First Impressions / Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

「わたしたちをニンゲンにしてください」 (Watashitachiwo Ningen Nishitekudasai)
“Please Make Us Human”

Farming, education, the nature of serfs, and what warriors do when there’s no war – once again, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha tackles some thorny subjects in a compellingly cerebral manner…with a little more romance to boot, huzzah!

The Farming Village and Meido Chou – a Long-Term Plan

The very first thing that struck me was how long-term Maou is thinking. Not that this was unexpected, but it struck me nonetheless. Compared to the hyper-charged world we live in, the first step of her plan will take years to prove itself, with a ruse (the rumours of her and Yuusha’s “battle”) already being spread to cover it up for at least a year. Take this as a testament to Maou’s intelligence – a plan with a shorter time frame wouldn’t have worked, both because of the world they live in and because of the nature of the problems they face. Clever girl.

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Agricultural Improvements…but First, Education!

So Maou’s plan is to help the farmer’s increase their own output. This is the classic “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” proverb in action. If the humans can feed themselves – particularly those in the cold Southern Nations who can’t currently do so – then there will be less excuses to fight, particularly for those whose nations on the front lines.

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Meido Ane & Meido Imouto – the Difference between Serfs and Humans, and Meido Chou’s Chance

The most fascinating part of the episode came about because of the two serf sisters, who would come to be known as Meido Ane (lit: Older Sister Maid, Tomatsu Haruka) and Meido Imouto (lit: Younger Sister Maid, Touyama Nao). First was the difference between serfs and slaves. Maou explains the difference, but Meido Chou doesn’t see them as any different from slaves, and in a very important way, she’s right. While they’re not technically bought and sold, the hallmark of a free human is choice, and a serf cannot choose what to do with their life. I think I agree with Meido Chou here – while each of us have our freedoms restricted in certain ways (ex: laws against murder, theft, and even speeding), most of these actually increase freedom in the end, namely by making us less worried about being shanked, stolen from, or plowed into on the way to work. Yet serfs have freedoms taken away that only lessen their total freedom, to no benefit to them. They might be better than shackles-and-chains slaves…but only barely.

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Dere Maou and Dere Yuusha

Contrary to the lengthy, cerebral topics which have dominated this post so far, allow me a little fangirling – Maou and Yuusha are so cute together! Maou leading up to her lap pillow idea was simply adorable, but the real killer for me was how Yuusha didn’t hesitate for even a second before he took her up on her offer. Like with the fanservice, some people complained because Yuusha recoiled when Maou glomped him in the first episode, but to me this scene proved that he isn’t as beta as some took him for. Sure, they’re not bumping uglies yet – remember the time period they’re in; even husbands and wives usually didn’t sleep in the same bed then! – but there are definite signs that they’re getting there. Plus, there are even signs that Yuusha is going dere for Maou! I don’t know how they can keep their hands off each other, but I look forward to the moment they stop trying. Such a cute couple.

Yuusha’s Role – What Does the Warrior Do When They’re No More War?

I’ve prattled on for too long, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I must admit that I’m quite enamored with Yuusha’s character in general. While starting out fairly stereotypical (as he needed to be, to be the audience surrogate (trope!)), he quickly distinguished himself as a hero who can actually use his head. I’m not sure that he’s smart exactly, in that he’s someone with a lot of mental processing power who can work his way through complex problems and come up with innovative solutions – that’s more of Maou’s thing. That said, he’s at the very least perceptive, as well as wise enough to know what he doesn’t know, to recognize a good argument when he hears one, and to ask the questions that need asking. Today, that question was this: “when peace is achieved, what will I do?” I can feel the conflicted warrior in him, and I bet this uncertainty will rise as their plans progress. I look forward to it, to see what his answer is.

