Sacred Blacksmith

[Kraco]

"Cecily Campbell is a former noble's daughter who joins the knighthood only to encounter a young man with both a unique sword and a unique fighting style. Cecily finds that the young man, Luke, is in fact a blacksmith and asks him to repair a sword given to her by her father. Thus begins their many adventures together." -tv.com

Genres: Fantasy, Seinen, Swordplay

Links:
Episode 1 - gg

AniDB
ANN
Official

Main roles voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto (Layfon of Regios), Ayumi Fujimura (Ayano of Kaze no Stigma, Azaka of Kara no Kyoukai) and Aki Toyosaki (Yui of K-ON).




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The first episode looked pretty nice even if it didn't really distinguish itself as anything extraordinary (or explain why this is supposed to be seinen). However, it was entertaining enough. Layfon's VA was fitting for the role of a bit cold blacksmith. The action was at a usual shounen show level but could be getting better considering the man lurking in the shadows and all the devil contract talk.

The main girl was very energetic (and thus naturally showing less skills than spirit) but that goes without saying in a show like this. No doubt she will get a lot better before the end. Hard to say anything definite yet about the little elf girl.

I'll keep watching.

[KrayZ33]

Cecily is hot, Male lead is badass

and I can guess why this is supposed to be seinen.
the art style and animation is also very good, nice start.
I'm pretty sure that I'll watch it to the end.

[animus]

Huh, gg is doing like everything this season aren't they.

[Buffalobiian]

Huh, gg is doing like everything this season aren't they.

Talking about staff, did you know gg's absorbing...like everybody?
http://www.ggkthx.org/2009/09/13/upd...announcements/

Pretty much. With more staff, I'm expecting a greater variance in quality to be reflected in their releases.

[Ryllharu]

Ayumi Fujimura's naturally tsundere voice is a draw for me, and Luke seems to have inherited some Layton hax abilities from Regios.

Looks like a good adventure series, we'll see how it turns out.

I gather the girl clad in green from the OP/ED turns into Cecily's sword for battle?

[Pandadice]

well, overall i did enjoy the episode, and i'm definitely gonna continue watching.

it's weird how they have a samurai/katana character and fighting style, yet it takes place in a medieval European setting.

i really didn't like the fanservice, but at least it was minimal. i'd be happy if they scaled it back even more, but its not that big of deal.. as long as they don't massively increase it i suppose.

but dang it.. they whole Tsundere scene in it nearly ruined the episode, and hopefully it doesn't ruin the series... maybe i'm just getting to aggravated with the blatant pandering...

i mean yeah, i enjoy the tsundere (and by that i mean girl who gets flustered, and embarrassed and blushes easily) as much as the next guy, but when i want to watch a tsundere show, i'll watch a tsundere show. but when i want to watch a sword-fights action show, i want an action show. i just disliked the use of it here :\

[Death BOO Z]

I always choose animes based on the which name sounds cool, and I always get the same thing...

I feel about this one the same way I felt about the last fantasy sword anime I've watched - tales of the abyss.

anyway, Cecily's armor is a fine example of breast plate, and for some reason, the main dude (Luke) does have a really boring face and doesn't even have crazy anime hair. how did that happen?

I'm not impressed so far, and that's without questioning why everyone there is a giant idiot -crazy man swings giant sword with one hand? stay real close to him and hope he doesn't start trashing the next cart. way to get yourself killed, fat lady.
-someone has rushed to your help after being attacked? make them expect bandits, so that the monsters would have the additional surprise shock. and how did the bodies get stabbed?

Blacksmiths are supposed to be cool, collected guys, who know that good things take time, and hard work. that's what makes the character type so appealing, and now this guy just creates swords in the middle of battle? it's nothing brave, it's stupid. it's supposed to be about having balls of steel, not eggs of steel (I really wanted to make this pun, it sounded better in my mind).

well, maybe next episode would be better, but more likely, will include another girl with a bust, or a cute megane\nun girl.

[KrayZ33]

I'm not impressed so far, and that's without questioning why everyone there is a giant idiot -crazy man swings giant sword with one hand? stay real close to him and hope he doesn't start trashing the next cart. way to get yourself killed, fat lady.

