I enjoy a good anime that takes a standard idea and turns it on its head. Much in the vein of “The Devil is a Part-Timer”, this offering, “I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job.” (“Yūsha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shūshoku o Ketsui Shimashita” or “I, Who Didn’t Become a Hero, Reluctantly Decided to Find a Job.”) follows the tale of Raul Chaser and a career shift.

He went to Hero Academy to learn how to fight demons, as the Demon Realm was real and people needed protection from these attacks. However, the worst thing that could happen, did! Peace broke out! Man, I did NOT see that coming! Think of all those people out of work! No need for armor, even if it is Black Friday. The demon lord was defeated and now, there are no more demons to fight. Crfap, all that tuition money down the drain! Raul has, otherwise, no marketable skills. Sure, he can wield a broadsword, but it’s kind of pfffft! when he works as a mechanic.

“I will defeat you, evil devil bolt, with my mighty ratchet of freedom!” Yeah, it kind of loses something in the translation.

So, he gets a job at Leon Magic Shop, a kind of Big Lots! store, in that they sell all things at good discounts, but without the high markups. So, instead of slashing demon skeletons, he’s slashing demon prices on washer-dryer combinations. Into his already unhappy life comes Fino Bloodstone. At first, she seems to be just another hiree, but we learn that she is the daughter of the deceased Demon Lord. She has to make it in the human world, but is a complete naïf when it comes to real-life experiences.

The show details Raul’s quest to understand what it means to be a ‘hero’ and also teaching Fino to be more human.

Now, this show has loads of fan service, as seen by what Fino wears (or doesn’t wear). The shop next door to them, Lawson’s (a caliber of 7-11), is also stacked…..uh….I mean STOCKED with women of equal or larger….experience than Fino.

And when a rival company shows up (think of that as a Wal-Mart Superstore), the Leon crew have to pull out all the stops in order to survive. But a real threat comes from a location not even dreamt of, and threatens the whole world.

It’s a goofy show and played for laughs, even when it gets ‘serious’. And as long as we do have lots of flesh bulbs, there is going to be a huge amount of fan service and ecchi. Everywhere you turn, you find another unemployable hero mopping floors and selling sodas. How well can you handle the disappointment?

One problem I encountered is that some of the latter episodes started ‘late’; that means, when the next episode began, there was something missing, so I could not figure out how they got here, when they were somewhere else at the last episode. You may have to do some hunting about to get it all in place so it flows better. But I did like this show and it is well worth your time, even if all you want to do is track down all the cultural references that are flung at you from all directions.
On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork 8 (Good rendering of the female form)
Plot 7 (Rather standard, but worked well)
Pacing 7 (Busy, then not)
Effectiveness 8 (Lovely chemistry between Raul and Fino)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a ‘coupler’, but doesn’t really end)
Fan Service 6 (A similar show would be “Mahoromatic”)

Overall 7 (Goofy to a fault)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Sure, we have that.