What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 12.
So here we are with the season finale. What happens in this episode? Diablo faces off against Demon Lord Krebskrum in an attempt to turn her back into a loli, Shera rushes to Rem’s aid with a bunch of healing potions and Alicia and Edelgard await the inevitable destruction of the city with their fallen army in tow.
Thanks for the synopsis but what actually happens, you know like who wins, who loses, how it all comes about? Well Diablo does pretty well against the massive Demon Lord Krebskrum, setting off one of his most impressive spells to date and I like that it wasn’t just a case of him waving his staff and shouting some words, he actually had to do some planning and evasion as he strategically put thirteen runes on the ground around Krebskrum in order to activate his “Grand Magic”. It’s not quite enough however, as Krebskrum is still able to fight. But it’s brawn that slays this beast but ~friendship~ as Rem reaches out to Krebskrum, showing her that she’s not in fact dead (thanks to those healing potions) and that she wants her to return to ‘normal’ so they can eat biscuits together.
And it works? Of course it does! Never underestimate the power of friendship… or biscuits, either one works!
Fair enough, but what does this mean for Alicia and Edelgard and the waiting fallen army? Well~ they’re none too pleased by this failure to bring the mortal races to extinction and they pay for their failures—but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Right, and what happens then? Well after the smoke settles from the big battle Sylvie the guild master approaches and expresses her concerns about Krem living in the city seeing as she nearly destroyed the whole place and doesn’t trust for that not to happen again. Sylvie does however trust Diablo and thankfully Diablo has a solution that will ensure Krem’s compliance against any Demon Lord sized mishaps.
Oh and what’s that? Enslavement magic of course! The same kind that has the collars on both Rem and Shera—and despite this seemingly like a ~problematic~ proposition Diablo has done nothing to suggest he’ll take advantage of the situation, the only one that seems to have a problem with it is Sylvie, whose reactions during the “enslavement” ritual are absolutely hilarious. Krem obviously doesn’t have a problem with it, she just wants to live with her friends and eat biscuits, and so all’s well that ends well!
Wait, is that the ending? Of course not! That’s just the first half of the episode! What’s that sound I hear? That stirs me to joy? Why, that’s the sound of harem shenanigans of course!
Oh god. So the three girls are trying to decide who should sleep with Diablo when we get shenanigan blocked by a knife-wielding Alicia who bursts into their room looking worse for wear. Turns out Krem has the ability to heal ‘The Fallen’ (that’s the Demonic Beings I’m referring to, not literally people who have fallen) and Alicia needs Krem’s help to save Edelgard who is gravely injured after her own turned on her after their failed attempt to take over the city. Anyway, with Alicia holding a knife to Shera’s throat they don’t have much choice but to oblige her wishes as she takes them all to a nearby room where Edelgard is.
And do they save her? Not only do they save Edelgard but they save Alicia too—what’s interesting about this episode is the lengths this show goes to to give Alicia a redemption story when they could have easily just gotten rid of her. I don’t know if it’s commendable storytelling or just not wanting to rid the show of another member of the harem but for whatever reason it absolutely works. Alicia hates humanity and Diablo as a shut-in and “forever solo player” can relate to her point of view, he sees himself in her extremist mindset. Even as she attempts to kill herself Diablo implores her to find a better way, that there’s no point living with hatred for what people have made you into—that there’s always time to set aside your old self and start living anew.
Well that’s certainly an inspirational mes— And then they all get naked to help Diablo regain his magic power and he faints!
Of course they do… So final thoughts on the final episode of How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord? This finale brings everything that’s great about the show and excels at almost every turn—sure the episode spends more time with its characters than with climatic action (that said, what little action they did have was excellent) but it’s the characters and their interactions and relationships are what made this series so worthwhile and thus it’s only natural that the finale would replicate these moments and add to them as well. If this is the last we see of this world, it would be sad but the ending is satisfying enough to function as a series finale while still leaving plenty of room for a continuation.
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
Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – Episode 11 Review
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Anime QandA 
Great that you liked the series. Didn’t watch it, but maybe I’ll, depending on how many good titles we get next season
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I definitely recommend it!
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I so had to laugh at “ Ofcourse they do…” Your humor is always the best! 😂😂
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Haha, thanks! 🙂
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I’m actually really conflicted here. The message to Alicia is good. The messages to Shera and Rem and even Sylvie throughout the show were good. The enslavement is… very very bad. VERY bad. And honestly, I’m kind of annoyed that whoever wrote the original went with enslavement, because it casts this huge pall over the whole story. And part of why I’m conflicted is that it could have been called any number of other things and been a much better message: marriage, contract, promise, make up something. Although that stuff even kind of is “ehhhhhh” because although it should involve the consent of those making the agreement, in the case of Klem it’s really hard to take seriously that someone who looks and acts like a 6 year old can truly give informed consent. They bribe her with cookies and lock her into what could be a forever agreement. It’s not exactly a measured weighing of pros and cons. It’s counting on a good master. So yeah, rather than turning the slavery thing on its head and finding a way to get Shera and Rem out of it, instead they get someone else to be a slave, while the current slaves grin and say “It’s really not bad”.
I really liked the characters in the show. I really liked the advocacy for self-determination, but it’s hard to take it seriously when the women have the collars around their necks, and when they end the series like that. So like I opened with, I’m conflicted.
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In theory I might agree with you but I think the way they handled it was perfect. Narratively there may have been a way around it but on the same token her “enslavement” is literally just a means to have her living a life. In that little epilogue we even see her working with Edelgard at some cafe, while Shera, Rem and Diablo go about their adventuring so it’s not even like she needs to be in proximity (or a possession) of Diablo. And if we’re talking about the larger point of Diablo intending to release Rem and Shera from their collars I guess it’s not happened in the novels that have been adapted here so I guess they didn’t want to rush to that point.
Maybe I’m too forgiving of this series flaws, but I didn’t think—at least as far as this show goes—was problematic.
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I think the problem with calling the way they handled it “perfect” is that it’s begging the question about them having to have slavery in the show in the first place. And I think a part of why I think it’s a bigger deal after this last episode is because the circumstances of Klem’s enslavement have almost nothing to do with her. I’ll definitely acknowledge that it’s the best deal she’s going to get given that she’s either going to be exiled, killed, or otherwise destroyed if she doesn’t take Diablo’s plan, but again, that’s because they put those limited choices to her.
If I compare that to Rem and Shera’s situation, at least you could say that they were at least hoist by their own petard. They were going to enslave another being. It got turned around on them. That it didn’t turn out worse is lucky for them.
I think that a lot of my discomfort is just kind of how jokey they were about it by the end. Earlier it was a serious thing they were trying to deal with, but at the end it was no big deal, and I feel like it should still have been a big deal. Not “It’s ok because Diablo’s nice about it.” but “Diablo’s nice about it, but he’s still committed to undoing it as soon as possible because he recognizes the wrongness of it.” I think that was a little more eroded than I want it to be.
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Those are some excellent points. Thanks for pointing them out.
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