Seiken no Blacksmith

What it's really about: A big-chested clumsy knight gets involved with a demon problem, as well as handsome blacksmith and his mysterious past. The Good: - Excellent production value - The relationship between the blacksmith and the knight is cute - The episodes that don't directly further the plot are still very interesting - The setting has an intriguing history The Bad: - The knight can be viewed by many as "annoying." - Those expecting a Lord of the Rings experience will be sorely disappointed. Conclusion: I think the reason this anime got so many below average reviews is because of the reviewers' preconceptions of what the anime should have been. If you can manage to dispel any preconceived notions you have about this anime, then you're in for a very nice treat. Just enjoy it for what it is.

The Sacred Blacksmith is a really mixed bag. This could have been good, with the underlying story being highly interesting. The whole excecution of the story is unfortunately, horrific. The flaws in the storyline mainly lie with the protagonist. Cecily as the main lead has shown growth but this is unfortunately obscured by her annoying personality. The way her "talk" sequences were done was extremely off-putting, and her jarring voice made things even worse. This links to the lack of a logical flow to the storyline whenever it involves Cecily. One evening, she's in a life-threatening battle, the next day she's smiling at her potential killers (twice...same people, same arc!). Another example is excessive, irrelevant chatter during battles. It's as if her speaking has a "freeze" effect on the enemy (yea right!). The supporting main characters, Luke, Lisa and Aria were highly pleasurable and fun, each having rather interesting backstories as well as a good source of laughter. They fulfill their respective roles excellently. The art was average-good, with the use of an eye-pleasing palette. Afterall, I started watching after seeing the nice art at the Animesuki season preview. The girls were either cute or hot, depending on age! The monsters looked ugly but aren't monsters supposed to be ugly anyway? The animation sequences during battles were very well done. It's a shame the battles had to be rushed in a short, 12-episode series. The BGM is very good and it is a pity because of the lacklustre storytelling. This situation is reminicent of Tsubasa Chronicles season 1 where the music was awesome, but too lively for a poorly executed and slow story. The OP seems to have split people but I felt the beat and tone was a good fit. The ED is just awfully cute, and expresses Lisa as a character very well. Overall, I enjoyed the story because it had such potential, as well as the interesting and likeable supporting characters which kept me watching this rather mediocre series. That said, the lack of logical flow *points at Cecily* is a serious killjoy. People have asked me what I was watching during Autumn 2009. While I gave an honest answer (SnB was the only show I was following!), I have told every one of them to avoid.

