Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「魔剣大会」 (Maken Taikai)
“Magic Sword Tournament”
Know what’s better than the weekend? What’s that, mad partying and copious drinking? Wrong, it’s spending wholesome time with the family of course! As though Maou Gakuin realized what it was missing, we were back to Anoth family shenanigans alongside a healthy dose of proving why Misha is in fact best girl. Best. Girl. Oh, and some tangible plot developments too, because obviously we want the whole kit and caboodle to boot.
Why there’s plenty of arguments for why Maou Gakuin is objectively utter crap, it’s episodes like this which really highlight how the show knows this and leverages it into a strength. Any other series would have turned circumstances like Anoth’s resurrection and (new) family life into some grandiose plot line with a heaping dollop of secrecy and tension for example, yet here? Not only does everyone know how old he is and how utterly wrong it is, but winks, puts on their best deadpan look, and continues marching firmly ahead. The audacity of the intended comedy surrounding Anoth’s current life really keeps Maou Gakuin on the rails, for while it may not be to everyone’s taste, it significantly helps smoothen the otherwise massive wrinkles of OP character roleplaying god amongst the peasant demon rabble. We know what Anoth is capable of, we know how every fight and showdown will go, but having the rest of the cast in on the game ensures every inevitable outcome is nothing but fun from start to finish.
Of course, what helps too is that Anoth is not just an OP machine. Scenes like the little saunter through magic model making and Anoth’s tongue in cheek try at it really highlight how he himself knows his power and how quickly it could overshadow everyone else. Is he better skill-wise than Sasha? Obviously, but that doesn’t mean he has to flaunt it. Likewise, with the uncertainty surrounding Anoth’s participation in the tournament. He could’ve skipped as per the original plan, but that would’ve hurt mama and papa Anoth, and I think we know by now how much he cares for both. The self-awareness and willingness of Anoth to sit back and just let circumstances lead him really gives this story some serious legs and ensures (at least to some degree) that it won’t fizzle out or run off the rails before the closing curtain.
Naturally we won’t know until the mastermind of it all and Anoth’s choice of response are known, but given it looks like the main villain’s appearance is on the horizon, I think we won’t have to wait too long. When it comes to this demon king, no trap—and no enemy—is too dangerous to actually run from.
Preview
 |
Enjoyed every episode so far but this seems like a whole episode of boring filler fluff that fell really flat. Blah.
It largely was in terms of story, but to be fair we were due for one of these episodes eventually!
The parents are one of my favorite part of this series, so having a whole episode focused on them is a gift.
It’s ironic, Anoth is the kind of protagonist that could do without parents (he’s an old Demon King that was born with all his power and memories, and grew up in a matter of weeks), but accepts them as his family. It feels almost like a subversion when compared to all those other series were parents are conveniently absent, disappeared or dead.
There’s a reason his parents are who they are.
what’s the reason? I s there a spoiler tag here? I want to know, and I wont read the novels.. (or will it appear this season?)
Misha got his mum to teach her cooking. Also got another ring from Anos. Looks like she’s currently in wife candidate grade.
Something I’ve really noticed is that family relationships is important to Anos. Kinda strange since we’ve never seen any semblance of family in his flash backs.
Currently two of the Demon Emperors remember him, while another two are just the beat-up baka types. Doesn’t even look like Anos has interest in getting their loyalty back too. Makes me wonder on how important are those Demon Generals. Considering Ivis’ report, I have doubt the the perpetrator is one of those seven.
Ivis is weird when impersonating a cat. Can’t he talk with his mouth? I know his real body is even stranger, but still…
I think Anos was also very surprised that his 7 subordinates became so revered.
Not sure he’s too surprised, I think he’s more concerned about the memory manipulation overall. Hard to tell though, he’s never really surprised at anything it seems.
Caught up and while it’s a decent watch, hearing Aki Toyosaki as his mother I sure would like another season of Cautious hero.
At least we have Isekai Quartet 3 to look forward to on that front!
Heck, Listarte made an early-bird cameo in Isekai Quartet 2 episode 08 (at the meat shop where Visha has her part-time job) and finally appeared alongside Seiya in episode 11 during the school festival (though they didn’t stick around). Looking forward to them joining the cast in Season 3 of Isekai Quartet!
While on the topic of Aki Toyosaki, here she is voicing Listarte during NHK’s 2020 New Year special:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO1hXVP7fKY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHRcGpIURlQ
(Note Marika Kouno laughing in the background.)
Some traps are meant to be sprung…
Second best show of the summer 20 season voted by Japanese fans for a reason.
There was quite a bit of intrigue and development in this episode.
I love how Misha is taking every opening (1st EP :: (Anoth) Why are you here
(waiting)? ’cause you said “See you later.”) So naturally, when his mom offered
to teach her how to make his favorite dish, she didn’t hesitate!
And the comedy is groomed to the story line so well – the baby photo album,
Ivis the cat and other things that make you laugh but are presented in such a
plausible way…
And for a 1 cour series, some of the side characters have some decent depth.
So I gotta wonder what the deal is with [RL]ay? And Sasha? I don’t see Ray’s
mom dying, but so far Anoth hasn’t really got “angry” at anything because
nothing has really hit him close to home. But I wonder if we’ll see some of
that as the story deepens…
Again, gotta wait another damn week!
The feels when you don’t have Toyosaki Aki as your anime (or RL) okaa-san T_T
Hey there. Just noticing this show’s reviews.
Hmmm~ I’m intrigued about this show due to the positive feedbacks and love about the OP MC’s parents and like you said, “Every good Demon King needs loving parents.”
I’m gonna watch this show though I shouldn’t expect anything different from other male OP MC shows since when I first see the PVs for this series, it looks predictable which I should avoid watching in case I might be skeptical on how this series gets green-lit and be loved. Nevertheless, I’ve heard it’s a fun watch though the Magical Terms will be hard to decipher and think about especially for those who are blind viewers.
The only thing that surprises me is his parents because you rarely see good and kind and supportive parents in anime/manga/LN series nowadays due to being either dead, cruel, or deny their child’s wishes. SAO unfortunately is one of the recent examples of the Bad/Absent Parents trope.
Heard Re:Zero has Subaru’s good parents but they will be unfortunately and expected to exist in flashbacks only due to him being isekai-ed unwillingly/unexpectedly.
So when I see the screenshot of Anoth’s mother supporting him to be the Demon King, I am curious if she knows what Demon Kings do. But like I say, it’s nice to see good parents existing. So I’ll be watching because of them.
I wouldn’t worry about this one being filled with technobabble and other show-specific jargon, it’s present, but it has been heavily toned down compared to the source material. Everything presented is more or less understandable and does not distract or detract from the overall story. Like with most adaptations you’ll get the most out of it if you’re coming to this from the source material, but it’s definitely anime-only viewer friendly.