Looking Ahead

We end this week on a cliffhanger, with Maou opening up her box (no, not that one you perverts) to Yuusha’s surprise. What is it? Kininarimasu! (Note: don’t spoil it in the comments you goobers. I can wait.) That plus an appearance by a certain blonde woman should make the next one another fun episode. See you then!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Agriculture, education, politics, & what it means to be human. #Maoyuu continues to make you think, + a little deredere romantic fun to boot

Random thoughts:

  • Am I the only one that got some serious Everquest flashbacks from the porting scene? No? Just checking.
  • The backgrounds really are more like paintings than actual backgrounds. I still like them. Mind you, they still do snap me out of immersion a bit, and that’s not an ideal thing, but thanks to my relatively new-found enjoyment of art that imitates the spirit of the thing without duplicating the reality of said thing, I end up enjoying them even so. Probably it isn’t the best move in a storytelling sense, but it works for me. It gives flavour to the series, gives it personality, almost like this is a story taking place inside a beautiful medieval tapestry…and there are far worse things than things like that.
  • I mentioned earlier that there was no fanservice Vis-à-vis the maids, but even Maou got a serious downgrade in that area. She still wore outfits that showed off her ample cleavage, but there was a great deal less in the way of breast jiggling. That just goes to prove my point from last episode (made more in the comments than in the post proper) that the fanservice was there to serve the plot – namely, that Maou was trying to woo Yuusha at the time – rather than being there solely for titillation.
  • Medio Imouto is going to get by just fine, isn’t she? Awwww *warm and fuzzies*

Full-length images: 02, 04, 11, 14, 18, 20, 29.

 

Preview

105 Comments

  3. I like it when the main couple get together since the beginning. Gotta love how they’re all lovey-dovey with each others, especially that lap pillow scene.

    New knowledge gained from this episode; Maids in demon world can lead an army for their master. Too bad they didn’t depict her doing that, would look totally awesome.

    Serapita
    Reply

  5. The chemistry between Yuusha and Maou is great, especially in their lovey scenes.

    Head Maid is strict, but still fair, like a really, really tough teacher. Her character shifted a bit fast, but for a decent reason. The educational bits are always fun in their own way, and the two Sisters seem like they’ll be good additions to the cast. More cute maids is always good!

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Aex
    Reply

  6. I don’t think it happens often but this episode was in ways even better than the premiere, which I happen to believe was no easy feat to accomplish. It carried over quite nicely and put Maou’s plan into effect almost immediately. While Yuusha learned of their mission in this unknown human village, so did we as viewers and in doing so marked the first hurdle towards their overall goal. It was effective and only made more brilliant by turning the focus towards Yuusha for a time and bringing up the matter of him being your stereotypical ‘Hero’ character. It’s nice to see him acknowledge his strengths and weaknesses outright and then wonder what there will be after all they strive to attain is reached. What will his purpose in life be when he no longer needs to be a symbol of peace who’s capable of swinging a sword?

    It was excellently done and not surprisingly I find myself looking forward to the next episode and how this story will continue to expand from here on out.

    Yasuri
    Reply

  7. Yuusha is the perfect match to Maou, he knows he has limitations and thinks about his own future and what he can do to archive it. The current person he is it´s good but he knows he has to improve in order to fullfil his dream; but unlike the traditional hero he ponders the repercuccion of succes, like Bane said in “The Dak Knight Rising”, victory will be the cause of his defeat beacause his entire existence is the completation of a goal, he´s a warrior so he does what he knows: fight for his convictions but, once there is peace, what would it be of him? I like a person who can ask himself this difficult questions and the fact he has analizing this existial dilema is the proof he´s nowhere near as dumb as he belives himself to be. Keep it up Yuusha! You´re going in the right direction.

    haseo0408
    Reply

    1. That is what makes him so special! If you read the manga, he does so many awesome things yet he’s extremely humble about it. It’s a good trait!

      Also there were some people on ANN that were complaining how he and Maoyuu were so out of characters during the fireplace scene. I don’t think so because they’re both very very good with their duties. But outside of their duties, they’re still very new so of course there would be moments of shyness and awkwardness. However, they’re trying which makes it so cute and charming just seeing them getting close.

