Taking place at Winford Academy located in an old town called Helen's Hill, the story is all about knights and the sport of jousting. At this school, students learn how to become knights, ride horses and joust properly. The main character is a young man named Takahiro Mizuno who was training to become a knight and jouster but after suffering an injury he dropped out of the knight program and joined the begleiter (assistant) program instead. Due to his animal handling skills and former experience as a jouster, this makes him a hot commodity. Multiple beautiful girls in the school want him to become their personal begleiter, though Takahiro always refuses their offers.
One day a bizarre accident causes his friend, Mio Kisaski, to be challenged to a jousting duel despite her not actually being a knight. Takahiro agrees to become her temporary begleiter, but that ends up only being the beginning of their partnership as she enrolls in the annual tournament.
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
MorgantheFae
I first started Walkure Romanze because of a longtime love of knights and horses. The hope of an anime accurately portraying girls learning to joust crashed to the ground the instant i saw the opening theme, which shows them all riding in miniskirts. While that could have been excused as an artistic choice to make the opening look nice, it’s the same in the episode itself. A few girls, such as the student council president, wear what look like tights but are hopefully sturdy leggings to protect their legs. Most don’t, however, which means it’s a miracle any of these girls can walk upright, giventhe horrible saddle sores they must have – especially the girl who jousts in lingerie.
I kept watching because of a sick fascination of everything they get horribly wrong. For example, the main character, Mio, who’s never even touched a horse before in her life, is challenged to a joust by a more experienced girl. Mio’s friend spends the next episode teaching her how to manage a lance, but she almost never gets on a horse until the day of the match. There’s a slight problem with that. Even inanimate modes of transportation, such as bicycles, motorcycles, or cars, require a lot of practice before you can comfortably use them. Horses have a mind of their own, in addition to the rider having to learn how to signal to them where to go. The type of horses that would be used for jousting are much more strong-willed than beginner’s horses. The best case scenario, given the situation, is that the horse Mio borrows stands still and doesn’t listen to a thing she says, while everyone else in the school laughs at her. There are other scenarios equally likely. One: Mio makes the common beginner’s mistake of squeezing with her calves to stay on when the horse starts moving, which tells the horse to go faster. Sakura will run away with her, right past their opponent, and Mio won’t be able to get her to stop because everything she does tells her to go faster. She becomes the school laughingstock. Two: the weight of the lance pulls Mio off balance until she falls off and becomes the school laughingstock. Three: Mio leans too far back and to the left while trying to balance the weight of the lance, so she falls off and becomes the school laughingstock. In the worst-case scenario, she breaks her neck when she falls. Or she gets a concussion. Jousting is very dangerous even when you wear a helmet, which a good many people here don’t usually bother with. However, since these are wonderful magic~ horses who defrock anything in a skirt, things go just peachy for Mio. They only wear helmets in matches, and apparently then just for show, as evidenced when one girl is unsaddled. Her helmet goes flying, and she falls in a different direction, thus hitting her head rather badly and getting a concussion. Except she doesn’t get a concussion, because this is anime. There’s a reason riding helmets come with chin straps, people.
But enough about that. It’s not as though this show is actually about jousting or horses. It’s just a framing device for the same goofy harem ecchi that shows up in a lot of shows and gives anime a bad name. Walkure Romanze is full of huge-breasted girls and one guy, who accidentally gropes pretty much every girl in each episode, because isn’t accidental groping great? Because he’s the only guy of a reasonable age at the school, all the girls either want to get into his pants or each other’s. Noel is especially rapey towards Mio, which is shown with lots of random groping and sex disguised as stretching. Or the other way around. It’s hard to tell with this show. Of course, they couldn’t leave out the hot springs episode! Lots of nekkid groping, pillow fights, and people in the wrong bath at the wrong time hijinx for your enjoyment! (Or lack thereof.) Rather than individual characters, we have a bunch of typical anime stereotypes. There’s the offensively naïve and stupid main character, the nice guy, the elegant student council president, the kuudere albino, the crippled imouto, and so on, none of them with anything resembling personality. Everything feels very rote, like they’re following a formula for bland anime. Honestly, the only reason i rated it above a one was because the jousting idea was pretty original.
The predictability of the plot (as opposed to the characters) shouldn’t really be held against it. You can’t bring any interest to a sports story, anime or no, without a big tournament. Still, though, the progression of newbie falls in love with the sport –> defeats a few minor opponents –> becomes tournament underdog and does surprisingly well didn’t feel like they were trying to bring any originality or flavor to it. Again, very formulaic. It only managed to surprise me once, with the end of the very last match in the tournament. I won’t say what happened, but i will say that it followed common sense more than you’d expect from anime. The best part was the music. Not the opening and ending – those are just as dull and interchangeable as the characters. But the background music was very nice, classy instrumentals similar to medieval music. It helped build the mood that ‘these are knights in training’ much better than anything else the show tried to do.
So, all in all, i don’t think it was worth it. If you like ecchi and/or the discussion of a lance as if it were a penis, then this is the anime for you. But if you have even the slightest interest in jousting, horses, or girl knights, you’re better off reading old Tamora Pierce novels.
