Chivalry of a Failed Knight: Volume 1

落第騎士の英雄譚 #1

by Riku Misora, Ningen (translator), Won (illustrator)

In a world where people with supernatural powers, called Blazers, manifest their souls as weapons, Kurogane Ikki dreams of becoming a Mage-Knight. It’s too bad he has no natural talent for it. The whole school ridicules him as the worst Blazer, so color everyone surprised when he suddenly defeats Stella Vermillion, a Rank A Blazer, in a duel. And so begins his fight to the top!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Romance, Action, Magic, Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2013

About the author

海空 りく

Goodreads: 海空 りく

Reviews

[Claus Appel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story made me like romance stories, after having hated them for 30 years.

I watched the anime adaptation first, which covers the first 3 volumes of the light novels. I wanted to know what happens after that, so I began reading the books, starting from the top.

The story revolves around a martial arts tournament and a boy's dream to be a great mage-knight. This story is nice but quite generic. I have not watched a lot of martial arts anime, yet I already feel like I have seen it before. (The plot really picks up speed in volume 4, though. See my review of that if you are interested.)

What really carries the story is the romance between the two main characters, Stella and Ikki. Now, in my experience, most romantic comedy in Japanese young-adult fiction follows the formula of "boy meets girl, then they fight and/or fumble awkwardly forever". This story is refreshingly different in that the two characters are actually smart enough to realize and confess their feelings - and the story even dares to continue after the two become an item, showing the slow blossoming of a relationship that is not "hilariously" dysfunctional (sigh) but quite well-functioning.

The two characters are quite generic, but very sweet and likable. Sweet enough to melt through my decades of bitterness and make me go "awww" - and enough to make me want to actually seek out new romantic fiction, which I have never done before. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this story made an impression on me, so I recommend it.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich vergebe selten Bewertungen an Mangas, aber diese Reihe ist ein Must-Read!
Chivalry of a Failed Knight (Rakudai Kishi No Cavalry) habe ich online auf englisch gelesen denn inzwischen wandern nur meine Lieblings als Copy ins Bücherregal. Bei diesem Serienauftakt muss ich wirklich an mich halten um mir nicht die gesamte Reihe ins Regal zu stellen.

Der Manga sprüht vor Charme, Energie und Humor, ganz wie ich es mag.
Man wird direkt in eine packende Geschichte hineingeworfen, in der die Handlungen aufeinanderfolgen, ohne unnötige, langweilige Pausen.
Hormongesteuerte Teenager werden in einen bunten Topf geworden welche in einer Schule für besondere Fähigkeiten aufeinandertreffen. Dort reagieren die Zutaten die Genres Fantasy, Romance und Abenteuer aufeinander und verbinden sich zu einer tollen Mangareihe.

Das einzige was mich stört : Die Reihe ist bisher noch nicht abgeschlossen, ich hoffe ich muss nicht allzulange auf neue Updates wareten!

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm loathe to rate books that I have only read a few chapters of. However, I might as well with this one.
I'm a couple chapters in and I quit.

The book was uninspired and presented a completely generic main character who is strong for no apparent reason and randomly lucky with women. This strikes me as the usual incel fantasy, though once again I'm not qualified to come to sweeping conclusions. I can only speak for the first few chapters.

Characters: 1/5 disliked
The main character is a total loser and pervert. The perversion is passed off as him being 'quirky,' but he really comes off as a neckbearded, fedora-wearing incel. The other character we are introduced to right off the bat is some strong girl who can beat up the mc but will inevitably fall to his charms (what charms lol?).

World: n/a
I quit too early to be bothered by this or even notice it, so I can't rate it.

Story: 1/5 disliked
The story starts with the usual 'run into changing beauty' gimmick, but the mc tries to undress himself as well. He is revealed to be the worst student in the grade, but as a 16 year old is revealed to have the power to 'learn any sword style in a few minutes' and then 'improve it to near-perfection in a minute more'. The only justification given for this is that he "worked hard" and "started from the bottom". This is incredibly insulting to the reader's intelligence. The idea that a person can learn a sword style so well and magically improve it just from "working hard" is ludicrous. The idea that he's still an incel loser mocked by everyone is dumb as well. At this point with his illogical power he should have made himself the best sword instructor in the world and have an empire of sword clans under him who follow him so that he can improve their techniques.

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a martial arts academy that trains students to become Blazer Mage Knights. To be able to fight, they use devices (mecca-exoskeletons and weaponry) that is energized with magic. The people that are able to use this weaponry are called Blazers.
The main character Ikki, even though he has had a very difficult childhood and academic life, becomes the luckiest guy in the Universe, when in his Academy, gets to room with Stella Vermilion, a real life Princess (second princess of the Vermilion Kingdom. Ikki, also has a sis-con little sister, Shizuku. Shizuku is super obsessed with her big brother (like the irregular at magic school). Because of Ikki's success in a duel in the academy, all the girl Blazers have a crush on Ikki. Yes, this light novel series is not an isekai, but it is of a Harem ambiance.
The biggest competition of the year is called the Seven Star Sword Art Festival. The students are in constant competition and training.
Ikki is considered the "worst one" because of a lack of logical abilities seen during his examinations. Stella on the other hand, is one of the best Blazers of the world. Ikki rises from underdog to over powered (OP) in this series. (Same as Irregular at Magic School).
This first volume was first published in 2013. The anime version of this series first aired in 2015. This light novel series has 11 volumes, one "Zero" volume and the series anime.

[𝓘. 𖤝 · Rating 3 out of 5]

God I really do love Stella and Ikki, really. I watched the anime in like 2018-2019 and since then I’ve been wishing I could watch it for the first time again, so trust and believe when I saw there was a light novel I got it IMMEDIATELY. I will say that this is a pretty baseline story, predictable even, but there’s nothing wrong with a little cliche fun, and that’s exactly what this is for me. I’m just…always rooting for Stella and Ikki. This book does have the sadly baseline fan service and questionable sibling hood, but everything else about this js just so…fun. I really never wanted to put it down. If you’re bored out of your mind and enjoy a simple, interesting story, READ THIS. Please. Don’t mind the fact that I started this book on the 30th of November. I’m an iffy reader…

— Copied from Fable.

P.S. My real rating for this is a 3.5, but Goodreads doesn’t have .5, so just pretend it’s 3.5 stars and not 3

[Pieter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ikki is a weak blazer, sort of a psychic/mage in a modern Earth-look alike, and student at a high school for blazers. His dream is to be a powerful one after all the rejection from his famous family that he faced as a kid. He trained to overcome his weakness and now he finally has the opportunity to proof himself by winning a school tournament. On the way he gets a new room mate and love interest and his younger sister also joins the school.

While well-written it is not a story for me. Supernatural high school drama combined with a major tournament arc, harem elements (including an overly obsessed younger sister that makes the one in Irregular at Magic High School look normal) and its typical ecchi elements (e.g. walking into the room were a girl is dressing which leads to ridiculous things) don't click with me. The world and characters also seem particular interesting. Maybe I am reading too many series like this currently...

All in all, not bad, but certainly not a story for me.

[Rohan Raj Kansal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I had seen the anime long back. But since there is no news of the next season I thought I might as well read the source.
To be honest, it is really good. Maybe because I had already seen the anime, I was able to better visualize the battles but I think the author has done a good job explaining the intricacies so that it's very easy to follow the battles as if it was unfolding in front of your eyes.
There are 18 Vols it seems and I think the anime covered about 4 volumes. So there is a lot of content to consume. YIPPEE!

