King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi

Long ago, the king of Orvelia, Kyle, defeated the demon king Angmund and brought peace to the world. However, one hundred years later, demons have been sighted in the forests, threatening humanity once more. A scouting expedition is sent to verify the claim but only one member returns. Meanwhile, Riheet, the leader of a dark elf mercenary group, plots to take over Orvelia to exact revenge against the humans who forsook their race a century ago.

The knight apprentice Kasel, accompanied by the priestess Frey, sets out to rescue Clause, an old friend who went missing in the tragic mission. However, along the way, Kasel discovers that he is the son of the revered King Kyle and the only one who can wield the Holy Sword Aea—the same sword that slew the demon king. To fulfill this destiny, the young knight must embark on a perilous quest, unseal the sword, and end the fear instilled by demons. As Kasel's journey to bring hope to humanity and Riheet's vow for vengeance intertwine, what fate could possibly await them?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kasel Main

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Cleo Main

Ozawa, Ari Japanese

Roi Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Frey Main

Kakuma, Ai Japanese

Scarlet Supporting

Nakae, Mitsuki Japanese

Riheet Supporting

Suzuki, Ryouta Japanese

Maria Supporting

Nakamura, Sakura Japanese

Theo Supporting

Horie, Shun Japanese

Ripine Supporting

Nanjou, Yoshino Japanese

Selene Supporting

Nagatsuma, Juri Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Herek, Samantha Assistant Producer

Hoshino, Makoto Director

Hamano, Takatoshi Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 26, 2021

Marinate1016

Recommended

At this point, I think only a few of us actually got through all 26 episodes of King’s Raid. I for one, don’t regret a single moment of it.

Yes, King’s Raid is a pretty generic fantasy gacha game adaptation that does absolutely nothing game changing or innovative. Yes, there’s plenty of better shows out there. No, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. In fact, I loved King’s Raid. It is a slow burn over the 2-cours span that it runs, but once it gets going, I found it to be very entertaining. For context, when I watch anime, I usually multi-task by farming ... FGO or other gacha, KR was one of the only shows in the past two seasons that actually held my interest long enough for me to put my phone down and fully lock in.

Despite the generic set up of a chosen heir to the throne going on a quest with his standard JRPG party to defeat a demon lord, I thought Kasel and RIheeto’s juxtaposition as duel protagonists was well done. In fact, by the end of the show I was feeling much more sympathetic towards the secondary protag than the main guy. The dynamic between both of the MCs and their parties was really fun to compare and contrast over the course of the anime. The studio aids with that by alternating perspectives every episode. I also liked the mystery down the stretch with unravelling Kasel and RIheeto’s pasts. It seemed like the studio knew exactly when to end episodes to leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more.

Due to its nature as a gacha game adapdation, as you’d expect the animation is meh at best throughout much of the show. For the vast majority of the 26 episodes it’s pretty average. I’d put it above Hortensia Saga, but well below the likes of Priconne or even the Gran Blue anime. The art is REALLY nice and was actually one of the big reasons I liked this show. It has this really glossy look that makes the characters shine a lot and really makes the waifus in the show pop out.

I probably wouldn’t recommend King’s Raid to most people, not because it isn’t good to me, but because it probably would be boring and uninspiring to others. I think for most people, there’s more enjoyable ways to spend 8 hours. That said, I’ll never apologise for liking what I like and finding something to be entertaining. King’s Raid gets 8 holy swords out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Marinate1016 (387)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 26, 2021

AnimeEnjoyer420

Mixed Feelings

Recommendation: You can probably skip this one unless you're desperate for a new fantasy series to watch. It's not that it's bad exactly, more that it's inessential, and everything that's good about it is done better by other shows.

King's Raid is a series that is basically fine, but is absolutely crying out for something to make it unique. If you can imagine a completely generic and predictable fantasy anime in your head, this is basically that series. The main plot has basically two tracks, and the main one is as straightforward as it gets. Kasel is searching for the Holy Sword ... to defeat the Dark Lord. He has to journey to meet 3 different people and prove his worth to each one to unseal the sword before the Dark Lord is revived. If you weren't aware already that this was a video game adaptation, it's unmistakable once you start watching. The B plot, following the Black Edge mercenary company and their revenge conspiracy against the Kingdom of Orvelia, is considerably more interesting, but ultimately ends in disappointment when it merges with the main story a little past the halfway point of the series.

There are a couple of teases that the series will become more interesting or complex at times, but it never actually comes to fruition. It can be quite frustrating to watch because it feels like it could have been a much better series if there were more of a follow through on certain parts, character relationships and so on. There's a lot of wasted potential.

The art and animation were also a bit disappointing. The character designs actually look fine for the most part, but some characters can be a bit dead-eyed. The really unfortunate part is the mediocre animation of the action scenes, which feel sluggish and lack smoothness.

While the series overall is fairly mediocre, it's not entirely without strong points. I would hesitate to call any of the characters "great", and the main character Kasel is almost totally without personality, but there are a lot of fun secondary characters in this series. Cleo is best girl and gets the most to do of any of the side characters except Frey, but there are plenty of others, including Maria, Scarlet and Reina, that make the show fun when they show up too.

