Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

There exist few humans in this world with the ability to manipulate their souls to form powerful weapons. Dubbed "Blazers," these people study and train at the prestigious Hagun Academy to become Mage-Knights; among the students is so-called failure Ikki Kurogane, the sole F-rated Blazer. However, when the worst student in the academy sees Stella Vermillion, an A-ranked Blazer who also happens to be a princess, naked, she challenges him to a duel with dire stakes—the loser becomes the slave of the winner. There's no possible way that Stella can lose, right?

As he tries to prove his strength to a world that believes him to be the weakest, Ikki gains new friends, wisdom, and experience.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kurogane, Ikki Main

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Vermillion, Stella Main

Ishigami, Shizuka Japanese

Kurogane, Shizuku Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Arisuin, Nagi Main

Asanuma, Shintaro Japanese

Toudou, Touka Supporting

Kanemoto, Hisako Japanese

Ayatsuji, Ayase Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Saikyou, Nene Supporting

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Oriki, Yuuri Supporting

Kitta, Izumi Japanese

Kurashiki, Kuraudo Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Kazumasa, Issei Supporting

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Itou, Shousei Producer

Fukao, Satoshi Producer

Kurosawa, Norihiro Producer

Nakagawa, Jirou Producer

Reviews

Dec 19, 2015

LeaderTGW

Recommended

I'll admit at first glance I also noticed it to be both visually and story related to Asterisk wars however as we all may know by now that Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry has more of a erotic, romance, ecchi genre's in it. While watching I found myself to be highly engaged into the action and battles scenes more than the story. I felt bad though because I personally felt that the story was weak. What I mean by that is I felt like there wasn't much of a "wow" or "oh my god how intense" moment in the story for me. I did however like ... the romance between our main characters. Personally depending on what genre a show is, especially in the genre's of action/adventure/fantasy I feel like every guy needs a woman who is either equally or soon to be be equal in strength. A good example of what I mean would be Kirito and Asuna from Sword Art Online. The character relationship no, let me start with this, the archetypes in the story were pretty generic, nothing too unique or special. I feel like we have all at some point watched a show like Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry with the same characters and personalities. I was not too surprised to Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry turn into a bit of a harem-ish type show based on the elements in the story along with characters. Especially since in most anime's the weakest characters are usually the ones who will become the strongest both psychically and mentally. They are also the ones most girls in anime usually fall for. The BGM and soundtrack didn't really stand out too me as much. I didn't really notice the music playing unless it was one the intro and outro songs or if a battle is going on (I would highly recommend you watch and see for yourself.) To contradict myself for a minute, the fights are indeed intense, so just ignore what I said earlier. The art style was your generic mid 2010+ style so lightly drawn face, simple shadows and different highlights in hair, that sort of thing. Overall I give this show an 8/10 because to me it really did a good job of breaking the barrier of similarities it shares with other shows just like it!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 1, 2016

GonzyChan

Mixed Feelings

Sometimes, one aspect of a show can save it from pure mediocrity. It may not try to propel it into the status of "classic" or "greatness," as there are still other aspects that are either okay or bad, but it can still garner some admiration for trying. Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry has the distinction of being one of these shows. As much as my expectations were shrouded in apathy when I started, by the time I was halfway through Rakudai, that apathy dissipated from just one aspect of it that kept me coming back.

The aspect I'm talking about in Rakudai is how the show managed ... to form what could have been a generic romantic comedy plot and woven it into something unique, both in tone and writing. The plot involves our two main heroes, Ikki and Stella, who slowly develop a bond at the show's beginning after they are forced to share a room at a knight academy. It starts like your generic romance where the girl acts tsundere towards the male lead, with your standard cliches involving humorous ecchi moments. At that point, it's just okay, but then around the middle-end of the show, it starts to morph into something very remarkable. We see our couple begin to act like a real couple would behave once they confessed their love towards one another, where they would constantly argue and share their feelings through physical or verbal needs. It was a breath of fresh air to see something I hadn't seen in a while: a loving couple in a harem.

Too bad everything else about the plot couldn't quite follow up on how great the relationship building was for Ikki and Stella. It isn't just because it is something we have seen before, the "set in an academy holding a fighting competition that our protagonist participates," but also because everything feels so superficial and bland from how it is structured. It's almost as if the writers didn't know what to do to make this scenario more interesting, so they tried to create subplots involving other characters that felt one-note and not thought out well enough. Whenever there was a match between two characters, I felt complete apathy from the whole experience of how badly they built up the plot for me to feel any tension in the outcome. It does not help the fact that the action sequences are nothing to write at home about; it's not anything terrible, just average to my eyes.

While the action is not groundbreaking, that has nothing to do with the art and animation quality. I have to admit that the character designs are nice and colorful. From the beautiful red hair of Stella that gives a devilish/cuteness aura around her that matches her personality to the supple bodies of all the girls, the art design makes a ton of effort to create a nice distinct look for Rakudai. Even though the animation is not always on point, it is good enough to warrant a passing mark to make a decent framework for the action sequences, despite my under-enthused mood.

As I said, Ikki and Stella are the hallmark of Rakudai and made me keep coming back to the show every week. However, the other characters don't necessarily have a similar response to me. Most of them range from mediocre to forgettable spectrum of quality characters. Shizuku is one example that felt like it was tossed on the wayside in favor of Stella. While that does make sense since Stella is the main girl, they still touted Shizuku as a love rival, but they don't follow up on her much once Stella becomes Ikki's girl. Again, it might seem logical in that respect; however, they still attempt to give Shizuku a much-needed pivotal moment near the end, but by the time I get to that point, I completely forgot what the point of her character was. So I was quick to show no interest in anything she did until the end, just like the rest of the other cast.

