Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Last week I reviewed the Asterisk War a generic and terrible anime that offered nothing of value to me or anyone watching it. Yet, despite being a terrible anime and one of the worst animes of 2015 in my opinion the anime was still popular and will be getting a second season starting next week. Yay for us. So this week why don’t we look at a good generic anime, that was also popular yet isn’t getting a second season as of yet, and in my opinion and the opinion of others is the Asterisk War done correctly, Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry. Also known as Chivalry of a Failed Knight the similarities between this series and the Asterisk War is amazing. Both animes take place in the future where students are fighting in a tournament to prove who’s the strongest, the female lead is a fire user and the main character is a no-name badass. Yet despite these similarities Rakudai tells its story better. Chivalry of a Failed Knight is based off a light novel written by Riku Misora in 2013 under the same name and is still continuing to this day. In 2015 the anime studio Silver Link (Baka and Test and Strike the Blood) took the light novel and turned it into an anime that aired in the fall debuting and airing on the same day as the Asterisk War at the same time on a different channel in Japan. It was obvious that these two animes were competing against each other and from what I’ve heard Chivalry of Failed Knight won overall. Let’s see where this anime succeeded where Asterisk failed. This is Chivalry of a Failed Knight.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening is “Identity” by Mikio Sakai. It’s a pretty cool song. I like how it starts off slow and subtle but as it keeps going it builds up hype and speed inspiring us. The song matches up well with the anime and the main character. It’s a song about overcoming the odds, aiming for your dreams, and pushing yourself to your limits to reach new heights you never thought imaginable. The ending song is “Haramitsu Renge” by Ali Project who you might remember sang the opening for Rozen Maiden. While the song is nice it feels out of place in this anime to me. It has a very gothic feel to it that doesn’t match up with the series at all. And the animation is cheap fanservice which is odd because this anime really doesn’t have that many fanservice scenes only like 4 or 5 scenes and they’ll all pretty tamed except for like 2 of them. Anyway, good song just doesn’t fit with the anime.
Episodes 1-4
We start the anime off with our main character Ikki voiced by Ryōta Ōsaka as he tells us about magic knights people born with exceptional powers and how he goes to an academy for these knights where his goal is to be the strongest of the knights. A good goal except for the fact that Ikki has zero magic skills, has the lowest ranking in his school, and is considered the worst student. But despite this he still maintains a positive attitude believing that his hard work will pull him through (so they finally decided to give Rock Lee from Naruto his own anime). We then focus on our second main character Stella voiced by Shizuka Ishigami who is the exact opposite of Ikki. She has amazing magic skills, holds the highest ranking, and is considered the strongest student (she’s also a princess from a foreign land). Despite being powerful she knows and understands the concept of hard work and how important it is. In fact, we find out she left her country because people kept putting her in a box of the gifted. Anyway, in the episode Ikki returns to his dorm room after training where he walks in on Stella changing (here we go again). He apologizes for this and an order to compensate for this decides to strip in front of her (that’s a new one) but this doesn’t work and he gets smacked (well at least he tried). They find out later that they’re going to be roommates but Stella won’t stand for it so she challenges him to a duel where the loser has to be the loyal servant of the winner for life (that’s a tall bet there folks). Ikki also shows us how to stop a tsundere from going on a rampage (scene here: //youtu.be/0FNoTMcKQBw). They have their fight where Ikki displays his ability to copy the swordsmanship of his opponents and after pushing his body to the limits he actually manages to beat her (scene here: //youtu.be/vXseJt5swoE, oh the embarrassment). She wakes up the ward realizing she was wrong to look down on him (yeah eat that humble pie you dirty girl) and she goes back to her room where she sees Ikki sleeping and rubs his chest (oh you are a pervy princess).
