Seiken no Blacksmith

Forty-four years ago, the surviving nations of the Valbanil War declared peace and forbade the use of the devastating demon contracts that ravaged the land. Now, inexperienced knight Cecily Cambell is eager to follow the example of her family and protect the people of the city using the sword she inherited from her father.

Her first challenge arises in the market. A crazed swordsman wreaks havoc upon civilians and Cecily jumps into action to restore order. Overwhelmed, her weapon shatters, but a skilled stranger wielding a strange-looking sword intervenes. With the situation diffused, Cecily heads to a local blacksmith in an effort to restore her family heirloom. However, she finds out that her savior—the blacksmith Luke Ainsworth—may be the only person capable of such intricate repairs. Determined to have her treasured sword repaired, she seeks out the man who rescued her.

However, a group of bandits suddenly attack a convoy headed for the city. The assailants look inhuman, and an ice demon appears. Luke suspects the use of a demon contract and calls upon a sacred power to defeat them. Meanwhile, a shadowy hooded figure lurks, watching from a distance. Who is this mysterious evildoer, and what does his appearance mean for the pair?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ainsworth, Luke Main

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Cambell, Cecily Main

Fujimura, Ayumi Japanese

Lisa Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Aria Main

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Elsa Supporting

Shintani, Ryouko Japanese

Margot Supporting

Chihara, Minori Japanese

Doris Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Siegfried Supporting

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Evadne Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Quasar, Hannibal Supporting

Akimoto, Yousuke Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Kouchiyama, Takashi Producer

Takahashi, Kazuya Producer

Hidaka, Masamitsu Director

Reviews

Oct 5, 2024

Lolitroy

Recommended

Stop me if you've heard this before: hot-headed protagonist with a single braincell fights bad guys who are bad because they are bad guys who are bad. Vaguely medieval Europe setting. Lots of swords. Royalty and empires. Said bad guys are monsters with muted colors and conventionally ugly designs so it's easier to see them as fodder. Little girl whose personality is 'cute'. Stoic edgelord with a dark past... need I go on?

I do, because despite this being the anime of all time, it was also heartfelt, sincere, and thoroughly charming. We're at a point of societal collapse where it feels like an either or ... scenario--either your series is generic slop with no redeeming qualities, or it's a revolutionary work of art that will change media as we know it. (Slight exaggeration). Of course, this isn't actually true, and in fact, I'd say most works of fiction belong to a comfortable middle ground, where they might be written with heart, yet not seek to 'shift a paradigm' or whatever... because they don't need to.

Enter Cecily, local useless lead who'd headbutt her enemy if told to use her head. Enter Luke, local drama queen who acts tough and stoic but blushes if someone says 'tiddy' within a ten meter radius. These two are, by far, what carried the series for me. Their dynamic is adorable. I can't remember the last time I watched something and kept thinking 'stfu and kiss' every episode. I'm indifferent to hate to love romances, but the progression felt so natural, that by the end I was more than invested. Often, these types of dynamics skip the... well... progression, so the end result feels kind of shallow and at times artificial.

In this case, the small things really added up: the way they'd look forward to meeting each other, the tsundere antics mellowing to genuinely sweet moments, how the teasing was, for once, warranted instead of the author telling me 'hey, these two love each other. I promise. Now ship them'. By the end of the anime, I could really see how they'd gone from barely tolerating each other to having a genuine connection, and now I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. If this anime did something right, it was selling the light novel, because I HAVE to see these two get together.

As for the rest of the characters, they ranged from fodder to fine. I liked Lisa and Aria enough, but I can't say I'd read a spin-off about them or anything, though I also quite enjoyed their interactions with the main two, and can see the quartet caring for each other deeply. The villain might as well be part of the background, unfortunately. There were a few people of note, like Cecily's bald superior, who I thought was pretty cool, or this girl that showed up for a few episodes only to vanish into the ether, but which had a pretty solid sub-plot. The minions of said girl, however, might as well be part of the background, too.

