Knight's & Magic Episode 11 Review: Hit & Away

Knight’s & Magic, much like a good video game, left the final boss for the end. After 11 episodes of Ernesti’s dominance over his enemies, the only villain that managed to even himself to our little prick’s genius, Lord Gojass, creates a technological beast that can stand against Ikaruga on equal terms – or at least that’s what the series wants us to believe.

Plot

If you count out the unnecessary romance between Kid and Eleonora, this episode fast-forwarded another large segment (many months) of the huge war between Zaloudek and the rest of the world. The narrator is as detached from the story as the rest of the viewers, but I have to admit that in contrast to the first episodes of the series, the last couple were a more balanced in terms of fights and plot.

As I mentioned in the previous review, I would have liked for his arc to be the main story of the series, as it has a real enemy and a Ernesti-equivalent genius on the opposite camp. Lord Gojass is as crazy as our little Ernesti and without his technological achievements, we wouldn’t have had an opponent we can look forward to in the last couple of episodes.

Before the dragon shows his wings, however, we have the last fight between Ernesti and Prince Cristobal. Without having the time to invest in the Prince as the hated villain the series wanted him to be, the fight against Ernesti and his sub-sequent ‘sacrifice’ had no emotional impact. It could have had if they skipped the tasteless humor about Ernesti’s compensation package and instead threw in some real dialogue. But what can you expect from two spoiled brats who are too invested in their own petty dreams to think of anything else but glory and mecha?

On the other hand, the little bit of humor with Lord Gojass saving his own ass was refreshing. Whenever we see the scientist, he is either gawking over Ernesti’s achievements or trying to save his life. Ah, and securing his seat by playing the heart-broken subject of the Empire.

I don’t want to insult any mecha enthusiasts out there who like all the techno-bubble, and I surely appreciate how much time the writer of the light novel spent in figuring out how the technology of his world works, but I still think that they had no place in the anime, unless they were advancing the plot somehow. The differences between the technology of Zaloudek and Fremmenvilla could be the subject of an OVA or a page in the official site, but in the course of the episode they just felt out of place.

Episode Highlights

Drake, an ancient creature: If Ernesti is allowed to continue this planet’s industrial revolution, all creatures will be given the ‘ancient’ tag sooner or later. Just remember what happened to those demon creatures from the first episodes. What demon creatures, you ask? Exactly.

Anti-air weapon: As if they needed an anti-air weapon after that little demonstration of Ikaruga’s power. If you are wondering why doesn’t Ernesti make more Ikarugas, read the previous highlight.

Kid & Eleonora: Marry already. We don’t any more of your little romance shit. Who even cares at this moment.

Technobubble: I don’t know how much of a mecha fan you are, but let me tell you that I like robots. I just don’t like them enough to care about every little piece of machinery they have inside them. I am a writer, not an engineer.

Themes & Trivia

Dragon: The new Zaloudek robot is based on an ancient creature called the drake. In the course of the episode, it has also been referred to as a dragon and a wyrm. Is there a difference between the different terms? It depends on who you ask. Since most of dragon referencing comes from the western depictions of the creatures in Lord of the Rings, the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic the Gathering, I thought I might give you some general terms:

What we call ‘dragons’ are closer to what we’ve seen in the recent Tales of Zestiria the X and the anime movie of Fairy Tail. They are huge majestic and sentient beings that have varying levels of intelligence, personality, and abilities. Also, they come in many colors and breath fire.

Drakes are smaller dragons that look more like flying lizards. They have the appearance of a dragon, but it depends on the individual drake whether it is intelligent or has the ability to breath fire. This robot one certainly does.

The term ‘wyrm’ can either refer to an elder dragon or a wingless dragon, depending on your source.

Wyverns, on the other hand, are closer to this robotic monstrosity than all the other terms. They are smaller than a gigantic dragon, but large enough to resemble the actual size of this robot. They can fly and breath fire and sometimes have a barbed tail and a crooked face.

Comments

Knights of old, protectors of king and justice, the proverbial shining armor defenders of fairy tails, had but one mortal enemy: dragons. The title of the next episode and the primordial relationship between knight and dragon act as a premonition when it comes to the climax of this story. I want to argue ‘what climax’ and ‘which story?’ but I will keep my horses and just wait for another triumph for Ernesti and Ikaruga to unfold. As much as I would have wanted for this final battle to be on equal terms, we all know what will happen, don’t we?

Poor little dragon…

As Ikaruga is preparing its dragon-slaying lance for its most important battle, we are left wondering: is the isekai part of the story going to play any role in this series? Who is the narrator? Why does this story feel like someone is just reciting a history book?

Did you like Episode 11 of Knight’s & Magic? Let us know in the comments below by using either the forum or the Facebook tab! Join us in our new forum and let’s talk about our favorite series! Also, don’t forget to check our latest Summer 2017 reviews!

NEXT TIME: Knight & Dragon