Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World Volume 1 Review
Readers may already be familiar with Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World thanks to its ongoing anime adaptation titled Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World. Today I’m here to find out if it’s worthwhile for those who haven’t heard of it or may be looking to pick up the source material off the back of the anime.
The story follows Nick, who’s been kicked out of the adventuring party he belongs to after causing an argument with his former teammates. He’s then dumped by his girlfriend (who was scamming him) and finds himself at rock bottom. Looking to fund his new hobby of going to idol concerts, Nick finds himself looking for a new party and soon meets three like-minded individuals who have also been mistreated by those around them.
The four get seated together at a tavern, where they drown their sorrows in ale and tell Nick their life stories. There’s Tiana, a mage whose fiancé betrayed her and was disowned by her noble family afterwards. Zem is a former priest who was accused of sleeping with an underage child in the orphanage he managed and kicked out of his village after serving some jail time. Then there’s Karan, who’s a Dragonkin warrior and was left to die when her previous party used her strength to defeat a powerful dungeon boss and then stole all her belongings before skipping town!
So safe to say none of these characters is willing to put their trust in anyone else in case they get betrayed once more. But they all have hobbies that are quite expensive, so they have no option but to continue adventuring to live their lives. Because of this, Nick reasons that they’d make a perfect team because they’ve all become disillusioned and now know not to trust one another. With the right systems in place, Nick reckons that they could also alleviate concerns of someone running off with all their gear and earnings, too. So, this group decide to form a party for the sake of the hobbies they love so much.
Based on a web novel, Disillusioned Adventurers is author Shinta Fuji’s debut published work both here in English and the Japanese market. I expected it to be a little rough around the edges because of that, but actually, I think Fuji has done a good job with this first instalment. The first half of the book focuses on the characters getting to know one another and exploring each of their backstories, fleshing them out just enough to be satisfying to the reader but making sure they don’t linger longer than they should.
The second half of the book follows the newly formed party as they get used to fighting together in rookie dungeons. They have plenty of mishaps along the way, largely due to not communicating efficiently. And it’s here that the series really shines, as the humour leans into something resembling Natsume Akatsuki’s Konosuba. Unlike the aforementioned series, everyone here in Disillusioned Adventurers is very capable in their role but the way they bicker and get into situations like a giant slime exploding when they fight it the wrong way is very reminiscent of it.
I wouldn’t say there is anything new here, but this is a fun take on the ‘protagonist kicked out of his party’ selection of titles that are a trend at the moment. I appreciate that not only Nick but the other three all come from similar positions, so they’re not trying to fix Nick’s feelings but they don’t feed into one another’s bad habits either. Instead, they’re learning to walk forward as one and maybe by the end they’ll be more comfortable in the world they live in, but for now, they’re taking every day step by step. It’s optimistic rather than drowning in hatred, which it very easily could have leant into, given the past of some of these characters. And I, for one, am glad the author chose to have fun with it instead of writing an edgy revenge story (which we’re seeing a lot of at the moment).
Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Yen Press. It has been translated by Luke Hutton and the translation reads well with no issues of note. Apart from the light novel’s title being different from the anime, there’s also Karan, whose name is spelt “Curran” in the Crunchyroll release. Everything else appears to be consistent between the two so far, but this is certainly a bit jarring if you’re reading the book off of the back of watching the series or the opposite way around.
Illustrations have been provided by Susumu Kuroi and while it’s not the most attractive artwork out there, Kuroi does a good job of depicting all of the cast in a variety of situations. The series is ongoing in Japan with four books, Yen Press currently have Volume 2 scheduled for a release in February with #3 following in June. They are also publishing the manga adaptation in English.
Overall, fans of the ongoing anime series or this genre, in particular, will enjoy Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World Volume 1. It may not be offering anything new in the genre, but it’s an enjoyable read and sometimes that’s all you want out of these series.
