Assassins Pride

‘Age is just a number… and remember kids, It’s not incest if you say no chromo’ – Albert Einstein 1969. Although hard to decipher from the title, Assassin’s Pride conveys the affectionate student-teacher affair that takes place between primary protagonists Vampir Kufa and Melida Angel. Their relationship is truly heart-warming and could very well be considered ‘#relationshipgoals’ until you realize Kufa is a legitimate borderline pedophile, but that doesn’t matter because the feeling is mutual and true love has no boundaries. Our primary male protagonist Kufa Vampir definitely possesses some unique and original characteristic traits. These traits range from being a Kirito lookin' mother fucker, groomingyoung underaged girls and having high levels of proficiency when it comes to the sex offender shuffle. From his name alone, no one could have expected him to be half-vampire. Vampir Kufa is a full-time fucking clown who works in a circus alongside the other clowns who are all mentally deluded into believing they are assassins. One day Kufa’s ringmaster (who is completely oblivious to the fact that Kufa is a fully-fledged pedophile) commands him to set up a tent in an all-girls middle school in order to provide ‘guidance’ to an underaged blonde Loli, who is (to absolutely nobody’s surprise) the female protagonist. Our female protagonist Melita Angel is completely and utterly useless, her biological parents are nowhere to be found and it’s pretty easy to see why considering every character that is introduced in the story seems to know how fucking useless Melita is. Much to everyone’s dismay, Melita is actually a hidden OP in the school and is able to instantly receive a power-spike by simply stating that she is stronger than her opponent/s. After spending the first day to analyze Melita’s situation, Kufa (being the absolute paedophilic mastermind that he is) realizes the vulnerability of Melita and commits ‘Michael Jackson’ on her without a second thought before proceeding to inject his ‘mana’ into her body within 24 hrs of meeting. Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, Kufa suddenly evolves from clowning around to utter degeneracy after agreeing to play ‘husband’ in order to aid Rosetti, a fellow co-worker with daddy issues. Kufa then breaks up with Rosetti smoothly with the one-liner ‘It’s ok we can still be brother and sister after this’ and continues to confide in his interest for children. What is ‘Mana’ I hear you ask? No one really knows as the anime adaption chose to completely ignore the philosophy of mana and instead exposes the audience to ‘cutesy’, flirty and mildly suggestive dialog between the characters while at the same time failing to address the elephant in the room that is Kufa’s incestuous and paedophilic relationships. In conclusion, Assassin’s Pride uncovers the most compelling and heart-warming love story you are ever going to find in anime. Witness the spectacle that is a 17-year-old Kufa utilizing the final year of his adolescence to manipulate and groom a 13-year-old Melida before his 18th birthday where he will be immediately convicted and shipped off to the nearest mental asylum.

Let me say it right here: No matter what anyone else thinks, I think Assassins Pride is worth watching. The primary story is fairly basic growth story of the main protagonist Melida Angel, but how the story is told and everything that happens around the main story is what makes the story good. The art style is beautiful, even though it is pretty basic artstyle for anime at the moment. The color balance of the art works and even if the style is not unique, it still works and looks good, no problems with that. Same with the sounds, they work even if they are notsomething unique, because things don't always have to be unique. The characters are very interesting with both their looks and their stories. Especially Kufa Vampir, who, even though in the main story he is shown mostly as a teacher/butler, has really interesting backstory and reasons to be exactly who he is. Melida is a great example of a female protagonist. Even if the anime is just 12 episodes long, you can really see Melida's growth and in general how strong willed she is, not giving up and doing her best. Melida is absolutely not your average empty shell of a female character. I enjoyed this anime and I hope there will be a second season or at least an OVA or two, so overall, great job with this one.