BentoLegend
Jumping into this head first was a bit satisfying. Not knowing what to expect besides a mild definition intrigued my interest. Walkure Romanze was actually quite enjoyable for a casual watch. (Non-Spoiler Review) Story - I thought this was the most enjoyable aspect of the anime. A potential harem anime revolving around something I never imagined could grasp and pull me in. Jousting. I loved everything about the introduction to the story and the things the anime actually teaches you about thee honor of a knight. Art - The art was beautiful. Lots of Fan Service which I came in expecting. Something about medieval fan service capturesa certain part of your mind. Besides that, the animals, the buildings, the potential layout of the jousting area, everything looked amazing and bright.
Sound - Sad to say, but nothing totally sparked my interest with this anime. I found myself skipping the opening and ending quite often.
Character - here lies my biggest gripe. There were far to many scenes where they made it seem like Mio was subjected to sexual acts. I got tired of it. I also feel like Takahiro had a terrible reason for feeling the way he did throughout the anime. I liked the characters but hated the context.
Enjoyment - It was a great sit down and enjoyable watch. Bright, beautiful, and a learning experience for an era i quite enjoy.
Benduski
Walkure Romanze I watched this anime because it's listed in the Romance category and i wanted to see that, this shouldn't be in that category tho because the romance is what this lacks the most. Story The story was interesting, it's about jousting and somehow reminded me of A Knight's Tale but it was just at the end when you see the jousting, the other part is about talking, and talking, and not even romance is shown, just Mio trying to but failing because the protagonist Takahiro is slow understanding the insinuations, the end was meh, the story was fine. Art & Animation This was beautiful but for being from2013 it could have been better, so overall was good.
Sound
The sound in every aspect was ok, but could have been better, the VA was ok and the OP wasn't bad the ED song was meh.
Character
This wasn't very well developed, they weren't interesting but they weren't bad, they were fine.
Enjoyment
Like i stated, i was expecting some romance on this but there is none but i enjoyed the jousting and the art with the little fan service.
McRib
Jousting is widely agreed to be the true sport of nobles and is a main focus of the idealized Medieval Europe and Chivalry. While chivalry lives on in every fedora wearer's heart, Walkure Romanze enacts upon it instead of posting self loathing status updates on social media sites. Following Princess Lover which came out in 2009, Ricotta has sent another one of their H-Games out onto the battlefield of anime adaptions. Ricotta is well known for their pandering to specific fetishes and classy atmospheres. As expected, Walkure Romanze has both of those traits. While Walkure Romanze and Princess Lover both share a high class atmosphereand catering to very specific fetishes, that is where the similarities end. Walkure Romanze focuses more on the sport of jousting and surprisingly has significantly less smut. In this adaption they even omit much of the pandering, unless you are horse that is. This makes it a quite peculiar show and puts it in a weird position in regards to genres and target audiences.
As expected of a show in this genre, the story is nothing outstanding. However, this does not make it particularly bad. It is enjoyable, albeit predictable and cliché. It features all of the typical activities that you will see in a generic eroge adaption such as your beauty pageant and a hot springs episode. You know, the finer things in life. However, the jousting storyline made this show stand out amongst other eroge adaptions. It is a rather unique setting which as mentioned previously, is Ricotta's specialty. What also made this particular show unique is the overall lack of fanservice and smut. If you were to take a look at the game CGs you would definitely see many vulgar things, even during the regular parts of the game and not just during the h-scenes. Not to say that it lacks fanservice altogether, but it is definitely lacking compared to what you would expect out of something like this. 8Bit and Ricotta must have taken the high road in this adaption, which is a bit different from the norm. They must have been targeting the gentleman’s market, unlike what GoHands did with Princess Lover. The story does not get dipped into the toilet with the bathroom humor that was featured in both the game itself and in the Princess Lover adaption. Some may say that this is an upsetting omission, but those people are plebeians and not true gentlemen.
The characters of this show all feature tropes that any veteran anime viewer has seen a million times before. The male lead is a bit of a doormat, somewhat dense, and has a troubled past. Very unique and groundbreaking I must add. The girls on the other hand range from strong independent women (who don't need no man) to ones that are completely dependent and helpless. This is to cater to both the strong alpha male and the beta apathetic male who wants a cute doormat housewife demographics. You have to tip your fedora to Ricotta, they can really make a game appeal to a wide audience. However, this show features a unique paradox amongst the female characters. Despite many of them being “strong and independent” they need a man to be their squire and then resort to petty fighting over their mediocre catch of a male lead. This may have a deeper meaning which states that no matter how far we go in modernization, traditional gender roles still rule. If anything, it shows that chivalry is not dead, so go out there and start holding doors for women. If they get angry at you and say they can do it themselves, just grit your teeth and bear with it since they will eventually want a true gentleman such as yourself.
When the news broke that 8Bit was going to be three shows simultaneously this Fall, I was a bit worried. One would expect that they would give the single cour H-Game adaption the short end of the stick over Infinite Stratos S2 and Tokyo Ravens, but they surprised everyone. The artwork was mostly on point with excellent backgrounds and very few off model character shots. The artists kept up with the classy theme quite well, thankfully it also lacked the terrible blue filter that GoHands used in Princess Lover. In regards to the sound, it was quite well done as expected. The voice acting cast is filled with veterans who you are sure to recognize if you play enough eroge, and the music was on point. As a whole, the artwork was surprisingly well done and the sound lived up to expectations.