The setting was truly the setting of all time, as was the magic system and "enemies", though I liked the concept of sentient swords, and the take on demons could be interesting depending on how it gets expanded upon. Like the thing vaguely resembling a villain, however, it seemed to exist because stories have those, and because fantasy. There wasn't a single thing of note aside from elemental infusion in waifu weapons.

I saw other reviews praising the art, but it was kind of hit or miss for me, and mind you, I watched it from (bargain bin) blu-rays so the animation should've been smoother than it probably was while airing. It was, sure, but I still felt like the characters tended to go off-model, and I could FEEL the budget. The OST was actually pretty nice, though, as was the voice acting. I've seen other people complain about the dub, but I watched in the original language, so ehh. As a side note and admittedly a nitpick, the random nudity was WEIRD. I felt like I kept watching this PG-13 show, and then all of a sudden there would be topless girls in full display which ??? (It felt as out of place as the boob "jokes" so there's that).

I realize now that I forgot to talk about the plot, but I feel like we all know what happens. It might change in the LN, but I'm not reviewing that. Truly a story. The.

Does, then, a charming main couple and cute character dynamics outweigh a bland story and setting? For me, yes. Absolutely. I don't go into everything expecting greatness. Oftentimes, not even the authors themselves do. Maybe there's something they want to say, or a relationship they want to explore, and everything else is a backdrop for this. I'm not saying that was the case here, or even that I think it is, just that at times there's one thing that enhances what is otherwise a mediocre experience, because, sure, this anime was 'mid' as scholars say. So? I won't try pretending otherwise. It's aight, and that's aight, too. What's important is that it genuinely felt as though those making it cared, and that's all I ask for, really. To care.

There's plenty of series I've watched which I can recognize are pretty good to great, but don't... well, care. They're like a fancy restaurant I'd go to and think 'this was good but I won't pay twice for it', and SnB would be that burger joint that's never full, always comfy. I had a good time is what I'm saying. You guys should watch. There's non-sequitur boob jokes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 12, 2024

Joe_Devaney

Mixed Feelings

Overview:
"The Sacred Blacksmith" is an unfortunate example of a series that, in the hands of a better writer, could have been great, if not brilliant. It has some interesting ideas with a lot of potential, but the execution of these ideas are shaky at best, resulting in a series that is rather clichéd and predictable. While I personally enjoyed it quite a bit, unless you're a huge fan of medieval fantasy stories, I would recommend thinking twice before checking it out.

Story & World (6.5/10):
"The Sacred Blacksmith" is set in a world that appears to be modelled after medieval Europe, which several decades ago was ravaged ... by a horrific war where many people used a powerful weapon known as the Demon Contract, where humans sacrifice their bodies to become powerful demons. Eventually, people realized the damage the contracts had caused the land, with the surviving nations making peace and banning the use of the Demon contracts. Presently, in the city of Houseman, former noblewoman Cecily Campbell has recently become a knight, like her father and grandfather before her. After being beaten by a mad veteran of the war, her family's sword breaking as a result, Cecily ends up getting saved by a mysterious young man. He is Luke Ainsworth, the titular 'Sacred Blacksmith', who is able to forge katanas using magic with the help of his equally mysterious assistant, a young girl known only as Lisa. Impressed by Luke's katana, a weapon she has never seen before, she decides to have Luke forge one for her, though he's less than willing to do so. Soon after, Cecily encounters a woman named Aria, who is actually a Demon Sword that can take human form. The series then follows these four very unlikely allies, as they gradually learn that despite having ended nearly half a century ago, the war still influences the land even to this day.

"The Sacred Blacksmith" has some pretty good worldbuilding, all things considered, with the history of the world being revealed early enough in the series. We also learn that despite the horrific nature of Demon Contracts, demons themselves are not inherently evil, which is shown no better than with Aria, who is nothing but kind, helpful and heroic. Furthermore, most Demon Swords are unable to take the form of a human, with Aria being seen as the exception rather than the norm. Unfortunately, while the worldbuilding is certainly adequate, the actual storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, it's pretty predictable. It's obvious from the very first episode that Lisa is not a normal girl, with her pointy ears and the fact that she can enable Luke to forge weapons out of nowhere being dead giveaways. However, exactly what is so unusual about her isn't revealed until the last arc of the series, and when it is revealed it's treated like some sort of shocking revelation, almost like we ourselves hadn't figured out by then that there was something up about her.