In episode 2 we find out that the school will be throwing school matches to decide who gets to participate in the school festival where the strongest will duke it out to see who the strongest is. We get to meet Ikki and Stella’s teacher Yuri a very kind lady but she has a weak body and usually vomits a liter of blood once a day (for the love of God go see a doctor this is not normal) and was the one who helped Ikki get into the school last year although due to various reasons couldn’t take classes. After class we meet Kagami voiced by Yūka Aisaka (Muse from Amagi Brilliant Park) who is a big fan of Ikki and wants to interview him for the school paper which she plans on starting (first page picture will read main character bangs busty news reporter girl on the school desk. Read more on page 6). After meeting her we meet Shizuku the little sister of Ikki and yes they are blood-related but that doesn’t stop her from giving him a deep kiss in front of the entire school (Ikki! Step away from your sister! This is a no incest zone). She’s voiced by Nao Tōyama (Chiho from The Devil is a Part-Timer) and carries an extreme affection for her brother. Why, because he didn’t get it when he was younger. You see Ikki and Shizuku come from a very prestigious family so when they found out Ikki has no magic powers he became the black sheep of the family. Everybody acted like he didn’t existed, even at family gatherings he never got his own seat and all his relatives just talked bad about him (what the hell is wrong with this family!? You’re treating him like he’s some kind of monster). Tired of being treated like trash he runs away during a snowstorm (not the smartest move on his part but hey he was a kid) and gets trap in the storm where he’s ready to die but a part of him just finds it frustrating to go out like this (good! Be frustrated. Don’t give them the satisfaction). He gets saved by his grandfather Ryoko, hero of the last great war who encourages Ikki not to give up and to become stronger (that’s all good but could you please tell the family to stop treating him like trash or you’re gonna chop their arms off and feed them to the dog?). These words rang within Ikki’s head and he continued to train and become a knight but his family won’t allow such an embarrassment to be a knight so they pressured the school to change up the rules so that he wouldn’t be allowed to take classes (oh my God! This is the worst family I’ve even seen in my life! These guys are making Hayate’s parents look good. And they stuck him with a 650 million yen debt and sold him to the mafia. That’s how bad Ikki’s family is compared to Hayate’s family) but thanks to the new school system of class battles Ikki finally has a chance to graduate (and shove it in his family’s face). Shizuku saw the harsh treatment of her family and came to despise them all (I don’t blame you) so she decided that she would make up for it by showering Ikki with the love and affection of a mother, father, brother, and sister all rolled into one (than let me just say no mother, father, brother, or sister kisses their son/brother the way you just did). Getting back to the current situation in the anime Stella pulls Shizuku off Ikki and tells her that she’s his servant now and forever (yeah that’s something you don’t announce to the school). The two get into a heated fight with each other (Shizuku is ice and Stella is fire the two are natural enemies of each other) where they destroy a part of the school and as punishment have to clean the girls’ bathrooms for one week (make them do the boys’ bathrooms as well). After finishing up they go to their dorm rooms where we meet Shizuku’s roommate Nagi aka Alice a guy who considers himself female even though he is physically male (wow I honestly have no joke for this one). Back with Ikki and Stella he tells her his backstory after returning from his afternoon run and while he’s taking a bath Stella enters in a skimpy swimsuit and washes his back for him (scene here: //youtu.be/mj1ASko_7bQ).
In episode 3 it’s the weekend and there’s only one thing to do for kids in high school (besides that). Go to the mall. While Stella tries to work up the courage to go on a date with Ikki on Saturday Shizuku beats her to the punch and invites Ikki out on a shopping trip with her and Alice but luckily Ikki invites Stella along for the trip. While at the mall a terrorist group attacks and takes all the women and children hostage demanding money (all this for money!? Bigger goals guys bigger goals). Ikki and Alice manage to hide from the terrorist thanks to Alice’s power which is the ability to control shadows (oh I like his powers). When one of the terrorist threatens a child Stella springs into action to protect the child but gets defeated by their leader Bishio who has the power to reflect magic back onto his opponents. He threatens to kill the child unless Stella strips naked and begs for forgiveness (now you’re getting it). As Stella is stripping this buys Shizuku enough time to put up a barrier and protect all the hostages allowing Ikki and Alice to come in and save the day (fuck! I mean good job everyone). Ikki slices off the arm of Bishio making his powers useless and Stella takes out the rest of the terrorist but there was one more terrorist hiding among the hostages and pulls a gun out. The terrorist takes one of the hostages but gets knocked out by Kirihara another student of the school who was the representative of last year’s main festival (he looks like an asshole). He acts like a prick and looks down on Ikki who ran away from him in their last match last year and now it turns out that Ikki’s first opponent in the school festival is him (please kick his ass Ikki. I’ve only known the guy for 2 minutes and I already want to see him get his ass kicked).
