Chivalry of a Failed Knight

I'll admit at first glance I also noticed it to be both visually and story related to Asterisk wars however as we all may know by now that Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry has more of a erotic, romance, ecchi genre's in it. While watching I found myself to be highly engaged into the action and battles scenes more than the story. I felt bad though because I personally felt that the story was weak. What I mean by that is I felt like there wasn't much of a "wow" or "oh my god how intense" moment in the story for me. I did however likethe romance between our main characters. Personally depending on what genre a show is, especially in the genre's of action/adventure/fantasy I feel like every guy needs a woman who is either equally or soon to be be equal in strength. A good example of what I mean would be Kirito and Asuna from Sword Art Online. The character relationship no, let me start with this, the archetypes in the story were pretty generic, nothing too unique or special. I feel like we have all at some point watched a show like Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry with the same characters and personalities. I was not too surprised to Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry turn into a bit of a harem-ish type show based on the elements in the story along with characters. Especially since in most anime's the weakest characters are usually the ones who will become the strongest both psychically and mentally. They are also the ones most girls in anime usually fall for. The BGM and soundtrack didn't really stand out too me as much. I didn't really notice the music playing unless it was one the intro and outro songs or if a battle is going on (I would highly recommend you watch and see for yourself.) To contradict myself for a minute, the fights are indeed intense, so just ignore what I said earlier. The art style was your generic mid 2010+ style so lightly drawn face, simple shadows and different highlights in hair, that sort of thing. Overall I give this show an 8/10 because to me it really did a good job of breaking the barrier of similarities it shares with other shows just like it!

Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry - after reading the synopsis and seeing the cover, doesn't it make you think it's yet another uninteresting and low quality light novel adaptation about a "worst" student and his harem, taking place in a magic high school? That's not exactly what Rakudai is. The start might not be so convincing, but already after the first episode I knew I would stick with this anime till the end. What makes Rakudai stand out, is that it's really trying to be a little different. And the outcome is pretty good. At first, this is something we know very well already. We get our protagonist,Ikki, who is known as "the worst one" and has no magical skills. The main girl is a pink-haired tsundere, Stella, who is an A-rank student and princess of another country. How do these two meet? Of course, he walks in on her in her underwear, yet his reaction was not something you usually see in Your Typical Light Novel Adaptation. And this isn't the only scene when Rakudai does that - it uses well known schemes but does it in a pretty refreshing way. I wouldn't call it the most unique anime ever, but does it really need to be very original when it can still be somewhat refreshing and very entertaining while relying on a base we're familiar with? What is also worth mentioning is that this is not a harem show! Yeah, really. After the first 2/3 eps there were people making sarcastic comments about it, but they could shut their mouth after a little while. The development of main characters' relationship is sweet to watch and adds to this anime. Rakudai doesn't focus on romance that much, but it's there, it's noticeable and it is nice to follow. More female characters appear, but Ikki isn't their love interest (there is one exception, which is his little sister, but no worries, this aspect is also handled well and shouldn't be found annoying even by people that dislike this kind of characters). Characters are likeable, they aren't unique but they're still fun to watch. Also opponents are more interesting than they usually are in Your Typical Light Novel Adaptation! Okay, so since this is a "sword action" anime about magic knights, there must be a fair amount of battles. There are battles and they are really well done! They aren't short but don't feel too long. The animation is smooth and the battles are full of details. They are really exciting and great to watch! You might even find yourself rewatching some fight scenes - so did I. Not only fight scenes are so well done. This show offers really neat art, there are many details, it's rare to see noticeable deformations in the background, the animation is always smooth and also the authors sometimes used different styles of animation - which turned out really well imo and is yet another thing about this anime that makes it stand out. Another thing that makes Rakudai better than Your Typical Light Novel Adaptation is the fanservice! I found it splendid. Sometimes Rakudai goes where most series of this kind don't have the balls to. And the expierience is even nicer because of the great art. It might not have that much fanservice, but it is of incomparably better quality than it is in most shows of this kind! And it mostly focuses on our beautiful Stella (who is not only good looking, but can be also sweet, supportive and seductive). The soundtrack doesn't stand out that much but it doesn't disappoint either. It's just good. The opening song is really great though! Fresh and catchy. Definitely one of my personal favorites. The ending song is by my beloved Ali Project so I obviously enjoy it too. For those that don't like Ali Project's music, there is a beautiful and fanservicey animation. This anime does the same thing its protagonist does - it might be labelled as bad since the beginning by some, yet it really tries and the outcome is very satisfying. Sometimes you might even feel like they tried too hard (example: episode 11) but don't you like it better when they try very hard than when they don't really care? Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry is a well done anime. Even if it might look generic at times, there are things about it that make it feel more fresh and stand out. As a fan of this kind of series, who appreciates interesting fights, good art, quality fanservice, a bit of originality and actual effort put into the show, I enjoyed Rakudai a lot. If you expect good action, smooth and detailed animation, a bit of romance and some high quality fanservice and don't mind a harmless amount of well handled generic tropes - you might really enjoy it. It's also worth mentioning that Rakudai gets better with time, the beginning is just slightly above average but in later episodes I just fell for this anime! If I weren't a fan of this kind of anime I'd give it a solid 7, but since I am and every aspect that I like in anime was handled really well in this one, I'm giving it a 9. It was real fun and if another season ever comes out I'll be the happiest.

Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry feels to me like an almost desperate attempt to be different. It intentionally utilizes perhaps the most overused setting and premise in the anime industry as of late, and then tries to put its own spin on it in order to make it stand out from the crowd. I say "attempt" however, because unfortunately it never quite lives up to its own potential due to having a tendency of not focusing on its own strengths properly, and thus indirectly making it somewhat generic in the end, even though that's exactly what it's supposed to try its hardest to avoid. The story takesplace in a magic academy, and it only takes about 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the first episode before the MC, Kurogane Ikki, walks in on a girl, Stella Vermillion, in her underwear. Yeah I've never seen that development before. One thing leads to another, and the two of them eventually end up in an official duel where the loser has to become the winner's "slave". Ikki promptly defeats her in style, and thus immediately scores himself a sexy girl as his personal servant before the end of the first episode. Or at least that's the official verdict, but in reality the two of them are quite friendly with each other, and it doesn't take long before a full-blown romance begins to blossom in-between them. And this is how Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry aims to be special. By this point we should all know what a typical action/fantasy/ecchi/harem magic academy light novel anime adaptation looks like, not to mention how absurdly many there are of them. This series however tries to kick out the harem aspect, and replace it with romance. Like an actual established romance from very early on in the story. That's an incredibly rare thing to find in any anime, let alone an action-oriented one, and it's a quite refreshing thing to see. As far as the characters themselves go, Ikki is supposedly the weakest student in the entire school, nicknamed the "Worst One" by the pupils. However, this is strictly because he lacks magical skills, but on the other hand his prowess with the sword is second to none. And sadly that ends up being a mostly negative trait as Ikki thus ends up being an incredibly overpowered protagonist anyway, and there is so much plot armor throughout the fights in this anime that it really doesn't have a whole lot of tension in them. That aside he's an all-round good guy who has a lot of fans and supporters. In that sense he reminds me a lot of Shiba Tatsuya from Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, and I can't really consider that a good thing. However, the way he normally acts towards Stella is very respectable I think, and that probably has to be considered the most important thing in the end. Stella herself on the other hand is not only one of the top students in the academy, but also a fiery redhead who is light on the tsun, heavy on the dere. She's a bit too submissive to be my type personally, but I know many people who like her a lot, and she's also got a pretty stunning body. My one problem with her as a character is that she seemingly falls head over heels in love with Ikki in a split second somewhere in-between episodes 1 and 2, but for no apparent reason. As cute as their romance is, I can't help but feel that it started off awfully unnaturally. It almost feels like the author was impatient at getting his dream pairing up and running, and thus he kind of just forced the two of them together in the beginning. Of course those two aren't literally the only characters in this anime, and this is where we find the first of two problems I have with this anime. Namely, why are there so many other girls in here that are not only prevalent, but also in love with Ikki? Like really? First you make such a big deal about how this is a pure romance anime and not a harem, and then you *still* insist on having a bunch of other girls ogling the MC with lustful eyes? What's the point? We already know with absolute certainty that Ikki x Stella is the established main coupling in the story, so why do you have all these other girls as well? Are they there just in order to cater to certain target audiences, despite the fact that those people would know that their favorite girl has already lost the love game before it's even began? Make up your damn mind already; is this supposed to be a harem or not? It's like it's pretending not to be a harem but it actually is one. You can't just both have the cake and eat it, seriously. I mean if they were just there as friends, classmates or whatnot it'd be one thing, or if their feelings towards Ikki are just there in order to create some light love drama and make Stella jealous or something then I could understand it, but that's not the case here. Instead it's literally just for harem romcom shenanigans, which ought to be the last thing Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry should have in it given its premise. My second issue with this anime lies with the action elements. Taking place in a magic academy, naturally there is a lot of dueling going on in-between the students. In fact... there's too much of it. Let's be real here, the one thing which Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry has going for it in comparison to other anime with the same setting is the romance. And yet despite that I swear it's spending more time on magic duels than romantic progression. Furthermore, there's still the simple fact that we got a pretty seriously overpowered protagonist in Ikki, so there's very little excitement in the duels themselves since you always know how they're going to end before they've even began. His abilities oftentimes feel like asspulls too as there are numerous special moves of his which are brought out seemingly out of nowhere in order to turn the fight around. There's also this one scene where at one point he's lying nigh-unconscious in a huge pool of his own blood, only to be in top tier fighting condition and kicking ass a minute later. Like really, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that