Holy Knight

The story is fairly short, only OVA of 2 episodes so it won't be a long review. I prefer writing shorter reviews anyway, since I hate reading 13 pages long essays of some conceited person hairsplitting every single unimportant point. I came across the anime like any other person does, that is, on teh inturwebs. I was disappointed it was only an OVA of 2 episodes, not a real deal. A good intro setting the mood and catching attention of viewer and what I always like seeing, a hint of forbidden romance, which especially makes it intriguing. The story doesn't end but the makers haven't produced more episodes. Unfortunately,that's about it (without spoilers). If you like romance, definitely recommended. It has some ecchi, but nothing preposterous. They really ought to make a 12 episode long anime. It has good potential in my opinion.

"Haste makes waste," "Ether you do it right or don't do it at all." That's the kind of philosopy that well deserves this 2 ep OVA. IMAO, this OVA has a good plot and has a potential to be a good 12 episode anime, alas co'z it is just limited only to 2, the author has obviously made a lot of corner cutting, then again the story still deseves a "Good" 7. The art.........hummm, I'll give it an "Outstanding" 10, since I like the way the illustrator did with the characters, and the fanservice that goes with it. Sound: Poor 3. No comment. Character: Decent 4. That's becausethere isn't much about to know the charcters that well, in fact deatils about them are sooooo limited that there are more questions than answers as to what they truly are. However the roles that Kisimoto and Shita played is enough to be appreciated. Enjoyment and Overall: Dreadful 2. Ok, so becuase of all that cutting corners and making such a hasty OVA, this thing should have not been thought about if it is gonna be limited to 2 episode, the story maybe good the relationship between Litih and Shita did make a good climax, but the author simply ditch everything and focus more on the fanservice and went stright to the climax of the 2 lovers leaving a lousy exit for the antagonists. Since this OVA has a manga, it is better to just stick with the manga then bother with this dreaded thing.

I decided to give this series a shot because a few voice actors whose work I enjoy were involved. For the record; I haven't read the manga, or seen the original sub, nor am I a fan of ecchi. That said, I couldn't imagine recommending this series to anyone who is. The story of Holy Knight is standard fare. An emotionally distant and duty-driven girl is compelled to sleep with an awkward, nervous boy, himself given a task he's not yet aware of. Said boy is best friends with a jealous, possessive girl, who is overflowing with one-sided affection for the boy. All of the (ofage) girls have massive tits. If you're expecting any twists, you might find one, but it's revealed so late in the game that it can only be hinted at. The whole OVA is about as eventful as a standard series pilot. The writing – especially in the first episode – is riddled with poorly woven expository dialogue and lines that are just plain bad. "Oh not again, I can't believe my alarm didn't go off again!", followed by "geez Shin, you're late again!" "If you keep ignoring me - I mean, your studies, then one day I'll become a famous novelist and forget all about you, Shin, so there!" "You are one of the best students in my ancient folklore class, Chizuru." One character's incessant usage of acronyms is one of the most annoying habits I've seen dealt to an anime character, as a matter of fact it might top the list. At every moment, you are aware that these are characters, and that you are watching a show. The writers have seen to this. Whenever I hear a diehard anime purist decry dubs as universally insulting to the hearing, I tune them out. I can't recall hearing a Funimation or Viz dub that wasn't at least solid, if not stellar. I hadn't heard a dub that seemed to justify such vitriol in my life, until I watched Holy Knight. Collins' performance as Lilith is the sole professional-quality lead work on display. Anthony Sardinha, Corinne Sudberg, and to a lesser extent, Michele Knotz, do well in the bit roles they're given, but their contributions are minimal. Talbott, Zekas, Pollack, and Nugent are especially inept. The ratio of wildly forced, un-inspired utterances to believably delivered lines is probably in the ballpark of 8:1, if I'm being generous. I was cringing for about an hour straight. I legitimately can't remember a dub that was this consistently horrid. The score of Holy Knight does it's job in much the same manner as the art. It never felt the least bit out of place, but just minutes after finishing the series I couldn't remember a single note. Honestly, that's fine with me, but if you appreciate epic scores you won't find one here. The sound design is spotty, sometimes satisfactory, sometimes distractingly bad. At one point a burning torch is dropped, producing a sound like that of a tin can being dropped on a tile floor. It's a flaw, but in the grand scheme of things, it's far from the most glaring. I went into this series without expectations, honestly hoping for the best. Needless to say, that's not what I found. Holy Knight is a kind of bad I'm not used to. It's an uncomfortable bad, not just because of the contrived dialogue, or the shallow characters, or the gratuitous and disgusting loli panty shots (oh yeah, that's a thing), it's that all of these sins have coalesced into a single insult to the medium. I see no more fitting rating than a 1/10.

This OVA tries to put a fresh spin on the old vampire anime type. It could have been great™ if it was expanded into a 13 ep series, however it seems it was mostly a marketing ploy to get more audience into the manga. Story: 7 You will see your usual cliches: sole survivor of some ancient clan, Romeo-Juliette type of romance, the classic childhood friends who develops a romantic feeling twords the main char and a bit of love triangle, etc, etc. That said, the story is well blended and there are hints about several possible interesting development angles, which (most likely) will be expandedin the manga. A few things prevent me from giving a higher score: - the story is unfinished (for obvious financial reasons) -the author slaps in some Romanian folklore terminology to tie some story loose ends but doesn't understand their real meaning, proving a lack of proper research -some elements don't quite fit in. Without spoiling too much, I don't know what to think about vampires using 'supernatural' swords ... Art: 9 The art was good and convincing, up to today's standards. Nothing major to spot here Sound: 8 Sound effects and lip sinc are ok in the Original language, the music could have been better but that's just me. Character: 9 While the secondary characters don't get much screen time due to the shortness of the ova, the main characters get plenty of development and background. Enjoyment: 8 The pacing is well done,high pace action/story advancement is tempered with char development and comic relief. Should provide a satisfying experience Overall:7 Should be a good anime to watch if not expecting too much. It's unlikely you will be bored