You know the drill by now.  Every season there’s a LN adaptation (usually isekai) that people claim is different – and they always mean it this time.  This is the one that’s going to break the pattern, that rises above all the pitfalls of the form and genre.  I invariably give them a try, and sometimes they do to varying degrees win me over for a time.  Sometimes an episode, sometimes several (like Mushoku Tensei).  But almost invariably (and we’re talking really close to invariably here) they lose me.  The tropes take over, or the writing generally dumbs down, or the DNA shows through in some other way.

This season’s entry is Saihate no Paladin.  Folks in good faith tell me one of these shows is worth my time, I respect them and give it a chance.  I appreciate the effort on their part, and I’d hate to miss out on something good because of historical precedent. Saihate no Paladin gets points for not trying to explain the entire plot in the title (don’t pretend I’m exaggerating, ’cause I’m not).  Hell, it doesn’t even give everything away in the first episode – and that’s progress. LNs rarely have enough faith in their audience to leave them guessing and let things develop, but so far that’s happening here to a reasonable degree.

The production values are certainly nothing special, it must be said.  Children’s Playground Entertainment doesn’t have a long CV but what there’s there is frankly pretty abysmal, and there’s no one among the key staff who stands out as an especially notable figure.  But on balance it’s not as bad as I feared when I saw they were producing – you could have told me this was a (non-CGI) J.C. Staff or Deen series and I wouldn’t have batted an eye.  The animation and art direction are thoroughly average, which is fine.  And the cast is excellent – that’s seemingly where the production budget splurged a little.

Story-wise yes, this is an isekai.  But of the prior life of the protagonist we’re told almost nothing – only that it was a “wasteful” life, and I think we can assume it ended prematurely.  He wakes up as a red-haired baby in the care of three undead creatures – a skeleton named Blood, a mummy named Mary, and a ghost named Gus.  Naturally the infant – who the trio name Will – is terrified at first, but it soon becomes clear that these three are the nurturing type.  A mummy who acts like a mommy, a skeleton who acts like a dad, and a ghost who plays the role of wise old grandfather. Having Konishi Katsuyuki, Horie Yui, and Tobita Nabuo in these roles certainly doesn’t do the production any harm.

Just why Will became a literal red-headed stepchild to a trio of undead in a temple in a dead city isn’t explained yet, but that’s fine.  Even the three adults admit they’re keeping secrets from the boy, but he’s abashed from pushing too hard because he’s keeping a big secret (he remembers his other life) from them, too.  This comes to a head when he walks in on Mary praying to the Goddess Mater and finds her aflame, and burns himself badly trying to save her.  This, it turns out, is her penance for making a contract with the God of the Underworld – every time she’s in Mater’s presence, she burns.  But the Goddess gives her bread for Will as part of the deal.  Just what penance Blood and Gus are paying is not broached in the premiere.

All in all, this was a pretty engaging first episode in a classic modern fantasy vein.  There’s a fair amount of dignity and restraint in the presentation – certainly for a LN – and the bond between Will and his three guardians is very believable.  This had “prologue” written all over it though, and with any of these adaptations it’s when the main story kicks in that the rubber meets the road.  There was nothing off-putting here and the overall experience was quite pleasant, and I’m going forward with an open mind – or at least as open as I can possibly be, given my awareness of the aforementioned historical precedent.  Expectations are one thing, but the least I can do is try and be hopeful.