Waifu Wednesday: Stella Vermillion (Chivalry of a Failed Knight)
I started recently reading Chivalry of a Failed Knight due to its comparison to a very specific element of my favourite manga, Claymore. That’s right, it also has a power ranking system! Chivalry of a Failed Knight follows Hagun Academy’s worst F-Rank Blazer, Ikki Kurogane, on his journey in qualifying as a representative for the academy during the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, an annual tournament event to name the strongest Apprentice Knight.
To help him get there he has the initially uninterested guidance but eventual endless support from one of the most feared A-Ranked Blazers – Stella Vermillion.
Who is Stella Vermillion?
Stella Vermillion is all things cute, badass and fanservice-y when it comes to Chivalry of the Failed Knight. Immediately introduced as Ikki’s roommate, Stella is a well-known A-Ranked Blazer as well as princess of the Vermillion Empire. The pair are quickly instructed to fight one another in a mock battle upon their meet-cute, but as a mere F-rank Blazer, the victor was bound to be Stella. Right?
Wrong. Ikki proves he is a force to be reckoned with due to his exceptional talent at copying and quickly mastering moves, whilst Stella still needs to learn that rank doesn’t mean everything. Thus, a beautiful bond that reaches its climax much more quickly than anyone could ever imagine is made – the very heart of the series itself.
Why we love her
There’s a great amount of set-up for these two characters, given how they take up the majority of the screentime. Stella, who arguably functions as the deuteragonist of the series, is initially a quite simple character. She’s the eye candy of the product, and for an ecchi show which is actually one of the funnier ones out there, her role in the story could have easily been left as just that. Only she actually made quick work of being the sole reason I am continuing to read through its manga since wrapping up its 2015 anime adaptation.
Stella, what with her red colour scheme and fire based magic skill-set, has just as much of a fiery, hot-headed and emotional personality as one could expect. But there’s a decent amount of layers to her character, making Stella all that more special for what she ends up representing.
The gradual unveiling of her more vulnerable sides speaks volumes to the type of archetype she is. For one thing she is obviously defined by her work ethic. She once lacked basic control of her abilities, so much so that any bit of training would result in her injuring herself. She has to work extra hard to control her powers, but those around her always assume that she is naturally gifted.
She is obviously hardworking and fully determined to make others see and value her for this drive and want to always improve. Since she is seemingly sheltered, a defining point to her character development from the very beginning is how determined she is to learn and better herself, not allowing her own preconceived notions to prematurely judge others. Her growing romantic feelings towards Ikki better illustrates such personal growth for her character considering their difference in upbringing and stature.
Why you will love her
And there’s even more to love about her. While her endless pit of a stomach is more than intentional to explain her unique way of storing power – it functions like a calorie burner, the more she eats the more calories she utilises during combat – there’s a lot more comedic value to her place in the series. Since she serves as the fanservice, that tends to get flipped on its head when she gradually gets more confident. She ends up being quite possibly the biggest pervert of the series, actually.
While the anime does not show this at length (at most she fantasizes about Ikki when playing an otome game – such a mood), but when things get steamy between Ikki and her in the manga, she unleashes everything she was holding back. She is quite a refreshing character in this way, since she is not your typical Tsundere. Her outbursts are due to her bashful nature and it is a side of her character that evolves as she becomes more open and honest when she expresses herself.
All in all, Stella was a surprise hit to me for a character from an ecchi series. She’s great in every way, regardless of if it’s due to her comedic possessiveness when it comes to Ikki, her being morally sound in the most basic but idealistic of ways, or the passionate and vocal support she provides for those she’s close with.
She’s even a delight in how and why she values Ikki for all the right reasons – his determination in proving himself despite all the set-backs, his righteous attitude and even for his gentlemanly ways – for an ecchi show he’s actually not the instigator for these moments. Stella is a legitimately kind-hearted girl whose fiery everything conceals her internalised concerns. She wants to be valued as her own person, and my god do I really appreciate her, even from the very beginning.
You can watch the show via Amazon Prime or buy the manga.
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