In episode 4 the festival begins. Stella, Shizuku, and Alice have already won their matches and advanced to the next round (really would have liked to see Shizuku and Alice’s matches. Stella’s match was a letdown) and now it’s time for Ikki to take on Kirihara whose ability is to hide his presence entirely and shoot people far away with his bow and arrow. We find out that during their last battle the reason Ikki lost to him was because it wasn’t an official match thus if he would have fought back he would have gotten in serious trouble and possibly expelled from the school just like his family wanted (I’m surprise they haven’t sent assassins after him yet). The day of Ikki’s match comes where unbeknownst to Stella he is nervous (if you were in a tournament that decides whether or not you graduate you would be nervous as well). At first Ikki does good but Kirihara uses his new skills to completely immobilize Ikki and to add salt to Ikki’s already pierced body Kirihara mocks him and encourages the whole school to mock him as well (I am going to kill every last one of these side characters and nobody will hate me for it). No longer able to stand it Stella tells everyone to shut up and gives Ikki words of encouragement to get back up, fight, and kick Kirihara’s smug little ass. Ikki uses his sword stealing powers making Kirihara’s only means of attack totally useless and he turns into a whimpering coward begging for his life. After Ikki makes him faint (scene here: https://youtu.be/Zi61WcOn54E, check to see if he wet himself or shit his pants) he wins the match and passes out from all the damage he received. When he wakes up in the hospital the first person he sees is Stella and only her where he does something most MCs take forever to do. He actually confesses to her. After his confession they both make a promise to face each other in the finals (scene here: //youtu.be/-dthkzj37RA. O_O It’s. . .a miracle).
Episodes 5-8
In episode 5 two weeks have gone by since Ikki and Stella became lovers (you the man) and nothing has happened between them (you the bum). During those two weeks Ikki has won 5 more matches and has gained quite a following at school from both girls and boys (oh now they want to eat the humble pie? Sure go ahead. While they’re at it they can wash it down with a tall glass of “I’m an asshole who is easily swayed by others”). Some of them ask him to train them in the ways of the sword and he agrees to do it believing that they’ll get stronger and become great rivals for him down the road. Shizuku and Alice also join in the training except for Stella who Ikki doesn’t offer to train because their styles of fighting are so different (this is true). Ikki’s style relies on trickiness and strategy while Stella’s is strength, if Ikki were to train her he feels that it would hurt her rather than help her and he doesn’t want that, he wants her to keep reaching levels beyond his imagination (and he tells her all of this by the way. Good move on his part). After a few days of training they go to train at the pool where Kagami talks to Stella and figures out that she and Ikki are dating (was it not obvious?). Stella opens up to Kagami and tells her how she wants Ikki and her to do more lover things such as hold hands, go on dates, and kiss (and if the mood is right have sex) but she doesn’t want Ikki to think she’s naughty (all guys like girls who are a little naughty. If anything it makes the relationship so much easier). Kagami encourages Stella to tell Ikki this and she calls him over where a misunderstanding occurs between the two and they begin to argue with each other where they share their true feelings with one another and wind up kissing each other (scene here: //youtu.be/-PHffbbmNWU, you guys are weird. Still though this is a very realistic argument they’re having here. Both are confused about themselves and each other’s feelings until they finally realize that all they have to do is be honest with each other and at the end they share their first kiss in a pretty romantic setup). As they head home they both receive a message telling them that their next opponents will be members from the student council.