All in all, I must say that I did enjoy this show. It was very entertaining to watch each week and it never came off as being dull. For a cliché storyline such as this, that is an impressive feat. What is ironic is that 8Bit made two separate shows with a similar harem premise, and the show with the lowest expectations came out on top. Despite it being mostly good, there are still some flaws to it that I must mention. I feel that the route direction could have been done a bit better rather than just focusing on harem antics and in the case of this show, horse husbandry. I dislike that aspect in many of these adaptions, I would prefer to see a specific route done well rather than a hodgepodge of them all. What is also funny about this show is that the horses seemed to be more important than the main characters, it is like some sort of sick television show that caters to horses. It even features similar pandering aspects from the human “side” characters. Regardless, this adaption is a glorified advertisement for the game so if you would like to know more, you have to buy it. The overall lack of fanservice is another potential negative for this show. Most viewers of this genre generally expect a bit more, especially considering the specific fetish pandering that the game features. Hopefully they will make several H-OVAs for this like they did with Princess Lover in order to cater to the other fans of this series. Regardless, this show is quite entertaining and I leave you with the most powerful quote of the series: “The horses are waiting for me”. That itself sums up Walkure Romanze perfectly.
Growler
Jousting, a finer sport from much nobler times. It is an opportunity for knights to understand one another as well as develop bonds of friendship. Alas, for all its splendor it did not withstand the test of time. The story takes places in a seemingly german themed town, focusing especially on Winford Academy a place where lads and lasses become knights and knight's strategists, begleiters. A particular group of students is followed as they each reveal their love for jousting and the reasons why they chose it as a dream up to the point where they test their resolve in battle. Art is an astonishing work ofvivid colors , lighting and realistic shapes. The design of the town and the academy is a testimony to the great times that were once the pride of humanity. The natural background is also proof of a good work from the design team as they make you take a few seconds to admire them. Finally characters are not made like they are in usual series, skinny limbs and bodies and huge heads, instead they are more voluptuous so that they match their eyes.
There are numerous personalities in the characters presented each with it's own role, some are inspirational, some are inclined to teaching while some are kind, each of them contributing to a friendlier atmosphere at the beggining or later on. One thing that may or may not get your attention is the absence of an antagonist.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series mostly because of the theme, jousting being my favourite sport even if it's no longer practiced but also because of the friendly atmosphere and the steady level of fanservice which has its cliches but blends nicely with the other facts.
What about you?
Will you get dressed in your armor, mount your horse and ride to your destiny or will you merely watch a battle where wills collide and metals clash?
Shole
When I first seen some of the scenes on youtube I instantly liked the idea of this anime. I am really a fan of knights and medieval things. The things that I really I liked about this are the main character and the struggle of the main character. I felt the connection with him because of a similar situation I am in. As far as the story goes its has it flaws, the back story is a short 20 sec of a flashback and its not telling you any details of what exactly happened with the main character that lead him to be this way. Ienjoyed watching this anime and would recommend it as its short and fun to watch, although I would have loved to see more about the main character and the second season, I doubt that there would be such a thing...dont watch OVA its terrible.
Master10K
Walkure Romanze is a great Harem, Sports, Romance visual novel that garnered a bit of success, so I guess some studio had to make an anime adaptation of it. However this is simply the case where a title is better left untouched, in its original format, rather than being half-arsed like this. Because at least there, each of the girls are given enough time and development for the players to even give a damn. Watching this series gave me flashbacks of the Princess Lover anime adaptation, but in this case, the male protagonist attends a fairly prestigious academy with "Jousting" as its main extracurricular activity.Although in this universe, jousting seems to be a sport predominantly done by knights with a bit less gruff. Yes, that means young cute girls, because apparently boys seem to be useless unless they are piloting giant mechs. But even with how immersion breaking it is to see dainty little girls, covered in plated-armour, holding 2-3m lances; the actual jousting itself is handled quite well and managed to hold my interest. Unfortunately far too much time and effort is put into nonsensical stuff un-related to progressing the story, characters or relationships. In other words, pretty much every aspect a good visual novel is known for is left out, but instead all of what makes a mediocre harem is crammed into this series. Which simply is a waste considering this is a 12 episode anime and those 12 episodes should have been used to make me fall in love with the story & characters... not the character's alluring physique.
But speaking of characters, the male protagonist Takahiro Mizuno, happens to have a rather refreshing personality and in this anime with its 1:9 male to female ratio, it is nice to see that he's not initially considered useless. Just a shame that what little personality he has, is later stripped away and he becomes nothing more than a walking plot device. As for the girls that make up the bulk of this anime, it's a shame to see them as nothing but 2-dimensional tropes. No doubt they are certainly made to be appealing, depending on your tastes and a lot of the voice actresses did fantastic jobs on their characters. Nevertheless I can just imagine them being some fascinating female characters, if given the time & effort to flesh out their relationships & back-stories.
At least the animation for this anime is rather fleshed out, with its vibrant colour palette and the character's bubbly erm... personalities. Heck even when it transitioned to the 3D rendered jousting, it did not feel all that jarring. It looked all round good. Just like the animation, the soundtrack happens to be decent and ramps up nicely during the jousting. From the clashing of the lances to the sounds of the horses, it all sounds pretty good. But overall this isn't an anime I'd remember for its audio.
