ENDRO! is a twelve episode original anime series created by Studio Gokumi. The director of the series is Kaori, and the writer is Takashi Aoshima. The series aired during the winter 2019 season of anime, and is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
ENDRO! starts with a final battle, as the Hero’s Party confront the malevolent Demon Lord. However, a sealing spell goes awry, and the Demon Lord is sent back into the past. Inhabiting the body of a small girl and going by the Mao, the Demon Lord becomes a teacher at the Adventurer’s School that the Hero attends to try and prevent her from becoming a Hero in the first place.
ENDRO! is a particularly fun experience, even more so for those who are fans of RPGs. The anime references various tropes from role-playing games, with the Hero destined to defeat the Demon Lord being one of the most common ones.
What makes the show particularly fun is the cast of characters.
First up, we have the Hero, Yulia Chardiet – also known as Yusha. A pretty typical energetic type who may not be the brightest of the bunch, but she does possess incredible luck and tends to be unpredictable.
The priest of the Hero’s Party is Ellenoar Seiran, otherwise known as Seira. She is an elf, and isn’t particularly feminine. Seira also has A-cup angst. Whilst elves tend to be known for using bows, Seira’s actual weapon of choice is a hammer. There is a specific reason for that.
The warrior of the Hero’s Party is Fai Fai. She absolutely loves to eat, and things tend to get a bit desperate if she goes for too long without food. Also has a habit of nibbling on Seira’s ears.
Finally, the mage in the party is Mather Enderstto, or just Mei. In ENDRO!‘s world, mages use cards known as Cartado to conjure spells. Mei is an avid collector of said Cartado; in fact, she is very much a Cartado otaku.
Besides the four members of the Hero’s Party, there are also two more important characters.
First is Mao, the Demon Lord. With knowledge of what happens in the future, she makes it her mission to prevent Yusha from becoming the Hero. However, her priorities end up changing.
There is also Princess Rona Pricipa O’Lapanesta. The princess loves the stories of Heroes defeating the Demon Lords, and aspires to marry a Hero one day. Her character development is particularly noteworthy; she starts loving the concept of a Hero. However, meeting Yusha ends up changing that around, and she comes to develop feelings for Yusha.
One of the reasons that cast is so great is that they each get their own turn in the spotlight at some point or other. This really gets you invested in their characters, particularly as certain information about each one comes to light.
ENDRO! is pretty much a slice of life anime, with a fantasy setting. As already mentioned, the Adventurer School is a key location in the anime. The show chronicles the everyday lives of the Hero’s Party as they study to become full-fledged adventurers, which often means travelling to some new locale in order to embark upon a quest. Again, this is where ENDRO! really shows its RPG influences.
Also adding to the fun factor is ENDRO!‘s sense of humour. It has some really great comedy moments that are likely to get viewers chuckling.
When it comes down to it, ENDRO! is a really fun fantasy romp with an amusing cast of cute characters.
Score: 10/10
ENDRO! is an excellent show, giving a wonderful combination of comedy, fantasy and slice of life antics.
Rory Muses 