First Impressions / Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu

「奴隷市場」 (Doreishijou)
“Slave Market”

You’ll have to excuse me if, when I got to this episode, I was fairly well in my cups. That means the ecchi stuff was foremost in my mind. It was some good ecchi, yo. Top form, would perv out to again.

But the part of me that writes books about friends who go off and get into adventures together is most of me; that’s the 90% that informs the rest of it. I love me some nakama plotlines, which is why the relationship between Diablo and the girls is secondary to me. Yes, it’s nice from a wish fulfillment point of view, and yes, there is some actual chemistry there. But if we’re looking for chemistry, the hard-fought and begrudgingly admitted to friendship between Rem and Shera is hitting all my buttons. It was a real struggle to get here—not the most epic of struggles, granted, but there was real (if slight) impediments. So it’s a treat to see them continue to stick up for each other, and call each other friends. They’re good friends. I love seeing them say it, and act like it.

Of course, nii-san is a bastard. This ain’t a story with gray villains. No more to say. Moving on.

Wait, oh, uh. That’s about it. I mean, there was more! Flow of magic and all that. It’s just, this is Isekai Maou y’all. It’s not like they have enigmatic looks by certain characters as people say things that might hint at a darker past, and special powers. Certainly not. It’s just ecchi all the way down, yes siree.

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Full-length images: 04, 10, 12.

 

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13 Comments

  3. Long live nakama, indeed! It was also my favourite part of the episode.

    I think this is another little detail that Isekai Maou does well when compared to other isekais. More often than not, the growing harem’s only point of reference is the MC. They meet each other because the MC meets them, that’s it. But here, Rem and Shera were (clashing) partners in crime before they met Diablo. In a way, Diablo was added to their already existing partnership, not the other way round. Take Diablo out and their friendship development would have been the same.

    It also helps that both Rem and Shera have their own arc goals (getting rid of the demon lord curse inside her, getting away from her disturbing family) that define their characters and, again, have nothing to do with the MC.

    Mistic
    Reply

    1. That’s a good point. I don’t know that they were anything like partners beforehand (they appear to have just run into each other and argued while summoning), nor would they necessarily have traveled together without Diablo (probably they wouldn’t have), but their quests are theirs, not Diablo’s. That is to say, it’s not that they’re giving him these quests. They’re not damsels or quest givers. They’re the ones central to their individual quests, and Diablo is helping them. He’s almost more of an accessory to their plots than the other way around—though him as the glue that binds them together changes the complexion somewhat. It’s an interesting setup.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. I don’t know that they were anything like partners beforehand (they appear to have just run into each other and argued while summoning), nor would they necessarily have traveled together without Diablo (probably they wouldn’t have)

        My bad, I was under the mistaken impression that they had agreed to go to the tower to summon their creatures, but it seems it was just a coincidence.

        Now I wonder what would have happened if, instead of Diablo, they had summoned a normal beast and had to share ownership due to their “double kiss at the same time” moment.

        Mistic
        Reply

  5. I dunno – don’t want to be sour grape, but…

    I really want a return to the fantastic story telling
    that was episode 3 and (especially) episode 4. The flow
    was great – everything fit so well. I feel like, even
    though we got some new info, this episode was a painful
    experience to do so. Hey, good ecchi is great (I’m looking
    at you Sora no Otoshimono), but I wasn’t impressed at all.

    As Mistic pointed out, the distinct arc goals offer some
    great potential, but I really don’t think they are exploited
    to their best.

    mac65
    Reply

    1. Let’s be honest, this episode broke the pace. I mean, everything until now was a build-up to the upcoming conflict with the elves, and then they take a detour to talk about the slave collars?

      Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to know that getting rid of those collars is more difficult than it seems, and that bit about seeing the flow of magic sounds as if it’s going to be important later. But was it necessary to spend almost a whole episode on it? And did it have to be now, when the conflict with the elves should take center stage? Had it been shorter and had it happened at a different moment, it would be different. It almost felt like filler.

      Mistic
      Reply

    1. Diablo isn’t exactly good at social situations. His genre savvy did seem to abandon him there, though—though I also think that it didn’t, and he won’t be surprised when nii-san turns into a monster. Unless Diablo gets flanderized, natch.

      Stilts
      Reply

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