      The whole two maid situation is also one of my favorites. Of course the head maid could have done it in a “softer” way but she really to get the point across to the two and she really picked the right person. Older sister quickly understood the points head maid was making even though she herself and her sister was previously in a very stressful situation. A great addition to the casts I think.

      Silver
      Reply

      1. Think of them as newly weds in the mediaval age, their relationship, as stated by Meido Chou, is marriage and they are new to each other but they are willing to learn about each´s traits and personalities and grow close with time. They´re lovely!.

        haseo0408
        Reply

    2. I don’t agree with that idea, true, he maybe a warrior and have gained his skills to achieve a single purpose, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his skills can be used for that purpose alone.I found it ironic that he was pondering those questions whilst having killed a boar(that is a boar, right?) for food, probably using his skills as a warrior.
      And I don’t like the way how most anime tends to depict that a warrior can be highly skilled whilst being quite dumb, which is unlikely because understanding fighting styles/techniques require a fair bit of intellect.

      I guess I’m trying to point out that when you specialize in something, you can then use that mental process/structure to better understand things that are totally irrelevant to your specialization.

      shadowalker
      Reply

      1. Potentially, but probably not to anything else. For instance, though I consider myself fairly intelligent and I’m very good with the written word, I’m terrible with numbers, and no amount of bending my intellect towards them has been able to raise my skill with them above “acceptable”. Intelligence is multi-faceted, so while someone might be smarter enough to become specialized in one area, that might not translate to other areas well (or at all).

        Or it might! At least Yuusha isn’t really dumb, he’s more of…not used to thinking things through quite so much, I suppose.

        Stilts
        Reply

  8. so blue hero & red queen move to new area to start fresh with help build new land while help of red queen’s top maid.

    all well then something sneak to reveal 2 sisters who were lost & runaway slaves give head maid bit “grr” on them yet give them bit food yet head maid want them out.

    but under terms the 2 sisters be more human & live normal they agree so now adopted both of them as maids all well more to go on it.

    rvylt
    Reply

    4. @Shadiic

      OH MAN~! I thought you were just trolling (too much internet for me) then I saw the next episode then I was like LOOOOOOL-ing the whole time I’m watching the episode

      thanks man you made my day

      Muttsurini
      Reply

  11. Oh boy, more Horizon-style(tm) posts 😀

    That out of the way, I’m finding the painting backgrounds refreshing after all those CGI/ultra-realistic landscapes.

    The only thing bothering me atm: there is zero difference of Maou and Head Maid when compared to other people from the human world (and then there’s that giant boar…freaking elephant…)

    info600
    Reply

    2. Ahaha, yeah, I started splitting them up again. When I realized this one was going to go a little long, I thought a little organization would be appreciated. Makes it a little less daunting, I think ^^

      Stilts
      Reply

  14. Really great ep!

    Also, glad to see the production/script writers/whoever is in charge of that stuff have moved past taking advantage of FukuJun’s voice. It’s always a treat but i just find it’s been a little overplayed lately.

    grey
    Reply

  16. I’m fascinated by this shows intent to address the long-term. Brushing aside my enjoyment of short-term gratuitous entertainment, the question of “Now what?” is barely shown in such stories. They tends to be addressed at best by a montage of characters or at worst not addressed at all.

    It pretty much the premise here everywhere, Maou intent to administer new farming practices, Head Maid’s tough love to the Sisters so they can earn honest work and an education and even Hero is starting to question what he can do. Its a very interesting take on Fantasy, a genre that defines itself on such short-term views of stories.

    fragb85
    Reply

  17. Stilts – you really don’t leave much for new discussion with a review that detailed. Nice job – though I still get trapped by your @*$# trope links. That site’s too addictive.

