Love, Magic, and Drama on the Battlefield
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Action, Military, Romance, Fantasy
- Airing Date : October 2020 – December 2020
- Producers : Silver Link
Introduction and Story
Early on in the fall season, we had our eyes on Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World. This romance/action/fantasy series seemed to mix the ideas of Romeo and Juliet with the concepts of magic-themed anime. At first, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World intrigued us and kept us engaged with each episode as we prayed our two warriors from opposing sides would eventually hook up and become the next big power couple like Kirito and Asuna from Sword Art Online. Unfortunately, like our shipping, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World falls a bit short and, while it does a lot right…it also got quite a bit wrong.
New Age Romeo and Juliet...Kind Of
The initial first few episodes of Our Last Crusade paint an intriguing image. Iska, a high-level knight for the Imperial Empire, ends up meeting an opposing force named Aliceliese—Alice for short—who is a witch for the Nebulis Sovereignty. Like most romance stories—in particular, the classical tale Romeo and Juliet—despite their opposition, the two end up falling for one another. Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World could have truly been a great romance tale with magical duels and various action pieces…sadly, it makes a grand error as the story goes on.
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World isn’t as much of a romance as it appears to be initially. Instead, this series focuses on trying to establish the main characters, their reasons for fighting, and occasionally a random issue will pop up that opposing forces join together to deal with. This ends up making Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World feel less like romance and more like random drama for our characters to wade through.
Strong Character Designs and Animation
Silver Link has never failed us with their animation quality and the same can be said of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World. Not only is the animation gorgeous—especially during some of the major battles—but the character designs are quite well done. Iska and Alice do look a lot like…characters we mentioned before but everyone else feels fresh and that makes for a visual treat for those who want something a tad different.
What Side Characters?
The biggest sin of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World isn’t the cliffhanger ending—more on that in a moment—or the ho-hum romance. No, what really hurt us at our cores here at Honey’s Anime is the fact that side characters in this series got pushed to the back of the line.
You’ll notice there are at least a dozen side characters—such as the captain and Iska’s teammates—who are apparently big elements in our main man’s life but are almost forgettable. Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World rarely ever goes into anyone’s backstory and by the end of episode 12, you’ll only have a vague idea of individual characters who aren’t the main duo.
Solid Main Duo
Despite the issues with Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World we at least loved both Iska and Alice. These two are so cute in their own ways that you wish constantly they would hook up but equally, you’ll enjoy their weird rivalry and random meetings. The first few times Iska and Alice met each other in the neutral city called Ein made us smile as they tried to deal with talking to each other despite the fact that they are enemies. In the end, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World main duo is well done and we really hope a season 2 will continue their romance.
Cliffhanger…
You read that right, folks, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World ends with a cliffhanger and to be honest…it’s a bit of a letdown. Not only do we have several pressing issues between the Empire and Sovereignty that need resolution but we also have bonds left untouched and stories untold. Maybe this has to do with Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World being a light novel adaptation—which always leads to a need to read the source material for more of the story—but it makes us sad that we only just entered this strange world of strife, peace, and looming threats.
Final Thoughts
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World is a fun show that fails in delivering a great romance story—as it tries to seem like—but succeeds in being entertaining at least. There’s a lot of untapped potential lying within Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World and we know this series could have a strong second season if Silver Link gets the go-ahead for more episodes. For now, though, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World is a show we recommend watching but don’t expect anything groundbreaking or revolutionary.
What did you otaku out there think of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World? Comment below to let us know! For even more anime reviews keep stuck to our shipping eccentric hive here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
