Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

If you're an avid anime fan, this anime is your standard "rags-to-riches" storyline which follows Ikki Kurogane, who's ranked F in the academy, progress through the ranks to determine to people that being ranked based on your magical aptitude is not accurate to a person's ability. He meets Stella Vermilion, a princess from another country who's ranked A, who ends up becoming rivals with him and challenges him to a duel after Ikki saw her mostly naked in HIS bedroom. The two end up duelling each other and Ikki wins, with Stella slowly beginning to fall for him as he doesn't see her for her status as a princess, but as herself. From hereon, Ikki slowly rises up to the top with Stella by his side.

As you watch on however, the minute details begin to separate the show from it's other Typical counterparts (Asterisks War, Infinite Stratos, etc.). There are a few girls who get introduced, enough for the show to fall into the "harem-trap" that most shows go for. However, the one thing the writers' nail is Character Development. The side girls aren't love interests, they don't want to fall in love with Ikki, they either become his friendly rivals, his student's or best friends. It's refreshing and interesting. Including the development between Ikki and Stella, it's wonderful to see them grow with each other!

The animation, considering the small studio and budget, is pretty damn good! Best thing about it, it's also used as a storytelling piece. Soundtrack is okay, not much to talk about there (nothing that caught my attention, aside from the opening theme). Overall, it was an enjoyable watch. Not exactly world-class, but it's generic storytelling told in a refreshed way! So whether your a long-time anime fan, or your starting out, Chivalry of a Failed Knight is an alright watch to see. I'd definitely recommend it.

The relationship between Ikki and Stella is surprisingly well portrayed. The show plays with some cliches like sister love, jealousy and thick-guy-who-doesn't-get-it, but it never does so ad nauseam. I am also surprised by how natural characters react in comparison to many other animes. I found that refreshing.

The show has several subplots, which are interesting, but they also have terrible character obsolescence, meaning the characters of those subplots will never be mentioned again. There is some vague grander plot going on, but it's weak and it doesn't really get resolved.

The fight scenes are visually impressive and well choreographed.

Apart from Ikki, we don't learn much about the other characters. The biggest weakness of the show is its short length. There is also some tedious monologuing going on.

This anime has a lot in common with others but so does every movie you watch you can just about predict what's gonna happen in every scene especially horror movies but every episode in this show keys you in more and more and with this show being such a low budget yet a great anime could mean huge results in maybe upcoming season

Yes, it is true there is nothing new under the sun - after all, we've kept reading and watching Shakespeare for over 400 years and haven't gotten bored with that yet - but what is interesting about a story is the way they develop it, particularly with plot and drama. The concept of a failed knight who is trying to work his way up is not novel (rags to riches and so forth), but they do it well enough here to be interesting. Stella and Ikki are neat characters and the plot line centers around them and how they develop their lives, their education, and their relationship, problems we all have at one point or another. Add a little magic and the occasional fight for your life, and you have an interesting story. It's humorous at many points, dramatic at others, and altogether an enjoyable feature to watch.

Chivalry of a Failed Knight for me was a pleasant surprise. This is one that I hopes gets a season 2, as I think there is a lot to work with. The main characters all have interesting things going on and great chemistry with each other. This makes for almost every scene being fun and attention grabbing. It's also a nice change of pace to have a main protagonist who is more down to Earth in an anime like this, and it makes him a lot easier to connect to and root for. The plot is well done and well paced, but unfortunately ends on a cliffhanger, at no fault of this season. The universe and world building is also great and leaves me wanting more. Overall I would highly recommend Chivalry of a Failed Knight to anime fans!