Fantasy is all about adventure. It’s about going outside of your comfort zone, seeing a new place and a new facet of yourself, and being changed by the time you return home. Anime like that is filled with believable cause and effect. And then there’s The Sacred Blacksmith. The series opens with Cecily Cambell, a newly trained knight charged with the protection of the Third Independent Trade City. She is an excitable girl, stubborn, and full of bravado. She wishes to help people, but has little actual competence. The broken sword of her family is as much a symbol of her own need to be tempered as anything. Towards those ends she pursues the services of Luke Ainsworth, a standoffish blacksmith with little patience for Cecily’s immaturity. Joining them are Lisa -- Luke’s pint-sized and spunky assistant -- and a woman with a mysterious and tragic past named Aria. Dark events soon push them together as tenuous companions. Some figure in the shadows is collecting Demon Swords, powerful remnants from the great war that ended forty years ago. The City is threatened and Cecily and Luke have their own reasons to stand against it. The setting and plot sound clichéd because they are. This is well-trodden ground. The first few episodes promise to offset that imbalance with the characters, but sadly that’s where things start falling apart. As our protagonists quickly find themselves thrown headlong into one problem after another, their relationships become secondary. Instead of friendships blossoming from shared duress, they just seem to ‘bond’ because they shared the same scenes. Part of the problem is in Cecily’s characterization, which puts light on the deeper issue of Sacred Blacksmith’s incorrect focus. Two of my favorite moments are when Cecily realizes that her desires and willpower are not enough to become the best she can be and then, later, when she uses that deficiency to overcome a seemingly insurmountable object. That was when the story shined and I thought “yes! -this- is what this show is supposed to be.” Cecily is our protagonist in all her inept glory. Watching her stumble towards being a skilled knight is where the show -should- be focused, how each tiny victory and tiny defeat magnifies her growth. Admittedly, there are times when Cecily sheds her armor and shows some vulnerabilities in a realistic light, but usually she merely sheds her armor so someone can joke about how wonderfully large her breasts are. I like running gags as much as anyone, but Sacred Blacksmith never really earns the right to do so. They would be complementary features in a series less problem-ridden; instead they merely draw attention to themselves and make it difficult for a reviewer to be objective and not single them out for one whole paragraph. It gets to be a little bothersome when they just pop up out of nowhere. And, no, that wasn’t a boob joke. It isn’t that the foundation here is weak, but that it’s uneven. There are some really exciting and insightful moments and yet they are surrounded by plodding uninteresting plot and cloying melodrama. It sometimes feels like a writer du jour was invited on board each week to pen the script. The story is disjointed, populated with mini-arcs that hardly elucidate the main arc at all. Challenges seem incidental. Character development unearned. And then everyone dresses up like a maid. If that last sentence seemed to come out of nowhere and confused the hell out of you, it was supposed to. That’s exactly how I felt. The most irksome problem is pacing. The main story arc only gets underway late in the series, ending up rushed. Halfway through the series our cast of characters effectively doubles, but we have no time to get to know them beyond their two-dimensionally flat personalities. Worst of all, two battles are halted in their tracks while our heroes take a break to lollygag. Oh, I mean, “work slowly at making a weapon to continue the fight after all the scene’s original tension has been obliterated”. It felt more concise to say lollygag, though. Aside from that specific editing choice, the battles are actually engaging. In fact, my greatest praise is what weaponry gets used. For all the adherence to the conventions of the swords-and-sorcery genre, there are some uncommon armaments here. I can’t describe enough how visually refreshing I found this, to see different weapons and fighting styles. Like all the other good bits in the show this too doesn’t last long, but it helps break up the “This is a fantasy; we need more swords!” mentality that plagues the genre. Overall, the art and animation is of consistently high quality. The city is a vibrant place. Manglobe’s attention to detail in creating a living, breathing setting is laudable and effective (something I personally found lacking in their earlier work, Ergo Proxy). There’s an idyllic peace in the city when all hell isn’t breaking loose and a gritty immediacy when it does. That the city is built at the foot of a mountain covered with an ominous and never-moving cloud is a fantastic addition. The characters too are well-designed and have outfits that are intriguing albeit sometimes impractical. If only they were as cool as they look. I couldn’t help thinking back to last season as I watched this. CANAAN showed how to put together a compelling ensemble cast, while Spice and Wolf II showed how to dramatically weave the complexities of a relationship about two protagonists. Both lessons are lost on Sacred Blacksmith. There is neither a group dynamic nor a fully realized pairing. The one great friendship we do have between Cecily and Aria gets lost in the shuffle of events and hardly has the emphasis it deserves. What disappoints me most is what Sacred Blacksmith fails to do. It fails to do anything exciting with fantasy. It fails to test its characters’ resolve with any meaningful challenges or anguish. It presents so much magic… yet fails to capture any wonder. Once we understand more of Aria’s nature, for instance, a wild world of possibilities opens up. How does her nature impact the way she interacts with the city she lives in? The people she calls friends? Her own inner turmoil? Instead, her character development seems to have the same tedious trajectory that everyone else has: at least one episode devoted to mental struggles, a resolution easily attained, and a sanguine outlook the rest of the time. The music is a good analogy for the show as a whole. The OP starts strong, is rather catchy, reasonably dynamic technically speaking. The score of the series is standard fare medieval fantasy (recorders, lutes, tambourines, and the like) and other more traditional orchestrated pieces that are apt, but not spellbinding. Finally, the ED is the most randomly bright and unbelievably saccharine thing you have ever heard. While I freely admit my personality isn’t morning glories and sunshine, this outro is so distinctly misplaced and just one more example of Sacred Blacksmith’s disjointed elements. So who is this anime for? More forgiving viewers, I imagine. The series isn’t high art and let’s face it: it’s not trying to be. It doesn’t want to be a humble, little fantastical tale, but a brief little epic about a lot of different things. About companions trying to help each other, faltering romance, sociopolitical intrigue, freaky monsters, black villains, sleeping horrors. By including too much its scattershot attention span shows, but if you can overlook that and the other systemic problems, want a light-hearted romp with a peppering of drama, or happen to be a fantasy junkie, you might have fun with this. If there is a second season I can only hope they strip away the extraneous parts, peel back the deeper layers, and leave what remains proudly exposed and naked for all to behold. And, yeah, that was kind of a boob joke.

First thing is what I think of this anime on a whole. Your first impressions are this is going to be a big disappointment. Sure! it may not be the best but it's enjoyable. There wasn't any surprises, nothing new but it was enjoyable. Don't judge it by the first episode. It really gets better. Story(6-fair) Cecily Cambell becomes a knight and she is totally useless. She's all talk. She is saved by Luke Ainsworth and begs him to make a katana like his. And so their relationship begins. The story was like a Déjà vu (literally!!) But it shines! It makes you laugh, sometimes cry and feel the feelings of the characters in the story. It wasn't repetitive nor boring. Sometimes the fillers and disappointing. There is only one filler episode but in each episode there is a part that has nothing to do with the actual plot. Either it is at the beginning or the end. Even so, it's no boring or unbearable. Art(7-good) the art was exactly like K-ON's sometimes I thought Cecily looked like Yui just in a red version(LOL). I'm very picky about my art. It has to be up-to-date and such. But the animation flaws my eyes just don't see I don't know if there aren't or if there are. But the fights, when the swords are swung and the colors it's really catchy. Sound(4-Decent) The theme song matched the anime but it wasn't special in particular. The ending son was very catchy. Also, the background music, which sometimes I don't notice is good and it goes with the whole flow of the anime and it's set date. Character(10-Outstanding) I liked Cecily's character. She's useless but she understands others feeling and her feelings are genuine. She isn't one of those big mouth girls who cant do anything or the crappy type of girl she's a strong willed character that I like. Not only Cecily but all the character's have their share in the spot light, their time to shine. You can feel the feelings of all the main characters. Enjoyment(7-Good) As I said it is really enjoyable even without much action. Overall(7-Good) Just watch the anime!!!

