Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 2, 2014

Maybe there’s a reason good and evil seem forever locked in combat. If one side were ever to actually win the battle, what would everyone do? The somewhat ungainly titled I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job (also known by its shortened version Yu-Sibu) tinkers around with that idea, detailing the not very adventurous adventures of a young man named Raul Chaser who was supposed to be a fighter for truth, justice and whatever national way holds sway in this fantasy series. Raul had been part of a training program for potential heroes who would go on to fight a realm of demons which threatened Mankind. Unfortunately for Raul, if fortunately for the species as a whole, the Demon King was soundly defeated, suddenly putting a lot of prospective heroic acolytes out of “work.” I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job starts out traditionally enough, with Raul enrolled in the so- called Hero School and attempting to learn the ropes of what defeating Demons entails. Those plans are sent crumbling to some underground lair when word reaches the school that the Demon King is no longer a threat due to the handy work of another hero. That deposits Raul (and by default, the series) into what turns out to be the bulk of the series’ focus, a quasi-menial job in a magical appliance store called Magic Shop Leon (transliterated as Reon in this Blu-ray's subtitles). In the fanciful world of I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job, everyday items are not powered by plugs and electric current, but by a sort of magical ether. Magic House Leon is a kind of “big box” (or in this case, “small box”) store that sells these so-called magical appliances, and erstwhile hero Raul now finds himself consigned to being a salesman, certainly not the most heroic of occupations. Things change unexpectedly one day when an odd character named Fino wanders into the store. Raul initially thinks Fino is another boy, but it turns out Fino is actually a girl, and not just any girl at that—she’s the Demon Lord’s daughter. Already anime fans may be drawing parallels to any number of other properties, and there’s little doubt that I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job isn’t a very innovative series. But it has its own modest charms which may appeal to those who like a smattering of fan service along with a traditionally nettlesome relationship between two disparate focal characters.

The opening few minutes of I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job might lull into thinking the series is going to be traditional action fare, albeit with a bit of full frontal female nudity. Raul is attempting to slice and dice his way through a coterie of nasty looking beings, alongside a rather buxom girl named Airi, who just happens to save Raul’s behind at the battle’s climax. The two think they’re about to be promoted to full Hero status, and from there on to saving the world, but a sudden dispatch (in a longish title card that needs to be paused in order to read all the way through) informs them the Demon King has been brought to justice and heroes are just the latest folks to join the swelling ranks of the unemployed.

Raul is next seen trying to peddle a magical dishwasher (to no avail), then manning a cash register when there's a run on discontinued video cassette tapes, when Fino enters the picture. From this point forward, I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job stays pretty resolutely in more whimsical territory, deriving whatever humor it can muster out of Raul’s training of Fino in the world of mortal men. A Demon princess can’t be expected to simply grasp the fineries of loyalty club cards and other retail establishment standard operating procedures, and it’s here that the series starts to purvey its slight but enjoyable comedy.

One of the kind of odd things about I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job is that Fino isn’t a tsundere, or at least not a traditional tsundere. While there’s a bantering, at times even bickering, relationship between Fino and Raul, it’s not like Raul is Fino’s whipping post, and in fact a lot of the barbs are actually aimed toward Fino by Raul. Instead, this is more of a “fish out of water” tale, as Fino attempts to adjust to the human world under Raul’s mentorship.

The series takes a kind of weird left turn late in its proceedings that attempts to get it back into more of a traditional action plot. It’s an odd decision from both a tonal and a timing standpoint. If the ultimate concept of the show is to let Raul finally get to be a hero, it takes an awfully long time to reveal. If on the other hand this is a mere detour of sorts, the sudden shift from a lightweight fantasy to something at least more relatively serious is a bit disconcerting.

While there’s nothing overly exciting or groundbreaking on display here, the interplay between Raul and Fino is generally amiable enough to sustain interest, even if the series tends to hover in a kind of middling territory that’s neither great nor horrible. The show’s attempts to comedically blend a retail environment with a supernatural tinge isn’t developed strongly enough to ever really—(forgive this horrible pun, please) register.

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. For such a recent vintage anime, the series is rather soft and indistinct looking at times, with a kind of hazy scrim covering many scenes, an odd stylistic choice for such a whimsical entry. Colors are often very bold and bright, and are routinely very well saturated throughout the presentation, though minor banding is on display, especially in some segues involving lighter gradients. Line detail is generally stable and consistent. The whole design aesthetic here is kind of routine, though ironically a few isolated sequences, including the cool opening battle segment, are quite nicely designed, with richly saturated hues and some nicely detailed backgrounds.

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix (in the original Japanese only) that offers suitable support for what ultimately is a pretty talky, unflashy sound design. When the series does get into some action elements, there's still substantial support for both dialogue and effects, though a surround mix probably would have amped up the low end more appealingly. Fidelity is just fine and there are no issues of any kind to warrant concern.

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Clean Opening Animation (1080p; 1:35)


• Clean Closing Animation (1080p; 1:32)

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Most people in their late teens or early twenties slowly start to realize that all of their wildest dreams may not in fact come true, and that some kind of compromises need to be made in order just to make a living. I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Got a Job plays with that concept decently enough, but the series tends to be bifurcated in some patently weird ways, spending a lot of time in trifling comedic sequences where Raul tries to instruct Fino in the fineries of human existence, and then darting off into a subplot involving retail conspiracy and a real need for heroes (even if no Demon King needs dealing with). That gives the series a kind of lurching quality that is only partially offset by a generally affable demeanor. This is one of those midlevel series that may not rise to any significant heights, but which also doesn't scrape the bottom of the anime barrel. Technical merits are generally very good for those interested in purchasing this release.