Saikyou Yuusha Party wa Ai ga Shiritai
Hero's Party Want to Experience LOVE

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This is a very perplexing series, I believe this is the first time I have read a title utilizing Gender characters to a great degree.

In a nutshell, the genders of the cast are... backward. Something like he is a she or she acts like a he and so on. The plot doesn't just stop there, the story dives into exploring the aspects of love even with this fascinating setup.

To top it off, this takes place in a world after all of the war and fighting has concluded. Knowing the cliche has ended is pleasing, yet only makes the whole order more complex.

There isn't anything wrong ... with this series per se, it just feels a little underwhelming. I guess this is what you expect if you read a story after the war and there are no reasons for bloodshed to occur anymore.

Don't get me wrong, Saikyou Yuusha is better than most, it's a wacky take on genders will keep you invested.

6.6/10


Directive towards people who find interest in some relatively absurd and unique comedy, this manga lives and dies on that hill. As a legitimate and engaging fantasy manga, this scrapes the bottom of the bar alley, however, due to the heavy emphasis and focus on some weird comedy subjects, this manga has some form of entertainments, but when the jokes miss, they miss hard.

The plot is relatively stupid; there’s a premise that is established, which is fairly unique, however, it’s almost like there’s no direction for the manga’s completion, as there are some minor inconveniences and plot points in the manga only to prolong ... it, providing no real developments in character personality or plot. When there is an overlying plot, it’s basic, and there’s only so many things the author can do before the manga becomes stale.

The characters are of course the bud of the jokes in this manga; besides for the usage of jokes and comedy, they all are shallow and brain-numbing for the sake of comedy, which causes the manga to be filled with plot holes in character and progression, making it frustrating to read rather than humorous.

As for the comedic elements this manga provides form it’s character and stagnant plot, it’s usually a hit or miss type of situation. At times, the manga does have some laughable and entertaining moments, however, other chapters/jokes are outright boring and weird, creating a sense of awkwardness that this manga has in those chapters/arc.

Approach this manga with the intent of laughing at absurd and weird topics while not expecting much from the story’s actual substance besides for some kicks and giggles here and there. As for me, this manga’s mixed comedy doesn’t justify its shallowness in characters and plot, so it isn’t that enjoyable.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”

Saikyou Yuusha Party wa Ai ga Shiritai suffers the same issues that many oneshots-turned-serializations have. Namely, its inexperienced author who had no overarching plot in mind when making the oneshot struggles to conjure up a compelling story to match the tone and interest of the first chapters. Failing to abide by the First Law of Holes, the mangaka instead dug deeper and made it all super explicitly lewd. Yes the oneshot has dirty jokes. But boy does the serialization really put it out on the page. By the time I dropped this series, the work had turned from a really interesting concept (a bashful mage ... wanting to leave the hero's party because the hero is too attractive and draws all the attention, while the hero is actually a woman in love with the mage) into the most confusing, horny, ad-hoc manga I've read in a really long time. I mean, nothing made sense anymore. I'm not kidding when I say that the whole work is barely a step away from being a hentai. I won't bother you with spoilers but I wow does it get into what I can only describe is shitpost-level territory. Now, I'm not saying there can't be good or at least readable erotic manga. But the way this mangaka goes about it often feels tasteless and unplanned rather than well-written and thoughtful.

Characters -- 5/10
At least the members of the adventuring party are compelling enough to want to know them better at times. Other times, members like the "hermaphrodite" (not my words) or the childlike-looking nun (a guy) are really only there for punchlines or innuendos. Yes, sometimes there's hints of a backstory or character traits that would make them actually worth reading about. But the mangaka struggles to piece enough of them together or hold on to that interest for more than a panel or two before hitting you with some gross, sexual joke for it to mean much

Story -- 0/10
I mean, I never knew what in the hell was going on. Where are they going? What are the players in the narrative? What's the big threat they must overcome? The romance between the leads is absurdly written and devolves from the mystique and will-they-won't-they-find-out of the oneshot into just the female lead relentlessly flirting and teasing the male lead. Genuinely disappointed in how they're written out. The party mostly just meanders around. I've watched Cereal ads that served as more satisfying isekais than this. I've watched soap operas with better mystery reveals. A stunningly bad story.

Art -- 7/10
Yeah it's alright. The character design is pretty nice, especially within the adventuring party. Nothing to go out of your way to read for, though.

Overall: Stunning fumble of one of my favorite oneshots I read last year. Shocking how one can throw out a concept in such a way that makes it seem like it was all a scam so the mangaka could publish his unrestricted fetishes in the sheep's clothing of a romcom isekai. Speechless, really.