The series is divided into three arcs, each of which last 4 episodes. While this does ensure that the series never stays in the same place for too long, the arcs themselves feel pretty disjointed from each other, with the second arc in particular having almost nothing to do with the first and third even if the story told in the arc itself isn't necessarily bad. The series is also surprisingly unadventurous, taking place entirely in Homesrun and the area surrounding it, with various other parts of the world being mentioned but never shown. Most of these problems can be explained by the fact that "The Sacred Blacksmith" is originally a series of 16 light novels, with the anime only adapting the first three, ultimately ending with very few plot points resolved. But with the anime having first aired a decade and a half ago at this point, and the animation studio Manglobe having since disbanded, it's extremely unlikely that we will ever see the series continued.

Art & Animation (8/10):
Visually speaking, "The Sacred Blacksmith" looks nice enough. There's a number of good character designs that are all well-drawn and detailed and the environments look adequate as well, even if there are also a good few rough edges and some gratuitous fanservice, including a few uncensored shots of Cecily's breasts, which is probably the only reason the series has a Mature rating. The special effects are great as well, particularly the one when Luke is magically forging a katana. As a whole, the visuals are certainly good, especially for their time.

Sound & Dialogue (8/10):
There really isn't much to say about "The Sacred Blacksmith"'s soundtrack. It's not terrible by any means, but there really isn't any track in it that I care to remember. The opening and ending themes are also totally forgettable, and I skipped both of them pretty much every time. The voice acting, on the other hand, is great, with Cherami Leigh delivering the absolute best performance as Cecily, though Blake Shepard, Anastasia Munoz and Monica Rial (who voice Luke, Aria and Lisa, respectively) are no slouches either. That said, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Brina Palencia both felt pretty underused, with their characters only having a few lines of dialogue each, if that. As a whole, the sound design is good, but I've certainly heard better.

Characters (7/10):
While Luke is the show's namesake, it's clear from the first episode that the real main character is Cecily, though that admittedly takes a bit of getting used to. When the series begins, Cecily has only been a knight for a month and it shows, with her needing to be saved no less than three times over the course of two episodes. There's even one point where she beats up Luke for something that was more her fault than anything, though thankfully this only happens once and she's quick to apologise. After teaming up with Aria, Cecily becomes progressively more badass and competent, a great example being in the second arc, where she goes from struggling with three powerful enemies to singlehandedly defeating those same three enemies by the end of the arc. As a whole, Cecily serves as the show's "emotional centre", albeit more brutally honest than most; specifically, she calls out more than one character for obsessing over the past, as while she knows it can be overwhelming, they should focus on the present since that's what's most important. Considering Cecily herself lost her father to an illness before the series began, it's likely that she's had plenty of experience with that way of thinking, which if anything makes the message stronger since it means she knows what she's talking about. In short, while I didn't like her much at first, overtime she became my favourite character, not that there was much competition.

Next up is the man himself, Luke Ainsworth, who is, to put it bluntly, an asshole, being highly dismissive of Cecily from the moment he meets her for pretty much no good reason. It's one thing to refuse to make a weapon for her, but coldly telling her she's not cut out to be a knight is definitely crossing a line, especially when he does so after knowing her for only a day at most. Furthermore, despite the series being named after him, the amount of focus he gets in the series is surprisingly small; he barely appears in the second arc and it isn't until the last arc that we finally learn how he became the way he is. And yet when his past is revealed, it turns out to be not quite as awful as he himself remembers it to be, making it hard to know exactly how much he was meant to be sympathised with. All of that being said, he does have a fair number of awesome moments and loosens up a fair amount by the end, so I certainly can't say that I hated him.