Seiken no Blacksmith is anime that sounds very good when you look the descriptions. It says that there will be an adventure, but doesn't says that the adventure will be so boring. Story - 3/10 Fantasy world with demons, demon swords and some mysterious people. Sounds very nice, but the way that the story develops it's everything but nice. The demons are the usual, the sword too, not to mention the main antagonist - "the man in black"... and this is not the worst. The main characters are also the usual strong boy and weak knight, the only "new" it's that the knight it's a female character. The development of the story it's boring and predictive, and the end it's in my personal top 3 of worst ends. Art - 7/10 This is may be the best part of this anime. The characters are drawn very well, and are easy to remember their appearances. I don't really like the hairdo of Luke and this funny "armor" of Cecilly, which seems to be there only to make the viewer lough. The special effects are the best part of the art - lighting, the spells, and my personal favorite - when Luke forges swords. Sound - 6/10 This is good too. The opening and ending are nice songs, although I wouldn't listen to them (not my music). The seyuus are good too, although they are nothing memorable. Background music it's there, but doesn't make any impression, so it's good. Characters - 3/10 Compared to the story characters are good, but in fact they are just stupid and boring. Female knight with big breasts and funny armor, who looks like catches sword for first time in first episode and it's yelling "mamoru desu"(I'll protect...) all over, and over, and over again. Male blacksmith, who is kind of bad-ass, but later very emotional and deep character with good feelings. Female demon sword complaining about how bad destiny she have, and how she want's to live peaceful life. Those are the good, and the bad are even worse. Some "man in black" who at the end reveals to be kind of absolutely non mysterious guy and kind of well known bad guy. Even the secondary characters are cliche after cliche. Enjoyment - 4/10 If this was my first anime, may be I would think it was good, but it's not and everything in it it's well known and I've seen it numerous times before. If it wasn't the good art and the studio I would never end this, and now I kind of regret i did it. Overall - 5/10 This is one of the worst animes I ever watched, and the worst thing it's that it's made by Manglobe, studio with animes like Samurai Champloo and Ergo Proxy in it's catalog. Really, don't waste your time with this, just go out and bang your head against some wall... it will be less painful. PS. Sorry if there are some mistakes, but English it's not my mother language :)

After watching all of these reviews I decided to make my own. Every review here says that is the worst anime ever. That is not true, I liked this show. I dont have to see a great epic quest with intergalactic battles with sound from mozart and picasso himself drawing the hole thing, to enjoy it. Well sure it lacks many part to become a great anime, but still. If you just wanna relax, and see a naive cute "knight" doing mindless s**t WATCH IT. Dont make hater reviews stop you from seeing a show you might enjoy.