Walkure Romanze is just another anime I'd remember for its lost potential, when it comes bringing something interesting with its jousting and romance. And frankly there's barely a hint of romance, for it to even be in the title. So if you're just here to wet your seasonal appetite for girls partaking in strenuous activities, then you won't be left high and dry, at least once the Blu-Rays come out. But if you're actually interested in seeing an anime, balance such an unusual sport with romance, or simply just a fan of the source material, then you're likely to come out of this feeling somewhat disappointed. Having seen how Walkure Romanze was poorly mishandled, I fear to see what will happen to future visual novel adaptations (i.e. Grisaia no Kajitsu).
CStrife91
I thought of going a bit out there in terms of shows, I live in the UK and have a fond love for Medieval things like Jousting. Now when I came across this show in one of MAL's recommended lists I noticed it said the genre was Ecchi and I got curious how Jousting and Ecchi would go hand in hand. To go right to the point the Ecchi content is rather tame to be honest, if you're a big ecchi fan then this probably won't be the show for you. The first 3 episodes have it more than the rest of the show butI was surprised with how it mainly focused on the relationship of the characters and the jousting itself.
The story felt pretty much near identical to the movie 'A Knights Tale' (watch it its good) which is a good and bad thing, if it were to follow that movie in terms of plot completely this may have been quite the sleeper hit but alas the ecchi genre kind of tainted it in a sense where you knew as a viewer your not going to get a world class story.
I feel the characters were interesting but the show never gave them much attention towards the end and followed one as 'the main route' which is a bit of a bummer as the cast had some really good distinct personalities (most of the time)
The animation was good for the most part and the jousting was more CG than actual animation and for that it done a good job as well. My only issue with CG in anime is sometimes it can stand out too much and it did in this case.
The music was rather forgettable and the opening and endings were rather average at best which is a shame.
I wouldn't say don't watch this show but watch it with an open mind and you will end up liking it and if your an ecchi fan then what is stopping you?
mdz
Walkure Romanze is a harem series laden with fan service. But, that doesn't exactly detract from its ultimate purpose. The show itself is fairly blatant with establishing the mood -- the type of show that it's going to be. It's not meant to be a serious show. It's not meant to have fantastic writing. And most importantly, it's not meant to revolve around intimate character interactions. Yet, it goes against that. It actually develops a storyline. It actually has characters with decent, albeit cursory writing. It presents jousting not as a means to advance the storyline, but as an integrated way to define the series,and to develop the characters.
It does everything that a generic harem shouldn't do. It has fan service, but not to the point of it being obnoxious. It has its episodes bereft of plot, but at the same time, episodes laden with it. It's a character show. And as a character show, it presents an array of generic, archetypal, but affable characters. It does its purpose well. It goes beyond that by actually having drama which supports the series. It does more than it was expected to do. It's not sloppily handled, and for the most part, it's enjoyable. In comparison to some of the other shows this season, this show is probably the most consistent.
The aesthetics of the show were surprisingly good too. The art style affable and easy-on-the-eyes, with the animation, being consistent, and apt enough to present the series. The soundtrack was surprisingly good: a melange of memorable tracks which played during the lachrymose and climactic moments. It's a show that doesn't disappoint because not much is expected from it in the first place. There's not much of a chance of disappointment when there's really nothing to initially expect. Walkure Romanze supersedes its nonexistent expectations.
Walkure Romanze understands its demographic. It doesn't try to cater outside of it. A show that doesn't try to do too much, a show that isn't inconsistent, and a show that surprisingly, has its unexpected, positive surprises is not apt for a universal condemnation.
lasterrending
First, let's get this out of the way. "Begleiter" means "squire." i.e. a knight's assistant. But just like a caddy in professional golf isn't just a guy to carry clubs, a begleiter doesn't just handle the knight's equipment. He helps with strategies and tactics. Set in some kind of alternate universe (I guess. It never explains it) that merges medieval and modern, this show takes place in a school for knights and squires. There's a rather unusual harem subplot, with all the girls not necessarily attracted to the boy, but more interested in his talents as a squire. Story: 5 I havemixed feelings about the plot. There's a great underdog story in the early episodes, then the main plot doesn't just get put on the back burner, it basically vanishes for six episodes. Don't get me wrong, I actually like a lot of filler episodes, but in this case the balance was all wrong.
Fortunately, it picks up again in the last few episodes with the tournament. What I really like is that even though there can be only one champion in the end, the others manage to achieve something even when they lose. If I have one complaint about the ending, it's how the final match is presented. After the exciting and intense previous matches, the last one is anticlimactic.
Art: 7
The best part of the show. Let's start with the setting. Much of the show takes place outside, and it doesn't hesitate to take advantage of it. Lens flares and sparkling sunbeams add a touch of a dreamlike quality during the day, and there are plenty of sunsets full of warm colors. You're treated to scenes of green fields under blue skies, pink cherry blossoms, lazily rotating windmills, and lush gardens full of colorful flowers.
The character designs are fine, although nothing to set them apart from other animes. I'm tempted to subtract a point because I like girls with long hair, so it's kind of disappointing when Mio cuts her hair in the third episode. But she still looks cute with short hair, so I can't really complain.
All of that, however, is nothing compared to the jousting scenes. There's definite CG involved, but it blends well with an overlay of traditional animation. In fact, it kind of reminds me of old-school rotoscoping. The scenes have a certain kinetic energy and fluidity about them that is breathtaking to watch. It's not just objects painted over a static background; some shots feel like every frame was drawn and painted individually from scratch.