Then there's Aria, who as I already mentioned is a Demon Sword that can take the form of a human, with all that implies. Despite being treated as a weapon by most people, Aria is very much a living being, having her own personality, wants and dreams just like everyone else. Naturally, this means that Cecily treats her more like a friend and partner than a weapon (not unlike Lucy's attitude towards Celestial Spirits in "Fairy Tail"), and can't stand to see others treat her like a mere object or tool. Sadly, while Aria does get a fair amount of focus early on, her importance gradually diminishes as the series progresses, and by the last few episodes she's pretty much relegated to the background. On the other hand, Lisa goes in the opposite direction, being little more than Luke's assistant until the final arc of the series, where we finally find out who and what she is, meaning anything genuine about her is a huge spoiler. Besides the main four, there are quite a few supporting characters, some of whom earned my respect, some of whom were just there and some I didn't really like at all. As a whole, though, there really isn't any character I'd call "fantastic".

Enjoyment (7/10):
The fact that the story deals with the aftermath of a war means it stands to reason that it would have some pretty upsetting subject matter, and it proves as much from the very beginning, with the first villain being a veteran of the war who's been driven insane because of it. That being said, it's certainly not all doom and gloom, as there's quite a bit of levity to balance out the darkness (even if the comedy may not be to everyone's tastes) and the action scenes are highly entertaining if nothing else.

Overall:
"The Sacred Blacksmith" had a lot of potential to be a truly great series, but ends up being a sad but all-too-common case of "what could have been". The story is interesting but all over the place, the visuals are good but not fantastic, the soundtrack is completely forgettable, the characters take a while to warm up to, the comic bits are passable at best and the action scenes are good but ultimately nothing special. It's not terrible by any stretch, but there just isn't any particular reason to recommend it, as there are plenty of similar, but better anime to watch.

Score:
6.5+8+8+7+7=36.5/50=7.3/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 2, 2023

AeroGunz

Not Recommended

“The Sacred Blacksmith” is what happens when You create something that should be mentioned in the Britannica Dictionary under “subpar”.

If there ever was an anime that has little to no originality, uses cheat tricks to force an emotional reaction in a viewer and has barely any logical sense plot wise… this is it.

Apart from very few exceptions we witness the plot from the perspective of Cecily Cambell - a young, a bit naive, idealistic and energetic knight. Despite having the heart to protect people of the city she lacks the skills and mental fortitude (at least in the beginning) to make difficult decisions. After losing ... her father’s sword in a fight and witnessing the power of a katana he pesters Luke Ainsworth - a skilled blacksmith with an attitude problem, to forge her one. After being trusted with one of the demon swords her life takes a pretty wild turn.

The main cast consists of 4 forgettable cardboard cut-outs that have one trait each that was turned to a pseudo-personality. Luke is a cold, reserved prick, Lisa is a mascot with a pretty poorly hidden secret, Aria is a sword with a life crisis and Cecily is an annoying, energetic, loud mouth with deficiency in the brain department.
There is a silver lining. Despite the character themselves being pretty boring and subpar their interactions, especially Luke and Lisa, and Luke and Cecily, are rather well written. Not good but passable. At least there was effort put into writing it and the clash of personalities. Shame they didn’t extend that effort into showing how the characters grow on each other. One episode they have a pretty nice banter but still keep their distance and in the next Luke is spilling his guts to Cecily about his past. I call that lazy. I get that exposition dumps are a standard in anime and organically showing growth and development is hard but damn… this is taking laziness to a whole new level I thought was reserved only for the likes of Sword Art Online.
I will give the writers this: There is visible growth in Cecily. During the 12 episodes she grows as a person and as a knight. Yes, it’s not much but it is still progress. Something a lot of anime protagonists don’t really get. This shows the writers weren’t total hacks and given enough time they probably could create something worthwhile.

But that’s about it. The rest of the writing is mediocre at best. The dialogs are lazy and full of cheap tricks to make viewers care, the fight choreography is practically non-existent and a pretty interesting aspect with demons, demon weapons and pacts is treated as an afterthought for most of the show.

The show feels more like a fantasy slice of life with a little bit of action than anything else. Despite being called “The Sacred Blacksmith '' the whole blacksmith thing and Luke himself are pushed to the background up until the last 3 episodes.

I truly don’t recommend this show. It’s boring, predictable and lacks anything original. Everything in it was done in other shows and far better.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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