that's simply impossible. The few times where we get to see fight scenes where Ikki is not involved however, then it's actually a lot better. Especially the magic duel in episode 10 was a treat to watch. Anyway, the point is that the entire action/fantasy part of the anime feels almost meaningless a lot of the time. It's predictable and most importantly it doesn't really add anything noteworthy to the romantic part of the story at all. It just drags the romance down rather than complement it. Similarly, like mentioned earlier, the pseudo-harem elements are equally pointless, and does nothing but distract from the one thing which you're probably watching this anime for to begin with. So if you put all that together, what can you conclude? Well, like I said initially, Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry is an attempt at taking the most overused premise in modern anime and adding a real romance plotline to it. And that's pretty much what it is. But there is no real sense of compatibility in it. The one thing which makes it worth watching is the romance. Almost everything else in it is average at best. So then I can't help but ask, was there really any point in using this setting to begin with? Why do the action, fantasy and harem elements even exist? Why is it taking place at a magic academy in the first place? Because seriously, this story could just have been an ordinary school-life romance anime taking place at an ordinary high-school with no dueling, no magic, no villains, nothing like that. It could just have been a realistic romance story between Ikki and Stella. That's all it's worth watching for as it is, and there'd be so much more focus on that in an everyday setting compared to what we got. It's like the anime is focusing on its own weaknesses more than its strength in its current state. Originality is an admirable thing, and I highly respect Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry for trying to be different. But being unique doesn't always mean being better, and in this case I really feel like it wasn't entirely successful. Sure, it's still definitely better than your typical magic academy anime, no doubt about that, but it's definitely worse than what it could have been if it was rewritten into a dedicated romance story in a normal setting. Or if you want a graphical representation of it, then: Pure romance > Romance + battle harem > Pure battle harem I.E: mixing good with bad certainly makes it better than just bad, but still not as much as just good. So to speak. On the other hand, you can say what you want but the ending is pretty satisfying.

As clichéd and by the number as Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry presents itself, it also seems to be an anime that challenges its own status constantly. By looking at its plot summary and art direction, you would be forgiven to toss this series along with the generic crap that piles the charts of every season. With that in mind, what could be then a valid reason to give this show the merit of a review? Well, I’m glad you asked, little voice in my head, let me explain. Story and Characters From any angle you look Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry (this one is quite the mouthful, I’m gonnacall just Rakudai for short) is following the clichés of the Sorcery School genre so strictly it seems as if it has a checklist of the tropes required. We have: -the hardworking but underestimated protagonist who happens to be somewhat oblivious to girls affections; -the pink-haired upstart tsundere, largely known for being among the most talented and powerful on the student body; -the Imouto character, whose main purpose is to give the series its incest undertones; -the playfull and not-at-all subtle homosexual side-character who just so happens to be someone you should not underestimate; -the one-off enemy that is going to be discarded for the sake of raising the protagonist; -a setting based on a school with modern aesthetic, that teaches its students about the handling of magical abilities; -a tournament centered plot were the main characters bet their academic future and pride. Now, what makes Rakudai an interesting beast to tackle is how it seems to be at odds with its own clichéd nature. The series displays a weird brand of self-awareness where it doesn’t necessarily belittle or parodies such tropes, but seriously plays them to the best of its abilities. Mostly. You can see this manifested in how the characters are presented and treated, going back and forth between the predictable instances of their archetypes and legitimately thought-out character moments. Starting with the easier one, Ikki, the protagonist and Failed Knight of the translated title, who starts as an underdog but reveals to be actually pretty strong. Surprised? Neither am I. Granted, the series doesn’t make him simply a powerhouse for poorly established reasons or goes out of its way to avoid any kind of tension during battle, it shows him as a deeply hard-working individual who struggles against tough enemies, even showing that his strongest moves have their limitations, so a Kirito he isn’t, thankfully. In some instances the writing even makes fun of how quickly he becomes popular among his schoolmates. Personality-wise, he was given a sense of humour and empathy, enough to make him likeable and play well with the other figures. Following is Stella, the resident tsundere. Now, even being a staple of anime, the tsundere archetype is a tricky one to write. Doing it right, the tsundere can develop into a well-rounded and likeable figure, in the molds of Taiga or Meryl Strife. Doing it wrong though, the results add the potential extra-damage of being not only a poorly-written character but also an awful individual as a whole, ruining the chances of the audience connecting or growing to like the character. So how does Stella fair? Let’s take a look at the first episode before anything else: for once, after the obligatory accidental peeping scene, she is introduced in a comedic sequence so that it’s easier in get accustomed to her demeanor. Following that we’re