At the start of episode 6 Ikki and Stella have their fights against the members of the student council and they easily win (glad to see that build up at the end of the last episode was pointless). After that we focus on a new character named Ayase a shy third year girl who is the daughter of a famous swordsman who Ikki respects a lot. She’s looking to further her swordsmanship but has run into a wall and now wants Ikki’s help to pass it. He figures out that her problem is she’s trying to imitate her father’s style which is impossible because of their different genders (that and trying to mimic another fighting style is next to impossible. I could study Bruce Lee’s fighting style for years and practice his moves but in the end no matter how many times I try to mimic them my fighting style is still going to be different). Ikki gives her a new fighting stance and this solves her problem as she’s become stronger and swifter in her moves (scene here: //youtu.be/X3UYwshddec). As a thank you she treats Ikki and Stella to a meal where it gets disturbed by students from another school. Their leader Kurauda smashes a glass bottle over Ikki’s head (Good Lord man) to provoke him into a fight but Ikki just smiles at him (he’s like a rock because I would have gone off on that guy). Even when Kurauda spits in his face Ikki does nothing (oh hell no! You need to be kicking this guy’s ass right now). Kurauda and his minions leave and it’s a good thing Ikki didn’t fight because members of the student council were there to watch him (than why didn’t you do something?). As they’re all walking back to the dorms Ikki asks Ayase if she has some connection to them and just when she’s about to answer their phones go off and we see that their next opponents are each other (the school has the worst possible timing). A few days go by and Ayase stops coming to Ikki’s sword training sessions until the end when she asks to meet Ikki in private on the school roof.
In episode 7 Ayase throws herself off the school (alright you win by default Ikki) but Ikki saves her using his sacred arts of moving fast destroying a portion of the school building and we find out that this was all a part of Ayase’s plan to weaken Ikki before their match (you bitch). That move that Ikki used was his ace in the hole that he could only use once every 3 days and now that he’s used it he’s made his body incredibly weak (you should have let her fall. You have an official girlfriend so whatever happens to any of the others shouldn’t matter to you). The next day Ikki finds out from the principal that two years ago Kaito (Ayase’s dad) fought against Kurauda where he put his land and dojo on the line. Kurauda defeated him so bad that he fell into a coma and has been in a coma for 2 years now. Now, Ayase wants to face Kurauda in order to get everything that was stolen from her back and she’s willing to sink to any low she has to in order to take on Kurauda (daddy would be so proud of you). The match comes where Ayase lays a trap at the beginning of the match by slicing up the air and planting multiple sword slices across the field (under these kind circumstances she would win but she’s fighting the main character so she’s destined to lose according to anime law). Yuri notices this (incredible considering her condition) but Ikki tells her not to do anything because he still wants to face her (dude! Just accept the easy win and let her deal with her own problems). So the two fight where in the end despite all of Ayase’s tricks and cheats she still manages to lose to Ikki and finally asks him for help which is what he wanted to hear all this time (scene here: https://youtu.be/i6sUb52yulg).
It’s swordgasm time in episode 8 (I can’t believe that word actually exist in the human language but that’s the only way to describe this episode). This whole episode is one long battle between Ikki and Kurauda who has amazing reflexes that are honest to God inhuman (usually it takes a human .3 seconds to react to something. With enough practice and training they can make it .1 seconds. Kurauda on the other hand reacts to something with .05 seconds) and Ayase finally understanding the meaning of what it means to be a true swordsman. In the end Ikki wins the fight (scene here: //youtu.be/KgfoHnlSy4I) and the dojo is returned to Ayase who takes over in place of her father. She confesses to cheating in her match against Ikki to the school and gets removed from the selection as well as suspended for 10 days. On the bright side she got her dojo back and her father has regained consciousness.
