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Let This Grieving Soul Retire: Woe Is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party Manga #1
Let This Grieving Soul Retire (Manga), Vol. 1: Woe Is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party
"There’s only one thing I’m aiming for-to be the world's strongest hero."
Cri makes an oath with his friends to become the strongest hero in the world...but his hopes are quickly dashed when he realizes that his talents lie elsewhere. Despite the reality check, the expectations from the people around him seem to rising exponentially every day! Now Cri must deal with this huge misunderstanding as well as the outrageous consequences!
Cri makes an oath with his friends to become the strongest hero in the world...but his hopes are quickly dashed when he realizes that his talents lie elsewhere. Despite the reality check, the expectations from the people around him seem to rising exponentially every day! Now Cri must deal with this huge misunderstanding as well as the outrageous consequences!
178 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 23, 2021
A group of young friends decide to become treasure hunters, but as they rapidly advance in skill, one of them, Krai, does not. He tries to extricate himself from his duties, but they just make him leader, setting his low skill on a high trajectory. Can he survive the expectations upon him or will this be a case of Krai havoc?
This is one of those books. Did I like this? No idea. Krai has an actual personality, thankfully, which is a good start, even if that personality is to shirk his duties and try to get out of everything by being sneaky or, failing that, get through it by being sneakier.
His ‘shrug and whatever’ attitude, despite secretly being head of one of the most powerful guilds around, makes him at least interesting to watch, even if he’s being a little bit of a reluctant leader crossbred with a bit of a dink.
Really this book seems to exist because of Tino, a teenage protege of Krai’s friend who has designs on him and isn’t terribly shy about it, but is also a skilled powerhouse. Her elaborate corset and booty shorts design definitely feels like somebody writing for themselves and the artist is more than happy to indulge the writer.
Part of the issue is that this book takes a long time going anywhere and doesn’t exactly get there. The first chapters concern a recruitment drive and there’s a ton of world building to get done along with team building that sort of fizzles out.
By the time Krai passes a punishment quest racked up by his guild (or clan, or something - this caste system is woefully over complicated at times) on to Tino, there isn’t enough time left in the book for her to do it.
I did like the way Krai gets her to recruit a team that had some characters I never expected to see again, and there’s definitely a question of whether this is Krai being lazy and picking people he remembers or if this is actually a decent crew that can pull this off and he’s a shrewd leader.
So the question remaining is whether Krai is trying to get out of everything and, in so doing, whether that causes him to keep succeeding. That appears to be the joke (and also an odd fixation on him vomiting), but the storytelling is quite muddy at points.
And he’s not the most likeable character and he’s kind of awful to Tino, or everybody, come to that. I mean, I’ll take an interesting jerk over a straightforward nothingball like we get most times in light novels, but Krai won’t be to everybody’s tastes (at least he isn’t a pervert on top of it).
2.5 stars and I think I will kind of just leave it at 2 for now, despite thinking I will give it another volume just to see if it might actually go anywhere. It’s an oddly scattered read for something that should, frankly, be pretty straightforward.
This is one of those books. Did I like this? No idea. Krai has an actual personality, thankfully, which is a good start, even if that personality is to shirk his duties and try to get out of everything by being sneaky or, failing that, get through it by being sneakier.
His ‘shrug and whatever’ attitude, despite secretly being head of one of the most powerful guilds around, makes him at least interesting to watch, even if he’s being a little bit of a reluctant leader crossbred with a bit of a dink.
Really this book seems to exist because of Tino, a teenage protege of Krai’s friend who has designs on him and isn’t terribly shy about it, but is also a skilled powerhouse. Her elaborate corset and booty shorts design definitely feels like somebody writing for themselves and the artist is more than happy to indulge the writer.
Part of the issue is that this book takes a long time going anywhere and doesn’t exactly get there. The first chapters concern a recruitment drive and there’s a ton of world building to get done along with team building that sort of fizzles out.
By the time Krai passes a punishment quest racked up by his guild (or clan, or something - this caste system is woefully over complicated at times) on to Tino, there isn’t enough time left in the book for her to do it.