Most importantly, the 2nd OP absolutely slaps. Eclipse by Dreamcatcher is the name, and it's worth looking up even if you don't watch the show. I am not generally a fan of anime music or K pop groups, and really don't even like rock/power ballads as a genre that much, but this one is great.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by AnimeEnjoyer420 (153)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 26, 2021

KANLen09

Not Recommended

Ah...King's Raid, one of the most popular indie mobage games in South Korea, such a good game that's amassed with the huge popularity in its home country. The anime version which features a different story from the game's plot, frankly, I can sum in one word: TRASH.

As with every other game adaptation, it's nothing more than the marketing ploy of tactics to get people to play the original game, and that by every aspect, has succeeded one way or another without going into the specifics of numbers. But the way that King's Raid was planned with the anime adaptation, I have no idea what the ... production committee was thinking to make it more than twice as long (as any typical 12-episode run), which in return makes it compoundingly twice as boring. And with twice the story plot (the hero and the villain), sadly, when the villain's story is more interesting than the hero...that's just one of many make-or-break moments that this show could've capitalized on, but went in the motive of DRAGGING the journey for "God knows how long the hero must play King Arthur to find the sword in the (magic realm) stone that slays evil".

The story...nah, heck it, I'll impose a question instead: Do you prefer to watch the typical cliche Hero and his mercenaries on a long-ass journey to find the Holy Sword, or focus more on the villain side with the Dark Elves and the reasons behind the usual kingdom tyranny that causes them to go berserk to the point of rebellion? I'm pretty sure you know the answer deep in your heart as to which is more compelling if you want to watch this needlessly 6-month long run that only increases boredom with the passing of time.

The characters...extremely cookie-cutter as per RPG standards. They're supposed to carve an identity of themselves, but to me, I can just sum them up as just being cardboard cut-outs in the skewed sense of genericness. You got the usual Hero who's dense and only strikes like a ferocious dog, the mercenaries of a beautiful magicians (one attuned to the Hero for "romance" eye-candy, another for childlike childishness) and the occasional warrior for extra strength (and seeking revenge from his past). The only consolation I'll give is the sympathy to the Dark Elves' side for much they've suffered and seeking their own justice for being the oppressed, and that's about it.

The animation...just undercuts the entire production run as a whole, because it's the same amount of mediocre as you'd expect from a decades-old studio that other than most modern-day mediocre-average kids' shows, doesn't know how to tackle a series that is vastly different from the pedigree of works before and after it. Even worse, with the surmise and acquisition of Xebec under Sunrise, and resurrection under a new name (Sunrise Beyond), I know that Xebec has done some great dark-esque shows, but the result of this is nowhere to be seen. So yeah, heck this one as well, because the animation and visuals are subpar.

Even the music is boring as well. This is one of those times that fripSide's song just somehow doesn't click well with the entire theme of the show, yes the song is somewhat listenable but nope, the mesh is just crude, and I don't care much for KOTOKO's ED...so a strike out for the ED, which makes the 1st half's OST sound palpitable. The 2nd half's OST sounded a lot better-suited to the show, and yeah, you can hear the difference in both OP and ED songs, so that's a tick.

Nope, anime adaptations from games are supposed to make you feel welcomed to the game itself, as if you're the MC who's playing the game and making decisions yourself, but to see an adaptation like this that serves no purpose other than clickbait for the actual game, why bothering making this show for the intention of the audience to suffer more than twice the length of a bad show? It all comes down to the saying of "Money as the root of all evil", and this is no different.

Skip this one and save your precious time, you would not want to watch more than a cour's worth of this gosh-darn slow-as-molasses bull-crap.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by KANLen09 (676)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

K-Pop Hijack

by kizumi91

50 Entries · 6 Restacks

kpop

by lezbiyen

13 Entries · 4 Restacks

Great Songs Wasted on a Mediocre Show

by SheyCroix

34 Entries · 28 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for April

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April Week 1: April 5 - 11 Anime Releases Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi (Grenadier: The Beautif...read more

Apr 4, 2022 6:07 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (4 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases For February

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for February. Week 1: February 1 - 7 Anime Releases Adachi to Shimamura (incl. Mini Anime) (Adachi...read more

Feb 4, 2022 9:30 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (4 comments)

	Poll: King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi Episode 6 Discussion KANLen09 - Nov 6, 2020	17 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 23, 12:02 PM
	Poll: King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi Episode 5 Discussion KANLen09 - Oct 30, 2020	27 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 23, 11:22 AM
	Poll: King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi Episode 4 Discussion Meip - Oct 23, 2020	26 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 23, 11:08 AM
	Poll: King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi Episode 3 Discussion Marinate1016 - Oct 16, 2020	30 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 22, 11:51 PM
	Poll: King's Raid: Ishi wo Tsugumono-tachi Episode 2 Discussion Syureria - Oct 9, 2020	34 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 22, 11:38 PM

MAL Staff Picks: Fall 2020 Opening Themes

26 staff members judged 39 songs to bring you our definitive ranking of nearly every opening theme this season!

by Shymander

76,812 views