Story - 7/10
Chivalry of a Failed Knight story line and setup is rather generic. There is a magical knight tournament for high schools known as the Seven Star Battle Festival. Those who fight in this tournament are known as Blazers, people who materialise weapons to fight in battle. Now the main character Ikki makes a promise with a princess, that he and her together, will make through the selection matches and have one final battle in the last round. Pretty standard story so far.
Even though the overall story is pretty standard, it’s the sub stories in between that what makes this an interesting show. Ikki is dubbed the ‘Worst One’ all because his magic power isn’t all that great, so a lot of people look down on him and so he has to work his way up to the top, through his own ability rather than relying on the magical power everyone else has. It’s really a character driven story, as we learn about different characters along the way and find out their reasoning for wanting to win the festival. It’s interesting because the build up to each fight felt very meaningful as we get a good insight on to both sides of the fight, and seeing the trials and tribulations each character has to go through. On top of that, there is a romance story as well, between the two main characters that actually go somewhere, and it’s nice to see their relationship build up from there, even though it may be subtle.
Characters - 8/10
Ikki Kurogane is the main protagonist of this anime. His personality is rather generic of a normal hero, he’s got a caring personality and obvious about the girls around him. What I found interesting about his character is his past, on how wasn’t allowed to learn anything from professionals because of the way he was born, so everyone neglected him, and we see how hard the struggles were for him to reach the top after being dubbed the ‘Worst One.’ And I like how he changes the other characters around him, he gets people to respect him and in return he teaches them how to be stronger themselves. Because since he had to learn himself, he has become a very knowledgeable person, while also putting it into practice. Obviously his biggest character development comes in with Stella.
Stella Vermillion is the A-Rank knight of the academy. She is considered the strongest knight, because of her abilities. At first she does come across as another tsundere. However after some time, she is actually shown to be someone who is trying to earn respect the right way through hard work, rather than a title. And her interactions with Ikki helps her character develop into a strong character by the end, as she is able to trust herself more and Ikki, as they go out and understand each other more.
Shizuku Kurogane is another character that gets quite of time in the show. She is Ikki’s sister with a brother complex. She was the only one to understand Ikki’s situation growing up, she hated the family for mistreating him, and therefor does everything she can for Ikki. Her character shows quite a bit of development as she pretty much stays as she learns what it really means to be a loving sister for Ikki, because her naivety at first puts everyone off.
What Rakudai does very well is give us a lot of different characters and actually give them rather interesting backstories, and it’s not like all the characters are the same, some characters are completely arrogant, some actually are fighting for family, and some fighting for pride. It’s with all these characters, each story arc gets interesting, we see the initial build up to the fight and the resolve. I especially did like Ikki’s build up to his last fight, as we really learn a lot about his character and what he has gone through. The interactions he has with each character felt very meaningful. However, what kind of bugged me was, after the character for each arc was done, we don’t see them that much outside of it, so that may leave some people annoyed.
Animation and Sound - 10/10, 7/10
The art and the animation is probably the best thing about Rakudai. The world and character designs itself is rather standard compared to most anime, and that’s a good thing, because it looks good and smooth. Being an ecchi genre as well, you’re going to get fan service, and I would say at least they separate the fan service from the action scenes, but it seems some scenes they were trying to make it emotional, but the fan service kind of was distracting. And also the when do show fan service, it’s pretty revealing, but not nudity. Now to the best part of this anime, the animation for the fight scenes. These were probably one of the most gorgeous action scenes I’ve seen in 2015. Yes it I think it’s up there with Unlimited Blade Works. The special effects for each fight is gorgeous, you really see the fluidity of each element. My favourite use of the art is when Ikki is using his abilities which changes the art style completely, into a monochrome world, and the stronger it is, the more awesome it looks. Also I like how every fight scene the quality never really drops, it just gets better as the series progress, and it’s not simply just sword fights, as there are many other ways to fight as well, so there is quite the variety, and the animation quality never really drops. Probably one of my favourite fights of the year was Shizuku vs Tohka, the strategy behind that fight and the execution by the one character made it really enjoyable. Oh yeah, and the last 2 episode, when they used the monochrome art style, it worked so well at building the hype surrounding the final fight, while really adding to atmosphere of the story.
The music is in anime, I’ll get to what I love the most soon, so let’s start with the ost. Nothing really stands out too much to make it a great ost, maybe only the second last episode when Ikki was going through a hard time, when the music really added to the atmosphere, but that was probably the help of the art style. The ending song is ok, it’s nothing great in my opinion, it’s a slow pace song with a gothic feel to it. I said I was going to get to my favourite part of the music, which is the opening of hype and epicness. I don’t even care about some of bad grammar in lyrics, but the instrumental, the rock with blues like feel, really is amazing to listen to. Pair that up with the awesome black and white art style opening, and you have yourself such a hype opening with amazing animation at that.
Enjoyment - 9/10
At first, despite Rakudai really showing nothing new to the genre, it did had a certain appeal I was very entertain by. The comedy in this show is what I think separates it from other genres, as the first episode showed us that it was very aware of itself, and used that to its advantage and had good timing with their jokes. In the second episode it does become more generic, but after that it’s completely a fun anime to watch from there, and the comedy is quite funny. Watching the relationship between Ikki and Stella grow over the course is amusing to watch, because it’s a relationship that actually goes somewhere, albeit not completely deep, but still pretty good. And the best thing about watching this show is the action and fight scenes. Each fight scene is unique and brings out a lot of each character. It’s gorgeous to watch and the strategies that each character goes into each fight, is entertaining to watch. And every time Ikki uses ‘Itto Shura’ I always get hype, because there is ass kicking coming. Especially the last battle, that was hyped.
Verdict - 8/10
So for the story of Rakudai, I give it a 7, the concept is really not all that special and setup is rather basic. But I do like the story of aiming to the top, when you’re the bottom and gaining that respect Ikki deserves. Although the overall story is nothing to write home about, the arcs that make up the whole show individually is really remarkable to watch, and they got better as the plot progresses.
For the animation and sound I give it a 10 and 7. The animation is amazing to watch, the fights and the special effects for each magic being used looks really good. Each fight is unique and the animation never really drops during the duration of the show. And I love the art style when Ikki goes into ‘Itto Shura,’ that Black and White art style just gives more hype. The ost, is nothing special at all, if anything almost forgettable except for some tracks towards the end. However the Opening is amazing, it was my favourite opening of 2015, animation and song wise.
For the characters I give it a 8. I love the development and interactions between Ikki and Stella. It’s a relationship that goes somewhere and they build on it, rather than sticking to the generic harem route. The other characters during their arcs are quite interesting and well developed as well. However I just wished we saw more of them after their respective arcs have finished.
For my own personal enjoyment I give it a 9. I loved watching this show, the comedy is fun and the character interactions were great. I couldn’t wait for every fight scene, because they all look amazing to watch. Some fan-service may throw you off the mood, but it’s really not that bad. And even though, I loved the last fight, and hype that was built towards it, I still just expected slightly more.
So for overall score of Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry, I give it a 8/10 after rounding it all up. It may not have the most unique concept, but the smart use of the comedy and romance story that goes along with it, makes it an entertaining watch and the action are great. I recommend this anime to fan of the action and romance genre, or if you want a decent magical knight style anime, this is a pretty good choice.