[Michael T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The light novel is just as awesome as the anime

This was a fantastic first volume and I absolutely loved it. Having first seen the anime, I was eager to read the light novel series it was based off of but was nervous about if I would like it as much. Ikki and Stella are one of my favorite couples so I was concerned about the source material still being fun. No problemo. It's a fun and awesome series and I am looking forward to reading volume 2 next.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read

This was a decent read. That said there was nothing original. It so closely follows other books in its niche that I felt a sense of deja vu the entire novel. I would have dinged the novel harder but there was one element that to my mind offered it some redemption in that the romantic side wasn't beset by the usual main character timidity or lack of awareness.

[christopher chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very likeable story

Not gonna spoil anything, but I like everything about this series, even the side characters are well done.
The MC's backstory is good, the evil (there's a lot of evil in this, different kinds of evil I mean) is made to be believable and the illustrations are great!

[TK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. I was a big fan of the anime and read the manga recently, and figured I'd check this out since the books go way past the content of both of those. Some weird translation bits here and there but overall it's a good read, and Ikki and Stella are just adorable together. Looking forward to reading the others and continuing with the story.

[Mary Beth Silvernagel and Sean W. Silvernagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best MC and FMC ever

The MC AND FMC are phenomenal. Strong, not simps afraid of the opposite sex, honest, likable,just everything. Funny and heartwarming interactions. Amazing book and anime.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chivalry of a failed knight is a pretty great interesting manga! Really love the art and character designs and great story! 😁😻❤️

[J0202]

Noice

[Dantegideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the saying goes, parts of this story were both good and original.

[Miguel Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

as good as I remember the anime to be.
for some reason my approach to light novels comes backwards: First the anime, then the novel, but, when the adaptation is as good as it's source (like so) is a blast to enjoy the story in both formats.
I'm still pissed this series didn't got a second season while Asterisk Wars did

[Scylvendi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipping all descriptions of characters beyond their anime hairstyles, and avoiding specific battle descriptions in favor of emotional monologues. You might think it wouldn't work, but it does. With this high octane pace, that moves from battle to sexy (teenage) fanservice scene, to emotional battle, it works perfectly. Already a fan of the anime, I didn't expect the LN to be so fun. Unfortunately, the anime removes some things for the better. Namely, the author decided to add a TS character as the kuudere's friend. This isn't treated as a one-off joke, and the MC is even lectured for reacting with confusion to the girl's friend being a burly お釜 type. I considered dropping it, but I was almost done so I had no choice but to finish it. Other than that, it was very fun.

EDIT: rewatching the anime, there was a gay. But he was treated as a gay. As in, in a humorous way, rather than the MC being bigoted and all that.

[Gamal Esam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There's no way an F-Rank can win against an A-Rank? Isn't that something you people decided yourselves!? Limiting yourselves as unable to surpass a prodigy, you're only justifying your own resignation! You people are giving up like that for convenience, you know. But don't you use your resignation to deny Ikki's strength!
He doesn't have anything like talent, but you people who cling such petty things, there's no way you understand Ikki's strength! There's no way you can see it! You fools with your all-knowing tone, DON'T MAKE FUN OF THE KNIGHT THAT I LOVE!!!"


I didn't know how stupid I was for not reading the 1st volume and jumping to the 2nd, but what I can confirm is that the Manga is much more closer to the novel than the Anime. So this review is a supportive to my previous review of the 2nd volume

[Greta Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved both the manga and the anime adaptation. It's easy to read and follow, despite having a lot of action sequences which generally make manga harder to understand *cough* One Piece *cough*.
Although it was first published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan, I'd argue that it targets a female audience with the heavy romance aspect.

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ikki Kurogane and Stella Vermillion meet under inauspicious circumstances. However, since Ikki is the main character and has a habit of never giving up, Stella falls in love with him. There are love rivals out there, though. Ikki's sister loves him in an incestuous manner, but Ikki doesn't feel that way about her. There may be more rivals in the future, but that is all for now.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Euh... rada hese komennya buat manga ecchi begini ;P

[Sandra Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

better than I expected so 4 for now

[Nyxshima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really easy to read, great to combine with anime & manga ☺

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunque lo leí en español XD