Warning! Spoiler alert!
Story
Anime adaptations of mobile games aren't very good, with very few exceptions, so Seven Knights would have a tough time impressing viewers with its simplistic premise of heroic knights fighting evil monsters. Fortunately, it evolves from that simplistic premise to a character-driven narrative (which I will later get to).
Thinking back, the action is rather generic and the use of superpowers has been done thousands of times in other anime and what really carries the narrative forward is the characters. In fact, the characters save the narrative from becoming dull and predictable. (5/10)
Characters
This is where Seven Knights really shines. The characters are, without a doubt, the lifeblood of the story. Nemo is one of the best-developed protagonists I've watched in an anime. He starts out insecure of himself, as a nobody who only finds worth when a person saves his life, and as the series progresses, he evolves into someone with strong convictions, a person to love, and the willingness to defend them both. The Nemo we see at the beginning of the show is not the Nemo we see at the end and that deserves no shortage of praise.
Joining Nemo is the beautiful and dedicated Faria, who is both the primary engine in Nemo's character development and a strong character in her own right. At first, she believed she had nothing except her duty and her mission, but upon meeting Nemo, she discovers that she can be more than just a warrior. By protecting someone and being protected by that someone, Nemo and Faria evolve beautifully throughout the show.
I also enjoyed the parts of the supporting characters and the bonds between the titular Seven Knights. Gildan is an optimistic and cheerful character that avoids the pitfall of becoming comic relief, Jou is more than just a beefy dude and Shirley allows herself to feel vulnerable and express that vulnerability. The depth displayed by both Ellen and Gareth was very interesting and allowed the show to go in unexpected directions.
I won't spoil too much here, but if there's one theme I can take away from the show's character writing is that ultimately, there is redemption for those who want it. (8/10)
Art
The artstyle is very generic and simple, but it never needed to be extravagant or overly detailed in order to tell the stort it wanted to tell. The fight scenes are well-animated and it avoids the overuse of CGI. Seven Knights deserves credit for understanding that good visuals are supposed to enhance the anime experience, not make it from scratch and that there's beauty in simplicity. (8/10)
Sounds
Both the opening and closing songs are beautiful and relaxing, especially the latter performed by Daiki Yamashita, who also voices the protagonist Nemo. I have admit I don't follow Daiki's career that closely but when he performs, he does a fine job and Nemo was no exception. He plays really well off Hibiku Yamamura, who conveys both the dignity and emotional weakness of Faria and who I believe deserves more work in the future.
We also get strong supporting performances from powerhouses like Kana Hanazawa (Ellen), Manami Numakura (Shirley), Yumiri Hanamori (Reda) and the always-appreciated Kikuko Inoue (Sophitia). Even minor performances like Takahiro Sakurai (Genius) and Yuu Shimamura (Eunomia) stood out in one of the best-acted shows I've seen in a long time. (9/10)
Conclusion
The best way to describe Seven Knights is "diamond in the rough." It's not perfect and definitely not what I consider a masterpiece, but it never needed to be those things in order to be good. It only needed to tell an exciting story with interesting characters and that's exactly what it accomplishes in the end. It's a bit sad that this show flew largely under the radar during its broacasting time, so I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to watch it.