Episodes 9-12
In episode 9 Ikki and Stella are tricked by the headmaster of their academy to go up to a training camp in the mountains only they find out that it was all a setup to give the student council a hand in cleaning up the place for the actual training camp which will be happening in about a month or so (oh that’s low). Luckily, the student council gives them time to themselves once all the cleaning is done (and since the cockblockers are out of the way we can focus on our lovely couple) and they decide to go see the waterfall but along the way Stella comes down with a cold and it begins to rain so Ikki and Stella have to take shelter in a cabin. While in the cabin Stella in her sicken state allows Ikki to undress her (well something will be burning tonight and it’s not just the wood) and even tells him that if he wants to go all the way she’ll let him (best girl! Best girl) but Ikki says no saying that he doesn’t want to use her and wants to profess to the word that he loves her before doing it with her (scene here: //youtu.be/T3p9-sykLsQ, you made the right choice Ikki. But if anybody asks you did it alright? Actually in all seriousness I really do respect Ikki’s choice here on waiting to get married before having sex. Yes, it’s traditionalism but there’s nothing wrong with that. Truth be told I think along the same lines of Ikki. I plan on having no sex until I’m married. Yeah I know I keep encouraging the MC to have sex with the girl but you know I’m joking around and we all know it’s not gonna happen. Ikki truly does love Stella and wants to keep their relationship pure until he’s ready to take it to the next step. Even Stella is amazed by Ikki’s resolved and is a little upset with herself at how she wasn’t taking her relationship with Ikki as seriously as him and was willing to give herself up that easily. That’s not to say she’s all bad here, it just shows how deep her love and affection for Ikki goes that she’s willing to give herself to him without hesitation). Eventually a rock monster comes and attacks them. Ikki tries to destroy it but each time he does it just keeps splitting apart and creating more rock monsters (and with a sick Stella on hand Ikki can’t fight and defend at the same time). Even when the student council comes in to help the situation remains the same. That is until Toka the president of the student council (and all-around badass lightning swordswoman) comes in, destroys the rock monsters, and manages to zap the one controlling them with lightning as well (scene here: //youtu.be/oQPNf6Y2GOc, okay I like her). While that’s going on Shizuku goes home where she finds out her next opponent is Toka (well she’s gonna die).
Episode 10 is just Shizuku and Toka’s fight which in all honesty is the best fight in the entire season. You would think Shizuku would have the disadvantage fighting against a lightning user but no she can create pure natural water which doesn’t conduct electricity and during the match she actually gives Toka a run for her money as she studied and trained her fighting style. It was a great fight where Shizuku put all of her emotions on the line but in the end she loses to Toka (scene here: //youtu.be/qm8nqxMGDnI).
Things take a bad turn for Ikki in episode 11. We start the episode by learning that despite Toka’s fierce fighting she’s actually a very nice and clumsy person who cares for orphans and such (was not expecting that). After that things get bad for Ikki. Someone catches him and Stella kissing and turns it into a tabloid story where the two are in a sexual relationship with each other (well they might be I haven’t seen their private dorm life yet. And the stuff that I have seen raises suspicion). The Ethnic Committee run by Ikki’s branch family arrest Ikki and bring him in for questioning where at first you think they’re trying to find something to expel him from the school but it goes much deeper (and darker) than that. They allow Ikki to continue fighting in the tournament but he has to stay locked up as a prisoner where they don’t feed him for like 18 days (not that I would eat their food anyway because chances are they’ll poison it). They’re breaking Ikki physically and mentally and so far they succeeded in breaking him physically by starving him to death for 18 days and having him fight. The mental part comes at the expense of Ikki’s dad. All this time Ikki was fighting to earn his dad’s approval (no matter how big an asshole, a child will always seek their parent’s approval) but when he goes to meet his dad he pretty much expected nothing from Ikki in the first place and would have liked it better if he just disappeared. This breaks Ikki mentally that he pretty much becomes an empty shell of a man (and the award for asshole of the year goes to Ikki’s dad) and to make matters worse his final opponent for the selection matches is Toka and if he loses he’ll be expelled from the school (so basically Ikki has to face the strongest person in the school while being both physically and mentally exhausted and win in order for this whole ordeal to die. I’m pretty sure he’s had better days. Also during Ikki’s incarceration the animation changes giving us a trippy look and feel. For those of you who don’t know this anime was directed by Shin Ōnuma who used to work at Shaft studios and actually worked with Akiyuki Shinbo on three animes in the past. Just like Shinbo is a fan of using trippy animation to express the emotions, feelings, and situation of the characters Ōnuma is also a fan of this type of animation. The difference however is Ōnuma actually controls himself when using it. He doesn’t go crazy like Shinbo and just uses it to convey the situation that Ikki is going through during his incarceration and it looks amazing. If I saw this when I was younger I would have saw this as one of the greatest animation tricks of all time).
