Chivalry of a Failed Knight

Episode 6

If you were hoping for a spectacular battle or two this week, given that last week's episode ended with Stella and Ikki finding out that they were fighting student council members in their next rounds, you are about to be disappointed. Chivalry of a Failed Knight rushes through the fights this time, showing us only the moments when our heroes beat their opponents, before moving into the next storyline, “Sword Eater.” This story begins with the introduction of yet another girl, Ayase Ayatsuji, who has been following Ikki around for about a week. Despite the fact that neither Stella nor Shizuku have noticed her (Alice and Ikki did), she's not very good at it, and Ikki decides that maybe it's time to ask what she wants. That turns out to be swordsmanship lessons – Ayase's dad is a non-blazer swordsman, one of, if not the, best, and a personal hero of Ikki's. Ayase is frustrated that she can't reach her dad's heights and asks Ikki if he can help her to figure out what the problem is, and to subsequently correct it. Ikki being Ikki, he agrees.

This brings us to one of my pet peeves. It is common for instructors of a martial art or a performing art to have to touch their students' bodies in order to reposition them correctly; leaving a leg in the wrong position can result in injury, as can having the weight on the wrong side. There is nothing sexual in this (at least, there shouldn't be), and as a student of swordplay, Ayase should be very aware of this fact; really, she ought to be used to having her legs repositioned by any number of instructors. So it irks me when this basic teaching method is used as titillation, particularly when it is clear that there is no romantic or sexual intent on the part of either party. Ayase's reaction is right up there with people (okay, anime characters) who treat CPR as somehow romantic or sexual – it just doesn't make a ton of sense. In this case, it interrupts an otherwise perfectly fine training session in order to give us a show of jealousy and titillation that really doesn't feel necessary, especially since Shizuku and Stella spend 90% of their time sniping at each other and Stella is perfectly capable of providing plot-based titillation all on her own when she's with Ikki. (Although I must admit that I liked this week's subtlety on that front – it was really sweet.) Also, Ayase's presumably sweaty leg looked more bloody, which was weird.

That issue aside, and I realize that this is probably less of one for other viewers, this episode is mainly about setting up the rest of the story arc. We meet the eponymous Sword Eater towards the end, a typical anime thug/bully hybrid with a set of shark teeth. We don't yet know what drives him, but we do know he's not a fan of Ayase, which is what leads to his confrontation with Ikki. Once again I find myself impressed by Ikki's strength of will when it comes to not acting on pretty extreme provocation: he gets beaten over the head and spit on, but he remains calm and polite, bolstered by his determination not to be expelled. Presumably he doesn't have to worry quite so much now that he's “Another One” rather than “Worst One,” but he does not want to take any chances. Stella can tell that he's holding back, but the real question is whether or not his opponent can. I lean towards yes, simply because of the thoughtful way he's loafing about at the end while his lackeys talk about how lame and cowardly Ikki was. Also, if this guy is as good as his reputation says he is, it'd be surprising if he couldn't tell that Ikki was powerful but just not reacting, or rather, demonstrating his power through his lack of physical action. It looks like this will be an interesting rivalry to watch, especially since the student council's shota and anachronistic southern belle characters appear quite interested in both Ikki and his opponent. As I said last week, it's rarely good when the eccentric student council gets involved, and even if they may ultimately have Ikki's back, that doesn't mean that they're going to make things easier for him. This definitely looks like an arc that will get better as it goes on, and one worth keeping an eye on as it progresses.

Rating: B-

Chivalry of a Failed Knight is currently streaming on Hulu.