Fortune Quest

I grew up hearing that this show was a worse version of Slayers, and I am here to tell you that is pure slander. They are both mediocre. HOWEVER, this show felt a lot more fun to watch than Slayers for a couple of reasons: firstly, the party is more diverse, being comprised of three humans, one (child) elf, one dog-dragon, one dwarf and one giant. Secondly, it focuses more on short stories (each lasting 1-2 episodes) that often have a comedic aspect to them, and sometimes a very unexpected outcome. The characters have chemistry with each other and all get screen time, with the exception ofKnoll/Noru the giant, who never gets a chance to do much in the entire series. It's a feel good RPG inspired series that will make you laugh at its best and bore you a little at its worst. It's worth watching if you're into retro anime, DnD and RPGs or if you want a fantasy setting anime that is easy to get into (and out of). The reason why I say it's mediocre however, is because despite its decent setting and characters, it never gets into any world building or character development. We learn a few things about the characters, but a LOT is left out. I imagine it's expanded upon in the manga, but I wouldn't know. We never learn how this rag-tag group of friends met each other (except for Clay and Trap, who came from the same town, and Whitey/Shiro, whose backstory is explained in the OVA), and we don't learn what their main goal is, as they just drift from town to town, taking random quests to make money. The show also throws some new characters at you that come from nowhere and immediately become very important to the plot, which makes me think this probably is supposed to be a manga tie-in. Having said all that, I still think it's a good anime worth a watch. Just keep your expectations low.