In the final episode the day before the final Toka goes to meet Shizuku in the hopes that she can convince Ikki to drop out of the match. Toka knows that the match was rigged in her favor and she doesn’t want to win like this (oh thank you for having a soul) so she’s hoping that Shizuku can convinced Ikki to drop out. The day of the match comes where it’s being televised all over the world (how far are you guys willing to go to humiliate this young man?) and Ikki hasn’t arrived yet because he was forced to run to the arena since Akaza failed to deliver him to the arena by car (you son of a bitch). As Ikki is running to the arena he starts to wonder if it’s worth it anymore. If there’s any point in continuing to fight (there is my friend. Don’t let the world decide your fate). Just when he’s about to past out he remembers his promise to Stella and falls in the arms of Shizuku who along with the rest of Ikki’s students, Stella, Alice, and some more people tell him not to give up and to keep fighting. After seeing everyone cheer for him Ikki picks himself up and goes to face Toka. The match is decided very quickly with one strike (it may be a short match but it’s easily one of the top 3 matches in the anime) where Ikki despite being tired and worn out puts all his energy into one final slash and manages to beat Toka’s lightning slash (meaning that Ikki moved faster than lightning. Scene here: //youtu.be/VoIpHIMTBHY, you’re the man Ikki! You! Are the man). With this victory Ikki is going to the Seven-Star tournament as a representative of his school. Akaza tries to attack Ikki in the arena but Stella comes in from behind and knocks him out of the way (thank you). And just when you think Ikki couldn’t get anymore cooler and badass he does something once again many MCs don’t do. In front of the entire world and his friends Ikki proposes to Stella and she accepts (scene here: //youtu.be/ZWO1-io7HZQ, I said it before but Ikki you are the MAN!). So after the selection rounds are all settled the story of Ikki and Stella passes over, Ikki is named the team captain for his school, and everyone prepares for the Seven-Star festival.
Final Thoughts
Can you see why this is the Asterisk War done correctly? The anime has a generic setup and a few clichés here and there but they’re all executed in a good way that makes it a hundred times better than Asterisk War. Ikki is hands down one of the best MCs I’ve ever seen. He has the whole world trying to hold him back saying that only the talented can be successful in this world but Ikki proves them wrong each and every time showing us that talent will only get you so far in this world and in the end hard work and determination to better yourself will carry you over. I like how he’s not dense in his feelings for Stella and is actually an amazing fighter who doesn’t rely on luck to win but rather coming up with strategies that use his skills to the fullest and allow him to come out on top. Stella is also a good female lead as she’s not only strong but she’s supportive of Ikki as she too understands the value of hard work and how being talented will only get you so far in the world. She’s also not some damsel in distress who always needs to be rescued by the main character. She can take care of herself and isn’t afraid to speak out for what she thinks is right or wrong. The relationship between Ikki and Stella is great. Not once do they fall into the role of “will they be together”. No, instead it’s made clear that after episode 5 they’re an official couple who love each other and nobody comes between them. Despite being surrounded by other girls Ikki never once falls for any of them and they don’t fall for him. It’s just mutual respect for each other and nothing else. I did like Shizuku and Alice’s relationship in the anime. They have minor roles but their relationship is great nonetheless as they do become best friends with Alice serving as a rock for Shizuku who’s sorting out her feelings for Ikki and coming to terms that Ikki has someone else in his life that he can depend on.
The fighting in this anime is great. Each match is epic in their own way and fun to watch. Everyone has their own fighting style so no match ever feels the same or like it’s a repeat of the last match. This makes each match unique and something new to watch. The music is okay. I didn’t really notice it all that much but I didn’t think it was bad. It was there and nothing more. No music pieces really stood out to me all that much. The animation is nice as well. The character designs are nice, I like the animation used for magic, and choreography for the fights was great. Is it a generic anime? Yes, but it’s a good generic anime. There’s probably like one or two clichés here and there that might bother you a little but you’ll quickly get over them as the positives of this anime easily outweigh the negatives.
Final Score
The final score for Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a 6.5/10. It would have been a 7 if they offered more insight into the world and made their futuristic setting be more futuristic as just like Asterisk War their future setting isn’t all that unique or spectacular to look at. But even so this is a generic anime that is worth checking out at least once and in my opinion easily beats Asterisk War and is the anime that deserves a second season. Will we get a second season in the future? I hope so because this anime really does deserve a second season. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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