In our intro, we made it clear that one element we despise with most romance anime—like My Love Story!! and Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me to You—is how long it takes for the romance to really blossom. Yes, when the love begins to bloom, it can be magical, but waiting ten to twelve episodes just drives us nuts. Thankfully, Banished From the Hero’s Party amps the romance up quickly and our two protagonists Red—true name Gideon—and Rit fall in love, show their feelings, and begin to make moves in less than 5 episodes! This isn’t a slow-burn romance series and that is a great feeling to have as fans of the romance genre.

Outside of the anime world, romance can be a process that takes years to form and sometimes can be like a fire, it burns quickly but then fizzles out. Love is a complex concept that we won’t declare we’re experts on here at Honey’s Anime but we do know one thing, how realistic or unrealistic it can be in the anime realm. Banished From the Hero’s Party, despite being in a fantasy world with demons, orcs. and elves is realistic and that makes the story relatable to those who have fallen in love, sometimes in the quickest ways.

Red and Rit met each other during their travels alongside the hero—Red’s sister—and quickly formed a bond despite their different upbringings. Rit almost immediately falls for the quiet but dependable guide Red and after their parting, she realizes just how much he means to her. That’s why when she discovered he ventured off from the hero’s party to open his own apothecary store she wanted to join him no matter what and their love only deepened further. It didn’t take eight episodes of playful banter, Red and Rit kissed several episodes in and even almost went all the way by the halfway point of the show! Banished From the Hero’s Party is a quick romance story but it never feels exaggerated or unrealistic despite the speed of Red and Rit’s love.

Did we mention Red and Rit almost went all the way before episode 10? Yes, folks, the romance found in Banished From the Hero’s Party isn’t a high school love story but one we see adults have. Red and Rit talk about spending their entire lives together and Rit is even willing to move with Red no matter where he decides to go in life! The two even share a bath and bed! How rare is it to see mature love stories in anime let alone in the fantasy setting?!

The usual trend for fantasy anime is that they are filled with action or with giant adventures. Banished From the Hero’s Party does have action and does have some adventure elements but those are sidelined for the slice of life/romance elements. We even think the slice of life feeling this anime is trying for is pushed to the background for the romance between our two stars. Need more evidence? Let us prove it further using themes found in the show!

Episode 1 is probably the slowest episode of the entire anime just because it's meant to show the main characters and show Red’s choice in his new life away from his sister’s party. This episode can be defined as slice of life with fantasy and a tinge of adventure but the following episode goes into developing Red and Rit’s bond, which continues for a few episodes. There is some action here and there—as well as slower moments of shop management—but the romance always feels centered. Rarely are our two mains alone—though they do get split up a few times for story purposes—but even when they are alone, they are thinking of one another and often reminiscing about their past exploits. This should make it obvious, the romance is stronger than the other genres present in Banished From the Hero’s Party and we are completely okay with that!