I must have read the title of this anime wrong. Because let’s face it, this show isn’t so much about the pride of an assassin but more of how secrets are waiting to be discovered and protected. Watching Assassins Pride feels more like an action fantasy than a stealthy story. And from start to finish, it's an anime filled with nothing but mediocrity. Let’s just say, this type of anime is very conventional in a realm of creativity. There’s the premise about how humans struggle to survive in a world of uncertainty. Society consists of commoners and nobles. Then, there are gifted individuals with the powerof “Mana”, capable of fighting against the monsters outside of the timeless nights. Assassins Pride doesn’t choose to be original enough and the first episodes made less than favorable impression. I mean, let’s face it, Angel Melida is an underdog who has yet to awaken her mana and is often bullied at school. It isn’t until she meets Kufa Vampir where her abilities begins to show and trying to prove herself worthy of heirless noble. As a fantasy anime adaptation, a familiar formula applies to Assassins Pride to those of similar genre. We have the academy used to train students to fight, characters with unique abilities to fight against monsters, and of course, relationships that develops among its youth society. While Assassins Pride isn’t a romance story, there’s undeniable chemistry between Melida and Vampir. The two are often seen together but in the beginning, Melida had to prove herself. It’s easy to see her as an underdog rather than a prodigy. Vampir’s impression of her didn’t manifest until she shows her determination. Melida’s determination to prove worthy of her name is a major recurring element in the show. She wants to prove to herself and everyone who she wants to be. This type of character personality attracts Vampir, so much that he withdraws his assassination attempt and becomes her mentor. Vampir himself is a mysterious individual who often hides his true attentions behind a façade. As an assassin, he’s clever at hiding his emotions and training has given him a great deal of experience. In many of the early fights, it’s shown that his battles usually go in his favor. However, Melida’s appearance in his life sometimes causes Vampir to show a different side of him. And throughout the story, it’s shown that he genuinely grows to care about her. As a matter of fact, Vampir behaves differently towards Melida than with other characters. Their relationships is a core part of the show that connects the two together despite having very different personalities. What about other personalities in the series? Surely, we have Elise and Rosetti to bring out a different side of the story, right? Well, not quite. Elise and Rosetti are two other main characters although they enter the anime as prodigies. Elise is Melida’s cousin with a sisterly like relationship. But in the beginning of the show, their relationship is cold and it isn’t until certain events that their relationship improves again. On the other hand, Rosetti is a class example of ‘hard work pays off’. Despite being a commoner, she gained a reputable status through her talent and hard work. Unlike Elise, Rosetti is much more cheery and easier to develop friends with others. As some may guess, she develops a school-like crush towards Vampir. It’s the type of generic romance trope you can easily identify with poor effort in writing and story development. There’s even an episode where she gets Vampir involved with a marriage subplot to throw off her engagement. It’s safe to say, this type of writing can easily be discarded as junk. On the other hand, I don’t want to say Assassins Pride is unwatchable garbage as there are certain elements to keep the viewers entertained. For instance, there are other schools in the Flandore and certain episodes shows the talents of other characters beyond the core cast. Melida’s fighting spirit is also a source of inspiration that shows anyone can be who they want if they try. It can help keep us entertained enough to see how far she can evolve as a person. Likewise, Vampir and Melida’s relationship is forged by trust and sometimes, we may ask ourselves how much they can really trust each other. Will Vampir someday really kill Melida or how long he can protect Melida from the truth? Certainly, Assassins Pride isn’t a thriller but this anime has the perk of carrying a level of suspense. The balance of comedy also eases the mood on occasions while not being too distracting; that is, if you enjoy watching girls having slumber partied and gossiping about each other’s love lives. But at the end of the day, this show is how you chooses to watch it. EMT Squared is by no means a high caliber studio from their creative projects in recent years. From forgettable shorts to medicore slice of life adaptations, you really shouldn’t come into the show expecting any more from them. Assassins Pride’s artistic elements mostly comes with how it decorates its aristocrat society. Most of the characters are fairly well dressed including Melida. The school they attend carries a high value reputation and looks like a place where nobles would attend. The character designs are also decorates with uniforms that show their status. However, I do find the overall look to be peculiar with the cat-like eyes from the female uniforms. Doesn’t anyone else feel that’s too damn distracting? Vampir might as well look like a Kirito 2.0 in terms of physical appearance. Character reactions ranges from cartoony expressions to more serious and emotional segments depending on the direction of the story. Finally, some of the battles segments are distinguishable by the way characters fight. Remember, humans have Mana powers and it physically manifests in the form of colored aura. Sure, it’s nothing to write home about but is unique enough to show credibility to the plot. I’m not going to sit here and tell you to watch Assassins Pride or not. That’s up to you. There’s too many anime like this every year where we watch the show and easily forgets about it the next few months roll around. Assassins Pride is an example of a conventional show using its fantasy content to sell a mediocre story. And honestly, it’s starts off mediocre and remains all the way to the end. All the way.

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