Notes on fanservice: A LOT of innuendo, skimpy outfits, and strategic censoring, but only a few nipple shots.
Sound: 4
This is probably the weakest part of the anime, although admittedly it could be because the visuals are so stunning that in comparison, the sound is disappointing. For the most part, it's just fine. The theme song is okay, and the voice acting is acceptable. My one complaint is that the internal music doesn't always fit the scenes well. This is especially noticeable during humorous scenes, where a poor choice of music or a lack of music altogether tends to slow down the pacing and ruin the timing of the jokes. For example, Episode 7 would be hilarious if the music didn't detract from the absurdity of it all. As it is, the episode is just worth a slight chuckle.
Characters: 6
The characters are all pretty typical for this kind of show. The pink-haired airhead, the beautiful and elegant student council president, the rich girl with her groupies, the emotionless loli, etc. etc. etc.
What I like, however, is how well the characters get along. Technically they're rivals in the upcoming tournament, but they're also friends. Even when they have conflicting goals, they support each other. And after the final tournament in the end, they can still all get together to have fun.
Enjoyment: 7
Walkure Romanze is a perfect example of what I call "marshmallow" anime. There's not much substance to it, but it puts a smile on your face regardless. In this case, it comes from the upbeat, feelgood tone, with its themes of friendship and taking time to enjoy the game instead of getting too focused on winning.
Overall: 6
Despite this being a sports-based anime (jousting is a sport, right?), it doesn't really get bogged down in competitiveness. There are no villains, and only friendly rivalries. It has a lot of weaknesses, but it's fun to watch. Plus, it has a great moral: winning isn't everything.
Kampfkuchen
Well I don't even know where to start with this anime, because overall this performance was very bad. My Review contains spoiler and represents my own opinion, if you disagree with that then don't read further. I expeceted a lot of fanservice and a poor story with female knights which are jousting for fun and battling about the only (?) squire. Starting with the characters ... Oh my, the characters were overall very bad and pretty dumb. I disliked everyone, expect James-san and Takahiro (the only squire on Wingford Academy?). Please tell me (private message) why girls are cutting her hair to short? Are they becoming anew person, if they do so? I don't get the reason, because Mio looks so ugly after her haircut.
Sound was medicore. Nothing especially, where you would think "Wow, amazing" or something like this.
The art was really nice, but sometimes the special effects, like blending from the sun was annoying.
The story by itself isn't really progressing, but I would say the main focus is about Noel-chan and her past with the family. But mostly there is a lot of fanservice, teaparties, horses and a lot of pointless conversations.
The final itself was really ridiculous, but well you will see, if you decide to watch this anime. I don't wanna spoiler you this awesome moment. But you will cry with despair at the end.
Well, if you like these kind of things and you don't want to think about something after a hard workday then you might enjoy the show. I, for myself, was raging.
Twxi
You know the funny thing is as I write this review, I read other reviews and see how analytic and down to the scientific and historic roots of every anime, the industry behind it, statistics and what not, and delve into the meat and bones to give a truly in-depth response. Well, Walkure Romanze isn't about that. It's about elegance, it's about nobility, it's about jousting, and it's about fan-service. Lately, as the years go on I notice a dramatic increase in art. I mean you can just pull up a 1990's anime and compare side-to-side with what's coming out today and you can tell thedifference. There are shots when you see very highly CG and detailed pieces of armor, and the landscape is actually breathtaking when they show you the environment. It's pretty, everything is damn pretty, in Walkure Romanze, but it isn't about that.
I don't know about you guys, but I usually skip the intro/outro anytime I hear it. Usually when they play music during intense scenes, or where there's a dramatic sequence, the music seems very cliche or out of place. That being said, they actually did a pretty damn good job with the sound. A lot of the music felt in place (though there was the occasional techno track I was confused about) that really gave about a medieval feel. Classic tracks that make you think about Knights and riding on horses, castles and moats, chainmail vests and armor. I actually applaud them, for the tracks selected during the anime. I could care less about the outro and intro, they both sound... generic I could say? One of those: "We need one so just make one." But, it isn't about the music.
You know, maybe it's just me, but typically when I'm served a harem I want the male character to be "harem worthy." I usually don't use the word hate, but I really do hate the typical generic harem male protagonist mold they use. Indecisive, oblivious, strong only when he needs to be, flirting attempts fly past his head. The only real trait that I could say I like about "Takahiro Mizuno" is that he's actually a dynamic character and in the face of heavy fan-service he keeps a cool head. But why do I complain about him? He's the placeholder for YOU, since this was based off an eroge. But it's not really about him.
It's about the female characters. Because let's face it, you're going to be looking at them for the most part anyway.
All of the female characters actually grow in this anime. No, I don't mean grow up. I mean grow, in character! I was very surprised. The girls are actually more mature at the end then they are at the beginning, and the male grows too! What is this blasphemy!? This never happens in harem! You're actually giving me plot!? But what about the fan service?
Oh don't you worry, there is a lot of fan service in this anime, I mean I can't say it happens in small doses, because when they give you fan service they really give you fan service.
They even give you a cliffhanger at the end, and do not tie up many loose-ends, in fact they make more then they tie up.
But so what? Walkure Romanze is a 12 episode anime that is about nobility, honor, the creed, what it really means to joust, and boobs. They even add feels into this anime, or tried to anyway. I felt it, dunno if you guys will.
