Danica Davidson
October 7, 2024 
Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! is a fantasy manga based on a light novel series where everything is about class. The series is also getting an anime adaptation.
The main character, Arel, is the son of two powerful people: his mother is a sword princess, and his father is an archmage. Oftentimes people end up in the same class as their parents, so you might expect Arel to become a swordsman or archmage. When people are 10, the priest is supposed to tell them what class they belong in, and these classes are seen as something bestowed by the goddess. Once a person knows their class, they can acquire skills for it.
There’s a problem, though: Arel has no class. This is described as being worthless and having the goddess abandon you.
Arel could give up, but he decides to train instead. His mom teaches him. Over time, he gets to be quite skilled, and others don’t believe him when he says he has no class.
At 15 he goes off to join a guild in a different city, and soon winds up in a dying guild with only two other people in it, both of them girls. One wants to marry Arel, but he isn’t interested in her. The other catches Arel’s attention (not to mention there’s already a connection), but she’s not interested in him.
Hero Without a Class takes place in a medieval European fantasy type place, with orcs, goblins and hobgoblins. There’s a brief nod to Japanese culture when a swordsman named Masamune shows up with a katana.
Hero Without a Class is a nice underdog story, showing that talent and hard work can pay off. Arel is generally laidback and cool, and sometimes completely clueless, especially about girls. (This becomes even more apparent in a slightly raunchy short prose story at the end.) One of the girls in his guild is bubbly, while the other is more serious, so all of their personalities together can cause shenanigans. This is a fun, light fantasy read for fans wanting some escapism.
Original Story: Kuzu Shichio and Ueda Yumehito
Manga: Nanae Akio
Publisher: One Peace Books
Translator: Hengtee Lim
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