Guard, Save, Belive. No, you didn't just misread that. These are in fact the words etched into the stone of Chester Cambell's grave; spelling errors and all. I guess he must've been a little dyslexic. After he passed away from a serious illness, his daughter and only child Cecily was left with the responsibility of becoming head of the Cambell House, which has long been a prestigious representative of the Independent Trade Cities of Housman. Having now succeeded her father, Cecily enlisted as a third generation knight to uphold the tradition and respect of the family name. However, she is inexperienced and clumsy, and often has to rely on intimidation using her title as a knight to hide her weaknesses. Eventually, this strategy ran out of luck, and when her combat skills finally had to be put to the test, Cecily was defeated and her family's precious sword shattered. Now she must seek out the blacksmith Luke Ainsworth to forge her a new sword, which consequently thrusts her into an unexpected chain of events that threatens her life and involves her in a dangerous plot. Between this and the fact that no one can take her seriously because of her huge breasts, it's needless to say that Cecily has plenty of stress on her hands. Yes, you'll find that there's no shortage of fanservice here. In fact, it's pretty much the running gag of the entire series that everyone pokes fun at Cecily's chest. This is further explored by convenient costume malfunctions and shameless bathing scenes. Thankfully all the pandering is at least tasteful enough that it never interrupts the flow of the story. The writing carries enough wit to know when sexual humor is appropriate. At a glance, much of Sacred Blacksmith's story is standard procedure for an average fantasy anime. It has all the elements one would expect; knights, magic, demon swords, and giant mythical creatures are abundant. It even comes complete with an angsty tsundere romance. Where the series falls short in originality though, it makes up for this in its near-flawless execution. All of the main characters are rich with distinct personalities and deep backstories that are revealed steadily as the plot unfolds. The story progression also strikes a perfect balance between comedy, drama, and action; constantly keeping the viewer engaged with these three elements while the pacing never stutters or moves too quickly. Even episodes that could potentially be considered filler don't really feel like it, as they serve up plenty of character development to excuse them. Although at its core the plot is fairly familiar and straightforward, Sacred Blacksmith is not without some of its own twists on the genre either. It mixes a strangely light-hearted tone to the story with very dark and mature medieval themes, and while demon swords may sound conventional for the setting, their ability to transform into rather unassuming humans with more nuanced intentions is quite unconventional. Though it may seem like this odd mixture wouldn't blend well at first, the series somehow manages to make it all mesh together nicely. It's worth noting that Sacred Blacksmith's narrative is heavily character-centric to such a degree that traditional fantasy tropes one would expect to see in its setting are often absent or take a back seat to character development. This may be off-putting for some coming into it expecting to see a Tolkien-esque expansive epic, which is unfortunate because the series does otherwise tell a very good story for what it is, but it often gets a bad wrap from critics who may be judging it based on something that it was never aiming to be. Sacred Blacksmith takes its time to flesh out its characters and doesn't invest much in the adventurous side of fantasy or exploring its world. Although it's clear that there is still a rich history behind it from the brief glimpses we are occasionally given, nonetheless this is not the story's focus. The series' character-driven plot does often work to its advantage though, because where Sacred Blacksmith truly shines is in its ability to masterfully craft a cast of characters whose interactions make them instantly likable and constantly engrossing; never leaving the audience with a dull moment. Cecily's unwavering dedication to helping others is interesting to see being put to the test as her inability to defend others frequently conflicts with her convictions. Aria's mysterious past as the demon sword of wind hides behind the veil of her lovable friendliness, making you eager to find out more about her history and motivations. Even the most seemingly loathsome characters can become hard not to sympathize with as more of their histories and backgrounds are uncovered. It is commonplace that conflicts arise between them purely because of of how sharply contrasting and vibrant their personalities are. Luke's cold and dismissive attitude perpetually clashes with Cecily's stubborn determination, which makes for some particularly entertaining dialogue. The script is often written rather heavy-handed, but it helps establish the strong characterizations of the protagonists. Still, Cecily's melodramatic monologues can occasionally overstay their welcome. The production values of Sacred Blacksmith's art and animation are nothing short of superb as well. Character designs are thoroughly detailed depicting even the subtleties of Luke's fake eye, and animation is consistently smooth and fluid. Couple this with its epic orchestral soundtrack and solid voice acting that fits the characters and effectively brings them to life, Sacred Blacksmith satisfies in nearly every aspect of its design. All of this is accompanied with quality intro and ending segments set to some J-pop tunes. The ending in particular has a rather catchy and cute arrangement, which is further enhanced by the associated artwork with it that really shows off the impressive designs of the characters. In fact, it's possibly my personal favorite ending piece just because it's so adorable and the music and visuals play off each other so well. The intro on the other hand has a decidedly more standard song choice that isn't quite as interesting, but it more than makes up for this with a good mixture of action scenes and beautiful perspective shots of the characters. Sufficed to say, this is one of those rare cases where I found myself watching both the intro and ending for every episode because they were simply that enjoyable. With everything right that Sacred Blacksmith has going for it however, it's difficult to take notice of any of its major flaws--until it ends. Just as soon as it feels like the journey is only beginning, it is abruptly cut off. This unfortunately is Sacred Blacksmith's greatest shortcoming. By the time the series come to its conclusion, many major plotlines and ambiguities in the story have yet to be fully fleshed out. It's clear judging by the finale that there was still much more of the story to tell, but for one reason or another there appears to be no sequel coming in the foreseeable future. As of the writing of this review, you will need to consort the manga that the series is based on if you wish to delve deeper into its story. Despite this, it's not enough to break Sacred Blacksmith's strong momentum from start to finish. Even with these problems, the anime still manages to deliver as satisfying a resolution as can be reasonably expected while leaving the plot open for continuation. With its colorful cast of characters, high production values, and engaging narrative that has its own twists on the genre, Sacred Blacksmith is sure to entertain many fans of fantasy anime.

The Sacred Blacksmith is a decent anime that I really enjoyed; partially due to a load of crap I happen to be watching, and also I had really low expectations of this show. When I heard of that this series is gonna get animated, I went ahead and read a few chapters of the manga and frankly, the story isn't anything impressive. Any many other similar works becomes worse when animated so yeah... that is what I've expected out of this series. Now, I don't remember the studio Manglobe nor remember if I've watched any series from that studio, but it turns out that Manglobe does a damn fine job with it. Even if the manga wasn't good material, I'm glad they stuck with the pacing of the story instead of going inventive, which usually sucked. The colours are brilliant and the animation are crisp; and for once, the action scenes are actually pretty good. I don't know how a series like this got that kind of budget but hey, I'm not complaining. I didn't think much of the story but I really love the characters, even Cecily, who I thought was irritating in the beginning for being really useless, but her really cool action scenes towards the end made up for it. The ending of the story feels like one of those last minute addition to create a finale (I don't know because I didn't get that far in the manga), and though the main villain is a pretty crappy character the ending ain't too shabby. A fairly nice series to watch if you're a fan of medieval settings, like me. Plot/Concept: Fairly Good Story Style: Great! Audio/Visual: Great! Value: 7

I was actually looking forward to Sacred Blacksmith it seemed to have many elements I like in anime. The story centres around Cecily a female Knight who not particularly good at being a Knight. She is saved from certain death one day by Luke (the sacred blacksmith) who has the ability to forge magical Katana swords in the heat of battle. Lets get one thing out of the way first, the English dub is awful. Cecily’s voice grated on me so much I switched straight to subtitles. Most of the voice cast sound like they have just walked off the set of high school musical. Avoid the dub. The story itself centres around a town which Cecily protect and the rising demon hordes that are causing trouble around the town. Luke is often called upon to save Cecily as she so inept and then like a sulky teenager disappears back off to his workshop with his apprentice Lisa. This is only a short series so you expect it to stick to the main story which centres around the revival of a demon god and how people are entering into demon contracts effectively turning themselves into demons. It doesn’t. Instead we get the ridiculous Charlotte Frobisher story arc as well as an entire episode dedicated to shopping (seriously). We then have supporting characters like Aria who is a demon sword who can also take human form (seriously). This is never fully explained so you just have to go with it. The character designs are good but nothing amazing and the battle scenes are pretty average as well. The show also suffers from the –I’m going to do a speech so all fighting stops problem. Enemies also seem happy to let Luke forge his Katana mid battle. Cecily as a character is quite shouty and annoying while Luke spends much of his time sulking and trying to avoid Cecily. Its only in the last four episodes do we get some character and story progression. We find out why Luke has a face like a slapped arse and also see Cecily progress from being useless to reasonably competent as a knight. The series has some decent ideas like the forging of magical swords but they are poorly executed. The story is not particularly original, couple this with some rather annoying main characters, the series pushes the boundaries of your patience. There is some mild nudity which seems a bit out of place and the constant referencing of Cecily’s ample chest wears thin after the first episode. The animation quality is fairly fluid and sound is ok with a very cheesy closing song which sticks in your head. It’s difficult to recommend Sacred Blacksmith if it wasn’t for the final four episodes this series would have been a total waste of time. The series also doesn’t have a conclusive ending and you feel there is much more of the story left to tell which makes it all the more puzzling why so much time was wasted with side stories at the start of the series. It’s unlikely we will see a second season but based on the first this is no great loss.

