√ The Misfit of Demon King Academy - Series Review

Alternative Title: Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e

↓ Spoilers Ahead ↓

「 A quote from this series 」

"Do you think there's kindness in demons, as well?"

「 The Review 」

Synopsis

A reincarnated Demon King was surprised to know the past was altered by someone mimicking him.

Story

The series opened up with an episode showing a lot of exciting things, mainly battles between students. But, what stood out for me was not those visually stunning scenes, but -- the moment when Anos' mom revealed, that he was born only a month ago -- then showed pictures of his "evolution". That one was unexpected and really cracked me up.

On a serious note, what made the plot really going on for me, was how clever they were able to hide the real identity of the imposter, the masked character, Avos Dilhevia.

I remember saying to myself after episode 8: "Only five episodes left... Who's the enemy??" Then boom! The intro of episode 9 gave a hint, but it still wasn't Avos. I thought it was Jerga, the general, but it turned out I was wrong.

It took me up to episode 12, where the big reveal happened, just to truly know who's the person pulling all the strings.

This was similar to The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED, where the main antagonist was also a shocker. One anime I can remember that failed to do that was Erased -- the enemy in this one was pretty obvious (still a good show though).

Characters

This anime had a similar approach to how Somali and the Forest Spirit tried to introduce non-human characters. In this series' case, it's the demons -- a group who was categorized as evil, but unbeknownst to some, have pure and good intentions as well.

For our main character Anos Voldigoad, his plot armor was so thick, you just know he won't be defeated because of his enormous magical prowess. However, in the finale, that somehow changed. Though, even after he died, you can tell he'll be back in just a few minutes (which actually happened, lol). Besides that, I like his sense of humor, he can be a bit of a joker.

For the supporting cast, the twins Sasha and Misha Necron had great character development in episode four. Both had an amazing background story, so watching how everything concluded in that episode was so satisfying, like I watched a season finale.

Lay Glanzudlii on the other hand... was a jack of all trades.

Writing / Storyboarding

I like the comedy scenes in this series, it's not much, but it's funny enough for me.

The cheering/singing at episode 11 was a total cringe, but you know what? I actually enjoyed it. I mean even the writer put a line saying "It's an idiotic song." It's cool when a writer can tell what would be the viewer's impression on a certain scene.

What I think the others would not like here, was how fast some of the fight scenes were, especially in the last remaining episodes. Some would probably want a longer battle.

Artwork / Animation

The visuals in animation were superb, but when it comes to character designs, to be honest, the only memorable and striking was the MC himself.

I mean, if after some years I saw an image of Sasha or Misha, I won't probably remember the anime where I saw them. But, if it's Anos, I will instantly remember, and say "Oh, that's the Demon King."

Music / Sound

Both the opening and ending themes were good enough, but I think they could have chosen something that will really be memorable to the viewers.

In some technical aspect, the sound mixing was great, I mean I'm pretty sure there were a lot of layers of sounds, especially in the final battle. From the singing, dialogues, sound effects, background music... loads of work was needed on that.

Episode Ratings

1 - The Misfit of Demon King Academy - 5
2 - The Witch of Destruction - 4.5
3 - Sasha's True Intentions - 4
4 - 15th Birthday - 5
5 - The Transfer Student - 5
6 - Magic Sword Tournament - 4
7 - Mother's Words - 5
8 - The Final Duel - 5
9 - The Mystery of the Hero Academy - 4.5
10 - Inter-Academy Exams - 5
11 - The Glow of Life - 4.5
12 - Taboo Magic - 5
13 - Let the World Be Filled with Love - 5

PS: There were after-credit scenes on episodes 1 and 12.

「 Series Rating 」

An otaku since the mid-90's. I consider Evangelion as the most influential anime. My favorite classic films are Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.