While "The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids" has a clear objective, it fails to capture the reader's interest with a deeper meaning or motivation for the characters.
Great fantasy is rare, swamped by a sea of mediocre stories churned out by unoriginal writers. Ryuuta Kijima's "The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids" falls into this category. While it belongs to the tired "banished from the hero party" trope, it's somehow even less impressive.
This light novel follows Rud, a tank whose sole motivation for conquering endless labyrinth dungeons is to find a cure for his sickly sister, Manicia. However, similar to the ostracized character from "Shin no Nakama," Rud gets kicked out of his party for his supposedly weak tanking skills. Ironically, he's completely unaware of his true potential and the phenomenal defensive capabilities of his oversized shield. Fate takes a turn when he rescues a mysterious girl with a unique appraisal ability. This encounter unlocks the truth: Rud isn't just any tank, he possesses an unbelievable defense stat of 9999 HP! With newfound skills learned from the girl, Rud, the unknowingly strongest tank ever, embarks on a solo quest to find the cure himself. While the premise might sound cliché, reminiscent of other fantasy isekai tropes, there's more to this story than meets the eye.
While some writers like Ryuuta Kijima might exploit the trend of mediocre Isekai/fantasy being popular in Japan, that's their prerogative. However, this approach hurts aspiring authors who believe they can write good fantasy. It creates a situation where studios have to adapt subpar material, often assigning it to inexperienced studios. This cycle perpetuates the stereotype that Japan doesn't prioritize quality in this genre.
The main issue with this kind of generic fantasy story is the weak plot. Everything feels cliched and there's barely any effort put into explaining why things happen. It's like the story just needs a reason to keep going, not to tell a meaningful tale.
Remember how I said the show has a goal but no real driving force? A good example is the main character's quest to find a cure for his terminally ill sister. He desperately needs this medicine, yet the show treats it like a minor obstacle. It's as if they just say "oh, her illness is very serious" and then move on without ever really showing the urgency. People's lives, especially those of loved ones, shouldn't be taken so lightly. It's even worse because it's his own sister, who also seems strangely unconcerned about her own illness. This kind of shallow writing applies to both the show's objective and its overall purpose.
The story relies heavily on character development, but the characters themselves are boring and predictable. The author throws in emotional moments, but they feel forced because we never cared about the characters in the first place.
For example, Luna, the white-haired girl Rud rescues, is a typical cliché. She's a slave with a mysterious past, and of course, she falls in love with Rud. This is true for most of the other female characters as well. They all fit into standard harem tropes and have little personality beyond being attracted to the main character.
The same is true for the other characters Rud encounters. Even the allies he makes are one-dimensional. They only offer him a minor power boost and don't add anything interesting to the story.
The animation quality is awful! Studio Polon, a new studio, is to blame. They join other recent studios like Maho Film and Staple Entertainment who struggle with fantasy adaptations. Having more animation studios doesn't mean better quality. This show is a prime example. Studio Polon's future looks bleak if they keep making such low-quality shows.
Thought the show was bland already? The music is even worse! Both the opening and ending themes are forgettable, like white noise. This just adds to the feeling that there's nothing remarkable about this show at all.
In short, while "Shin no Nakama" is the best example of the "Kicked from the Hero's Party" genre, this show fails to deliver an engaging plot or even achieve its basic goals. It's a complete waste of time, so only watch it if you're okay with mindless entertainment.