When you think of blacksmiths, you think of large, strong men who make swords, horseshoes and other appliances for a medieval world. What you normally don’t see is a kid doing all this with a smaller kid as an apprentice. That’s what happens when you watch this one. The characters seem not fleshed out enough, and we barely see a back story to any of them except Luke and even that happens a little to late in the game. By that time, the characters felt a bit stale, and hard to relate to. In a 12 episode show, they shouldn’t be dinking around like they do, mostly bringing up jokes about Cecily’s breasts and her strange breastplate that seems to be way to close to her to not of been molded on her breasts. And what’s with her mother even bugging her about it? Really? It’s not enough that the whole town talks about her breasts but her mother too? I’m not fond of how this show seems to move a bit too slow this show gets, but once it gets to the point, it is pretty good, and then it ends... Really, they spend more time talking then fighting and nothing really gets said. It seems that everything leans up to the climax but many of the things are lost in the first part. For instance, the only time I find out that that Luke has a fake eye is to the second to the last episode. If it was a big thing with the story then it should be said earlier in the story along with Luke’s story. I feel like I only got half the story through the show and I wish there was much more to help me see the lines. It just screams second season to and from what I know of, there isn’t one. The artwork is pretty nice though some of the characters look familiar to other shows. Little Luke reminds me of Sora from Kingdom Hearts and I can pick out little things hear and there that felt like rip offs. And don’t get me started on the creepy monsters that attack. It plays out mostly like a monster of the week style though the story makes it hard to watch them out of order. The comical parts in the art seem forced in whenever we have a serious point and trust me, that happen way to much for this show. I wish they chose a side, ether comical artwork with comical plot, or serious artwork with serious plot. The voice acting is pretty good but I am a little put off by one or two of them. Lisa isn’t that great a voice, making me sigh at the high pitched sound from her mouth. Some side characters really need deferent voices because sometime it makes them feel way too important then they should be.

There is so much wrong with this series it is hard to remember it all. From reading the short description on Netflix I concluded that this would be an adventurous series with the possibility of a good plot. I was wrong…very wrong. I’m going to try to tell you why NOT to watch this series and keep it short at the same time. I am not sure what the plot is or if it ever existed at all. The plot is supposed to be continuous from episode to episode but, it is impossible to tell how the plot reached the current point from the previous. It seems like somebody wrote a series of short random events modified and arranged them into a short story board putting forth as little effort as possible. Character development is a far more serious problem than the plot itself. Characters make leaps and bounds forwards in one episode then might regress twice as fast back in the following episode. Or you wonder where the characters came to a certain conclusion and can only conclude that it was in between the episodes when there was a massive plot jump. This makes it even harder to understand or relate to the main character. The character all seem to be drawn the same as well and then modified. Copy and paste is not working in their favor. (I was wondering if this was just me but then I saw it in somebody else’s review as well.) Theme; tits. I’m sure this is the theme…every episode seems to finish off talking about Cecily Cambell’s breast size. One episode has entire dinner scene talking about Cecily’s boobs… as well as a pool scene and many others. Boobs are actually shown in this series which does nothing to enhance the show. It is a poor and failure of an attempt at comic relief. Dialogue is horrible and when it is not horrible it is so absurdly cheese it is intolerable. Music enhances anything and everything that is cheesy and is vastly overused. The animations are possibly the only redeeming fact about Seiken no Blacksmith. If you still want to watch this series after reading this review be my guest, but I do not recommend a 4/10 rated series to anybody. Somebody wanted to make some fast easy cash off developing this series and, therefore put no real time into it.

Not going to go into the details, as it will ruin it for you, but wanted to voice my opinion. I really enjoyed watch blacksmith, it is one of the recent animes i have enjoyed watching, as all other new animes are made just to show bras and panties so "pervs" would atleast watch them, and that makes their t.v rating go up even though they have no base story, or a really shitty one. But blacksmith isn't one of those animes, it isn't ecchi at all, theres comedy, and a bit of romance, but its mostly an action based-slice of life anime, with considerable strong story. One of the best things about this anime is that art. It is very colorful, and one of the best "new" animations i've seen. In the end its your choice to follow all the negative reviews under mines, or give it a chance. I say GO FOR IT! its awesome!

