「とんだお見合い騒動」 (Tonda Omiai Soudou)
“Unimaginable Marriage Interview Turmoil”

It’s probably safe to say that episodes where Junko is involved are loads better, but this one also made me realize that if Hikasa Youko said all her lines here in K-ON, Mio fans would be bursting out of their pants uncontrollably. From her one-person skits saying that the marriage interview day is set, asking for Akuto’s hand in marriage, confessing her love, and pleading for him to be her husband, you just needed to picture that voice with this face to see how it was all over for lonely otakus everywhere before they even got started. If that wasn’t enough, then the sight of Junko semi-reluctantly offering her pristine washed body with the implied thought, “Make me a woman, your woman”, should help in that regard. Just for good measure though they slipped in the heartbroken side of feeling unloved when Akuto figured she was being forced into this and stopped her advances. There was literally every flavor of Mi… err Junko’s temperament that anyone could have asked for, plus she looked and sounded so lovable in all of them. Whether she’s soothing our ears with some light music or just bringing all the tsundere goodness, Hikasa Youko is pure win.

I won’t deny that I could have easily watched a full twenty minutes of Junko wrestling with her feelings for Akuto, but the story that encompassed this marriage interview in her home village Iga actually turned out to be pretty interesting. To that end, learning that idol Hoshino Yuri is actually Junko’s younger sister Yuuko was a nice unexpected bonus, as she was looking pretty good in her ninja garbs. The only knock I have to make on the progression is that while it was interesting, it was pretty jarring at the same time. Yamato Bouichirou seen last time with Eiko fawning all over him turned out to be the head of the government’s magical secret service, CIMO8, whose goal is to use Keena as a vessel for the gods so that he can control them. That more or less came out of the blue and was pretty outlandish when I first heard it, much like the name of such a vessel, jidouritsu 「自同律」, which is known as the Law of Identity in English.

I’m not going to even bother trying to comprehend that aspect further for now, but the gist is that the god Suraha wants Keena killed because she’s one such vessel, the Teruya family monster-like assassins are sent in to do the dirty work, and Bouichirou comes in to save her for his own reasons. To top it all off, we have Akuto rebelling against god for real unlike some Afterworld War Front and using his demonic powers to do so. Not only can he regenerate his arm Namek-style after getting it sliced off, he’s also pretty proficient at releasing his Ki… err “mana” and leaping through time and space. As shown in the flashback, he’s quite the atheist too, making him the perfect candidate to take on the seemingly evil gods running the world. In light of this turn of events, there are still a lot of questions raised about Keena herself and how Bouichirou claims he gave her the hairpin she’s always wearing. On the less crucial side of things, watching her celebrate her birthday alone with onigiri was pretty sad to see and totally out of her usual bubbly character, so I think it’s about time Keena gets some much needed attention story-wise.

It’ll be interesting to see where Korone comes into play during all this as she works for the government but let herself get deactivated so that Akuto could rescue Keena. I pretty much expect our lovely Liladan android to leave the old geezers and their corrupt CIMO8 organization behind, but maybe not right away. There’s also Yuuko’s half-mixed demon blood which may come into play in some significant way before everything’s all said and done. In any case, it looks like we have some clear antagonists now, so hopefully things will be a bit more focused from here on in.

* With all the religious stuff here and how messed up it is in the Daimaou universe, I couldn’t help but be reminded of George Carlin‘s comedic skit. Extremely religious people need not watch!

 

39 Comments

    1. “if Hikasa Youko said all her lines here in K-ON, Mio fans would be bursting out of their pants uncontrollably.”

      They already are if they bought the latest Qwaser DVD.

      Kai
  1. Anyone else noticed that Akuto was suddenly able to control his mana without using his “Demon Mode”? Just the other episode he was unable to get any control over his Mana in his regular form, but now he opens portals and regenerates body parts without breaking a sweat. I really liked the part at the end where Etou apparently controls the monsters by giving them her panties!?

      1. Hopefully she does something. Everyone has help in some way even brave lol. Keena getting naked doesnt help anyone (apart from the viewers who enjoy the ecchi stuff)

        WHAT!?
  2. the beginning was great no doubt about that, but the end for me was too garbled; there was no flow from one major event to the other

    who else thought of bleach when they saw akuto regrowing his arm all liquidy split like that?

    K.L.
  3. “Hikasa Youko is pure win.”

    I totally agree with that <3 I'd have dropped this series a long time ago without her voice acting, even though Junko as a character is… too tsundere? Can I say something like that?

