What’s the important information? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord is a Summer 2018 harem/fantasy isekai anime that aired 12 episodes from July through September. It is based on a Light Novel series by Yukiya Murasaki and was also adapted into a Manga series.
What’s it about? A shut-in gamer finds himself suddenly transported into a fantasy world that loosely resembles his favourite MMORPG. Their two girls—Shera Greenwood an elf and Rem Galleu a pantherian (cat girl) are the reason for his summoning as they intend to take him as their servant, but due to possessing the same abilities as his in-game character his ‘Magic Reflection’ passive turns them into his slaves instead! Confronted by this new world and in the body of his character Demon Lord Diablo, he decides to more or less go with his new life, making use of his vast knowledge of the game while trying to help his new companions with their various issues.
Why did you watch it? Despite having a fondness for the isekai genre, I was moreso as I often am, drawn to the series due to the poster art (specifically the two female protagonists)—sometimes it’s as easy as that to win me over.
Did you enjoy the show? I enjoyed almost everything about this series, to the point where it was occupying my thoughts even in the interim days when I wasn’t watching the show. The characterisation, character designs, voice acting and interactions were among my favourite of any show this season and of almost any show full stop. I was immediately drawn into the world and never wanted it to end.
What was your favourite episode? While a very consistent show the episode that I felt had the best character moments and ticked a lot of boxes for me (no pun intended) was Episode 6 “Slave Market”. Not only was the fan service particularly good but it also helped flesh out some of the particulars of magic in this universe which would be important going forward and contained important character development, particularly with regards to Rem and Shera’s friendship.
What were your most favourite things about the show? I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t mention the fan service—which was a personal highlight, but also the emphasis on friendships between the three main characters, driving home messages about personal autonomy and living a life you’ve decided to live as well as the constant humorous contrast between Diablo’s brash and aggressive outer persona and his inner meek true self.
Wbat were your least favourite things about the show? There was very little I didn’t like about the show but if I were to chose I’d say there were a couple of characters who were at best undeveloped and at worst superfluous such as Sylvie, Medios and Eulerex.
Who was your favourite character? Not only is Shera best girl in this show, she’s also my number 1 best girl of the whole Summer 2018 anime season!
What’s something unique about this show? Almost notorious for it at this point, and suffice to say this is a slight spoiler but Episode 10’s ‘awakening’ of the Demon Lord Krebskulm from within Rem was eye-opening, unexpected for some, “too far” for others but whatever your opinion there’s no denying it was pretty unique among non-hentai anime!
What other anime are most like it for the sake of comparison? While not as consistently light-hearted or comedic in tone as Konosuba the two definitely share some similarities.
Who would you recommend it to? Any fan of the isekai genre who isn’t too perturbed by the presence of fan service and harem shenanigans in almost every episode plus for people who like character-driven fantasy with an emphasis on the personal relationships between the adventurers.
Sum up the season in one sentence: ‘Who needs a harem of sexy women when you have friends like these—who also happen to be sexy women’.
Final score? 94 out of 100.
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
A Slave To Sweets – Episode 12 Review
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Anime QandA 
Nice review, you say I looked at a load of aspects of the show in my review, well you’ve just looked at even more, great stuff. I scrolled down and then I saw Sherra’s sausage eating boobs… spat my tea all over my monitor lol. This show really looks like a dull surface level anime to non viewers, but it really is an earnest show. Sherra is best girl and if anyone says otherwise we shall both unite for fight for best elf waifu. Great post dude. 👍👍👍
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope to be able to bring as many people to this show as possible!
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Don’t mention it, this post was top notch stuff. 🙂
I shall join you in spreading the good word of this show, SHERRA NEEDS HER FOLLOWERS!
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God this show was good. And yeah. Shera is best girl, at least of Summer 2018. She’s just a treasure XD
Fun review, dood! Keep up the awesome!
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Shera’s just too good for words. And thanks, glad you enjoyed my review!
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Wonderful round up of the entire season. I had fun reading along with all the episodic posts for this series, and this one pretty much shows how much you loved this anime. Hopefully the new season is going to bring a couple of others that will be just (or almost) as good as this one 😊
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the read, and I hope so with next season too!
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I really enjoyed following your weekly posts of this one. While our opinions didn’t always line up, I had a lot of fun with this anime and reading your perspective on it each week. This is a great final wrap up of the show. Thanks for sharing your thoughts this season and I look forward to seeing what you pick up next season.
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Good review. As I said in my comments on the last episode, I liked the show, but I think the slavery parts were a big mistake, and that dragged down the whole show for me. I also have been over bouncy anime boobs for the sake of bounciness for a few years now, and recently prefer my shows to be a bit less male gazey. It’s not necessarily that the character designs bother me, more that the “Let’s throw in a cut of closeup boingyboingy because we can” just doesn’t interest me.
For me the best part of the show was the messages about self-determination. They’re still there, and they’re still strong, but they kind of lose their punch with the “I’ll make you my slave so you can have more freedom” thing. I also think that Alicia’s character development kind of got short shrift, because it’s a heck of a leap from even severe bullying to “let’s commit genocide!” and on reflection that part seems a bit thin. But overall I really liked the show, and looked forward to it each week as well.
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