I watched this anime because I saw it on netflix, I was bored, and the cover caught my eye. Thus, I went into this series not only unaware of what it was, but with no expectations either way. As I said, though, I watched the first episode on Netflix (which has only dubbed anime) and enjoyed it well enough; I liked the character designs, the voice acting was alright for a dub (except Lisa whom I wanted to throttle after 3 lines) and it seemed like it could develop into a decent story, so I decided to continue. However, fate intervened, and I was unable to get to netflix the next time I wanted to watch, so I looked it up online and found the original--and OH GEEZ was it good comparatively. Especially the voice acting: Sound: 10 AMAZING When the obnoxious girl from the English dub was replaced by Toyosaki Aki going to the original after one episode, I nearly exploded with joy (she is my personal favorite Japanese voice actress). Besides that, Luke was now voiced by Okamoto, Nobuhiko (whom I recognized, having just finished watching To aru Majutsu no Index). So I will not deny that my love for the voicing and music are indeed partially due to the sub-par dub counterparts I was originally exposed to. Even so, the voice acting is incredibly strong in this series, from the entire cast. The theme song took a few episodes to grow on me, but it certainly did, and it is now one of my favorite anime themes. Toyosaki Aki singing the ending theme won me over after the first 3 lines. Story: 7 Good The story does fall into a few stereotypes and uses a few stock characters, but they're not too distracting and the rest of the story has some interesting ideas to it. The idea of the object/not-quite human character struggling with questions of their existence is nothing new (Data from star trek, even Hatsune Miku in the song "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku" explore similar issues) but the story offers enough of a twist on this admittedly cliche but interesting plot point to make it acceptable. Art: 7 Good Not too much to say here, the art wasn't super amazing but it was by no means bad, and each of the characters were distinct and memorable. Character: 9 Great This mixes with what I said about the story--which is partly because most of the story is exploring the characters and their pasts. All of the protagonists, and even some of the minor characters, are developed surprisingly well and enjoyably, especially Lisa. (I won't go into detail there to avoid spoilers) Enjoyment: 8 Very Good This would have been a 9. It was almost a 10 actually, until the end. I won't give away WHY but the ending was....infuriating. I found out why later--the series, like many anime, is based off a light novel series, and of course the anime finished before the books did, and so the anime writers had to slap together an ending. There are some times where this is successful, at least to a point, but this NOT one of them. Little is resolved, the final battle is frankly STUPID and the ending left me sitting there saying "what, THAT''S HOW IT ENDS?!?!?!" I still enjoyed the rest of the series, but such an awful ending could not let me leave it with a perfect score. Overall: 7 Despite the atrocious ending, this anime is still more than worthwhile I think. I thoroughly enjoyed following the growth of the characters, and as I said, the amazing voice acting. Though there is little hope, as this wasn't the most popular anime, I do wish they would make another season to give it a respectable ending, but nonetheless I do not regret seeing this anime, and still would recommend it to anyone.

When I started on this anime, I kind of regretted watching it because I felt bored at the first episode, but, since I've been looking for an anime that has a strong male character, I decided to watch on and I'm glad I did. Story - The story is very poor or rather, like most animes, rushed. The series is more about the main character's daily life and interaction with other characters of the series rather than the main character itself. They focused too much on the main characters that the story was neglected and at the end, it was rushed to complete the series. If there were just one more episode, I believe that the anime could've ended on a nicer note. Art - Like most of the anime that are currently being released, character designs and animations for them are pretty good. I particularly liked the designs of the houses like they were in medival times. Other than that, nothing much to say here. Sound - The only music worth mentioning is the opening and ending songs. Other than that, I have no impression of any noticable music really. Which is also one of the main flaws of the series. Although fights need not necessarily require music, it does add to the flavour and feel of the situation at hand. Character - Character development is fantastic. The main character does grow over time and slowly gets people to acknowledge her, though of course it's not like she was ostracized, bullied or looked down upon by the community in the first place, just that she wants to prove a point and she did. The only flaw is that we don't get to actually see the character become strong since everything was rather rushed towards the end. Enjoyment/Overall - Aside from the flaws I mentioned, I rather enjoyed this series and I do hope that a season 2 will be made. I think that the series will do very well in season 2 should there be one.