    Anyway, not much to add other than I thought this episode was better than the last. The animators and seiyuu did a very good job of portraying a shy, embarrassed Maou during “romance” scenes. I liked the choice of song for the ED. If fit the show well even if not quite as memorable as the quirky Spice & Wolf ED

    daikama
    Reply

    1. I will never understand how that kind of English gets a pass and is pretty much understood by the normal Japanese viewer. I can understand you may not know right from wrong without cultural immersion, but where are they learning English to begin with?
      And man, that Spice & Wolf ending is really near impossible to understand.

      D
      Reply

    2. Ahaha, my apologies *blushes* Sometimes I just start going, and it seems a shame to turn off the spigot when the words are flowing so nicely. The curse of a writer! (With bad editing habits :X)

      P.S. that ED was hilarious. Best. engrish. EVAR!!

      Stilts
      Reply

  19. The story of the two maid sisters is one of my favorite things about Maoyu. In the present day, most people are fortunate to live life the way they want to live it, but servitude with very little or no compensation or choice such as the life of a serf or slave has been a long, sad part of human civilization. Even today there are many people who are trapped in various forms of involuntary servitude all over the world. To be reminded how precious something as basic as having a choice is, this is perhaps one of the most poignant messages in this series.

    mangaka-chan
    Reply

    1. Very true. As with war, it’s good to be reminded that yes, no matter what cushy society you live in currently, these things do happen, and what’s more, they are happening right now, in this very world, under someone who shares the same sky with us. A good thing to remember, lest we become like Kizoku Shitei and Maou’s other students (Meido Ane exempted).

      Stilts
      Reply

  20. This series is just so so SO charming! The characters are so unbelievably likeable!

    I don’t get bored at any point and, great praise!, the past 2 episodes both seemed incredibly short to me: I always want more! Not many shows gives me such a feeling, almost none actually, I just wait for next week to see what comes next while watching other series.
    I actually had such a feeling with the first few episodes of Sword Art Online, but it vanished along the time…let’s see how Maoyuu goes!

    sherry
    Reply

  22. Oh god. I think this i the first time I’ve encountered a male lead who does not get all flustered and surprised when a girl tells him to use her lap as a pillow… He far exceeds my expectations in immediately agreeing and doing it as well!! Gotta love how Maou was so cute with how she requested him to do so as well 😀

    And also, that starting talk when they were discussing about cultivating the land, I had some Spice & Wolf vibes dinging when they were talking bout the wheat growing 😛

    Euzio
    Reply

  24. For the talk about there being a war between humans and demons I kinda feel like this could have easily just have been a war between humans from one nation and humans from another nation. It sorta bugs me and I don’t really know why.

    OmegaChosen
    Reply

    2. I’d attribute that to the fast-slow pacing of the story, plus how the focus of the story isn’t about the ongoing war yet.

      I said “yet”…meaning you’ll get your action later on.

      TheMoondoggie
      Reply

      1. Maybe, hopefully war/action aspects of the show will be done in a complex and detailed manner like the rest of the show – mindless action can be boring too.And then there’s the fact that between Maou,the Maids,and a blond in the next episode I get a feeling this might turn into a harem – don’t get me wrong, I don’t think harems are inherently bad, but lately I’ve seen too many shows with harem aspects.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      2. If that’s what bothered you…

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Safer and shorter answer : It won’t turn into a crappy harem although there could be admiration or respects between different gender. But you could already guess the only pairing from the first episode.

        zeroyuki92
        Reply

      3. Show Spoiler ▼

        Aex
        Reply

  27. Great 2nd episode. My only (very minor) gripe is/was the way the passage of time was shown – way too subtle.
    I’m guessing several months have passed by the time we arrive at this episode.

    It’s sad how much political power counts…
    Once I began teaching a noble’s son,
    I got enough prestige that farmers started listening to my ideas. — Maou

    prestige == credibility is probably a better TL of the thought given its context.

