Bel used to be an adventurer, but then a monster bit off his right leg. Only below the knee, but that's still too much to be happy about losing. He retired. These days, he lives in a pretty mountain village and acts as everyone's dad. He teaches mountain survival skills to children and kills occasional monsters, because he still has his strength and skills. His only handicap is a wooden leg.

Only one person calls him "dad", though. 17 years ago, he found a baby in the woods, adopted her and named her Angeline. He taught her swordsmanship. She thinks he's the best father in the world and she's since become an adventurer like him, reaching the highest level of S-rank even at her young age. These days, Angeline is part of a three-girl party and so good at defeating monsters that the local Adventurers' Guild can't manage without her, so for years she hasn't been able to go home and visit dad.

It's a lovable show. Our heroes are all nice and I enjoyed all the episodes.

1. Bel's lovely. He's the ultimate dad, despite quite possibly never having had a relationship or biological children. You can trust him to the ends of the earth. I particularly love his manners. He talks correctly and respectfully to everyone, always knowing how to handle situations diplomatically. (That's a work in progress for Angeline.) Also, he's voiced by Junichi Suwabe, whom I'll always recognise because he played Takahashi Tetsuo in Interviews with Monster Girls. The two roles aren't dissimilar.

2. Angeline loves Bel so much that you might start fearing Usagi Drop plot twists, but don't worry. The show's wholesome. Angeline's admiration for Bel isn't romantic and at one point she starts wife-hunting for him. (She's looking for a good mother... but she's rubbish at it. Her social skills are adequate, but she knows nothing about, say, aristocrats or matchmaking. She can't even walk in a dress without tripping.) Angeline wants to live up to her idealised (but essentially accurate) image of her father, so she's trying to be the textbook hero and refuses to do or say anything she thinks Bel might disapprove of.

This isn't an intense show, but it's not fluff. It's nice. It's also proper fantasy, not game-inspired nonsense. Adventurers have guilds and ranks, but not stat sheets, skill levels and lots of numbers. There's no suggestion of dice in the background.

The anime ends with set-up for a second season, but not a cliffhanger. I'd be pleased to watch a Season 2 (and I even have some guesses about who we'd meet), but this first season is satisfying and complete as it stands.

The show works well. I like its balance. It's likeable and our heroes are so strong that you're never really scared for them, but the narrative still has weight. Apparently sympathetic allies are capable of ordering the murder of an enemy and having his corpse dumped by the roadside. Aristocrats are dangerous. Bel gets cool dad things to do and keeps underestimated by macho youngsters. Angeline is brave, admirable and a bit silly. I like their friends and the people they help. This anime was based on yet another amateur web novel on Shousetsuka ni Narou and certainly isn't breaking new ground, but I'm fond of it.