This is a review of the DVD version of "Sacred Blacksmith" (Seiken no Blacksmith) released by Funimation in 2011. It was viewed with English voice overs. "Sacred Blacksmith" falls into the category of fantasy action adventure with some minor elements of comedy. Parental Advisory: The age rating is listed as 17+. However, this is absurdly high - the show's content does not merit this high of an age rating. Two or three of the episodes include some very brief scenes with female topless nudity. There is combat violence in several episodes, but it isn't overly graphic. As a result, this show would likely be suitable for teens 13 and up. Story: 7/10 The show is comprised of 12 episodes. During the episodes, several characters are introduced including the main protagonist Cecily, the blacksmith Luke, his assistant Lisa, and a few others from the city. Along the way, the world's history is revealed bit by bit. Without giving away too many spoilers, there was a previous war involving a demon and the repercussions of that are still being felt. Some of the main characters are directly related to the events of that war. Much of it is fairly typical for a fantasy story, but there were a few interesting elements introduced related to the blacksmith and how he is able to magically craft weapons with his assistant. Some of the ultra-powerful demon swords can also take human form which is explored in a few episodes, but is never fully explained. Near the middle of the series, a new set of characters are introduced almost out of the blue. At one moment they a supposed to enemies, and then suddenly they are allies, and the sudden shift doesn't make much sense. A few episodes later, they are whisked away. The few plot developments and pieces of information that are introduced by these characters could have easily been provided in other ways, and leaving these characters out of the series entirely would have led to a stronger series, and provided more time to focus on some of the other characters. The series ends on a cliffhanger, which seems to indicate that a 2nd series was planned. However, I have found information about this, or when it might be released. Characters: 5/10 Visually, many of characters in "Sacred Blacksmith" are more normal in size and appearance compared to those in other modern anime titles. Most of the females are especially demure, and the males aren't overly muscular. The main character, Cecily Cambell is an overly inept knight. She is a very weak character to serve as the main protagonist, and this is a drag throughout the entire show. Through the series, some other characters make jokes the size of her bosom, but these fail to be humorous, partly because her breasts aren't really that big, at least not compared to characters in other modern anime. Her breasts are shown briefly in a couple of episodes in an apparent attempt at humor, but the scenes barely register on the funniness meter, and could have been left out. Luke, the blacksmith, and his assistant, Lisa, are more intriguing characters. Some of the key plot developments relate to these characters. I would have liked to have seen them involved in more scenes instead of Cecily. The main antagonist seems overly cliché. He's presented as a mysterious figure in a black cloak, before his real identity is uncovered. However, it was really obvious from the beginning who it was for those paying attention. The lack of originality of this character is a bit of let-down, as are his motives. Other characters are introduced such as guards and key members of the city government, but they don't get much screen time. Rounding out the characters are a couple of living weapons one of which gets a fair bit of screen time, but not enough to fully explain their background. Art / Animation: 7/10 The animation in "Sacred Blacksmith" was good overall, but not spectacular. It seemed to use a lot of recycled art through the series. For example, scenes of the city show an ominous, yet never-changing volcano apparently spewing a large ash cloud over the city. This erupting volcano is never mentioned or explained. I liked the blacksmith's magic weapon forging scene, but that too was essentially recycled a few times with few or no changes in later episodes. Some of the character designs are a bit basic but nice, and thankfully they were not as over-the-top as some characters found in other modern anime. The outfits evoked a fantasy atmosphere, and their style had a simple elegance. I found Aria's outfit to be quite lovely and rather fitting for her wind-nature. A few of the combat scenes were enjoyable to watch, and they seemed to capture elements of the action rather well. Sound / Voice: 7/10 The soundtrack and background music used an orchestral piece which was quite good. Other sound effects, such as during the combat scenes, were fine. The English voice acting seemed ok. Enjoyment: 4/10 While I enjoyed parts of this show, it really wasn't that enjoyable to watch it. At times, it seemed like the story could be quite good, and it had the potential to set things up for a serious fantasy adventure, but then it would shift gears and try to inject comedic elements that didn't really work. A big part of that problem is due to the main character Cecily - her ineptness more or less forces her to be used as comedy relief for many of her scenes. It's like trying to inject a character from “Slayers” into “Record of Lodoss War” - the results are predictably bad. Final Verdict: 6/10 I really wanted to like this show. It had a cool fantasy setting with a very interesting backstory, some enjoyable combat scenes, and a few characters that were intriguing like the blacksmith. However, the unimaginative villain, the sudden introduction of extra characters, and the focus on Cecily end up derailing this story, never allowing it to climb out of mediocrity.

Man.. This show will be the death of me. First episode GREAT! set up the story well and showed some cool slicing and dicing. Unfortunately the show goes downhill from the first fight scene, looking back it feels as if half the season was filled with filler if each episode had a purpose and impacted the surroundings this would be a great little anime but nothing happens. I waited the entire show expecting the heroine to leave home and go adventuring yet to plot just stalls and stagnates with indeed new characters being added but i didn't feel as if this rejuvenated the program very well In summery the few fight scenes are really good, characters have good story's but with a weak overall story arc i would give this one a moderate rating as i believe a good story arc in a second season could make this a very good anime.

One day while walking around Best Buy I saw this DVD, and since I make it a point never to leave there without an anime DVD I decided, why the hell not? I have to admit with this anime I was not expecting much n my god...even with no expectation I was disappointed! Ok well let me explain, this anime suffers from three main problems. And two of these I see occur in most short anime series. First it's about a clumsy knight (Who seriously need to invest in a bra, n whose animators need to actually decide what size and shape her breasts actually are.) named Cecily Cambell and her quest to get a new sword from a blacksmith named Luke. All the while she must protect a demon sword that can take human form named Aria. There is also a god-like demon that is tied into Luke's past that Cecily tried to unravel. No this! ...I love this! While this does not make it the anime of the century is does get very interesting, the characters could use a bit more development, but I love this. What happend to Luke? Why are his swords so amazing? (yes, that's what she said, hardy har) What is the secret behind Aria? And there are so many things that come up in the anime that are amazing that can be expanded upon.....until.....we run into the first problem with our anime.... There are side plots and filler episodes that go nowhere and do nothing for the show and are rather quite boring...we have our obligatory shopping episode. Then a side plot come the hell out of nowhere where some illegitimate princess shows up and tries to prove who she is, but her father won't listen and why!? Just why!? Why do we care? Why are you here?What does this have to do with demons and swords!? Nothing! It serves no purpose and is just boring! Then our second problem, and Hell Girl suffered from the same thing...the main story doesn't come in until like the last four episodes! Only then do we find out about Luke's past! Only then do we find out what our villain's motivation (or lack there of) was! And normally I wouldn't mind this...if the rest of the anime wasn't useless filler! There are bits of interesting plot sprinkled throughout only held together by boring subplots only to get slammed with the heavy stuff at the end. And finally our last problem though one that I guess could be excused, but nothing is explained! not the original novel and manga (both I have not yet read) are still going. So yes some animes such as Deadman Wonderland, if the original material is not yet completed, rather then just going off on filler (like there wasn't enough in this series already) they will just end and go then continue with another season once they have more material to go on. But at least Deadman left things off ominously, this....it just ends! Not even leaving you room to think what might happen next. The manga or novel might be worth a look at if they just stick to the main story, this anime however, it won't hurt you to just pass on to the next.

