Ready Perfect!
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Airing Date : October 2019 – December 2019
- Producers : White Fox
Contains Spoilers
Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga OreTUEEE Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru (Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious) Introduction and Story (No Spoilers)
Shinchou Yuusha, commonly known as Cautious Hero is a Fall 2019 isekai anime. The 2010's is when isekai rose to prominence in the anime medium and rapidly became its own genre. Cautious Hero managed to find a brilliant niche within this heavily saturated field, following in the footsteps of popular isekai titles like KonoSuba, which prioritized comedy.
Cautious Hero follows the adventures of Ryuuguuin Seiya, a young man summoned by the goddess Ristarte to save the world of Gaeabrande, a world on the brink of ruin. Seeing his abnormally high stats, Ristarte believed Seiya to be the perfect candidate to embark on this journey. She, however, never accounted for Seiya’s… eccentricity. Seiya is a man who never throws caution to the wind. He is cautious to a fault; in fact, he’s almost too cautious! Despite his high stats, Seiya spends most of his time training his body and he fights every enemy, be they weak or strong, with all his might.
From the first episode, Seiya is shown to be the ideal hero. Yet, he doesn’t trust anyone and is incredibly stubborn. Rather than head straight to the action, Seiya spends his time training to be at peak fitness. After this, we are shown Seiya’s caution as he heads to the merchants of Gaeabrande to buy the gear he’ll need for his missions. The ever-cautious Seiya bought three sets of the same armor – one to wear, one as a spare and one as a spare for the spare! Seiya’s caution overcomes every other personality trait he has; it is the most important thing for him. The result of this trait he doesn’t care that he appears unsociable, distrusting and even dismissive to his companions and strangers alike.
Seiya fights low-level monsters like slimes with highly destructive techniques, going as far as to chain high-level attacks even after he has disintegrated his enemy. Cautious Hero follows a format that relies on gags including Seiya’s caution and nonchalance, Ristarte’s status as a goddess but her ineptitude in moments of peril, Seiya’s calm and effective means of dealing with enemies weak and strong; as well as Seiya’s catchphrase “Ready, perfect. I am fully prepared”. Very soon into his journey, Seiya’s strength is tested as a level 66 demon named Chaos Machina appears intending to kill Seiya before he poses a threat. It is revealed that Seiya had been hiding his level the entire time, out of caution. These are elements that persist throughout the anime even as he meets the Dragonkin twins, Mash and Elulu, who become his two other companions on his journey. The twins bring forth an important aspect of the lore of the world of Gaeabrande, which features the prophecy of the sacred sword known as Igzasion.
Goddesses in Cautious Hero are tasked with summoning heroes from other worlds to embark on adventures with them in worlds that are suffering from the tyrannical rule of a demon lord of some kind. Seiya finds himself pummeling most of his opponents with ease, stumping even the strongest gods and goddesses. Seiya’s intense commitment to preparation makes him a menace even to the gods and goddesses he’d asked to train him.
For about ten of the twelve-episode run, Cautious Hero runs very far with its comedy, focusing mostly on the aforementioned gags, which go on to include Ristarte’s strange obsession with Seiya. This begins as more of the comedy which is the meat and bones of the anime but soon gains a very somber tinge in the latter stages. After a day of fun, Ristarte, Mash, and Elulu hurriedly return to Seiya’s hotel room to find him missing. Ishtar summons the party and tells them the truth about Seiya’s whereabouts, before explaining the truth behind Seiya’s caution.
1.Absolutely Hilarious
Fans of comedy, anime have themselves quite the treat when it comes to Cautious Hero because the show is quite ridiculous (in a good way). In the past 5 or so years, there have been several isekai anime choosing to go the funny route and of those titles, Cautious Hero has a very basic yet highly enjoyable formula when it comes to its hilarity. The gag of Seiya’s incredible commitment to caution is also greatly supported by his deadpan processing of everything around him – Cautious Hero is an isekai that tells you not to think too much about anything, Seiya will do that on his own. This featuring of an overpowered protagonist is also what propelled popular shows like One Punch Man.
2.Action, Action, Action
Despite Seiya’s incredible power and the swiftness with which he deals with each problem as it comes by, you’re never bored by what is happening on screen with Cautious Hero. The dangerous quests and Seiya’s caution when doing those quests means that the fights are quite entertaining regardless of their brevity; however, towards the end, there is also the inclusion of some powerful adversaries who raise the stakes to the point where Seiya is forced to use some incredible and dangerous ultimate techniques!
3.Art and Animation
Bright and beautiful, Cautious Hero sells itself well in the visual department, particularly during combat; however, also with how it displays various fantasy elements and characters. The world of Gaeabrande is vibrant but a far cry from the world inhabited by the gods and goddesses; which proves to be one of the most beautiful fixtures the show has. In the final episodes featuring some pivotal fights, there are some flashy light shows in combat that are pleasing to the eye and give a little bit of insight into just how powerful some characters are. There are also some minor effects, such as Ristarte’s reactions to certain situations, which just add to the comedic aspect of the show and make it that much more enjoyable.
1.Haven’t We Seen This Before?
Despite the unique edge Cautious Hero gives itself when it comes to the personality of its protagonist, it still feels rather familiar. In fact, there is a running joke in some circles about Ristarte being a blonde Aqua (KonoSuba) and that sentiment brings a major issue: you can’t quite shake the feeling that Cautious Hero is similar in some ways to some other comedy isekai; KonoSuba in particular.
2.No Character Growth
If you’re trying to watch a show where the characters experience trials and triumphs throughout an incredible journey and grow as a result, Cautious Hero is simply not the one. The characters’ stock personalities are the basis of much of its humor and since the humor is the meat and bones of Cautious Hero as a series, growth isn’t a priority. There are some cases of change brought on by Seiya’s presence in the series; however, these too are for the sake of the comedy.
Final Thoughts
Cautious Hero does what it does really well and can be considered one of the comedy gems of 2019. In a rapidly saturated isekai subgenre, Cautious Hero seems like it could be a once-off title that will find itself in the recommendations of many isekai fans. If it does continue past its endpoint, it’ll have leagues of happy fans waiting for it!
Author: Hoshi-kun
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