I enjoyed this anime, and I'm giving it a 7/10 only because... I really don't like the main character's generic harem role, I hate people who can't man up and make a decision. Otherwise it would have been a 9/10. Surprising since jousting is typically boring to me.
So go on and watch Walkure Romanze, but whatever you do. Don't try to nitpick and make sense of things. It's not gonna happen. Just enjoy the fan-service, watch the characters, and soak in the boobs.
Kevstuf
Although this series is classified as a harem, it's not really about the various girls' love for the main guy as it is about their love for jousting. So don't start this anime expecting it to be like most harems where the love part is actually the central focus. Their attraction to him originates from the fact that they want to win the jousting tournament at their school, which is the overall plot of the story. The story itself is pretty good, but it's not anything really special. There will be some moments where you'll be dying to find out the result of the conflict, butthere aren't any moments where you'll experience huge emotional swings or be amazed by the action. So although the story isn't necessarily boring, it's a very "safe" story in that there wasn't much risk involved from the side of the storywriters, and so there is no "wow" factor. This means I would most recommend this anime for those who just want to watch a relaxing anime; anime that has a lot of emotional stress or action can be exhausting on the viewer, so if you're just looking to sit back and have a casual viewing, this anime is good for that. There certainly is comedy in this series too, but once again, I don't think it'll be much funnier than other comedies you've seen.
The art, however, is absolutely incredible. The cast of girls are among some of the most attractive I've seen in anime, and the environment is also really well animated with careful detail to shading to create a realistic portrayal of things like armor and other objects which are normally very flat looking in anime.
The sound is pretty good, although there is one piano tune that they use a lot (you'll know it when you hear it repeated enough) that I didn't find particularly suiting for some of the moments they use it, but that's really it. The rest of the music is fine, but like I mentioned before, even the music isn't super special. It's not bad, but it's not great either.
I did like the characters though, but for some reason I kept getting the feeling they weren't developed enough. You'll see that most of them do have back stories, but the stories are so average and not really elaborate...and then some of them just don't have back stories which really hurts the character development. This is where I think the series could have had amazing potential if the writers had just concentrated more on the character development rather than the plot.
But since I watched this anime with the purpose of just taking a break from the other series I'm currently watching, I did thoroughly enjoy this since it definitely is great for a casual, light-hearted watch without too much intensity. If your goal, however, is to look for something of real quality that will move you or shock you, you won't find it here.
ryanxwonbin
Consider that Walkure Romanze is an adaptation of a visual novel, a hentai one no less, it becomes easy to dismiss the show as another poorly done cash grab in the harem genre. It's like that not too many people even gave the show a try because of this premise and background it comes with. However, Walkure Romanze isn't bad by any means and an actual enjoyable show with a decent budget placed to make it. The show centers around Winford Academy, a school where knights come to joust in a semi-modern, renaissance-esque world. The main character is Mizuno Takahiro, a man currently working as asquire. A number of female knights want him as their squire for an upcoming joust tournament and the series begins from there as he begins to interact with these women and the harem genre starts to tune in.
The good part about Romanze is that it manages to explore the females well and makes them their own characters rather than just an addition to the MC's harem. Many harems have a problem with focusing too much on the MC and throwing the females around him as just another additional side character that wants to get in his pants. Instead, Romanze focuses on the struggles, the motivations, and the past of the female characters in a respectable way to make them well-written characters. They each have their own unique reason for jousting and begin to grow as knights as the show plays on. All of the main girls get their respectable character development and time, something that is typically not easily done in a 12-episode anime; especially one from a visual novel where each girls have their own routes for their story. The only problem here is that it takes a few episodes and around mid-way to the show to get to these character developments, while the early episodes are more fanservice and comedy.
With that said, Walkure Romanze comes off to be a mixed bag. Gratuitous fanservice goes around around the show; from a horse grabbing a female's undergarments to the MC doing the typical harem hijinks of accidentally grabbing a woman's breasts. From time to time, Romanze pulls off some funny and actual clever jokes that are certain to get a laugh or two. At other times, there is light drama focusing on the jousting aspects while at other times the show focuses on exploring the world. Jousting is lightly explored to get the general idea of it but does not go in-depth with the old sport. Romanze attempts to do everything in a single season of a show, for good or bad depending on just what a person wants from watching this. A person who comes just wanting massive fanservice might be disappointed, as well as another person who wanted a drama. I for one believe a delicate balance is achieved.
All around, the production values of the show are well done and one can see that the staff put a reasonable amount of effort in to making an enjoyable show. The art is fantastic and gorgeous, showing the beauty of the world Romanze with vibrant backgrounds of a renaissance city. Animation is fluid. The music scores are enjoyable to listen to and also fit well with the renaissance-theme of the show.
Walkure Romanze isn't a deep and top anime by any means. It's simply slightly above average; with a decent plot, characters, and fanservice aside good production values. It's more than what you can say about the typical harem cash cows that come out these days.
TashaVictoria
Low score :/ I know. Why you ask? Well... In my opinion the actual storyline was not that great, it was awfully patchy and jumped around quite a lot which did get awfully frustrating. I mean it's alright I suppose but they never really explain about the universe and where it's set or really anything about jousting and why they have a school for it. I mean I suppose its some alternate universe but they have modern technology but they are jousting, which seems like a more older fashioned thing??? It also gets rather annoying that it will jump from character to character and really the plot just isn'tconsistent. I didn't get confused by it at all and I could keep up with the jumping around but it was very frustrating.