    Stilts, for shame ☺. I though you’d be all over this concept as a salesman! You can’t sell an idea unless people
    believe in it, no matter how great the idea is. But the writers added a very interesting twist here, too. No idea,
    no matter how great, will ever be accepted if it undermines the current political infrastructure (unless the idea
    is to actually change that, then we would have a revolution). Maou is masterfully walking a very difficult path here;
    leading the farming community to adopt new ways without a complete upheaval of their culture. Getting one of the
    nobles to accept and believe in her new idea was her tool for success. So, it isn’t really that she’s educating the
    farmers themselves, but their Lords who are telling their serfs to listen to what she says because it benefits them;
    and more to the point, the new ideas do not threaten the Lords’ current way of life. Sadly, there are too
    many examples to support this: “The Cove”, The U.S education system, and the education of girls in Afghanistan
    where we see the rotten fruit of threatened “lords” (I apologise for being too dark here).

    We’ve gone two episodes and we know nothing of Maou. And yet, we know everything. That’s writing! What I wonder
    is how she came by this rather unique, advanced information.

    If you start chopping down every tree you find to make charcoal, the pollution will ruin you eventually.
    Pollution?
    I guess you don’t know what that is yet… — Maou, episode 1

    You see, this is the bump. If this is common knowledge in with the demon culture, then wouldn’t they be more
    advanced than humans? Thus, easily defeat humans? A piece of knowledge is not isolated; you can’t know
    something without knowing other knowledge points around it. So, how does she actually know that the four plot
    rotation is actually better for the soil and the livestock? It takes four years to complete a single test of the idea —
    how would you know that you just didn’t get lucky?

    I really like everything so far about this series. There are always some premises (in a story) that you have to accept —
    have faith in, in order for the story teller to effectively tell his story. So, is Maou’s knowledge one of those things? I dunno.

    I enjoy the way the relationship between Maou and Yuusha is portrayed. The concept of cherishing someone is often
    overlooked (i.e., that you enjoy another person) and is quite sweetly handled here. Hope to see more.

    At this point, the series has mostly been about Maou with Yuusha basically along for the ride. And he feels it too,
    although he is quite capable (bringing down a boar looking to be about 4 tonne with apparent ease). I suspect
    he’ll play a more significant protection role in the future (I see Maou’s current activities in the nurturing role).

    Bring on Episode #3!

    mac65
    Reply

    1. wasnt the whole point of the demon king needing the war to continue so there wont be infighting between their ranks? sure they can mow down the humans but then theyll start fightin each other over the spoils of their victory! how many human slaves they get and division of land! itll get UUgggly! and so the demonking is prolonging the war to have this stalemate keep both sides busy… eventualy it seems she wants to advance the humans so itll forever be a stalemate and theyll form a truce. If humans get better world trade will be better so that there will be WORLD PEACE?
      THE END.?

      GoodStuffs
      Reply

      1. Too early to say, but we don’t know it her motivation is 100% “pure”,
        so nothing can really be ruled out at this point.

        Which is why it’s a good watch — who would watch something if the
        plot was completely transparent so early in the game?

        mac65
        Reply

    2. You absolutely can sell an idea if people don’t believe it – if they believe it already, there’s no need to sell there! However, you do have to sell the belief of the idea in order for them to buy the product / use the service / adopt the idea / change their behavior / etc.

      Oh, and I’m an ex-salesman, current marketer. While I admit the necessity of such things (as I did in my post), that doesn’t mean I don’t lament their necessity from time-to-time. It would be lovely if the world worked where the best ideas won merely because they’re the best…but of course, that would be a real fantasy right there.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. I was speaking of the part you mentioned by the hyphen in this —

        You absolutely can sell an idea if people don’t believe it
        –
        if they believe it already, there’s no need to sell there!

        That transition is the work of the sale, going from non-belief to belief.
        Stilts, I know we’re on the same page, it’s just I run afoul of my accent
        from time to time :).