    Last time I couldn't help but think that "Yuri" looks similar to Junko and now actually they turn out to be sisters. Awesome xD
    I'd be really happy if someone could explain me what the hell is going on in this series though because I lost track many episodes ago. The plot is so chaotic, it hurts my head if I want to think it through xD

    Jurkasz
  4. I despise Keena’s personality, it’s fucking borderline retarded. I cringe whenever I see her, but I guess hoping that they will begin to minimize her part or at least improve her personality is a vain one at this point.

    Kaine
  5. Sweet keena not even hogging attention when it’s her birthday.
    I’m pretty glad no brave stuff was going on nor any hints of more brave stuff to come. The powers of akuto just keep on growing, but i guess i’m fine with that. He’s just imba demon lord who kicks ass.

    outcast
  6. There was some good moments in here, like the the “….Wait a minute..you guys were watching!” moment, but the show moved pretty fast ._. they also didn’t really explain Akuto’s new abilities like leaping through time and space and regeneration :P. But for now I’ll just go for it. Just hoping its not like Lost where they literally leave like 50 loose ends.

    Click
  7. They REALLY should have made this a 24 episode series so they don’t bum-rush this thing like this. i mean, if they wanted to cover this much plot, definately needs more episodes.

    drzero7
    1. I’m guessing they didn’t have enough of a budget to run for 24 episodes :P. And I totally agree. They’re rushing this so much that you don’t even see Akuto’s shirt ripping off. It just dissapears o_O

      Click
      1. im sorta sad this series doesn’t have more episodes its still possible the ending will be only a semi resolution and that they will get another season like zero no tsukima but we can only guess at this point

        chaos
  8. I could deal with the chaotic plot to this series and the way they jump around but what really killed this series for me was the Power Ranger Hero act. It sucked all the life out of this series and whoever thought it belonged in this series musta been smoking some serious stuff when he thought that would be a good thing to add in the series/manga.

    Karmafan
  9. It looks like Hikasa Youko and Toyosaki Aki really like to work together: they respecitively voice Junko and Keena in Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, Mio and Yui in K-On! and Hina and Tomo in Seikon no Quaser…

    Luke
    1. Yeah, I agree.
      But he really redefines being overpowered since his ability to control mana allows him to do virtually anything (mana adsorption, attacking by staring, muscle buffing, high speed regeneration, dimensional travel, monster control)…seriously, i think the only weakness he has is that he misunderstands everything and everyone around him…

      Yyi
  10. I guess they are going for him becoming the Demon Lord so that he can fight the corrupt and Evil Gods. Like others have said though its a shame they had to rush the storyline so much.

    Tomer
  11. Well the setting of Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maou is the 31st century. From Korone’s explanation Kami or gods are computer programs that regulate mana hence a person’s status.

    When Akuto said gods are a system created by man he meant it literally. Apparently these gods Koro, Shara, Macht and possibly others have conflicted interests. Think of it as the Data Integrated Entity with its different factions with Korone as a artificial human representative of Macht.

    Maou in this case are like Neo who defies the limits set within the Matrix. Which probably why the wait and see approach on Akuto. He is dangerous only if you push him. For now he grudgingly works within the system for change. Which why Lily called him a hardliner. Not evil but a well intentioned good guy.

    This does bring to question about D-13 aka the Brave system. Was it really intentioned as a failsafe against the Maou. If so why Hiroshi, who is likely to side with the Maou’s ideals?

    ReddyRedWolf
    1. Pretty valid point actually. I think that the Gods don’t agree with each other much hence circumstances aren’t as iron-clad as the gods might want it to be. Might that explain why Hiroshi got the d-13 despite him being a rather vocal supporter of Akuto?

      Dude
  12. Finally, a little more story insight. But the way things lead to another still a little awkward like when the blond guy attacked and Akuto just stood there instead of trying to avoid.

    banzemanga
  13. Reminds me of Scrapped Princess, except with monsters… and lots of fanservice. Maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. The going against the establish ‘gods’ where every ‘common’ person hates you but you’re making friends along the way anyway overall themes are in both though.

    I thought this series was going to be more lighthearted, but I’m enjoying a more serious storyline with (finally) clearer antagonists.

    Fridge Logic 1: Why is Akuto exempt from the ‘god(s) mana regulation’? If he’s not, by the series’ own logic, he must then be closer to the god(s) or has his own patron god.

    Fridge Logic 2: I remember in one of the earlier episodes he was able to regulate/remove mana in an animal-turned-demon before, shouldn’t he be able to do that with the monsters from the past few episodes and Yuuko as well? Thought I suppose it would kill the drama if that particular situation was solved right now and he was a little distracted at the time.

    Delwack

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