shown her motivations for being in the story and the episode ends by displaying her kinder side towards the protagonist, while not in his presence mind you. Now, I think this is noteworthy effort, because far too often writers only worry about introducing the tsundere by her aggressive traits. Introducing Stella in this manner helps to understand that all the traits presented are natural sides of her personality that don’t conflict with each other. Later, when in her tsun-side, she acts more flustered than abrasive, making the transition to her dere-side natural. Now, one common practice to make the tsundere likeable to the audience is to give her a quirk, so what would it be for Stella? She’s horny. No, really, the majority of the initial sexual tension between her and Ikki comes from her desire for his body. --[Minor spoiler ahead}-- This later takes a different form when their relationship develops and leads to their most interesting moments as a couple. Being Stella a more sexually forward individual than Ikki, the two have to work out their expectations in regards to the relationship, strengthening their bond and ultimately providing better understanding of where their morals lie on. All that aside, it's unexpectedly refreshing to see a light novel adaptation having teenagers deal with such a strong subject like sex in a tasteful manner. --[Minor spoiler end]— The Imouto in the series is also played in that strangely self-conscious manner. Usually this archetype is used to give incest undertones to the anime, here it’s not at all in undertones. She starts her role by kissing her brother in front of other classmates, openly declaring her love so that everyone can hear it and playfully talking about sleeping together. I realize this might be a problem to some, but as long as it doesn’t devolve into tasteless pandering I appreciate when a series cuts the bullshit and plays with a trope. Now and then, Rakudai has these strange moments that handle plot points in a way that could be classified as meta-humour, although this might be a dangerous statement to make. I say it can be seen as meta-humour because they play with expectations the viewer creates after having already seen similar situations. We’ve seen new characters end an episode talking about fighting the protagonist, so we expect them to be a future threat, not the punchline for a joke (which, you might notice, was a wasted opportunity for more effective build up, not gonna lie), and we’ve seen countless anime feature pool/beach episodes, so we expect them to have pointless fanservice and dumb hijinks, not legitimate character development. Around episode 6 you’ll probably notice that this series is more focused in interactions than in any on-going main conflict. While the interactions are nice to watch and even charming from time-to-time, it leads to one of the main problems with the series: it introduces characters that play their arc but might get forgotten in the long run. Some adversaries, for example, become throw-away characters and might as well be classified as filler. Being this only the first season, Rakudai might be trying to pull a “Index” and stack up in characters that become recurrent in the long run, which is a better option but comes with issues of its own. Presentation This I’d say is the anime’s most glaring weak-spot. Rakudai uses the style that is by now a given for light-novel adaptations of this genre, which in some instances can make the series indistinguishable from other titles: figures use futuristic-looking uniforms in white and black shades with minimal variant details, scenarios are mostly light colored, with the exception of battle stages, presented in dark tones of green and blue, powers are undetailed but given noticeable lighting, etc. The same goes for character design: Ikki is thin, has dark and spiky hair; the tsundere has pink hair tied in ponytails, large, soft and bouncy breasts (I won’t complain about that!); the Imouto is flat-chested and carries a uniformly bland color pallet; the supportive gay friend is fabulous. Being a Silver Link series, though, it’s nice to see it was done by the side of the studio that understands contrast, so we luckily don’t have a Chaos Dragon this time. Seriously, that show looked awful! On action sequences there are issues with framing: a lot of attention is given to the special powers, but they take too much of the scene, and adding it to the manner in which those sequences are cut, makes for somewhat disjointed and hard to follow action. On a plus side, when the focus is on character movement it’s very fluid and pleasant to look at, mainly during swordfights. Wow, here I go being boring again! The opening is interesting because the visuals have a slightly gritty vibe to them, but the song sounds not really upbeat, but energetic and stimulating, possibly to evoke a competitive thrill going into the anime. The ending is a slower, somber piece accompanied by some… enticing visuals. Can’t go wrong with that. Personal ramblings Rakudai Kishi no Calvary was a show that played constantly with my expectations. At many points it seemed like it was going into shit-territory with its setup, just to pull it back and make a fool of me by presenting a legitimate good and entertaining moment. I can say I had an equal amount of enjoyment from watching the show as well as I dissecting it. There are many factors that can make a work for me, but hardly ever break it. One that is fundamental to me and can easily do both are the characters. Bad characters can sink a series with good premise and waste solid potential, as well as good or even great characters can help a work with a tired premise to rise above mediocrity, even if it doesn’t mean becoming a landmark for its media, but just a solid piece of entertainment. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” seems to be getting increasingly meaningless as it has become easier to spot a generic, effortless and vapid cash-grabs in the current anime scene, so it’s really pleasant to find once in a while a show that throws you for a loop and is worth looking at and analyzing.