I see what you mean, but well.... the crowd was actually like 10 meters away, I think that's fine, in fact.. this would have happened in real life too if one guy grabs a huge axe and starts smashing crates.. everyone would be like "what the fuck is he doing" and observe him.
no one would call for help/run away in fear.. that's just how it is.

-someone has rushed to your help after being attacked? make them expect bandits, so that the monsters would have the additional surprise shock. and how did the bodies get stabbed?

maybe because of the *bandits* who attacked the cart at first before that guy sent his monsters as his "final plan" as the "bandit" in the tree said.
however I thought the same thing.. I couldn't explain the conversation in the trees otherwise.

Luke does have a really boring face and doesn't even have crazy anime hair. how did that happen?

huh? isn't that a good thing?
especially because of

Blacksmiths are supposed to be cool, collected guys, who know that good things take time, and hard work.

[Yukimura]

My first impression was "I'm going to hate Cecily Campbell". I think my tastes are starting to develop a sexist bias as I feel less patience for female action leads who are all talk and no talent than I do for males in similar roles. Cecily's constant chattering about family honor and her knightship despite her seeming lack of skill got on my nerves somewhat but was within my expectations. What really made me want to see her stabbed repeatedly as soon as possible though was her retarded stance on her family sword. Heirlooms are great and all, especially for people with honorary positions, but if she wants to be a real knight and fight real battles to protect real people she should worry less about where her sword came from and more about how effective a tool it is. Her little speech to the first blacksmith reeked of fail, favoring an old and tattered weapon over a new and effective one seems pretty stupid unless all you care about is appearances.

I'm torn between being happy that she flipped her position and asked Luke to make her a sword like his (and thus unlike her precious tattered family sword) but pissed off that she had to put her stupid convictions out there in the regular blacksmith's shop for me to get pissed off at before reneging on them 10 minutes later. Hopefully she'll grow up quickly though. I think Luke, the loli elf, and the bad guys from the OP offer enough of interest for me to push through Cecily's learning curve though.

[Kraco]

Isn't it pretty obvious knighthood was all tradition and appearances for Cecily? She might have a genuine will to protect her city but that's probably true for every citizen there because it's a precious free city state next to an empire, apparently, so patriotism is a given. However, it's clear as day she had never actually worked to become a knight. She would have hardly known which end of a sword to grasp if it wasn't for the fact there's only one way you can slide it into the scabbard. So, she was indeed all talk and relying on her family name and reputation.

I certainly wouldn't have minded if she had possesses some actual fighting skills but otherwise I don't hate her. I will keep watching trusting she will develop and also hoping something will happen between her and Luke.

[Idealistic]

I like the character designs. First episode was pretty cool as well. Though I really hate the sexual references they always add in a lot of animes such as panty shots and breast jokes.... It's just unnecessary.

[Buffalobiian]

I like the character designs. First episode was pretty cool as well. Though I really hate the sexual references they always add in a lot of animes such as panty shots and breast jokes.... It's just unnecessary.

Unnecessary may be true, but I liked them because they broke the pace. I wouldn't want a series like this to take itself too seriously, and luckily it doesn't

I liked the character designs too. Cecily was instantly likable for me. If anything, my tolerance is the other way around compared to Yuki's. (with very many exceptions). Both her and Lisa were cute.

If it wasn't for Luke's awesome abilities, I'd hate his guts. His appearance is plain, his attitude is more annoying than of a cool arrogance, and I hate his name. It reminds me of Luke from Tales of the Abyss. (which I dropped at around episode 5).

I'm torn between being happy that she flipped her position and asked Luke to make her a sword like his (and thus unlike her precious tattered family sword) but pissed off that she had to put her stupid convictions out there in the regular blacksmith's shop for me to get pissed off at before reneging on them 10 minutes later.

I found that part hilarious, as well as stupid.

"No, if you melt it, it won't be the same sword. I can't accept it if it's not the same sword. it's my family's heirloom"

"BUT......if you make me a brand new katana, I'll gladly show you my body for it."



The OP/EDs were nice, so I'll be keeping up with this one. Liking it much better than Armed Librarians.