There's also the fact that the storyline is suppose to follow Takahiro Mizuno, but in fact we know nothing about him really and his back story is never really revealed properly which made me feel I couldn't really connect with the story when the main character felt so unknown
So I'll give the storyline a 5 because I have watched anime with much less of a storyline and also much worse of one.
That said, I watched it right through to the end and it made me laugh so much, there was rather a lot of things that were said that could be interpreted with dirty meanings which I loved, and I even cried a little bit so where the storyline lacked, it made up for in the comedy and emotions it drew out of me.
Also the idea of the jousting interested me and it seems like a very good, fun and interesting sport and was another one of the reason I did watch this anime until the end.
I'm going to give the content a 7 because it was the thing that kept me hooked.
SO overall I would say it was a 6, because it could have been a lot better.
Otaku_Apologizt
Walkure Romanze tells the tale of six sweet girls ramming lances at each other on horseback. The jousting matches take a proportional amount of the plot - everything is focused around deciding which of the six girls is strongest. The matches are surprisingly exciting to watch, though some of the rules I can't fathom for the life of me. Namely, the concept of the "feather's fly" just blows my mind: Basically, hitting the feather in a knight's helmet is instant victory, while smashing their skulls in is penalized. Talk about high risk, high reward! For a harem anime, Walkure Romanze's fanservice stays uncharacteristically reserved and classy- for the most part. The comedy is lighthearted, just like the drama. Watching this series, you won't find your blood pressure rising: There's not a moment you'll spend at the edge of your seat.
The anime girl tropes you'll get to enjoy in Walkure Romanze are airhead, alpha bitch, emotionless girl, while the rest are more difficult to categorize. Oddly, considering this genre, they decided to throw a frisky lesbian into the mix. Overall though, the cast is well balanced and none of the characters are completely one-dimensional; they all have interesting personal hangups and the minimum amount of backstory. The only glaring weakness in the cast, in my opinion, is the lack of a good tsundere.
Walkure Romanze delivers the harem fantasy in an excellent fashion: all the girls want a piece of the male surrogate, Takahiro Mizuno. Takahiro's the perfect blend of bland and stoic. It's a real feat the writers pulled off when designing him: Somehow it feels completely plausible how he stays perfectly level-headed, even while five girls, including a lesbian, are lusting after him.
Konte
From the story itself, Walkure Romanze is about jousting, which most of you know as a sport for male knights. But yeah, in this Willford Academy at Helen’s Hill, we also see girls playing joust. One thing I liked about Walkure Romanze is that it’s set in a calm environment – the hills, the forest, all that stuff you’d see that feels like you’re in some part of Europe that is yet to be shown on television. Speaking of the cast, it has your typical harem, where the students – including the class president – gets around you, mingles with you, and gets inspired because of you.That’s the common harem you’d see.
Here’s the mix: We have your typical dojikko, your typical traditional Japanese girl, your typical weeaboo, your typical female, your typical loli, and your typical man among man because he has a harem with him. That’s the cast of Walkure Romanze in a nutshell. Also, the female characters are your typical friendly types. But of all of the cast in this series, oddly enough, I liked the non-character, a cat by the name of Sasami.
Each episode has a different story that can be regarded as Slice-of-Life, wherein it focuses on the male protagonist’s daily life, as well as the personal conflicts he had. At the final set of episodes, we see that he faced his trials and he takes a second chance at redoing his past.
On the technical side, since I’m a guy that does not mind CG graphics most of the time, I can see it as ‘just fine’. It does not destroy the quality of animation, and I’m okay with that. The soundtrack is okay, and plot execution is well-done. It has less fanservice than I expected, considering that this origniated as an adult novel in the first place.
Overall, I recommend Walkure Romanze to those who like to delve in that old sport we call joust. I can’t recommend this yet to old-time jousters who take the tradition seriously, but who knows if they will like this? If you like harem anime, you can have this.
infinity
== [ Walkure Romanze - 7.5 / 10 ] == If you're looking for a sports anime with an unconventional plot - jousting, with some action and ecchi scenes then Walkure Romanze is for you. While the story and character development are lacking, the show has its merits and is a decent show overall. [ Story - 7 / 10 ] The concept of jousting as a story base is interesting and not something you will see in other anime. While there are indeed several anime dealing with sport, jousting has not been covered previously, as far as I know.The story itself is simple: there is lots of jousting and a tournament at some point where the main characters participate. Not much apart from that, which can be both a good and bad point, depending on the viewer. It's for you to decide. If you're expecting a huge plot with lots of details, you won't find it in Walkure Romanze.
There is also a fair amount of fan-service mainly in the form of boobs shown during bath scenes. Considering that the show is based on an ero visual novel, these scenes were to be expected. The scenes however are unobtrusive but some viewers may mind.
The show does deliver a few laughs here and there but it's not comedy-centric. The sexual-flavoured jokes and joke scenes fall short and are not really funny - they seem somewhat immature.
I hated the cliché scenes. For example, you have the to-be-expected bath scenes and the male MC getting embarrassed. Or the scene where the whole harem gathers and confronts the male MC on a question and the guy evades their question. Or the male MC being a clueless idiot. Or the female MC getting suddenly undressed. Too many of these scenes, unfortunately.