This is an ecchi anime as well, so don't be alarmed for those who are still worried about Rakudai steeping closer to generic territory. While most of the ecchi fanservice involves our main heroine Stella, that is all the woman you need to tickle your ecchi bone, fellas. I found it quite enjoyable to see a girl like Stella, a tsundere at heart, starting to open up, as she and Ikki start forming a romance, to him as a naughty girl. You often see girls like this in hentai saying something this straightforward. Not even in the raunchiest ecchi anime, you often hear something as blunt as that. Besides the typical washing the protagonist back scenario, some of the ecchi moments are borderline heartwarming as they involve a romantic connection between the two main leads. It adds a new flavor to the ecchi mix that made me hope for more in the coming episodes.

Oddly enough, despite many of the issues I've had with Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry, I still thought it was a decent anime to see. I guess you could chalk it up as I so highly regard the relationship plot arc that its flaws aren't huge as they would have been if the Stella and Ikki relationship arc was not as strong. At its worst, it isn't very impressive. At its best, it's good. It's an above-average middle-of-the-road show that will enlighten some and detract others. I want more girls like Stella-chan to exist in the anime spectrum. Please?

Grade: B-

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 24, 2015

sushiisawesome

Not Recommended

Rakudai Kisihi no Calvary is a show that does a hell of a lot more wrong than it does right, manages to fall into all the typical LN tropes, and still manages to have an incredibly fervent fanbase which thinks that somehow it is an original show which averts many tropes used in LN-adaptations. While I admit that the show manages more right than wrong in one or two aspects, it still manages to be an incredibly bland and generic LN adaptation in the eyes of almost anyone who is experienced enough anime. This review involves spoilers, but honestly no one should care about spoilers ... in a show this bad. Still, you have been warned.

The story is basically that Japan won WWII, a hierarchical society of magic users (where magical aptitude is superior to all) exists, and the main character is someone who apparently sucks at magic and yet somehow can conveniently fight on an equal level to some of the best students in an academy that apparently is renown for training magicians.

No, I did not describe Mahouka to you just now. That is Rakudai.

Let me continue, our female main character is a girl with reddish pinkish hair, who conveniently forgets to lock her door while dressing up (in the very first episode) while the main character walks in. Our main character responds by stripping in exchange to her baring her unmentionables accidentally (something no human being does and is done only for the sake of comedy) and then establishes himself as a fairly reasonable person, complaining because the girl didn't lock the door and that it was an accident.

So basically, it's attempting to be witty and breaks any chance of me taking this guy seriously.

That's without mentioning a character's ability at copying movements (Kakashi from Naruto says hi), the girl using a fire sword (because Shana), our main character having the same conflict as Tatsuya from Mahouka (though he's a lot better than that abomination of a "character") and even an Accelerator like character who is randomly and maniacally doing crazy things. That's without mentioning just how absurd some of the powers are (your pupil losing color gives you a power up, really). Like seriously, that's just plain stupid.

This show may legit be the most uninspired thing I've ever seen in terms of story.

If only it was just that, but the characters aren't better either. Stella is a generic tsundere, Kurogane is the blank MC with the occasional moment, he has a sister that is in love with him, some side kick that's kinda cool and...do you see where I'm getting at here?

So. Finally we come here. What is the show's selling point, that drove its fans insane and say that it's so original and distinct from all those other LN adaptations?

The main duo get into a relationship.

Nah, I'm not pulling your leg here. They legitimately get into a relationship, and it's actually handled alright. By alright, I mean that I'm not cringing every time they interact, and it's actually kinda cute on a superficial level...until you realize it's just that, superficial.

Every single time they interact, the show feels like it's trying to force you to recognize that it's in a relationship like "OH GOD THEY KISSED" or "OH GOD GIRL IS ASKING GUY TO HAVE SEX" and so on, and it just doesn't feel natural. No one is legitimately this pushy when in a relationship, and people don't endlessly shove their love lives down people's throats. I will admit that there are a few scenes that are legitimately alright (the cabin scene was nice...then the ending blew it) and that it honestly is nowhere near the worst relationship I've seen in anime, but I'm genuinely surprised that this is considered by its fanbase to be the best relationship between two characters in an LN. Toradora? Hyouka? Oregairu? Spice and Wolf? Seriously, this is the best relationship in an LN-adaptation you guys have seen? The characters aren't even that interesting, you honestly can't describe or think of these guys as people (and let's face it, getting them into a relationship quickly may be a nice idea on a basic level, but makes no sense chemistry-wise, we hardly see them get along as friends and boom they're in a relationship).

Animation is drop dead gorgeous, especially during the fight scenes. The backgrounds look pretty nice, and there are actually some pretty nice scenery shots throughout the show. I just with they were better spent on some other show, because I honestly don't think this show deserves it.
I can't remember any particular track from the OST, though I guess the opening was alright.

And I honestly can't say I enjoyed the show all too much, honestly. It's too cliche for its own good, has only one aspect to remember done in an extremely superficial manner, and is just too much of the same as a whole to enjoy. Like sure, I may be repeating myself here, but it's hard not to feel that when you watch this show.

If you like this show, fine. I hold no grudge against you (unless it turns into another Mahouka) and can totally understand why you'd like it. Hell, I may have liked it if I watched it when I was 14. But honestly, if you're sick of more of the same and just heard that it's unique or original or any other absurd claim, please avoid it. It's not worth your time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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