[Kraco]

"No, if you melt it, it won't be the same sword. I can't accept it if it's not the same sword. it's my family's heirloom"

"BUT......if you make me a brand new katana, I'll gladly show you my body for it."

It makes sense she wouldn't want some gray massproduced thing to replace her unique family heirloom, but on the other hand Luke's katana left her quite impressed as it cleanly cut through the bigass sword that had just shattered her heirloom.

[Buffalobiian]

It makes sense she wouldn't want some gray massproduced thing to replace her unique family heirloom, but on the other hand Luke's katana left her quite impressed as it cleanly cut through the bigass sword that had just shattered her heirloom.

It does make sense, and you can attribute her previous words to the blacksmith as a roundabout way of refusing him without saying "no, your swords are crap".

Still, I thought her fixation towards repairing her family sword was genuine, and it was strange that she's requesting him to forge her a new one before even mentioning anything about repairing the old.

[Kraco]

She has zero skills to be proud of so she's only being proud of external factors like her prestigious family line and her gear. She probably thought a rare weapon like the katana would make her stand out even more. She's thinking like a naive kid would.

[Archangel]

So as i pray, unlimited katana works

This looks pretty entertaining, i think i'll give it a try

[Ryllharu]

It does make sense, and you can attribute her previous words to the blacksmith as a roundabout way of refusing him without saying "no, your swords are crap".

As soon as they said they only molded swords these days, the audience were all expected to know they were total crap, just as she did. As incompetent as she is, she certainly seems knowledgeable in the theory of blacksmithing at least to know quality. She went on about her old sword, and seemed set on reforging it, rather than getting a new one until she remembered Luke.

It doesn't excuse her indecisive attitude about whether she wants her old sword or not.

She has zero skills to be proud of so she's only being proud of external factors like her prestigious family line and her gear. She probably thought a rare weapon like the katana would make her stand out even more. She's thinking like a naive kid would.

I'd give her a little more credit than that. She was amazed that he cut cleanly through a sword. Although she is too naive to realize that that particular property probably has more to do with his technique than crafting, I think the only thing running through her mind was how amazing a sword that can do that must be.

She wasn't concerned so much about the style of the sword, but what his swords can do considering that was what she focused on when she asked him to make her own before being rebuked.

[Kraco]

Sacred loli elf:

Episode 2 - gg

[Ryllharu]

Must be pretty embarrassing when a little elf girl who looks like she's 12 knows more about combat theory than someone who is supposedly a knight. Lisa just might know as much about combat as Luke does, aside from her obvious disadvantages in reach and height and we can only assume a lack of experience as well.

The pacing on this episode was a bit slow. I'm somewhat annoyed that it took the latter 2/3 of the episode for Cecily to meet Aria.

Cecily is a sad excuse for a protagonist, but apparently she is getting the Nudge of Destiny, because the city elders were surprised and pleased that she has somehow already met Luke, who we can only imagine is the one meant to forge the Sacred Sword that kills the devil. For whatever reasons, Cecily must be the one to wield it. If she was that important, one would think they would have spent the time to actually teach her how to fight instead of letting her become the city darling.

I was expecting it would be the kind of situation where destiny just sort of falls into her lap, and she steps up and does it because of her determination. But since she was apparently chosen from some time early on, it just infuriates me that she has gone this long without any formal training when they are expecting so much out of Cecily.

Lisa is probably the best character in the show so far.

[Kraco]

There's a solid echo of truth in your words, Ryll. I'm sorely disappointed it indeed looks like some arbitrary fate decided Cecily will play an important role. Luke's role, assuming it is to forge the sacred sword, like one could presume now, is much more understandable seeing how he indeed possesses impressive skills. Not only knowing how to forge swords but also how to use them, making him all the better a swordsmith. I'm looking forward to knowing why exactly a loser like Cecily is so important. I hope it's really convincing...

Luke had me worried in the first scenes but fortunately how he handled the cancelled deal with Cecily restored my faith in him. As long as he remains that cold and unmovable, I'm not complaining. Cecily annoyd me much more during this ep than the first and perhaps because of that it was nice to watch her disappointment when she realised she hasn't got the means to commission a sword from Luke.

I hope the katana fanboy talk won't continue for all eternity, though.