I did like the way Krai gets her to recruit a team that had some characters I never expected to see again, and there’s definitely a question of whether this is Krai being lazy and picking people he remembers or if this is actually a decent crew that can pull this off and he’s a shrewd leader.
So the question remaining is whether Krai is trying to get out of everything and, in so doing, whether that causes him to keep succeeding. That appears to be the joke (and also an odd fixation on him vomiting), but the storytelling is quite muddy at points.
And he’s not the most likeable character and he’s kind of awful to Tino, or everybody, come to that. I mean, I’ll take an interesting jerk over a straightforward nothingball like we get most times in light novels, but Krai won’t be to everybody’s tastes (at least he isn’t a pervert on top of it).
2.5 stars and I think I will kind of just leave it at 2 for now, despite thinking I will give it another volume just to see if it might actually go anywhere. It’s an oddly scattered read for something that should, frankly, be pretty straightforward.
April 28, 2022
Interesting premise. I am not 100% sold on the MC, but I don't dislike him either.
December 31, 2024
I suppose I picked this up in order to complain about the anime, even though I didn't think I hated it when I was watching it. (Then again, I haven't watched beyond the first two episodes...) The anime is pretty close to what the manga shows, enough that it could have been used as a storyboard, so that's something?
At the same time, I thought maybe Krai would be an interesting character, but re-reading his introduction just made him come across as "Fake it 'til you make it" but without the "make it" and actually not much of the "fake it," either. Like, he's fairly transparently "not good at anything" (except the odd thing he admits he's good at that are no good for the things he WANTS to be good at), yet Tino is so spellbound by him over his... status.
Literally, Krai probably (based on his mutterings) became the youngest Level 8 adventurer by being in the same party as his overachieving adventurer friends, their collectively gaining Adventurer Points enough giving them enough status to become Level 8 as a group, and his having been the youngest one in said group. That's the part I must have missed in the anime—while he does seem to have a talent with relics (which lend themselves to people with certain skills), Krai otherwise has Impostor Syndromed himself into functional uselessness.
I... am not interested in watching this character growth, if it happens. It's a similar reason to why I don't understand Bakugo fans—Midoriya is RIGHT THERE and is a PLEASANT character struggling to overcome his weaknesses! I don't want to hold out for the trash fire to MAYBE improve a little somewhere down the line. I don't outright HATE the story, but... I'm not interested in reading/watching more.
What would maybe have helped: Krai is merely shy, not completely self-depreciating. Means well but his good advice is regularly misinterpreted. Has taken the leadership role to heart and does his best, but the rest of his clan is as untameable as Fairy Tail, and maybe he's grown weary of cleaning up their messes. You know, something like A Herbivorous Dragon of 5,000 Years Gets Unfairly Villainized.
As is, C-grade, wouldn't really recommend, except maybe to "trash fire" fans who thrive on hating things (or... LIKE things that everyone else hates?).
At the same time, I thought maybe Krai would be an interesting character, but re-reading his introduction just made him come across as "Fake it 'til you make it" but without the "make it" and actually not much of the "fake it," either. Like, he's fairly transparently "not good at anything" (except the odd thing he admits he's good at that are no good for the things he WANTS to be good at), yet Tino is so spellbound by him over his... status.
Literally, Krai probably (based on his mutterings) became the youngest Level 8 adventurer by being in the same party as his overachieving adventurer friends, their collectively gaining Adventurer Points enough giving them enough status to become Level 8 as a group, and his having been the youngest one in said group. That's the part I must have missed in the anime—while he does seem to have a talent with relics (which lend themselves to people with certain skills), Krai otherwise has Impostor Syndromed himself into functional uselessness.
I... am not interested in watching this character growth, if it happens. It's a similar reason to why I don't understand Bakugo fans—Midoriya is RIGHT THERE and is a PLEASANT character struggling to overcome his weaknesses! I don't want to hold out for the trash fire to MAYBE improve a little somewhere down the line. I don't outright HATE the story, but... I'm not interested in reading/watching more.
