What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 11.
So what happened in this—the penultimate episode—no unwanted things being inserted into people I hope like last week? If by unwanted things you mean swords, and if by people you mean Rem then yes that’s something that happened—if you’re meaning fan service things though then no. Actually this episode has literally zero fan service moments—unless you count Shera’s outfit which I don’t—but some people do so just clarifying things there!
Wait, wait, wait back up a minute there? Swords? Rem? Is she okay? Hold your horses, we’ll get to that! It doesn’t happen til much later in the episode.
You’re the one who brought it up! And miss out on setting up that sweet back and forth with you? Unlikely!
Fine, what happens? So Alicia finally shows her true colours, turns out she’s a bitch after all! After selling out Krem-chan and Rem to the holier than thou Saddler things take a turn for the medieval—by which I mean in reference torture not the time period (ahem, CuriouslyDeadlyCat, ahem!) Saddler takes Rem and Krem to their church that is filled with nasty implements of torture and seeks to “purify” them with violence. Saddler is the embodiment of religious extremism and as racism as he calls Rem’s cat ear and tail “disgusting” and intends to remove them with scissor like shears. All the while Krem watches on helplessly—though not because she’s helpless but rather she’s made a promise not to kill any humans.
Why’d she make that promise? Earlier, Rem and Krem (I really love saying that) had a heart to heart where a promise was agreed upon, that Krem wouldn’t hurt any of the mortal races. And it’s a noble, if slightly naïve sentiment, I get why Rem would want her to remain ‘pure’ from that kind of violence but for some people violence is the only recourse—especially in the face of such reckless hate that comes from Saddler.
Right, so what happens then? As the torture gets worse for Rem, Krem can’t take it anymore and discards her disguise revealing her true form to Saddler and his cronies. Saddler approaches to cut her down but Rem breaks free of her binds and jumps in front of his sword, saving Krem but at the cost of her own life as Saddler drives sword after sword into Rem’s back. Hate surges through Krem—which is the final piece of the Demon Lord summoning puzzle and cute little loli Krem transforms into the massive Krebskulm and starts wreaking havoc but not before blinding Saddler and then incinerating him.
That’s some swift justice! But what about the other characters you haven’t mentioned them yet? Well Diablo kinda runs around aimlessly trying to find them which I guess kudos to the show for not making Diablo overpowered at plot conveniences, it’s not until he’s at a tavern where Sylvie and Emile are and he’s desperately trying to figure out how a Demon Lord would ask for help and still come off as someone worth helping when a boy runs in reporting the girls’ location. Shera also finds out where they are simultaneously by using her Turkey Shot ability to scout around. Meanwhile, Galford spies a fallen army led by Edelgard approaching the city!
That’s a lot of different things happening! Indeed, to think that all of these threads are going to be wrapped up in a single episode means for a packed finale! Personally I’d prefer a cliff-hanger ending for Episode 12 accompanied with a Season 2 announcement but 2nd seasons are rare for these kinds of anime. Nevertheless I hold out hope!
So overall thoughts on the episode? I’m sure someone can draw a correlation between amount of fan service in an episode and how much I enjoy an episode so it should come as little surprise that this is probably one of my least favourite episodes. I still love the show, and when I inevitably binge watch this show again this episode will feel more as the middle part of a ‘resurrection’ arc and its minor flaws will be easier to overlook. In fact it’s not even worth mentioning the flaws because they are so minor—at this point I’m just happy this show continues to be so consistently interesting, exciting and with characters I’ll miss once the show is over!
Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:
Is It Wrong To Suck A Cat Girl’s Ear In Another World? – Episode 1 Review
The Grope Debate – Episode 2 Review
Listening Is A Heroic Trait Too – Episode 3 Review
Unlimited Power/Limited Stamina – Episode 4 Review
Reigning It In – Episode 5 Review
Sexually Liberated Elf – Episode 6 Review
The Slimes That Bind Us – Episode 7 Review
Down The Rabbit Hole – Episode 8 Review
Holier Than Maou – Episode 9 Review
Something To Moan About – Episode 10 Review
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Anime QandA 
While I wouldn’t mind a second season of this, I would like them to wrap up this whole Krem thing next episode to give some closure to this season. I really dislike cliff-hangers at the ends of seasons. Still, this show has been a pleasant surprise this season and while a few times I’ve come close to dropping it, I’m glad I watched on as the plot and characters have really been fun.
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Yeah, they have to wrap up Krem / Krebskulm’s arc this series, that’s how LN adaptations go. If there’s a second series, that will be the next book after.
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Oh for sure it has to wrap up the Krem stuff I just don’t know how they’re going to tie that into the stuff with the Fallen army approaching that seems like more than could fit into 24 minutes. It’d be good if this got a double length season finale but those seem pretty rare. The last one I remember was Made In Abyss’ 50 min season finale.
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I thought this was a really good episode. It was one where there was no other path they could have gone down, but it didn’t have a contrived, or as I like to describe it, “written” feel. All the characters got to each part in character, made their decisions in character, reacted in character, and it just felt completely organic, even though looking at the start point and the end point you’d think “how’d they go from here to here?”
I really love when completely evil characters get their comeuppance, especially if they are so hubristic, as Saddler is. Comparing Emile to Saddler is a great way to see the way the show gets its point across with characterization. We love Emile, even though he’s a braggart, a chauvinist, and not particularly great at fighting. And we all hated Saddler, who is a braggart, a chauvinist, and relies on cheap tricks and a bunch of friends to do his fighting. Everyone would be super sad to see Emile die. Noone misses Saddler, and in fact we all think he deserves to be exploded from within, finally understanding the folly of his self-deception.
The interesting question will be to see what the show does with Alicia. Her bridges are burned, but will she be redeemed? Given Shera, Diablo, and even Rem, you’d believe she would be, at least somewhat. But how? Given how well they plotted through this episode, I think it will probably be done well, and I’ll be surprised and disappointed if it’s not.
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I think they’ll attempt to have a redemption moment with Alicia, though I think the redemption almost has to come with her sacrificing her life. There was that brief moment as she left the church where she looked at least passingly guilty about ~something~ and I think that’ll play into her moment of redemption, whatever shape it comes in.
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