As expected of a show in this genre, the story is nothing outstanding. However, this does not make it particularly bad. It is enjoyable, albeit predictable and cliché. It features all of the typical activities that you will see in a generic eroge adaption such as your beauty pageant and a hot springs episode. You know, the finer things in life. However, the jousting storyline made this show stand out amongst other eroge adaptions. It is a rather unique setting which as mentioned previously, is Ricotta's specialty. What also made this particular show unique is the overall lack of fanservice and smut. If you were to take a look at the game CGs you would definitely see many vulgar things, even during the regular parts of the game and not just during the h-scenes. Not to say that it lacks fanservice altogether, but it is definitely lacking compared to what you would expect out of something like this. 8Bit and Ricotta must have taken the high road in this adaption, which is a bit different from the norm. They must have been targeting the gentleman’s market, unlike what GoHands did with Princess Lover. The story does not get dipped into the toilet with the bathroom humor that was featured in both the game itself and in the Princess Lover adaption. Some may say that this is an upsetting omission, but those people are plebeians and not true gentlemen.
The characters of this show all feature tropes that any veteran anime viewer has seen a million times before. The male lead is a bit of a doormat, somewhat dense, and has a troubled past. Very unique and groundbreaking I must add. The girls on the other hand range from strong independent women (who don't need no man) to ones that are completely dependent and helpless. This is to cater to both the strong alpha male and the beta apathetic male who wants a cute doormat housewife demographics. You have to tip your fedora to Ricotta, they can really make a game appeal to a wide audience. However, this show features a unique paradox amongst the female characters. Despite many of them being “strong and independent” they need a man to be their squire and then resort to petty fighting over their mediocre catch of a male lead. This may have a deeper meaning which states that no matter how far we go in modernization, traditional gender roles still rule. If anything, it shows that chivalry is not dead, so go out there and start holding doors for women. If they get angry at you and say they can do it themselves, just grit your teeth and bear with it since they will eventually want a true gentleman such as yourself.
When the news broke that 8Bit was going to be three shows simultaneously this Fall, I was a bit worried. One would expect that they would give the single cour H-Game adaption the short end of the stick over Infinite Stratos S2 and Tokyo Ravens, but they surprised everyone. The artwork was mostly on point with excellent backgrounds and very few off model character shots. The artists kept up with the classy theme quite well, thankfully it also lacked the terrible blue filter that GoHands used in Princess Lover. In regards to the sound, it was quite well done as expected. The voice acting cast is filled with veterans who you are sure to recognize if you play enough eroge, and the music was on point. As a whole, the artwork was surprisingly well done and the sound lived up to expectations.
All in all, I must say that I did enjoy this show. It was very entertaining to watch each week and it never came off as being dull. For a cliché storyline such as this, that is an impressive feat. What is ironic is that 8Bit made two separate shows with a similar harem premise, and the show with the lowest expectations came out on top. Despite it being mostly good, there are still some flaws to it that I must mention. I feel that the route direction could have been done a bit better rather than just focusing on harem antics and in the case of this show, horse husbandry. I dislike that aspect in many of these adaptions, I would prefer to see a specific route done well rather than a hodgepodge of them all. What is also funny about this show is that the horses seemed to be more important than the main characters, it is like some sort of sick television show that caters to horses. It even features similar pandering aspects from the human “side” characters. Regardless, this adaption is a glorified advertisement for the game so if you would like to know more, you have to buy it. The overall lack of fanservice is another potential negative for this show. Most viewers of this genre generally expect a bit more, especially considering the specific fetish pandering that the game features. Hopefully they will make several H-OVAs for this like they did with Princess Lover in order to cater to the other fans of this series. Regardless, this show is quite entertaining and I leave you with the most powerful quote of the series: “The horses are waiting for me”. That itself sums up Walkure Romanze perfectly.
