"Started from the bottom now we here."
Yep. That's it. That's the whole anime.
Chivalry of a Failed Knight was more or less a great watch; it has all the essence of a magical action anime you'd ever want. Minus the flaws which I'd go into to detail with just in a bit.
The development of the plot is exactly like Shokugeki no Soma – or Food Wars if you prefer – and you'll know what I mean if you decide to watch this anime. There's really no progressing, long-run storyline behind this show – heck, it's just 12 episodes – and it's just about a guy who starts out being the worst student at his school and he eventually climbs up to the top, and naturally, he makes a friends along the way. Romance between the main pairing did progress quite quickly, almost too quickly, but you grow accustomed to it over time. While all that is in play, throw them in a school setting, give them some swords and magical power and bam, you have Chivalry of a Failed Knight.
The characters had all this personality in the beginning and well, it declined as the show went on. It didn't all go downhill but I felt like they lacked development quite a bit as the story progressed. I liked Stella in the beginning; she was headstrong and had this flare about her – and by flare, I mean quite literally – and as soon as a couple episodes passed, I felt like the writers took that away from her, making her a complete tsundere. Not particularly the kind I'd like to see either. But fear not, she regains some of that personality here and there in the later episodes. In my opinion, Ikki didn't exactly have any character development at all actually. He remained the same from beginning to end to me, which of course was a bit disappointing. There was no real climax that his character undergoes. This also goes for majority of the cast – they all had great initial personalities and character but it either declined or didn't develop within the span of the 12 episodes. I also felt like characters such as the ones in the student council, Alice (Nagi Arusuin) or the Demon Princess girl (whatever her name was) should have been explored more, they were such interesting characters.
Other than the flaws in the main cast, the villains lacked both screen-time and complexity. The antagonists shown weren't very well strung together into the series as I'd like them to be. There was no depth in their character nor their involvement with the plot or the main cast whatsoever.
Also, another thing that bothered me was that major implications – possibly direct reference and inclusion – of incest and promoting of incest (damn you, Alice) was also a big no no for me. It's probably a thing in Japan, I don't know, but for me, it was a bit of a turn off.
Chivalry of a Failed Knight had generic art like all harem-action-comedy-school-magic based anime but I absolutely loved the concept of Blazers, devices, Noble Arts and all that. Their weapons sort of remind me of Bleach and the fight scenes remind me of Guilty Crown which proves how top-notch they are executed. I for one, think that the action and fighting scenes are especially well made. Each frame is perfection and honestly, I could not ask for anything more. I love everything about the fight scenes, from the way they summon their weapons to the way they use it; it's just all very badass.
All in all, Chivalry of a Failed Knight is simply a to-go for some, and a no-go for others. Despite its flaws, like most anime do have, it's a series I recommend you should watch – just ignore the pinch of incest added into the mix. The only reason why I stuck around was because of the action sequences and awesome magic powers they had. I can't stress enough – the action is perfect, if only they prolonged some of the fighting scenes. The ending has given me some sort of closure but strongly hints a possibility of a season 2, but we all know that ain't going to happen any time soon.