What would maybe have helped: Krai is merely shy, not completely self-depreciating. Means well but his good advice is regularly misinterpreted. Has taken the leadership role to heart and does his best, but the rest of his clan is as untameable as Fairy Tail, and maybe he's grown weary of cleaning up their messes. You know, something like A Herbivorous Dragon of 5,000 Years Gets Unfairly Villainized.
As is, C-grade, wouldn't really recommend, except maybe to "trash fire" fans who thrive on hating things (or... LIKE things that everyone else hates?).
December 30, 2021
Krai is friends with some of the world's mightiest heroes but is the one friend who doesn't measure up in terms of skills, so they made him their leader instead. Krai, meanwhile, hates his job because it means he has to be spokesperson and constantly overestimated to the point where all he can do is bluff his way out of every problem.
Which is exactly what he does for the entire volume: get into trouble and bullshit his way out of it... somehow. Not exactly the most entertaining or exciting thing to read, but it has potential. Let's see where it goes.
Which is exactly what he does for the entire volume: get into trouble and bullshit his way out of it... somehow. Not exactly the most entertaining or exciting thing to read, but it has potential. Let's see where it goes.
September 19, 2022
A fun and light read about treasure hunters. I love those kinds of fantasy-type stories, so it was right up my alley! The characters are well written, the art is well drawn and the plot kept me interested until the very last page. The 'Grieving Souls' is one of the most popular treasure hunter clan, led by Krai, a treasure hunter with no special skills (compared to other people), so he became the Clan Master instead. Not much happens in the first volume, but it's a nice set-up for the other volumes in the series.
May 6, 2022
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Edelweiss and Yen Press for this opportunity.
I think series has potential. A lot of this volume was introduction/recruitment/attempting to form a party, which needs to be done but isn't quite entertaining. I can't wait to get out on the quest and see some of the character's abilities - none of them are really standing out to me so far. The art is really nice, though.
I think series has potential. A lot of this volume was introduction/recruitment/attempting to form a party, which needs to be done but isn't quite entertaining. I can't wait to get out on the quest and see some of the character's abilities - none of them are really standing out to me so far. The art is really nice, though.
January 19, 2026
3.5 - in this case I wish we actually had half stars.
This first vol. is not bad but it is very generic with its story so far to me personally. It was an enjoyable middle of the road read. Enjoyable enough for me to do my usual thing, read at least 2-3 volumes of a series before deciding if it truly is a thing I want to continue reading or not.
As for fanservice, there is some but it's not too glaring and annoying for this first vol. Most of it is related to Tino.
This first vol. is not bad but it is very generic with its story so far to me personally. It was an enjoyable middle of the road read. Enjoyable enough for me to do my usual thing, read at least 2-3 volumes of a series before deciding if it truly is a thing I want to continue reading or not.
As for fanservice, there is some but it's not too glaring and annoying for this first vol. Most of it is related to Tino.
December 28, 2021
Did not like this manga mostly because of the mc's character.
March 24, 2022
I do like the leader that appears inept but really isn't.
May 29, 2022
I really liked it even if nothing really happened
September 10, 2022
I really like the premise of this series so far and the characters that have been introduced as of now have something interesting about them. I'm curious at to what comes next!
August 28, 2023
HARD PASS.
This guy needs serious attitude adjustment.
I refuse to waste my time on somebody like this.
This guy needs serious attitude adjustment.
I refuse to waste my time on somebody like this.
May 22, 2025
I honestly got this manga volume because it was on sale, and it looked pretty interesting, and I gotta say it was, and I actually enjoyed it more then I thought i was going to. I'm definitely down to read the next volume whenever I get my hands on it.
Edit for reread
Reread this volume, I did enjoy it but in the sense of this is just another fantasy guild story. It was good, I liked the characters but I felt like this volume even though we got some explanation of how everything works around here, we actually haven’t moved the plot forward much. I’m a read the second volume to see how I feel, cuz I’m unsure.
Edit for reread
Reread this volume, I did enjoy it but in the sense of this is just another fantasy guild story. It was good, I liked the characters but I felt like this volume even though we got some explanation of how everything works around here, we actually haven’t moved the plot forward much. I’m a read the second volume to see how I feel, cuz I’m unsure.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews