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Look, I'm not gonna write one of those raige-bait cringe reviews or analysing this as if it was a Tarantino movie.. but I've been with this manga from the start and heck I enjoyed it. Nagatoro and Naoto were great characters who had great development and if you are still upset about the first chapter: Just don't read it.
This is not a manga about fetishising bullying, this is a story about kids growing up and realizing who they want to be. It's probably one of the best rom-coms we have right now, so why don't we just enjoy that?

This manga is dogshit.

The protagonist is a pathetic asshole with no redeeming qualities really but the author still tries to gaslight you into believing that the MC even has something resembling a human sense of reason and a likeable personality. It's impressive, really. The love interest in this story is bland as fuck, your pure, timid goody two shoes. I seriously do not know any of her motivations or character quirks, insecurities, anything! That's why the MC is only interested in her body it seems, because he doesn't even show any interest in her hobbies, job etc

The only good part about this manga is Itsuki, ... his childhood friend. I think the author realised that too because she got written out of the story so she could live a better life which she deserves.

Read it maybe for Itsuki or the art which is arguably really good but man, this series is so toxic.

This is my favourite Isekai and one of my favourite LN's out there. Nevertheless, this story is flawed and I can see why some people would not like this. The biggest flaw is that the story really takes its time and some times it reeeeaally drags which might be a turnoff for some. But I do think that this (sometimes) flaw can be the LN's greatest strenght most of the time. Because it makes it possible for the character development to be handled with such care which is hardly seen in anime.

Story - 8-9

I think the story is one of the aspects of this LN ... which can't really be explained well because, well... the characters are just trying to survive and get by. Without knowing the full context you could think that this is just a slice of life/survival show which Grimgar definitely borrows from. I think it is more comparable to the likes of a "Walking Dead" tho. The characters try to survive, sometimes they have specific goals and sometimes they have to fight of people who want to harm them but overall they are just trying to secure their place in this world. I'll leave it at that with the story because it still has some mystery to it which souldn't be spoiled.

Characters - 9

The characters are absolutely the best part of this LN. Those who have watched the anime might think that the characters are interesting but nothing exceptional or remarkable. I think this is partially the animes fault and the way the characters are handled in it. Ranta, Yume, and Moguzo are handled fine. You can expect them to act the same in the LN. Shihoru feels a bit flat in the anime but that just comes with the medium and the necessity of cutting content from the light novel. Haruhiro was extremely mispresented in the anime tho. He is called Old Cat so he should have droppy Eyes and baggs under them but in the anime he looks way more generic. The way he acts also doesn't match the way he does in the LN. Haruhiro is kind off supposed to be self-doubt incarnate but in the anime that doesn't really shine through.
Now about the actual character writing: It's slow. The characters develop slowly but that means this development is handled with an intimacy and care which you can't really find in any other isekai. That includes the character relationships. Haruhiro's party has such a strong bond that it feels like they'd do anything for each other. It has a sincerity to it which I can't really describe. In romance anime or battle shonen there is often some kind of insincerity between the rivals or the main couple for example. Grimgar doesn't really have that. Characters say they love each other or they cuddle with each other or they throw themselves into dangerous situations just because they care abound the bond they have. It obviously isn't like that from the get-go but Haruhiro's group grows so clos because of all the shit they go through together.

World - 9

It's in the title. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. The Fantasy part is clear, Fantasy=Magic, Beasts, Monsters and so on. The Ash part is the one which makes Grimgar different from other isekai worlds. Grimgar is a dying world abandonded by the gods. People turn into undead because of the No-Life King's curse and basically anything that breathes is trying to survive and ready to kill you if you try to interfere. In contrast to other isekai worlds t doesn't feel like as if humanity is a nature-defying power, building huge cities and being the dominant species. In Grimgar there are no big cities. Humanity is just like the other races part of a dying ecosystem called Grimgar. Because of that, Grimgar always has a certain mystique to it and a sense of dread is looming over the group at all times.

Overall - 9

Grimgar might not be the most complicated story-driven political fantasy LN but it is definitely the rawest isekai LN I know and if you are interested just pick it up and see for yourself.

I write this review as of having read the third volume.
I'm keeping this short. I have originally only checked this series out because it is written by the author of Mushoku Tensei, which I love. So I might have had a bit of bias going into this, still I tried to keep my expectations low because of the lower rating and the english name of the light novel (which is stupid imo).

