It's one thing to be direct in terms of a character being very deliberately brusque and forthright, often cutting past any sort of proprieties or social expectations; sometimes this can be a source of humor, or accentuate a character's personality. Moreover, in pictures that are designed as flagrant comedies or wild genre romps, such directness can be a boon when it comes to just letting loose and having a good time. On the other hand, where a title is in any fashion intended for straight-faced, earnest storytelling, drama, romance, fantasy, or otherwise - even with elements of humor involved, too - directness can be a fatal flaw. When ideas, beats, and information are heedlessly thrown at the audience without any tact, nuance, subtlety, or consideration for judicious, meaningful narrative progression, the result will invariably come off as gawky and clunky, a reflection of low skill or lack of care that will just be unsatisfying for a viewer, if not altogether irritating. If such a work is furthermore sloppy about specifically elucidating the details of its plot then it will only come off all the worse, and such matters may also serve to gracelessly accelerate the pacing, or aggravate already overly swift pacing.
It's important to speak to these issues, because they are foremost among the troubles facing this OVA. In a total runtime of under one hour we get a small measure of that sly first variety of directness, but mostly we see the second variety that is oafish and cumbersome. It pretty much never feels as if any fragment of the story is being imparted in the way that would serve 'Holy knight' best, and the story is light and thin as it presents. I don't know how much of this can be traced back to the manga, and how much of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of those who brought this slice of anime to fruition, but the problem is glaring and weighs heavily on the piece from the very start. Appreciate the voice acting all you want, or the rich animation that boasts terrific detail in ever facet and fine consideration for lighting and shading: these can help baseline suitable or even weak writing to pass muster, but they can't prop up writing that is distinctly flawed. We technically get a complete and cohesive tale in miniature, sure, but it falls well short of satisfactory, and it's very patchy and in sore need of more careful, deliberate dispensation to make any of it matter to us. It still feels like only half of a whole, and probably less than even that.
Would that this were the only point of frustration with the OVA. Look, I'm not at all opposed to sexuality and nudity in audiovisual storytelling. It can be a flavorful or integral component of telling a story in any genre, for any number of reasons: dangerous seduction, coy temptation, titillating sensuality, cheeky comedy, artistic representation, dramatic profundity, horrid violence, unflinching confidence, sultry romance, normal romance, inhuman expression, and more - even simple verisimilitude. Never is sexuality and nudity used more poorly, however, and more tiresomely, than in raunchy sex comedies where it is employed purely to draw in pubescent, hormonal teenagers, and so-called adult men who possess the physical or emotional maturity of the same. The inclusion of sexuality and nudity in 'Holy knight' does serve a real purpose, in part, given the premise of a boy and a girl from proverbial different worlds, and her intent to bear his child. Unfortunately, the sexuality and nudity here is written and animated chiefly with the perspective of pubescent, hormonal teenagers, and not with the perspective of a person attempting straight-faced, earnest storytelling. The good thoughts are there, but they're not treated well, and they're matched to at least an equal degree in the scenes, dialogue, and characters alike by the presence of sheer puerile juvenility. Sigh.
It's not as if this is perfectly awful. Yet for what value it does have to offer, frankly we can get it elsewhere just as easily, without also suffering through the faults that drag it down. And as it is, maybe I'm being too nice in my assessment. With so many other things to watch in the world, why should we spend our time with 'Holy knight?' Maybe some day we'll see another, better adaptation that will prove the worth of the material, but until then, you can really just leave this alone and be happier than you would be if you chose to check it out. Oh well.
