Knight's & Magic Episode 8 Review: Secret & Quest

For yet another episode, Knight’s & Magic shared too much information in too little time. Ridden with unnecessary technical jargon and a confusing plot, Ernesti and his robot adventures focus more on the robots than on the adventures. Sometimes I wonder if there is anything that is more important than the robots in this show.

Plot

The episode goes straight into the action in a Starship Troopers situation where the secret village in which the ether reactors are being made is attacked by a swarm of insect-like demons. The few info bits about them are not enough to put any kind of perspective to the threat, and the only reason they are there is to provide an excuse for the robots to fight, a way for Ernesti to learn more about ether reactors, and a behemoth victim that can give him the crystal he needs to build his robot. All valid plot points, but given in a convenient way that doesn’t help with the plot.

After a few mock battles and robot vs robot fights, I was excited to see the mechas against demons, but the fight was unfair and boring. The little purple insects were just target practice as the overpowered robots of the Silver Phoenix and the two mechas of the former king and his grandson just showcased their signature weapons. When the stakes are low, you can’t expect anyone but mecha enthusiasts to be excited about this battle. Sometimes I forget that mecha enthusiasts are exactly to whom this series is targeting. The fight reminded me of Dynasty Warriors-like video games where the characters kills dozens of small enemies before encountering a boss. Someone has to point out that the queen was brutally murdered by Ernesti after he killed her babies. I wonder if anyone has taken a moment to think about the demons or their classification as monsters is enough to demonize them and use them as easy practice for the new robots.

As I mentioned earlier, the true purpose of this fight was to give an excuse for Ernie to visit the secret village of the secret technique of making the secret engines, the Ether Reactors. From that point onward, the episode drowns into technical jargon and Ernesti being a robot snob. We already knew that he didn’t care about anything else than robots, but completely ignoring that humongous alien breast of the elder took his asexuality a bit too far. I wonder if he masturbates to robots in the darkest hours of the night.

The Alvs are probably a lazy anagram of Elves, as their alien appearance, long life, and magic capabilities are reminiscent of the familiar fantasy race. In a world inhabited by men and dwarves, it was not a revelation that an elf equivalent also exists. I’m not sure I understood how Ether Reactors are made or what the big-boobs elf meant with her cryptic message to Ernie, but there seems to be an underlying plot here. The last time there was an underlying plot, it was forgotten in half an episode, so I am not getting too enthusiastic.

Episode Highlights

ERNESTI IS THE BEST: I still don’t know how to properly convey sarcasm, so you have to take my word when I say that I said that in a sarcastic tone that wants to convey my feelings of utter disgust for Ernesti. ‘Amazingly, he learned everything in three months’ said the narrator, further enhancing my dislike of the main character. The whole episode was just a huge practice battle and a how-to jargon fest so that the little genius dick can build his own personal robot. There is nothing more important than the robot. People dying? That’s ok. A horde of insects wants to attack the engine factory? HE IS ALL FIRED UP. I don’t know if the creator is modelling his protagonist after his own perverted delusions, but Ernesti is not a good role model for a long-lasting hero. And for a story with no real threats or villains, who cares about that huge amazing robot that he built? There is no reason for it to exist except for fulfilling the dreams of the main character. Is the earth in danger? Is there a huge alien fleet in orbit? Is the main antagonist ready to destroy the country? No. Just a kid who likes robots. There is no drama in this series, and this comes from someone who criticizes unnecessary drama in stories. This is not a story.

Themes & Trivia

No Opening Sequence: When an episode jumps right into the action without an opening sequence, it usually means that there is going to be a huge episode with lots of things happening. Lots of things did happen, but none of them was too important. Unless you are one of those who consider the main plot of the series to be Ernesti’s dream to build the most awesome robot ever.

Ikaruga: I want to brush aside the fact that Ernesti used Japanese on the robot in a world that has no idea what that language is and we as viewers have no idea why he used a language he doesn’t know except if the isekai theme suddenly kicked in, and focus on the reference.

Ikaruga!

The episode was typical of Knight’s & Magic. Nothing really happened except for Ernesti being a genius and having his way. Everyone else, villains and friends, just exist so that the little prick can create more robots. The world-building is there and the info dumps are frequent and long, but everything seems unconnected except when Ernesti wants to build something. I am certain that there are many people who like this kind of storytelling, but I am starting to get a little bored by the repetitiveness.

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NEXT TIME: Force & Justice (Force & Justice)