Story - 7

Short Synopsis: The orc hero bash is still a virgin at age 28. Because of his achievements in the 3000 year lasting war between the 12 races of Vastonia, the orc king ... allows him to take any woman that suits his tastes as his wife. So, in order to lose his virginity the orc hero Bash ventures out to find himself a wife. Yeah. The story is really nothing special but for what it is, it is done quite well. The world is quite rich with lore, which surprised me but more of that in another category.

Characters - 8

I think the characters are one of the better part of this series. At least those who we spend a lot of time with. At first I thought Bash was gonna be Rudeus but reskinned as an Orc. I was proven wrong though. bash is an Orc, which in this Orc means that he loves fighting and fucking. I mean Bash wants to fuck every woman he meets, he thinks about mating with them like animals and he also tells them so. His standard proposal is "Will you have my babies." which when I first read this I just thought that would be like a running gag, him being overtly honest with his sexual thoughts. But Bash is also just really polite. When he is being rejected, he justs accepts it and doesn't try to persue a woman that isn't interested in him. Mixed with his honesty I find Bash to be actually really likeable and enjoyed him way more than I thought I would.
The only thing I didn't write about the character writing was the villains. Every book so far has its own villain. The problem is just that they are all pretty falt character so far.

World - 8

The worldbuilding is too good for what the series is trying to be. Eventhough it starts pretty generic in the beginning with a huge lore dump, the concepts itself are allready pretty interesting. As I allready mentioned the 12 races of Vestonia we involved in a war which lasted 3000 years. In this war two groups fought against each other. The Coallition of Seven and the Alliance of Four. The Coallition consists of the orcs, orgres, harpies, succubi, lizzardmen, demons, and faeries. While not all Members of the Alliance of Four are known, we know that the humans, elfs and dwarfs are part of it. The two factions and the reminded me a bit of the alliances in The Elder Scrolls, so for anybody who is a fan of that franchise should find enjoyment in this aspect. Each race has its own unique culture and customs and this far it seems that each race is going to be fleshed out in its own sepperate volume, starting with the Orcs and Humans in volume one, the elfs in volume two, and the dwarfs in volume three.

Overall - 7
Fun read, enjoyable characters, interesting world. Is only getting better and better so far.

I started this manga because I wanted to read a wholesome gyaru manga and at first glance I thought, "Well this looks cute, guess I'll try it." But man when I was done... well, I'll get to that shortly.
It starts of as this kind of cliche gyaru/love (?) story manga, but the helped the girl cleaning her room and I thought that was weirdly wholesome in a way and that it was cute that the guy explained how you could clean efficiently or whatever. But man... there was this one turning point which was... well, lets just say the author had either mental problems or ... got just really high on drugs and wrote the script for the chapter before he passed out with foam in front of his mouth and got delivered into the hospital. Nevertheless, it really is an experience and it's just 25 chapters, so if you want a fucked up ride, or you have a crisis and you think that all the manga you read feel generic and all the same, then you might as well just read this to remind you that there's always worse.

I think this series is way too underrated (at least in the west) and I write this review to help getting it more recognition. I think I'll just straight out say why I immediately fell in love with this series and why it became one of my favourite manga.

The characters 9/10

I think there are just a few manga, which I've read, which have just such a large variety of great characters, from the main character to the "villains" there's no bad character, and I say "villains" because in the beginning you think you have a good understanding of who are the good guys and ... the bad guys, or at least enemies, but as the story progresses, the characters get more fleshed out and you realise that they too are just human beings who have their own dreams and ambitions which they want to fullfill, and I can't really describe this with words (I'm not a native speaker) but it's done in such a good way and the developement feels so organic.

The story 9/10

At first glance the story might seem not that promising (at least for some). There's a veteran who needs money and then there's this prison break, with a map tatooed on the prisoners skin, which might lead to a gold treasure... I mean you can just read the description. But I think what makes the story so good are the characters, which are used in such a good way to push the narrative, and the exploration of the culture of the ainu people, even though Golden Kamuy is not 100% accurate historically (Hijikata Toshizou is still allive in this timeline) but the culture of the indigenous people of japan is explored in such detail and with such love that I couldn't help but to fall in love with the ainu culture too.

The artwork 10/10

I believe Golden Kamuy has amazing Artwork. The Artwork on the double spread pages is always phenomenal and the backgrounds are always crafted with such detail that it just looks amazing. Additionally, I think in its seroius and emotional moments, the emotions are always perfectly captured in the artwork and feel really impactfull.

Overall 9/10

I think it's a must read and if you are a historical and/or fan of manga which explore cultures, this is even more a must read.