Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (灰と幻想のグリムガル, Hai to Gensō no Gurimugaru) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ao Jūmonji and illustrated by Eiri Shirai. The story follows a group of people who suddenly find themselves in a fantasy world with no memories from before their arrival, and chronicles their struggles to survive and make a life for themselves as volunteer soldiers.

Mutsumi Okubashi began serializing a manga adaptation in Gangan Joker in 2015. The novels were adapted into a 12-episode anime television series that ran from January to March 2016. An original video animation was released in March 2016. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation as Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions, while J-Novel Club has acquired the rights to publish the original novels in English, and Yen Press published the manga adaptation.

Synopsis
Why are we here? Why are we doing this?

Before Haruhiro had realized what happened, he was surrounded by darkness. Why was he here? Where was here? Even now, he still didn't know. Those around him were the same as him, no one remembered anything other than their own names. And when they emerged from the darkness, the world that awaited them seemed like something out of a video game.

In order to survive, Haruhiro forms a party with the others, learns fighting skills, and as a soldier in the reserve force, takes his first steps into the world of Grimgar. What awaits him there, he doesn't know... This is the story of an adventure born from the ashes.

(Source: NanoDesu)

Light Novels
The light novels are written by Ao Jūmonji and illustrated by Eiri Shirai, and are published by Overlap. The first volume was published in 2013. Online English light novel publisher J-Novel Club announced their acquisition of the series on October 28, 2016, and Seven Seas Entertainment publishes a print version as part of their collaboration with J-Novel Club. Seven Seas Entertainment released Volume 14.5 in Physical format on March 30, 2021, which included Volume 14+ and 14++.

Manga
A manga adaptation by Mutsumi Okubashi began serialization in Square Enix's magazine Gangan Joker on 22 April 2015. North American publisher Yen Press announced their acquisition of the manga on 23 November 2016.

Character
"Once you die, there’s nothing left... the door to every possibility is closed. So, is it that strange that I want as few people to die as possible? If there’s no other way, then so be it, but if you’ve got something you can do, I think you ought to do it."

- Haruhiro, volume 6 He has been a normal young man with sleepy eyes since he was born. He is strongly aware that he is a mediocre human being, and although he is the main character, his presence is somewhat weak. She was one of the unidentified boys and girls who arrived in Grimgar, and along with the progress of the scene, she became a volunteer soldier apprentice and formed a party with the rest of the members. As a result of the consultation, she chose a job based on the criteria that she would be useful to her team—not the hero-type job that is often seen in the royal hero, but rather a 'thief.

His person in charge at the guild is Barbara, and after 7 days of training, she gave him the name of a thief named [Old Cat]. By the way, the origin of the name is "because it has sleepy eyes like an old cat" "I was born... (crying)"

In my daily life, I was staying at the volunteer soldier's dormitory with the members of the party, and I couldn't even buy pants until I was able to earn a little money. Late at night, she often watches the red moon shining in Grimgar's sky or has a quiet conversation with Manato in the garden with a drink in hand. It was he who felt a sense of urgency about the casual clothes worn by the girls in the dormitory and suggested that it would be nice to have plain clothes to wear in the dormitory.

His personality is basically good and based on common sense. He cares a lot about his comrades, and ever since his role changed due to a turning point in a certain party, he has always tried to put the safety of his comrades first. He is usually lazy, worries about the future, and has a strong inferiority complex, so he is often unreliable when talking to people, but as a storyteller, he often sees each party member (Manato). The type to keep moving forward despite giving up many times, saying "I have no choice but to do this". Even in battle, he often feels fear of creatures, but he still rouses himself and attacks aggressively.

As the story progresses, you will see efforts to show understanding and empathy for your companions. He has an interest in the opposite sex that is appropriate for his age, but he has a clause that suppresses himself when it comes to romance, probably due to his inferiority complex and concludes that he does not have romantic feelings for girls at parties.

Abilities
It doesn't mean that he has any particularly outstanding abilities, and he recognizes himself as an ordinary person. However, looking at it objectively, even though it's necessary to live in Grimgar, the way he thinks and acts for the sake of the party makes him a sufficiently respectable hard worker.

It can be said that his skill as a 'thief', which is his profession, is still in the growth stage. Thanks to Barbara's sadistic training, it seems that his acquisition of skills is progressing properly. In the party, he is responsible for reconnaissance and side support in close combat, and as an attacker, he specializes in surprise attacks from behind the enemy. The weapon he uses is basically a single dagger. During the work, his powers of observation, which he used to watch his companions closely, paid off, and after he began to be aware of each role and how to fight, his cooperation improved. Due to the constant use, Haruhiro has replaced his dagger and stiletto with a dwarven dagger he found in an abandoned weapons crate. The dwarven dagger Haruhiro picked has a blade with a wavy and flame-like shape.

He didn't have special abilities like otherworldly fantasy protagonists, and although he started from a fairly modest position, he seems to be gradually gaining experience and growing. While on Parano, Haruhiro discovers that he can use the Resonance type of magic. On Parano, Haruhiro can make the magic of others more powerful.

TV Anime
An anime television series was written and directed by Ryosuke Nakamura and produced by A-1 Pictures. Mieko Hosoi acted as a character designer. Both the opening theme song, "Knew day", and the ending theme, "Harvest", were performed by (K)NoW_NAME. The series was broadcast on AT-X, Tokyo MX, Nippon BS Broadcasting, and the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation from 11 January 2016 to 28 March 2016. Funimation acquired the rights to simulcast the series with an English dub in North America. The anime is listed with 6 Blu-ray and DVD volumes containing 2 episodes each, having a total of 12 episodes. Anime Limited will release the series in the UK.


 * Staff
 * Original - Jumonji Ao (Overlap Bunko)
 * Original illustration - Eiri Shirai
 * Director/Sound Director - Ryosuke Nakamura
 * Assistant Director - Tomotaka Shibayama
 * Character design and illustration - Mieko Hosoi
 * Action animation director - Kazuyuki Asaga
 * Art Director/Art Design - Hidetoshi Kaneko
 * Color design - Takahiro Mogi, Asuka Yokota (Episode 6-)
 * Cinematographer - Shinichi Igarashi
 * 3D Director - Tomohiko Suga
 * Edit - Fumi Hida
 * Music - (K)NoW_NAME : R・O・N
 * Music production - Toho, VERYGOO
 * Music producer - Masataka Mikami
 * Producers - Masaya Saito, Naoki Harada, Shigetoshi Sato
 * Animation Producer - Yutaka Omatsu
 * Production - A-1 Pictures
 * Production - Grimgar Production Committee of Ashes and Illusions

A 10-minute original video animation numbered "episode 2.5" was bundled with the first Blu-ray and DVD volume of the anime, which was released on 16 March 2016. Toho streamed a promotional video for the OVA on 5 February 2016

Web radio
It was distributed on Onsen from December 4, 2015 to April 1, 2016 under the title "Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions: Nothing Radio". The first time is pre-delivery, and after December 25th, it will be updated every Friday. The personalities are Mikako Komatsu (role of Yume) and Haruka Terui (role of Shihoru).

Spin-off 4koma
"Tabi Gobu: Hai to Gensou no Grimgar" is a 4-panel manga with a goblin as the main character, distributed every week after January 10, 2016 on the anime official website. The original draft is Ao Jumonji, and the manga is Mutsumi Okuhashi.

Social game
Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions: New Order is a social game for smartphones and feature phones released on GREE from March 7, 2016.

Trivia
'' to be added. ''