        But the point I was trying to make is that he effectiveness at teaching the
        farmers was convincing their Lords that to believe (that the Lords would
        benifit) in her new ideas.

        Momentum is a bitch, and probably the best killer of a good idea. She had
        to work hard (I’m sure) to get them to even try – this is a fundamental change
        to their existing farming process. Seeding and its supply chain will be
        different, and so on. Probably be easier to continue to be a Demon King,
        but I want to see more of her reason. This series could become timeless.

        mac65
        Reply

  29. Oh, andanotherthing —

    The thing I want to point out here is that, despite the fact that she is a maid in an anime,
    there’s no fanservice whatsoever linked with her character — Stilts

    But the character herself made a joke about that — “No one in this world dislikes maids.”

    LOL — it’s this kind of subtle humour writing that I really enjoy.

    mac65
    Reply

  30. This episode went by a lot faster than I thought – that’s always a sign I’m enjoying myself. The second episode was just as good (if not better) than the first, which marks this show as one of the biggest promises this season. I loved the worldbuilding, the concepts discussed in this ep were interesting and the show has fixed the only complaint I had with the first one – the fanservice. I’m really liking the maid too, because it soon becomes obvious why Maou places so much trust in her and her actions and words are stern but fair. Not to mention she’s voiced by Chiwa Saito.

    And as per usual, your review was quite informative and well set up. Props.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

    1. I was looking for comments like this : ) See, I was right on the fanservice! It had a place, but it’s not what the story is about – the story is about economics, politics, and super deredere love, and that’s what we’re getting…among sooo much more.

      Stilts
      Reply

  31. After dropping the country-needs-war pitch, the ides flow a lot smooth, almost like how the economic concepts are conveyed in Spice and Wolf. That makes the anime look more promising.

    However, the transition was not totally believable. The Demons are in the middle of a war. Why would they be unable to track down the Demon King (Queen) for as long as a year? Even if they, for whatever reasons, decide not to look in the first place, wouldn’t they just choose a new leader and move on?

    Matroid
    Reply

    1. It takes some manpower to do a search and they probably can’t afford to lose some in order to search for Maou. Another thing would be that there probably don’t have a clue as to where to start searching.

      As for choosing a new leader, our Maou is pretty special with very difficult circumstances that will be shown later on so they can’t simply pick a new one.
      And even if that isn’t present, choosing a new leader will take time to elect, what with having the leaders of the armies meet up to organize things, smooth out the preparations for the election and take a vote. A pretty unwise move considering the leaders are pretty much needed on the battlefield in this war.

      belatkuro
      Reply

    2. It’s not that they wouldn’t be able to find her, it’s that she’s supposedly out of commission after her fight with Yuusha, so no one would find her absence suspicious for about a year. The war hasn’t stopped regardless of if she’s there or not, and like Maou said, all the tribes have their own leaders. They all do their thing, but pay homage to her and obey any order she might give. And yeah, picking a new Demon King is not an easy thing, as will be shown later.

      Aex
      Reply

    3. Why would they look for her? They “know” where she is (she’s in the palace, recuperating from her battle with Yuusha). Also, there’s no reason to get a new king when the current one is still there, albeit apparently laid up for a while.

      Stilts
      Reply

  32. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…. huh?! Oh wait wasn’t this show supposed to be about a war with demons in it? I think I’ll skip the cosplaying demon girl and watch the Sword in the Stone instead.

    underbeds
    Reply

      1. Pffftt… somebody can’t handle an opposite opinon can they? Nice job with the whole “kill yourself” video. Quite the class act I must say. You may want to consider becoming a blogger yourself, “If you don’t like this anime then you should kill yourself.”

        underbeds
        Reply

      2. I can handle opposite opinions just fine.
        Raging and whining about how a show should have gone is just an insult to the writers, if the end result is that this isn’t your cup of tea, I suggest you move on.
        Unless you have constructive criticism, I really don’t think voicing about it here is going to do any good to anyone.
        And perhaps the Demon Queen’s reaction to her education falling on deaf ears due to them being too uncouth to understand is something you can relate to, especially regarding on how this show puts you to sleep.
        And also, please enjoy watching Sword in the Stone, while you’re watching that you may want to consider watching Fate/Zero, if that isn’t a narrative with too much exposition for you to understand. They both have references to Arthurian legend after all.

