Assassins Pride / First Impressions

Episode 4

Episode 5

「鎖城に集う、乙女と乙女 / 黄金の姫と、白銀の姫」 (Kusari-jou ni Tsudou, Otome to Otome / Kogane no Hime to, Hakugin no Hime)
“Two Young Ladies Assemble at the Chained Castle / The Golden Princess and the Silver Princess”

After a week’s delay due to the fun of real life it’s back to the equally fun (and slightly more satisfying) shenanigans of Assassins Pride and all that comes with cute girls swinging medieval weaponry at one another with a Harry Potter flair. After all, no one could miss the Goblet of Fire similarities right? This may be an adaptation sprinting for the finish line, but it’s doing an admirable job of keeping the adventure on the right side of entertaining.

While it would be easy to rip (with tongue in cheek) into how closely Assassins Pride seems to be following J.K. Rowling (and the similarities don’t cease with the latest arc’s premise fyi), the real fun and games—and difficulties—come with the challenge of reconciling the future of Melida and Elise. Next to Melida’s history and determining her exact status this unknown was always going to be front and centre, but colour me surprised with deciding to tackle and apparently solve the issue now. Elise’s position and her conflicting feelings for Melida for example made her an excellent rival (of sorts) to both grow Melida and flesh out her character. Melida’s strength, her determination, her passions; these are the sort of things Elise could’ve helped elucidate and expand upon through mutual struggle and repeatedly beating the crap out of our little blondie. Make no mistake, Melida would win in the end (Elise’s purpose is to cause that after all), but I wasn’t expecting the victory to be so quick, especially after seeing Melida’s magical limitations only a few weeks ago. Whether down to the breakneck pacing or not (and it’s pretty clear a lot was left out in terms of Melida’s recent growth), blazing through key events like this doesn’t bode well for later developments, particularly when the threats are starting to make their presence felt.

As for those particular threats, it’s not seeing where Assassins Pride is heading. Both the reveal of Elsa’s maid’s status/access rights and the purpose of one fellow schoolgirl’s science materials indicate the challenges for Melida—and Kufa—are only set to increase from here, with the opponents moving from investigation to probing now that the magical cat is out the bag. Or in the case of one new harem member school assistant, teaching our little cutie pies the ways of magic. I’ll admit, I’ll be disappointed if all the “boss” fights are as quick and concluded as the one with Black Matilda (seriously, something was missing between these two scenes), but damn will it be hilarious if all the challengers wind up on the school teaching staff. Assassins Pride still has to decide how it’ll challenge Kufa’s arrangement and support of his charge, but considering the potential antagonists teased so far and the powers at work, I don’t think it’ll take too long for something tasty to come knocking.

After all, with Melida now going full golden samurai, you know full well you want to properly see the fruits of that labour in action.

 

Preview

17 Comments

  3. I still mourn that they’re cutting out all the character-defining scenes first, and then waste the saved time on annoying repetitive heavy-handed storytelling. No less than three times and for more than 2 minutes we get to see the head maid being arrogant and annoying. Yes, she is evil, WE GOT THAT. It’s neither fun nor insightful to nail this down so many times.

    Compare this to a scene which was cut. Rozetti was shaken by the fight against the intruder where Kufa had to pull her to safety. Later in the night, she calls Kufa out to the garden and throws a tantrum, smashing an entire tree down. She’s always been poor in group fights, but until recently she had full confidence in her solo fight abilities. And then THIS. As much as she hates to admit it, she feels that Kufa is also stronger than her, and so she forcefully demands that he should train her, in a burst of angry cuteness.

    Is it relevant to the storyline? Nope. Is it important for character development? Absolutely! And it’s much more enjoyable to watch.

    It’s sad, but scriptwriter and director are simply not up to par.

    Mentar
    Reply

    1. Would’ve loved to see that animated. I guess they’re going to focus on the four students instead. Then again, they’ve only managed to make me appreciate Melida in episode 5. Doesn’t look good from that perspective.

      But at least it’s still fun!

      theirs
      Reply

      1. I can only suggest to read the manga. The anime has just passed the scanlations, so you can safely do so without spoiling yourself.

        Melida is a great and endearing character, I really liked her a lot by episode 2 already. Kufa is a bit less of an emotionless clod, and Rozetti is simply a hoot. The story is serious in nature, but some of the SD elements are nothing but hilarious. And I miss them soo much.

        Too bad. The material would have allowed for a much better result than this average conversion.

        Mentar
        Reply

    3. Oh wow now that’s actually a significant cut, if not for any direct relation to the story as you mention Mentar, but just for a sense of depth. Rozetti always struck me as the comedic relief (per say), but after initial introductions she has barely said a word. It’s a real shame because the sort of banter she could provide can never go wrong.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    4. She has barely said a word, because scriptwriter/director are doing such a shoddy job.

      In the original, she is a very important character, who is remarkably open and outgoing and also quite endearing. She is trying her best to be to Eli what Kufa is to Melida: A good, caring guide. When she met Kufa on the platform at the beginning of ep1, she was smitten with Kufa, since he treated her well, like a prince. Later, when he (boorishly) slapped her down as the sensei of Melida’s rival, she was shocked and frustrated by the change. (Here, by the way, Melida seriously chewed Kufa out over his childish hostility towards her – again cut by the anime, because it could give Melida more character depth, too).

      Rozetti is aware of her shortcomings and trying her very best for Eli and herself, and she grudgingly admits that she looks up to Kufa quite a bit. Seeing her facial expressions ranging from desperation to blissful cheerfulness is a treat.

      WHY WAS ALL THIS CUT FROM THE ANIME???

      Seriously, read the manga. You’ll see what I mean.

      Mentar
      Reply

    2. The point is that Mule la More is a Diabolos which is an _advanced_ class. Kufa assumed that this girl was actually Madia in disguise (as a Jester/Clown, she can imitate all _lower_ classes), but since the girl in question was an _advanced_ class, Kufa realized that he was wrong. Mule la More was _not_ Madia, and so he had just wronged and assaulted someone innocent in possession with advanced powers (and as such, almost certainly nobility). This is why he went down on his knees and apologized.

      The funny part is that Mule la More _was_ harvesting Melida’s mana to investigate it, too – by pure coincidence. So, she wasn’t really innocent, but Kufa couldn’t know that. I’ve been told that she’ll be playing a major role in the next LN 3 (we’re currently in volume 2), and that for many LN readers she is one of the “Best Girl” contenders.

      Fencer and Samurai indeed have different fighting styles, and Madia (the assassin sent from the guild to check into Kufa/Melida) is able to imitate them, amongst others. However, she can’t mimick a Diabolos.

      Mentar
      Reply

    3. Oh right – minor side-comment: The manga translates Rosetti’s class as “Dancer”, not “Maiden”. Which in my opinion seems like a better description for Rosetti anyway.

      “Maiden” kind of implies more of a caster class. But Rosetti is a mid-range fighter.

      Mentar
      Reply

  6. Aircon Servicing Singapore

    Aircon Servicing Yishun
    Aircon Servicing Sengkang
    Aircon Servicing Ang Mo Kio
    Aircon Servicing Bishan
    Aircon Servicing Tampines
    Aircon Servicing Punggol
    Aircon Servicing Hougang
    Aircon Servicing Serangoon
    Aircon Servicing Sembawang
    Aircon Servicing Woodlands
    Aircon Servicing Jurong East

    Aircon Servicing
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *