1/21/24
Knight's and Magic
Anime Rating: 2/5 Manga Rating: 4/5 Light Novel Rating: 3.5/5
For this series, I started with the anime after hearing there was a boygirl in it (Ernesti) and watched it with my girlfriend. My overal opinion is...I guess I didn't hate it? The anime is somewhat of a disaster. And it doesn't seem to be the fault of the source material...mostly.
First of all, the opening theme is ATROCIOUS to listen to. Just absolutely terrible. It's especially awful that the worst part of the song is the very beginning of it. Hearing "Magic navigation, magic creation" after each beginning scene was so grading to my ear that I started to instinctively hover my mouse over the corner of the screen until the Skip Intro button showed up each time. There was a part before the protagonist gets isekai'd where he's like about to get hit by a car and he just stands there. Has plenty of time to react, but he just stands there and watches it happen with no reaction. It gave my girlfriend and I a good laugh.
The storytelling and pacing in this anime is awkward to say the least. They kind of speedrun through Ernesti's childhood throughout the years leading up to age twelve, complete with worldbuilding narration that gets to be a little overwhelming with the amount of information they throw at you all at once. The narration is I think done by Ernesti's mother? Something like that. Speaking of worldbuilding, it is not very good. Locations are unmemorable in both name and appearance, important characters and terms, too. I couldn't tell you the name of the king of the kingdom or even the kingdom's name even after watching the anime, reading the manga, and reading the light novel. The anime seems to focus on the mechs (as it should, it is arguably a mecha anime) but it fails even in this regard. They try to have some lore with how the Silhouette Knights are created and how they're upgraded, but it's pretty surface level and vague. I'm sure there's a reason they're called Silhouette Knights. Probably.
After having read the manga and the light novel, I'm disappointed by how significant moments in the novel and the manga are shown very unceremoniously in the anime. Lots of longer conflicts will get resolved in maybe an episode or two at most. From what I can see, it also seems like they cut quite a few scenes that characterize the main cast a little more which makes them feel very flat and forgettable. I also felt like the characters weren't as expressive as they should be. Yes, even Addy. I love Addy. More on that later.
And now for my praises. The designs of the Silhouette knights are really detailed and the 3D models look great in my opinion, but keep in mind this is coming from someone who doesn't indulge in mecha stuff typically. I have no idea how this translates to mecha standards. I do, however, appreciate that the series has a kind of unique concept of putting mechas in medieval times. Or at least I think it is. Either way, it's pretty well integrated together. I think Kid/Chid (depending on the translation) had pretty solid characterization. He's delightful and I will always support a character that is unapologetically loyal to someone. As with everything else in the anime, the manga did it better. Ernie is cute in the anime, even cuter in the manga, and has much more depth in the novel (as expected). I appreciate that the light novel touched on how being Isekai'd after dying in his old life had an impact on how Ernesti enjoys his life in the present. I came to see Ernie and even though I love him, I stayed to see Addy. I have a soft spot for characters who are loyal to the one they love and are not shy about it and insert themselves to that person's side at all times. Addy is that character. She's cute, has her own ending theme that made me smile, and is the ray of sunshine in this anime and in the entire series. Glad she finally gets what she wants.
The manga was definitely my favorite of all of these. The light novel is probably better, but my ADHD doesn't let me read very consistently. So seeing pretty art definitely helps. Lots of great characterization in the manga as well, every character is infinitely more expressive than in the anime. My biggest problem with the manga was that it ends a bit abruptly. When I finished it, I immediately thought "That's it?". As for the light novel, it's much more in-depth on the lore and does a good job of explaining it too. I should probably mention that I havent finished the novels yet. Oh well. I'll check back in once I read the part where Ernie and Addy get married or something.
Anime Rating: 2/5 Manga Rating: 4/5 Light Novel Rating: 3.5/5
For this series, I started with the anime after hearing there was a boygirl in it (Ernesti) and watched it with my girlfriend. My overal opinion is...I guess I didn't hate it? The anime is somewhat of a disaster. And it doesn't seem to be the fault of the source material...mostly.
First of all, the opening theme is ATROCIOUS to listen to. Just absolutely terrible. It's especially awful that the worst part of the song is the very beginning of it. Hearing "Magic navigation, magic creation" after each beginning scene was so grading to my ear that I started to instinctively hover my mouse over the corner of the screen until the Skip Intro button showed up each time. There was a part before the protagonist gets isekai'd where he's like about to get hit by a car and he just stands there. Has plenty of time to react, but he just stands there and watches it happen with no reaction. It gave my girlfriend and I a good laugh.
The storytelling and pacing in this anime is awkward to say the least. They kind of speedrun through Ernesti's childhood throughout the years leading up to age twelve, complete with worldbuilding narration that gets to be a little overwhelming with the amount of information they throw at you all at once. The narration is I think done by Ernesti's mother? Something like that. Speaking of worldbuilding, it is not very good. Locations are unmemorable in both name and appearance, important characters and terms, too. I couldn't tell you the name of the king of the kingdom or even the kingdom's name even after watching the anime, reading the manga, and reading the light novel. The anime seems to focus on the mechs (as it should, it is arguably a mecha anime) but it fails even in this regard. They try to have some lore with how the Silhouette Knights are created and how they're upgraded, but it's pretty surface level and vague. I'm sure there's a reason they're called Silhouette Knights. Probably.
After having read the manga and the light novel, I'm disappointed by how significant moments in the novel and the manga are shown very unceremoniously in the anime. Lots of longer conflicts will get resolved in maybe an episode or two at most. From what I can see, it also seems like they cut quite a few scenes that characterize the main cast a little more which makes them feel very flat and forgettable. I also felt like the characters weren't as expressive as they should be. Yes, even Addy. I love Addy. More on that later.
And now for my praises. The designs of the Silhouette knights are really detailed and the 3D models look great in my opinion, but keep in mind this is coming from someone who doesn't indulge in mecha stuff typically. I have no idea how this translates to mecha standards. I do, however, appreciate that the series has a kind of unique concept of putting mechas in medieval times. Or at least I think it is. Either way, it's pretty well integrated together. I think Kid/Chid (depending on the translation) had pretty solid characterization. He's delightful and I will always support a character that is unapologetically loyal to someone. As with everything else in the anime, the manga did it better. Ernie is cute in the anime, even cuter in the manga, and has much more depth in the novel (as expected). I appreciate that the light novel touched on how being Isekai'd after dying in his old life had an impact on how Ernesti enjoys his life in the present. I came to see Ernie and even though I love him, I stayed to see Addy. I have a soft spot for characters who are loyal to the one they love and are not shy about it and insert themselves to that person's side at all times. Addy is that character. She's cute, has her own ending theme that made me smile, and is the ray of sunshine in this anime and in the entire series. Glad she finally gets what she wants.
The manga was definitely my favorite of all of these. The light novel is probably better, but my ADHD doesn't let me read very consistently. So seeing pretty art definitely helps. Lots of great characterization in the manga as well, every character is infinitely more expressive than in the anime. My biggest problem with the manga was that it ends a bit abruptly. When I finished it, I immediately thought "That's it?". As for the light novel, it's much more in-depth on the lore and does a good job of explaining it too. I should probably mention that I havent finished the novels yet. Oh well. I'll check back in once I read the part where Ernie and Addy get married or something.