To the insanely strong and powerful, prep work isn’t necessary for every adventure. After all, a few puny goblins won’t stand a chance against a fireball that can obliterate a house. For a typical sword-wielding adventurer, however, such is not the case. A single mistake can easily lead to one’s demise. That being said, surviving long enough in the business usually guarantees having a certain degree of wisdom, experience, and adeptness. Loren is the living proof of that. Being broke and neck-deep in debt, however, forces him to grab every money-making opportunity there is, even if that means teaming up with a party of idiotic adventurers. Here’s our review of the first volume of The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary!

Discussion Time

The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary Vol. 1 is the manga adaptation of the light novel of the same title. It follows the misadventures of Loren, a broke mercenary who is in desperate need of money. Since he’s a mercenary, no adventurer party is too keen on letting him join their team. Mercenaries are infamous for doing anything and everything for money, and a lot of adventurers aren’t willing to trust their backs on someone like that. (Un)fortunately, there is one party that does allow him to join. Forced by his situation, he joins not knowing how experienced - or inexperienced - said party is.

1. Light-Hearted Goblin Slayer-esque Manga

Right off the bat, this manga is very similar to Goblin Slayer. While it doesn’t have much gore or action, the setting and characters are quite the same—in this volume, at least. Loren is as cool-headed and experienced as the infamous Goblin Slayer. He knows what to do to at least increase his chances of survival. Even the goblins are quite similar. There’s this higher goblin that can command the supposed mindless goblins, and it can even use magic. If that doesn’t scream Goblin Slayer, then we don’t know what does. Our favorite, however, is the fact that both series’ arrogant, ignorant parties end up meeting a satisfying demise. However, we do believe that these similarities start and end this volume as the plot has completely taken a different direction at the end of the volume.

2. No Annoyingly Helpless Heroine

The thing that annoyingly makes series like this crash is the existence of useless heroines who are only there for the sake of fanservice and to highlight the main character’s illogical sense of pride. While it may seem like The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary actually follows that trope, Lapis quickly pulls out her guns. Not only is she capable, she also has an interestingly complicated background story. That, in addition to Loren’s misfortune, gives the manga direction, and we’re surely highly anticipating what happens next.

3. Tips and Tricks in Dungeon Crawling

Loren often explains the reasoning behind his tactics and line of thought. Be it when accomplishing his mission or even just scouting, his internal monologue proves to be quite informative. While it’s not necessarily useful for our day-to-day activities, it’s never bad to have knowledge on how to fight goblins and whatnot in a medieval fantasy land, right? After all, who knows when we’ll actually meet Truck-kun and experience the pinnacle of an otaku’s dream—being isekaied to a world of fantasy.

Final Thoughts

The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary is a surprisingly good read. While it’s light-hearted compared to Goblin Slayer, it’s not so light to be taken as a joke. The characters are also quite interesting. The plot, on the other hand, has only barely started in this volume. The good thing is that the second volume is already out, and those pesky adventurers have already met their pitiful end. The ones they’ve just met also seem to be more useful, and we just can’t wait to pick up the second volume, too!

Have you read The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Writer

Author: Christian Markle

I am a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. I love watching anime, reading manga, and writing my own stories. Watch out in the future as you may see one of my works one day. Manga and anime were big parts of my childhood. I grew up watching Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z. Those were probably one of the happiest and most carefree days of my life. In fact, most of my values are probably molded by manga. No, that's not an exaggeration.

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