Anime Summer 2024: THE OSSAN NEWBIE ADVENTURER, TRAINED TO DEATH BY THE MOST POWERFUL PARTY, BECOMES INVINCIBLE, You're Never Too Old

Hey oldster! Get off the field!

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death By the Most Powerful Party, Becomes Invincible
The first three episodes are now streaming on Crunchyroll. Subsequent episodes will debut every Monday.

Some shows speak to my heart, and are eminently relatable.

In my 30s, I lost my job and moved halfway across the country. Both decisions changed my life. Perhaps that's why it's easy for me to relate to Rick Gladiator, who decides at age 30 to leave his secure, relatively easy job as a guild clerk and become an adventurer.

In the magic-infused world in which Rick lives, most adventurers decide to join the field in their teen years, which is also the time of their lives in which they are most likely to display an aptitude and develop a talent for wielding magic. Facing an uphill battle, Rick takes advantage of a kind offer from a warrior-monk orc, who is the leader of Orichalchum Fist, the most powerful adventuring party on the planet.

After two years of super-intense training, which is illustrated in Episode 3, Rick has become mighty strong, and would seem to be mighty well-suited to be an adventurer. First, though, he has to pass an examination, given by someone whose prestigious family quickly develops a collective grudge against Rick.

Through three episodes and a number of action and fighting sequences, the show has been roundly entertaining. It's more successful in its action scenes than its attempts at humor, which often fall flat, including its occasional fixation on female bouncing body parts. (Truly, men who act like boys: can we all grow up, please?) And I think it's already drained the well, as far as references to Rick's 'advanced' age -- how many times do we need to hear, 'wow, he looks like he's in his 40s'?

First published in 2017, a light novel series by Kiraku Kishima, illustrated by Tea, serves as the basis for the series. As more characters and conflicts are introduced, I'm hoping that the show broadens out its scope, so that it's not entirely focused on Rick simply defeating more opponents with his uncommon strength.

Summary: Pretty good.