The Great Cleric (Seija Musou: Salaryman, Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Ayumu Michi): Isekai Anime Review (Spoiler Free)
When an overworked salaryman takes a bullet to the heart, what happens after
they die? Obviously, they end up reincarnated by a god in another world! The Great Cleric takes the classic gamified fantasy Isekai trope and adds a quirky twist to the plot by making the main
protagonist a zero-to-hero healer!
With a consistent style, cleanly animated action scenes, and well timed
visual gags, the animation for The Great Cleric holds its own as a great seasonal show, especially compared to shows
in similar airing positions. Story-wise, while generic in setting, twists
the norm with fun character writing and great pacing for major events and
story progression (especially the slice-of-life elements). With a cast of
next-gen talents and hardened veterans, the show has surprisingly effective
voice acting with most characters having enthusiastic voices. On the other
side of sound design however, the soundtrack leaves more to be desired with
a general lack of any memorable songs in the show.
Overall, The Great Cleric is a great seasonal show to sit back and relax when time permits. No need to finish the show in any rush and have a pleasant laid-back viewing!
The Breakdown
Criteria
Grade
Summary
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Standard
⭐⭐⭐★☆
Slightly Above Standard
⭐⭐⭐★☆
Slightly Above Standard
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Standard
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Above Standard
⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Yes.
The Great Cleric Cover Art from MAL
Summary Review of The Breakdown
Overall, The Great Cleric is a great seasonal show to sit back and relax when time permits. No need to finish the show in any rush and have a pleasant laid-back viewing!
Produced by Yokohama Animation Lab and Cloud Hearts, The Great Cleric finds itself animated by two relatively new studios, with Yokohama Animation Lab founded in 2015 and Cloud Hearts in 2021. Yokohama Animation Lab focuses on a mix of 2D and 3D animation, blending the two.
Criteria
Grade
Summary
3D
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Most things seemingly belong in place. Stylized 3D backgrounds blend
nicely with the animation.
Special Effects
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Scene transitions, magic abilities, and similar effects may seem jarring
at first but add impact to gags.
Character Art
⭐⭐⭐★☆
Faces are all dynamic but it makes the few stiff expressions stand out.
Background characters almost all have faces!
Background Art
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Good mix of 3D background art and 2D characters. Background environment
art is good but nothing special.
3D
Most of the 3D animation in The Great Cleric comes in the form of background environments. Places in the show
such as the temple headquarters, the guild, and the towns all skillfully
blend the 3D environments with 2D animation in the foreground, creating a
believable world. However, some objects such as the smelly "Substance X"
have unfitting models and odd special effects added to them. Yet, it also
adds to the charm of the show, creating a bizarre dichotomy between the
animation styles and also in word as the smell of Substance X drives
everyone away except the main character.
Special Effects
Effects such as the dreaded concoction of Substance X, particles when a
character uses magic or has an aura, or when the scene transitions all
look fairly well placed and well timed. Although jarring, the strange mix
of 3D effects of Substance X really adds to the idea that everyone in the
world hates that drink and will do anything to stay away from it. Scene
transitions are fairly varied from classic screen wipes to sudden action
shots to a 3D rotating window, and are all aptly placed when going from
one location to another or to another point in time.
The Great Cleric Episode 3.
Lucius using Healing Magic
Character Art
Facial style may seem odd at first, yet becomes more endearing as time
goes on. Eyes in this show, especially may seem substandard at a glance,
but end up surprisingly dynamic with all the main cast and even side
characters having a myriad of expressions at their disposal. Furthermore,
as comedy plays a big part in each episode, a variety of different gag
scenes pop up allowing the artists to change styles. Background characters
also typically have faces, unlike many other shows where they either end
up shadowed out or drawn faceless, adding even further to the immersion of
the show.
Background Art
As previously mentioned, most backgrounds are either in 3D such as town
spaces or have simple color backgrounds for explanation or gag scenes.
Although these styles are continuous and handled fairly well, they fail to
stand out from competition.
As per usual in the Isekai genre, our protagonist, an ordinary Japanese salaryman, ends up
dying in some tragic way; but then by the grace of some god, winds up in
another world. Furthermore, this world the main character (abbreviated MC)
finds himself in has traditional video game RPG elements like magic, a
status board, magic points, skills and more.
- However, what makes The Great Cleric stand out from the crowd is the well-paced story and interactive character writing. Each character has well defined personality traits and all have a fair amount of lines in the show, allowing the author to further flesh out their characters.
- Comedy, an important aspect of this show's slice-of-life portions, usually have different punchlines and make for a fun and enjoyable watch.
- Serious portions of the show are handled fairly cleanly as well with characters overcoming moral dilemmas in their own unique way.
- Action in the show may seem sparse but each episode contains some sort of drama while adding to the overall plotline, allowing for the MC to progress on his dreams.
But not everything fits the world accurately.
- A specific nitpick is the incorrect period items such as widespread, public access to glass and paper.
- Pace can feel slow at times, especially during episodes where there's training with exposition.
Voice Acting
The Great Cleric has a talented vocal cast with industry veterans like Ono Daisuke, Hikasa Youko, Maeno Tomoaki, to relatively new voice actors like Kawashima Reiji, Tachibana Hina, and Iwami Manaka. However, this cast shows its traits through the enthusiastic main
characters, with Lucius voiced by Kawashima Reiji, being a very
hyperactive character. Lucius' emotions come out clearly and
expressively with joy, excitement, sadness, frustration and gratitude
all coming through.
Soundtrack
- With an opening, "Bug-Chan", sung by Nasuo☆ (ăȘăă☆) and an ending, "A New Day", by Nakashima Yuki. Neither felt extremely memorable, however they aren't outright horrible to listen to. Both contain positive rhythms and have upbeat themes.
- Background tracks for the show felt unmemorable at best. Put these songs in any other fantasy Isekai and they'd feel right at home.
- Sound effects also feel quite standard and usual for the genre.
Criteria
Grade
Summary
Opening
⭐⭐⭐★☆
Slightly memorable with an upbeat singer.
Ending
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Generic-- not the most memorable.
Background Tracks
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Seemingly standard background tracks. Could place these songs in any other fantasy anime and they wouldn’t be too out of place.
Sound Effects
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Standard sound effects, nothing out of the norm for gags, sword fights, running, etc.
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