resemble Rudeus’s, and Krena could step right in for Eris. Worse, this series doesn’t seem as well-written as Mushoku Tensei—the first episode is filled with little steps as Allen grows from infant into toddler and then to young child, learning to summon bit by bit. But there are signs of something more here. The summoning ability is a fun one to play with, and the most entertaining parts of episode one are the cute creatures he brings forth—mice and frogs, and moles among them. There’s warmth, too, expressed most heartily in Rodin’s explanation of how Allen’s name comes from the beautiful albaheron, which, though monsters and enemies of mankind, enjoy an enduring freedom. There’s also the light novel series, which I’ve found to be excellent; it excels in bringing you deep into the world of grinding and enjoying how Allen works and works and works to grow. Unfortunately, I don’t get the sense that we’ll dive as deeply into the world’s mechanics as the LN does, as the series prefers to highlight the numbers showing Allen’s growth instead of explaining them much. But I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong! Because I hope the adaptation will show Allen’s resilience, intelligence, and fight; if it does, the boring first episode will be the anime’s worst.
HELL MODE: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing can be streamed on HIDIVE starting on or around January 10th.
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[…] Hell Mode is based on a light novel series that I really enjoyed for the first few volumes (I’ve fallen behind since then, but I do want to catch up). So, how did the anime adaptation do? I would say it’s still up in the air. Here are my full thoughts on episode one. […]
[…] HELL MODE are a good kind of grind, so I’m hoping for a good adaptation (though episode one has me leery); Kunon the Sorcerer Can See is a warm, excellent series that’s been begging for an […]