        D
        Reply

      3. What the hell, you’re not stupid at all. What was the whole deal with the whole kill yourself video? You should have Just called me a fucktard and been done with it. You do have a point about the complaint thing I suppose, or at the very least I should tone down my remarks so they are not as abrasive.

        underbeds
        Reply

    2. Rewatch the first episode. The war is part of the story, but was never advertised to be the main focus. They’re looking for ways to stabilize everyone’s situation, and that will mean focusing on a lot of things besides fighting.

      Aex
      Reply

      1. That’s true I guess, but I don’t think Icould stay interested in this with just farming and stuff. It sure has nice animation though. Thanks for being cool about a negative opinion.

        underbeds
        Reply

      2. I still recommend you stick with it. It’s not all farming. There’s a good amount of action, this just happens to be Yuusha and Maou establishing themselves. With this pacing, I can’t give you a real idea of when things will pick up, but it’ll probably be another peaceful episode next time. The war does play a big part in the story though, since the war itself is more or less the main antagonist (if that makes any sense). Be prepared for some definite drops in action every one in a while for economics and farming, cause that never goes away, even as the battles pick up.

        Aex
        Reply

    3. @udderbed

      It is about the war. But you can’t go to war without resources. They’re trying to end it too. Those kids and the potatoes will play impotant roles later in the war.

      TheMoondoggie
      Reply

    4. As Aex and others stated, this isn’t a show for people who want action/battles as the primary focus. Rather than a show about “a war with demons in it” I’d say it’s a show about a demon and a human who become allies in an attempt to change both their worlds in order to stop the endless cycle of destructive conflict. Accordingly, much of the story centers around Maou’s step by step methodology to achieve that goal.

      I don’t know if this helps, but I view this series as somewhat similar to a grand strategy “Civilization” type game. Rather than start with a new society as ruler, you’re thrust into an established one with an initiallly a small spere of influence which forces you to take an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach. Conflict or war is an integral part of the situation, but there are a lot of other apects to “manage” such as farming. The focus changes as the overall situation develops, with certain topics “cropping up” from time to time as Aex mentioned. There’s definitly more action than in “Spice & Wolf”, but at the same time, less than more typical action oriented anime.

      If your main complaint has to do with the topic du jour (farming), then I also suggest you continue watching. I wouldn’t suggest that you consider dropping the series unless you want some sort of fight scene at least once every other episode.

      daikama
      Reply

  33. I’ve decided, I’m just going to present this episode and get a job in the agricultural department in the government. And when I’m bored with it, I’ll just present the next episode and change department lol

    inferno
    Reply

  34. So this is like Jinrui where they don’t give a name to any of the characters, is it?
    How are they going to stay hidden if they keep calling each other Yuusha and Maou though?
    I’m guessing we’re supposed to assume that they’re using aliases when communicating with other nobles but just aren’t shown what it is.

    NaYa
    Reply

    2. D’s post above is correct. FYI, If the situation calls for it, any character can/will use an alias. Keep in mind that no matter what, all names still follow the “name = description” format. Thus, hypothetically (i.e no spoilers), “Black Knight’s” alias may simply be Red Soldier or Rainbow Knight. If necessary, such as in the case of Maou, an alias could be a significantly different “character “class” as long as it’s credible. So “Black Knight’s” alias might instead be Apprentice Merchant or Young Farmer, etc.

      daikama
      Reply

  35. This has been bugging me since ep1, did Maou start the war between humans and demons?Because in ep1 Yuusha blamed Maou for starting the war, but Maou said that the humans and demons united, separately, after the war started, in which case she couldn’t have started the war because she wasn’t a Maou(Demon King – as in leader of all demon armies) to begin with.The details are a bit foggy here.

    shadowalker
    Reply

    1. She had to act like a Demon King or else another Demon would happily remove her and started the war. So far it looks like small scale local warfare as oppose to a Demon blitzkrieg across the human world.