[ Art - 9 / 10 ]
The art of Walkure Romanze is excellent: well detailed backgrounds especially the cityscapes and nature scenes and very lively colours. In short, everything is pretty and has pretty colours!
Character design is acceptable but nothing extraordinary. The armours, however, are worth mentioning as they are well done, with the use of CG for the reflections. Considering the variety of character designs (and hair-styles!), every viewer should be able to find their preference.
The battle-scenes get a bit repetitive after some time, but their representation from the point of view of art is good, done with CG and traditional animation combined. The CG parts are fairly apparent though.
[ Sound - 7 / 10 ]
I liked the closing credits music more than the opening! The music used throughout the show does its job.
One complaint I have is that the battle scenes are not intense enough in terms of music. I would have preferred something more heart-pumping to get the tension up.
[ Character - 5 / 10 ]
I give the character aspect of the show only a fair rating because of a few reasons:
Firstly, the cast is restricted to only the main characters and the story completely revolves around them. It is as if the school only has the main characters as students. There is absolutely no effort to elaborate on any background character apart from the main cast. In every episode, you will see the same characters doing basically the same things. This gets a bit boring after a few episodes.
The main male character is a dense idiot. The most he does in the series is deliver some inspirational speeches. At other times he broods and be a general moody idiot. That's about it. No evolution. Even at the end, still an indecisive idiot. For some reason, there are no other noteworthy male students in the whole series. Fine, it's a harem show with only 12 episodes. Doesn't mean they can't take 5 mins to show ONE male knights battle.
The female characters do change slightly throughout the show but in one aspect only. For example, one of the female characters becomes more friendly, but that's it. Another becomes less lonely. Again, that's it. They don't change much beyond their single aspect.
Character backgrounds are nonexistent. We are told that the characters come from all over the world but their background story or their motivation for jousting is never explored in depth. A missed opportunity I would say. I am not expecting extremely in-depth character development in a 12-episode show but still, some character development would be appreciated. Some story on why or how they even got into a jousting school would be great!
One example: the main male MC gets flashbacks throughout the show. At no point are those flashbacks detailed upon. We don't even know who the people in the flashbacks are, or what they did. I blame this on the 12-episode limit but the lack of details deducts points from the show.
[ Enjoyment - 8 / 10 ]
Why the hell would I enjoy such a seemingly boring show? The story is damn simple and the characters are static. Turns out, it's pretty interesting.
There's that jousting aspect which I hadn't seen in any anime before. The way they depicted the sport is good actually. You won't get a sudden boost in power where a character suddenly goes super saiyan mode and suddenly wins everything. Nah, nothing like that.
Also while I was expecting the show to be predictable, it isn't always so. I was expecting the main female MC to do a few things (avoiding spoiling here). She did none of those, which surprised me positively. This made the show more enjoyable for me, for all the unexpected twists in the story. Just for this, the show is watchable and earns a 8.
Would I rewatch it? Not sure. I think no. Did I enjoy my first watch? Yes!
[ Overall - 7 / 10 ]
Walkure Romanze is not a bad show. It's not a good show too. It's an okay show. You watch it for the interesting jousting aspect and and maybe for the ecchi scenes if you're into that.
If you like pretty scenes and nice art, it'll make you happy and you will like the show. If you want a deep story and very extensive character development, look elsewhere.
Overall, a watchable but unremarkable series.
mell4444
Setting: It’s a mixed bowl that’s vaguely described. You’d expect it to be primarily in Europe, but there’s a lot of Japanese influence at Helen's Hill. The current time is also strange. Celia describes Teddy Roosevelt at one point while Bertille is jousting in a g-string with a commentator on a loudspeaker. Okay fine, it’s to be expected from an eroge.. but what exact year are we in? Characters: The harem lead, Takahiro, seems like an OK guy. He’s not overly arrogant, although he can be whiny and brain dead at times. Mio, the apparent cover girl and love interest of Takahiro, is completely eclipsed byCelia: the noble and blonde busty bombshell with blue eyes. Celia is the class president and the most mature out of all girls, both physically and personality wise. Noel is the most entertaining. You do get some character development, but it's shallow at best.
Plot: The main objectives for most of the supporting female cast is to squire (sleep) with Takhiro and to win the upcoming swimsuit pageant. There’s a jousting competition on the side too. Joking aside, if you want to go straight to the meat, you can go to episode ten and have a good idea of where this is going. There's a lot of fluffy fan-service and awkward nudity. A part of me wished that the jousting wasn’t this superficial. There is no decent explanation of basic jousting. Takahiro just hands Mio a lance and tells her to jab the air a couple of times.
Art: This show’s strongest point. The painted landscapes are drawn really well and are quite pretty at times. You get your hitches with character animation and quality here and there, but it’s to be expected. The characters and horses during jousting matches are rendered in 3D and look alright, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the animations were re-used. Um, did I mentioned that there’s bare breasts too?
Overall Thoughts: I’ll be honest. The main reason why I wanted to check this out was because of Celia for obvious reasons. I was also curious to see how an anime would depict and handle the sport of jousting. Unfortunately, it’s an anime that’s smothered in fan-service and harem fluff. If that's your thing, then be my guest. But for me, not even a well-drawn anime rendition of an eroge can make up for its shortcomings.
TL;DR: Harem anime with jousting school-girls donned in armor and miniskirts. Celia is the best.
