The past is never lost … only forgotten.
Creative Staff:
Original Story: Zappon
Illustration: Yasumo
Translation: Dale DeLucia
What They Say:
Red was once a member of the Hero’s party, a powerful group destined to save the world from the evil forces of Taraxon, the Raging Demon Lord. That is, until one of his comrades kicked him out. Hoping to live the easy life on the frontier, Red’s new goal is to open an apothecary. However, keeping the secret of his former life may not be as simple as he thinks. Especially when the beautiful Rit, an adventurer from his past, shows up and asks to move in with him!
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It had been three years since the Raging Demon Lord Taraxon appeared on Avalon, and within that short period, he had managed to devastate four countries within the area, resulting in half of the continent falling within his hands. The people could do nothing to stop the destruction, and began to feel as if the gods had abandoned them, until they remembered the prophecy of a new Hero being born to lead them out of the darkness. It was then when a lone girl rose out of the countryside and assembled an army of untrained citizens, allowing them to push back the invaders’ forces and prove to all who doubted that she was their savior reborn. Her name was Ruti Ragnason and she was granted by the gods the Divine Blessing of the Hero, and after this feat when she presented herself to the king in the capitol, no one doubted her claims, and thus people began to gather to join her in this noble cause.
One of those beside her was elder brother Gideon who was born with the special ability of Guide, instead of being granted an ordinary blessing of mage or warrior, his gift was rare in that he was at the advanced level of thirty-one when he was a child, gaining recognition at an early age by slaying monsters, and by seventeen he was quickly recruited by the capitol’s Bahamut Knights and became their second in command. However when his sister was revealed to be the Hero, he did not hesitate to join her party and help in this mission, of course being stronger than his sibling in power, but this situation did not last long. With any other class when they rose in level they also gained skills which we beneficial to the group, all except for Guide who stagnated in learning new abilities which could help, who was seemingly was only needed to help his sister at the beginning of her journey. While everyone advanced in experience and surpassed him by learning new techniques, Gideon quickly fell behind since Guide had no unique skills and all he could gain were common talents which were of little use, thus he was seen as dead weight.
At least that was observation of Sage Ares who did not hold back in voicing his opinion, taking him aside and declaring in their latest battle Gideon was nothing more than a hindrance to Ruti, with his attacks doing little to no damage at all. And while Ragnason stated he would do his best to help his little sister, this callous man wasted no time in boldly stating that he was nothing but a liability, since the concern wasted on her useless brother would divide the Hero’s attention and waste valuable resources to protect someone who could not contribute anything to their mission. With this toxic and biased logic it did not take long to convince the Guide it would be better for all, especially his sibling, that Gideon leave the party with the thinly veiled excuse he was leaving to scout the Demon Lord’s latest plans, and never to come back. Adding further insult to injury, the mage told him to leave behind all of his superior equipment and only take a low quality bronze sword and some money, and thus he left the next morning but not without trying to catch a glimpse of the girl who always called him Big Brother and depended on him. But as he looked through the window, all he could see was Ares with his arm around her shoulder, signaling this girl no longer needed him around. It was then when the man once known as Gideon left and took up the name of Red, hoping Ruti would sometimes fondly remember him, fleeing to the remote frontier town of Zoltan and becoming an adventurer who specialized in gathering medicinal herbs.
In Summary:
Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside may have had a promising premise, but as the reader becomes more immersed with Red’s laid back existence, writer Zappon-sensei constantly interrupts the story’s spontaneity with growing confusion: flashbacks to his prior life as Gideon, glimpses into how his leaving has effected his sister Ruti and the party, a new side of his personality exposed as Red within Zoltan and interactions with additional characters, and then only becoming ever more cumbersome once Rit is introduced by the second chapter. There is no true recognition as to which path this author wishes to take with the narrative, and while it is understandable to flesh out a character’s backgrounds with more information, the need to consistently switch points of view from Gideon to Red is unnecessarily grueling, made all the more so once they elaborate on Rit’s story and how the two met comes into play, compiling unneeded complexity into what could have been a straightforward tale of brotherly concern and growth.
Although it is understandable not wanting to burden his little sister the Hero with unwanted concerns of protecting a seemingly useless sibling, at the same time Zappon-sensei continues to expose the reader with contrasting qualities as Red interacts with the people of Zoltan, showing him to be a reliable man who will doing anything to help the people who are close to him, reflecting Gideon in a different light than what is seen in the past and currently from Ruti. Although it is true characters can have complex personalities, to have Gideon so easily discount himself due to Ares’ shallow insults is not what readers want from a dependable protagonist, essentially making him seem like an ineffectual lead while showing he is the complete opposite depending on what period or location we find the story is leading us. And while a person can evolve given time and differing environments without constant belittling from someone who is only looking out for themselves, to have such a radical change is unusual, given how much Red still cares for Ruti and yet still not wishing to reach out to her, even if he is supposed to be dead.
Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside is an interesting tale of caring for those close to you, but at the same time, the narrative is seems unsure of itself with its constant switching between personality viewpoints, making the reader take a step back to comprehend what is unfolding between the varying flashbacks and interactions. And while mangaka Yasumo-sensei attempts to inject some much wanted stability with reflective illustrations, there is little which can be gained with these brief glimpses into fleeting events. Hopefully the future of this title will see a coalescence of these diverging narrative elements, but as it is now, the story is a confusing mess which tries to introduce the reader to too many ideas with an unnecessarily complex structure, which only leads to headaches from understanding the tale of Red while integrating Gideon’s obligatory emotional baggage.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13 & Up
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: September 22, 2020
MSRP: $15.00
