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「十五の誕生日」 (Juu go no Tanjoubi)
“15th Birthday”
I suspect I may wind up regretting choosing to stick with Maou Gakuin at some point (probably when Anoth’s superpowers grow too predictable or the chopping and rushing too pronounced), but right now I’m having a hard time faulting where this show is going. It’s as popcorn as cheap popcorn entertainment gets, yet with butter this rich and salt out the wazoo, it’s difficult from stopping the hand from eagerly grabbing at the next high cholesterol mouthful.
As all too easily guessed last week, Sasha did have a plan in mind regarding Misha to ensure beloved sister didn’t go the way of the dodo. Not sure many guessed said plan was an attempted suicidal countermeasure for a scheme originally splitting her soul in two in order to resurrect the Demon King, but hey, got to keep a twist or two in reserve. Outside of time travel trickery and Misha being confirmed as best girl though, the fun for me was in Anoth largely being accepted at face value by both girls and the potential shenanigans this checkpoint provides. It might be all about discovering how the last two millennia played out right now, but the thought of watching family squabbles over these two sisters and Anoth’s reactions to each new bit of banter (especially once mama dearest realizes she birthed a king) keeps me interested in seeing what next episode is going to be bring. Firmly interested.
In terms of history, however, the next step will assuredly involve discovering who’s playing regal pretender. Personally, I never thought the twisting of Anoth’s name and history would’ve been done by someone actually alive (it seemed more in line with time eroding collective memory), but as the fake Ivis Necron indicated someone is indeed trying to make themselves into the king at Anoth’s expense. Not hard imagining why of course, yet who is doing so and any hints as to their identity remains a prominent hole in what is arguably a tightknit story. Good way to ensure Anoth continues having something to do though, because all that ludicrous strength needs something to give it purpose after all the minor enemies fall by the wayside.
Good thing we’re likely to get our first hint of where things are headed next episode then wouldn’t you say? After all, if there’s one thing a transfer student foretells, it’s the start of the real story.
Dunno if it’s the crazy time or the series, but this is my favorite look-forward to
series of the season. I just drop my brain in neutral and got for the ride! Lovin’ it!
This series kinda reminds me of Maou-sama, Retry!‘s misleading episode titles
and it just adds to the overall enjoyment of he series and its quirkiness!
I like how things stated in episode 1 threaded their way through the story (the part
about which child would be saved) and the giving Misha the ring — simple plot
devices that pretty much all worked out.
The only complaint about this episode that I have is that I missed his mom’s reaction
to Misha having a ring on her finger. Pretty sure a baby-naming discussion would
have ensued!
I also thing it’s hilarious that no one seems to react to his being only 1 month old
and other claims he’s made about himself. No record keeping in that age, I guess…
MY guilty pleasure of the season!
Maou-sama is a pretty good comparison actually! Both are objectively bad (hard thinking otherwise), but it’s hard not liking them because they just do their thing so damn well and never try and shrink from it. Admittedly I’m concerned that Maou Gakuin’s serious nature will eventually trip it up (compared to Maou-sama’s comedic focus), yet if it keeps up with the deadpan humour I’ll be hard pressed hating on it too much 😛
I admit I didn’t expect this level of visuals for episode 4. As someone said in another site, it looked more like the grand finale of the series than the ending of the initial arc. The magic effects, the final confrontation between Anos and Ivis… Very pretty.
And yes, the fact that Misha and Sasha now acknowledge Anos as the true Demon King of prophecy is probably the most interesting development. At this point, it’s evident that the real source of conflict isn’t power (when Anos can beat death and time, who else could become a threat?), but knowledge. Someone crafted a 2,000 year long plot to usurp Anos’ place, and despite all his power, he can’t just make people believe the truth.
Not that I think the sister’s interactions with Anos will change much, although it was hilarious to see Sasha mutter a hesitant “Anos-sama”, only to call him “mongrel” again because of the rules of that society XD
To be fair Silver Link has never really cut corners when it comes to art and animation of late, they seem to luck out in getting hefty sums of cash to produce these types of shows.
And yeah the relationship both sisters have with Anoth won’t change too much, outside of Sasha finally embracing her inner archetype and going full tsundere of course XD
Happy that all this explained Sasha’s previous personality disorder. Makes things enjoyable for its consistency and logical reasoning.
The coherence is probably this show’s main strength IMO, unlike a lot of similar shows (isekais especially) which often bounce between monsters of the week, there’s an overarching plot at work here that helps keep things moving and advancing in a logical manner. No guarantee it’ll stay this way, but so far it’s doing far more than I think a lot of us originally expected it to.
Anos, the man that doesn’t die even when he is killed.
Also the Demon Lord that can’t be stopped by stopping time.
(Shirou Emiya and Dio might be quaking in their boots now…)
Well, nice to see that problem sorted out. (Though the shtick about one sister willing to sacrifice herself for the other–and vice-versa–and then the MC basically going, “screw that, I’ll save you both” reminded me of the Yamai Sisters’ arc from Date A Live II.) Also, one Elder Demon Emperor converted back to Anoth’s cause, six more to go (with the mystery of who’s controlling the other Elder Demon Emperors still deep). Plus I remember an off-hand mention that during Anoth’s rule 2,000 years ago, he managed to defeat gods. With this episode, yeah, Anoth wasn’t joking.
Had a little chuckle at the scene where Sasha and Misha were being sent back in time, and the animators had time to emphasize (through magic “de-censoring”[1] shenanigans and this scene) that Sasha is the less endowed of the two. (Can’t be a bonafide tsundere without having a smaller bust, I suppose.)
While it’s nice that this show gives some room to think, it’s just as valid to go into this show with your brain turned off and just enjoy the ride. Not to mention Anoth might be hiding more of his abilities in his proverbial magic bag of tricks. At this point, I also wonder if this is also comparable to Trinity Seven?
(Note[1]: Not that it showed any nipples and went “Barbie doll anatomy”–at least for the TV/AT-X[?] release. The Blu-Ray release, on the other hand… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )
P.S.: Was that Tatsuhisa Suzuki himself singing the opening in this episode?
An enjoyable episode and surprisingly they explained a lot in it. Everything so far is quite logical even with the time travel thing. I think its already pretty clear how the world works right now. The real mystery now is what happened in the past 2000 years.
That lack of questions is slightly worrying. They’ve used up all the the answers in Anos’ entry exam. Though the theme still seems to be family.
One curiosity, for what should be identical twins, those two sure look different. In fact, it looks like the split was rather uneven. Looking at the outlines, combining them would give those two the perfect body.
So.. I feel like I’m going to be the odd man out, but the predictability of “I’m the Demon King, therefore I will win no matter what.” really takes some of the drama out of the story. I feel if the MC is going to be that OP, they need to add more humor or something to the fights/interactions to maintain my interest. From the start of the fight with Ivis, I wasn’t even interested in the fight. It seems like playing with a 5 year old, where every action you take is responded with “Nu-uh! I’m invinthabable!” “I go back in time and make you undo what you did!” “I use my magic to change your mind so you don’t want to hurt me!” After a bit it just gets old, especially when the characters in this series are as “normal” as they are (normal in an anime trope sense lol)
Animation game is on point though. Agree with all the previous comments on that.