LN'M 2

Before this anime began, I really had no idea what to expect. There’s very little information given in the genres and summaries for this anime. All I really knew was that it would be about a knight and a Loli. I found myself half believing that it would turn out great and half believing it would be a flop. Having watched the first episode, I don’t think this will be a stand-out of the season. It may not do too badly though.

Our protagonist is Hanabusa Yotarou, a young knight who wishes to live a normal life, but who is so well trained that his body automatically moves to help ladies in distress. Unfortunately this leads to him being mistaken as a pervert. Well, that’s not the only thing that leads to him being mistaken as a pervert. He just has bad luck like that.

Yotarou seems to have run away from whatever kind of life he was living as a knight, and now has a group of three cute girls searching for him; one of whom is a horse, one of whom is a maid, and one of whom is kind of an idiot. That’s about all I know about those three so far.

So our protag just seems to be wandering around, with no clear aim, until he saves the life of the Loli ojou-sama, Makio. Meeting him again without realizing that he is the same knight who saved her, she naturally invites him to stay with her, without knowing anything about his circumstances. Because anime.

Makio is a cheerful, hero obsessed girl who lives alone in her mansion, with only the maids who leave at the end of the day. Her father, her only remaining parent, lives separately from her, and seems to have ordered all the maids not to become close with Makio. Even so, there is one maid, Yuhua, who seems to care, even just a bit. But she’s definitely got something else going on, other than just being a maid, so who even knows what her motivations are?

Thugs in black suits then try to kidnap Makio, and Yotarou of course saves the day.

Obviously this anime has it’s fair share of cliches. To be honest, I’m just glad that it doesn’t seem to be a fan service heavy show, given that the cast is largely female. Although the protagonist is often mistaken as a pervert, especially by Yuhua, he doesn’t actually do anything to deserve that. (Well, except that when he’s in knight mode his speeches are a bit weird and cringe-y.)

I’m quite interested in the character back stories too, actually. Although right now they seem quite cliche – the Loli who has been mysteriously isolated, and who will most likely turn out to be the princess that Yotarou’s dad told him he would one day protect – there’s a chance that we’re being lulled into a false sense of security. (Fingers crossed. I want this anime to go places.) Since everyone’s cards seem to be getting laid out on the table quite quickly, we might by-pass the cliches quickly, and be able to break some new ground. That’s my hope.

Well, overall, there isn’t anything here that I particularly like, but it’s still early days. I’ll keep watching, and keep my fingers crossed that Lance N’ Masques can take us in an unexpected direction.