Movies / Animé and Toons

The Sacred Blacksmith: the Complete series

By Chris Zimmerman
February 2, 2011 - 13:06

Anime and Fantasy go hand in hand. Fantasy and fanservice? Not so much. Still, one can excuse Sacred Blacksmith’s foolish attempts at blending the genre’s thanks to its likeable cast, polished animation, and heartwarming story.

Beginning life as a series of light novels by Isao Miura, Sacred Blacksmith’s popularity became such that it was given a manga adaptation as well as an anime that ran for twelve episodes. Given that it was produced by Manglobe, it was expected that it would sport slick animation to accompany a somewhat zany story.

Sacred Blacksmith takes its settings from those of ancient time, in which knights kept the peace and Gods were believed to have existed. The only difference is, these Gods do exist, and they have brought about war and chaos onto the lives of the populace. Demons roam unchecked and magic is prevalent throughout the land.

Enter Cecily Cambell; she’s the newest addistion to the Knight Guards of Housman. The problem is, despite her courage and enthusiasm, she lacks the skill required to wield a sword and is a clutz to boot. Her battles don’t always end pretty, more often than not resulting in her face down in the ground with her rump in the air. Still, she’s got courage, and is more than willing to put her life on the line for the people.

One day, she happens across a small elfin girl named Lisa and a socially ambivalent stranger by the name of Luke, who rescues her from certain death. Displaying amazing combat abilities and wielding a sword that can cut through others like butter, Luke quickly catches Cecily’s eye. Awestruck by him, Cecily asks Luke to forge her a weapon like his, but Luke is more than resistant to her request, causing her to pester him every chance until an encounter with a demon forces him to reconsider.

Later on, a new character is added to the cast in the form of Aria. Sporting the looks of a scantily clad woman, Aria is actually a sword that has long since been desired by different nations for its power. Cecily vows to protect Aria and the two form a quick friendship.

The series’ early episodes are a mix of character building, action, and random sexual humor thrown in at Cecily’s expense. To Sacred Blacksmith’s credit, the series doesn’t linger on the jokes for longer than a second before moving on. Still, despite the use of such crude jokes, Sacred Blacksmith sports a darker tone than one might expect. There are heaping servings of sword and sorcery to be found throughout and more than a fair share of violence. The series does retain its lighthearted tone as a result of refraining from push the envelope to the next level.

Bonus features are slim on the discs. There are the usual clean openings and closings along with trailers hyping upcoming releases. An art booklet is also included with the first printing of the series.

For fantasy fans, Sacred Blacksmith is an enjoyable effort with a spunky lead and a sprinkle of darkness to keep the story engaging. This is one adventure worth taking, if you don’t mind random bits of fanservice spliced into the mix.

B-

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12