Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is far from the first “banished from the heroes’ party” fantasy story in recent years. In fact, it hits many of the key tropes of this sub-genre. Orhun is looked down upon by his party members for being weak—yet he’s actually both the logistical linchpin and the strongest member of the party. Then, over the course of the series, Orhun both finds a group of people who see him for who he really is and becomes a teacher to younger adventurers while his original party struggles without him. It honestly feels like going down a checklist—especially early on. However, the further the series gets from its premiere episode (and associated plot point tropes), the more interesting and original it becomes.

Unlike similar shows, a lot of this show is about Orhun dealing with the emotional trauma of being discarded rather than being a simple power fantasy. Oliver, the leader of the Hero Party, is Orhun’s childhood friend—and together they are the sole survivors of a massacre that destroyed their hometown. The Hero Party was their shared goal—an attempt to become so strong that they’d never lose those they cared about ever again. Thus, Orhun sees being kicked out of the party as his friend breaking their most sacred vow—and the betrayal makes it difficult for him to join another party, even temporarily.

While never spiteful or sullen, much of the season is spent with Orhun healing from his emotional wounds through interacting with adventurers who never had any problems seeing his greatness, and him teaching the next generation of talented youths to form a party far more healthy and supportive than the one he belonged to.

The other twist on the common tropes is that Orhun is completely aware of how unbelievably powerful he is. The reasons he never stepped into the spotlight before are two-fold: 1) he saw conquering the dungeon as a team sport—where his job was to make the team the strongest it could be, rather than just himself—and 2) going all out puts him out of commission for several days at least. But once he is no longer hindered by the Hero Party, the shackles are off—especially when he’s the only one standing between innocent children and a literal dragon.

Speaking of dragons, the anime does a great job of using the Black Dragon as a major threat—showing us the strength of not only Orhun but the supporting cast as well. The Night Sky Silver Rabbits failed to defeat it and lost a key party member in the process, causing a major ongoing blow to team morale. And while the Hero Party was about to take it down, it was such a close thing that it became the impetus for kicking Orhun out of the party. But the real genius of the Black Dragon as a plot device is the fact that, as a dungeon monster, it continuously respawns—meaning it shows up repeatedly throughout the series and always feels like a credible threat.

By the end of the season, the world of Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is presented as far more than one of adventurers and dungeons. On the personal level, we have the mystery of Orhun’s missing memories and why Philia seems to be goading the Hero Party into their own downfall. Then we have the mysterious intentions of a dark cult and adventurer-murdering guild—both of which seem to be tied to the reason that dungeons exist in the first place. It makes for a ton of solid plot hooks. Of course, the issue is that not only are none of these resolved by the end of the season, but you have to first wade through the overused “banished from the heroes’ party” tropes to get to them as well.

The only other notable issue comes from how the character Caroline is dealt with in the series. Caroline is one of the young adventurers Orhun is training when not progressing through the dungeon. She suffers from extreme PTSD brought about by horrific child abuse in her younger years. Simply put, her life’s goal is to make everyone smile—because if they’re smiling, they aren’t likely to beat her. The problem is not her backstory but how Orhun uses her trauma against her to “help her”—triggering her PTSD to teach her dungeoneering lessons or to keep her in line (i.e., “If you do X, your friends won’t be smiling anymore). It feels gross at worst and painfully tone deaf at best—and makes Orhun feel far more villainous than he’s actively portrayed.

When it comes to the presentation, Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is far from the best-looking anime out there, but it’s not horrible looking either. While it’s easy to tell when the anime shifts from 2D to 3D, the 3D animation definitely takes the fight scenes (especially Ohrun’s fight against the Black Dragon) to the next level. It’s fast, fluid, and flashy—and perfectly sets the tone for his “big damn hero moment.” The music, on the other hand, is largely forgettable, if competent. It at least does its job of highlighting the emotions of each scene, be it the tender moments or the action-filled ones.

All in all, Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is hampered by its own premise as much as it is helped. It starts as your bog-standard “banished from the heroes’ party” story and slowly but surely evolves into its own unique tale. The issue is how long it takes to get past all the things you have seen before to get to the good stuff. As the season ends before any of the unique-to-this-story mysteries are revealed, the entire season feels more like a carrot on a stick to get the viewer to come back for the upcoming second season more than anything else. Is it worth watching if you are jonesing for a non-isekai fantasy anime or just enjoy the “banished from the heroes’ party” sub-genre? Sure. Go for it. But with so many other quality anime coming out these days, I’d hesitate to recommend it to anyone else.