The current score for this anime is harsh (6.99). This was one series that deserved to be stretched to double the amount of episodes it has. Sure, the series was rushed but it has more character development than any other long anime series I've seen. Although short, they showed a lot of character development in the main characters (Particularly Luke Ainsworth). I admit that I am a fanboy when it comes to Medieval setting and Holy references. But many modern day anime lack what this anime has. Jealousy is a very common factor in modern day anime and I saw no hint of jealousy here. Seiken no Blacksmith is one of those series where I've had a ton of enjoyment and will always by one of the best Medieval sword themed anime I've seen.

The Sacred Blacksmith is a short series, only twelve (12) episodes which was a bit reminiscent of an RPG game albeit an incomplete one. A production of FUNimation Entertainment, this series could have been much, much better than it was. STORY 3/10 The story takes place in the Independent Trade Cities of Housman, where we meet the main character Cecily Cambell, a young, obnoxious, naïve girl who has decided to become a knight and continue her father’s bloodline even though she has no type of skills or talent. She is entrusted with protecting the demon sword of the village and has a virulent relationship with Luke Ainsworth, the blacksmith. Together they must also protect the city from the threat of Valbanill. ART 8/10 The artwork in this anime was lucid and colourful. The setting and the characters were reminiscent of an RPG game. Because of the different blend of colours, it made watching the anime easy on the eyes but dull on the brains due to lack of story progression. Nevertheless, the art was a positive highlight of the series. SOUND 5/10 The musical scores in the anime were pretty mediocre and the woman’s voice in the opening piece gravitated towards the annoying side especially towards the end of the tune. The ending song was pretty cute, even the images were adorable. In this area, there was nothing that made it stand out. CHARACTER 4/10 The characters in this anime were typical of most animes, the annoying girl, the apathetic guy, the cute whiny child and the whimsical girl. None of these characters grow or display any change from the beginning of the series until the end and this was largely as a result of there being no real progression with regard to the story and hence the characters were unable to display any sort of transformation. ENJOYMENT 3/10 The first episode displayed some promise but as the series progressed, the action and story development was limited to the first three episodes. Other characters entered into the mix that did nothing in advancing the plot but only served to kill a couple of episodes. The series lacked depth, a really good story and proper character development as well as proper closure. OVERALL 3/10 This series did not have much going for it, only the brilliant artwork. The story was lost before it was ever found and the characters did not progress either. This series would have worked if they had stuck to the original story which they had started with in the first episode but they went off track by introducing other characters whose presence did not serve any vital purpose in the anime. If you are looking for light entertainment with little or no type of brain activity, then this anime is for you but I would personally not recommend that you waste time with this one even though the animation is pretty nifty and the first episode provides the genjitsu for you to continue watching on further.

"Sacred Blacksmith" is a point above "the middle of the road." The story could've been better if it's removed of the focus on tities and the "hate to love you" relationship between Cecily and Luke. I still want for a male lead who's able to avoid getting punched around for "otaku lulz." Or atleast retaliate physically. Like Rance, or Seto from "Juuden-chan." Atleast Cecily didn't come off as another "invincible chick." She was literally BEGGING Luke to make a katana for her. She had her faults, but that emphasized her strengths; and she made a good character overall. Atleast Luke didn't come off as a total jerk. Because, you know. That's what "people who are still suffering from their past mistakes" are called nowadays. (And the people who call them that are the REAL jerks.) AHEM. Luke is another overall good character; powerful, harsh yet kind. I'd wish he WOULD kick Cecily's butt just to knock her down a peg. Atleast Lisa, Aria, on down proved to be good character; some of them with great backstories. What's up with Siegfried and his "Shounen Jump Boss Syndrome?" The only character that REALLY needs something like a BPKO (belly punch knock-out) is Fio, the Campbell family maid. Honestly, I believe one of the only "good" anime worth having / supporting / buying is "Heroic Age." The characters herein don't make me wanna punch them in their face, the plotline doesn't make you wanna wish that the storyboaders and writers get smacked in their faces, and it's a breath of fresh air from all the pandering to the loser otaku... (CAN a "good" anime be done where the (supporting) male lead isn't a wussy punching bag AND panty shots can be shown from an upskirt angle? No licensor in the US wants to touch "Juuden-chan." "Dokuro-chan" and "Working," but not "Juuden-chan.") Oh well... There's always adult anime. And anime like "Sacred Blacksmith..." My recommendation is that you look beyond animation (and "boobie chestplates) to find the true spirit within. Because pretty soon you'll need to ask a title like this is worth keeping around.