      Hao
      Reply

  36. M: “Maybe I’ll turn them all into frogs.”
    Y: “Don’t do that.”
    M: “Okay.”

    Even while being in a serious/tired mood, she managed to make me smile 🙂
    I love the interaction between Maou and Yuusha, they are so natural. I was missing something like that.

    Voyager
    Reply

  38. Wow I’m liking this show a lot. For me its like Spice and Wolf v.3.0 all over again. Ami and Jun can talk all they want, they can even make it a 40mins long and I will still happily listen to it. The world where they live is really interesting for me and want to know MORE.

    Jhacks
    Reply

  40. Shame on them for dropping the “What is this edu-ca-tion thing you’re talking about?” line, which made the scene feel completely different. It shows just how alien the concept of education is to their world, and how difficult to execute Maou’s plan is.

    SingerOfW
    Reply

      2. I take it into account. But for now we only see “Actions” from the Demon Queen/King. So are the “Good” Guys here the Bad ones? Or are coming good thing from then in the Future? Right now she take the Lead..

        Germanguy
        Reply

  42. Thanks for a great post. And shows with couples always seem to be better than shows with not-couples. It was so much more realistic that he laid right into her lap, one of those things that with a new couple you don’t need to ask twice about. And then the cloak part was so authentic too. The only part that wasn’t very realistic was the physics of trying to kiss someone whose head is in your lap, but I can let that go, I guess.

    Highway
    Reply

  43. This is totally out of the blue, but as I was reading the manga (i.e. Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – Kono Watashi no Mono Tonare, Yuusha yo Kotowaru) I kept thinking to myself “the VA that played Inaba from Kokoro Connect would be perfect for Onna Kishi”.

    Low and behold, she is. Totally called it.

    Quite honestly, I’m more than pleased with the cast of this show. All the VA’s fit their character’s personalities perfectly.

    herpderp353
    Reply

  44. Well. well, well…
    Four-crops rotation… just what you need to get enough population free of making food to allow serfdom to disappear. No coincidences here! Next stop, industrial revolution?
    The point about army’s breaking point has been discussed in military circles ad nauseam. Much depends on the morale of the force – there has been recorded instances of last stands to the literal last man, and conversely wholesale surrender after few casulaties – but 30% is a benchmark of sorts of “army being decimated”. US losses of such magnitude include bloodiest battles of WW2, like Tarawa and D-Day.
    It is a known fact that people tend to follow leadership of “nobles” – be it rich succesful businessmen or classic nobles. Captain Cook used the trick of him and his officers “delighting” sauerkraut (rich in vitamin C) at every diner to keep his crew eating it and as a result defeated the scurvy.
    I assume that Head Maid’s lesson is that with freedom comes a responsibility for one’s fate and the things you do to other people. Though I’d like to point out, that for the most part, serfs had the option of surrender or die at the point of a soldiers sword. There were many instances of serfs rebellions thru middle ages… almost none successful, save the Swiss versus Hapsburg rule.
    Last but not least, 3 cheers for the Hero! Finally a male protagonist not oblivious to his female partner trying to get closer, and proceeding gently but firmly with that – and he has , despite his insisting on being just mindless swordsman, realised that there must be a problem of “what next?” for him after the war. There is a keen brain behind this keen sword!

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. Well, to find a “what Next?”, we need to know his Past. Was was he, before he join the “Army”? or did he grown up inside them?. Perhaps he can taken his “old” Job for a starter?

      Germanguy
      Reply

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