What’s this? An action-fantasy-romance series that’s somehow NOT also an isekai in some
way? HELL HAS FROZEN OVER! IT’S A MIRACLE!
Ladies and gentlemen we are standing before a miracle today!
FEELS GOOD!
Seriously though, I’m about to explain a bunch of problems I have with this series,
but the lack of isekai alone is enough for me to forgive quite a bit…
Quite a bit.
Assassin’s Pride is a fantasy anime adapted by Studio EMT Squared from the Light Novel
of the same name by Kei Amagi. It follows a fantasy universe where noble families gain
the use of magic power or more colloquially called “mana” in order to fight various
monsters called lycanthropes. I think.
I only say "I think" because it makes it sound like we are fighting werewolves.
But they look like pumpkin skellingtons, so I don't know anymore...
Our main character is a swordsman named Kufa Vampir, who you know is the lead character
because nowadays it’s basically illegal to have a protagonist swordsman without Kirito
hair. Kufa is a trained assassin who is assigned to be the tutor of a noble girl named Melida
and determine if she has any actual aptitude to use mana at all. Apparently, she is quite
a bit behind her peers in manifesting mana, which has lead several prominent members of
her family to believe that she might be an illegitimate child.
Oooooh Scandalous!
And, if that’s the case,
then Kufa is supposed to kill her. But we all know that’s not going to happen,
mostly because subtlety is not the strong suit of the writers here. Hell, our protagonists
name is Vampir and the main monsters are called lycanthropes.
But regardless of the fact that Mr. Vampir cares quite a bit about his job, despite that
he somewhat despises and pities our heroine, all it takes is one instance when she is in
mortal danger for him to decide, “You know what? I’m going to dedicate my life to this
girl I just met”. WHAT KIND OF REVERSE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME NONSENSE IS THIS?
AND SO not only does he protect her from harm, but he also gives her a potion that implants
some of his own mana into her, fixing the problem of her not having any of her own.
This is actually a really important moment for our characters. So important, in fact,
that the show decides to just gloss over the whole procedure. The actual act of Vampir
giving mana to our heroine isn’t explained in any necessary way. He just happened to
have a potion on him that would allow for a non-mana user to be able to use mana?
You know how mana is the trait
that is used to divide even the nobility into casts of importance in this society? Sure,
she could have died, but still you’d think that quite a few desperate souls in this world
would gladly take that chance, and therefore such a concoction would have been under lock
and key? and he just had one?
OK, ok, I'll let it go, I'll let it go.
We are just scratching the surface here on
where my problems lie with this story. Thankfully though, most of them fall under one particular
issue: There has been, at least so far, virtually no world building beyond vague mentions of
things and it’s hard to take this fantasy world seriously when the show doesn’t either.
So, there has a decent amount of screen time at the top of episode one showcasing the world
that our characters live in. Because it's a glass chandelier-type place but, as of yet, the
circumstances surrounding this haven’t been explained or even proven to be necessary to
the plot. This whole thing could take place in any city on Earth and it wouldn’t make
a lick of difference. Also, the nobility are shown to have magic
powers and apparently that’s to hunt lycanthropes, but already in just the first three episodes
we see a possible instance when a noble hired a powerful lycanthrope to do a bit of political
manoeuvring, which makes trying to sell me on this big adversarial position between the
two that much harder. Can’t really make me believe that everyone hates and fears the
lycanthropes if there’s some that use them for their own political gain.
The act of even being able to use them political gain, means quite a bit.
Because obviously then,
there’s a point high enough in the noble ranks where lycanthropes aren’t really that
much of a threat. If so, why the hell does being able to use mana and fight them matter
all that much? It’d be cool, sure, but enough to kill a family member because she can’t
perform? Huh. Perhaps these are just remnants of their society
that the powerful nobles have left alone for tradition’s sake, or to give themselves
power over those less noble of birth then they. The whole tournament section part of
the story gave off Cross Ange vibe that would explain quite a few things. I’d elaborate
on that reference, but the last time I talked about Cross Ange on this channel the video
got banned, so let’s avoid that, shall we? Really, with not being all that impressed
with what the show has done so far, and having very little idea where it’s actually going
with its narrative, I almost struggle to figure out what watch value the show has for most
people. But then, like our protagonist being a vampire, it’s not all that hard to determine.
If you like the idea of sudden romance for romance’s sake, then there’s quite a bit
here between our main leads that might interest you. Melida has had quite a lot of strife
in her life – from lycanthropes, other nobles, and even her own family – so seeing her
overcome that might be worth the price of admission. With her mentor Vampir being a
bit of an overpowered badass though, I kind of hope she’s given some space to breathe
and that Vampir takes more of a stance of wanting to nurture her powers and abilities
rather than steal the spotlight out from under her. Otherwise, what I already find to be
repetitive and predictable will become even more so.
So do I recommend it? Not really. There’s too much here that just makes me feel like
the Light Novel might have had a better time at explaining a bunch about how thid world
works, while the anime seems to be more for those that either already know the backstory
or don’t care about it that much. The action scenes are quite well done, but not enough
to base my entire recommendation on. If the idea of a young girl fighting against pretty
much everyone in her life to try and find some sort of meaning intrigues you, then give
it a few episodes. Otherwise, you might be better off just to pass on it.
Thanks for joining me in this quick discussion. There will be streaming links in the description
should you require them, as per usual. Let me know down in the comments what you are
watching this season. And perhaos if there is time we will be making a video on that hopefully in the future.
and until next time – ladies, gentlemen, and others – watch more anime…and stay frosty.