|
Sacred Blacksmith
Anime DVD Review
The river in Egypt. Da' Nile. And that's what Cecily is in... Denial. She keeps saying Luke's not her boyfriend, but everyone else seems to think otherwise. I mean, she keeps showing up at his house, begging for him ... to make her a sword.
She's your typical red-haired warrior, defending the city of Housman with her sword, short skirt, and a decent sized chest (which everyone seems obsessed with, much to her consternation).
As her grandfather was one of the founders of the Independent Trade Cities, she is proud of her heritage and wishes to protect her city as a knight, however, her inexperience shows through in the very first episode when she fights a mad veteran of the war causing trouble in the market, and completely overmatched, faces defeat as her hand-me-down sword is broken.
 But she is saved by a mysterious blacksmith named Luke Ainsworth. Cecily is impressed by Luke's Katana, a weapon she has never seen before, and asks him to make one for her. Of course, this being a Japanese show, a Katana can defeat almost any other sword when handled properly (actually not far from the truth, Katana were harder and sharper than European swords of the day).
Scared Blacksmith is a terrible name for what is actually a pretty decent show. Yeah, there's fan-service, but it's light and Cecily's reactions are too priceless to let it pass by. Overall, direction is tight and crisp, but I could have lived without the Lisa fashion show, but otherwise the episodes move along at a good clip, with lots of action and some hysterical dialog between our main protagonists.
 As each episode plays out, we get a little bit more back-story concerning the war that started this whole mess with "contracts" and demon swords, and clues as to the secrets that Luke carries, as he's got way too much power and seems to know far too much for such a young guy.
The anime series differs from the manga in that Cecily is a much weaker character than portrayed in the manga, and this is probably so that Luke can shine through as the main fighter, but it does play into Japanese stereotypes that the girl can never be a tough, skilled swordfighter and strong leader. Nevertheless, Sacred Blacksmith is a good-enough anime series to be worth your time.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, April 2011
Below: Scenes from Sacred Blacksmith.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
