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Unlimited Power/Limited Stamina – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 4 Review

Unlimited Power/Limited Stamina – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 4

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 4.

And on a scale of 1-10 how perverted is the episode? Why’s that always the first thing on your mind when I review an episode of a show like this?

Let’s face it, that’s what a lot of people who are following these reviews will be wondering… especially after that first episode. Fine. For the majortiy, like 95% of this episode it’s a 2 out of 10 in terms of fan-service, but the final minutes kick it into high-gear for an 8 out of 10. Happy now?

I don’t know, is the ‘majority’ of the episode good content? It’s very good content–probably my favourite episode thus far. Not only do we get a true sense of the sheer scale of Diablo’s “Grand Magic” as he unleashes ‘White Nova’ on Edelgard and her army of swol furries. And honestly it’s a stupidly cool moment, not only is the spell itself impressive from the low-key casting to its atomic-like unleashing but also the aftermath as it not only obliterates the bridge and the water beneath it leaving a scorched crater but then the remaining water from either side of the river rushes back into the chasm. It’s hard to put it effectively into words how cool of a moment it is but trust me it is impressive.

I’ll take your word for it. So what about Rem, wasn’t she in danger of being attacked by a Fallen who’d snuck into the city gates at the end of last episode? Yes, she and Celestine barely escape, running into an alleyway only to be cornered by the great beast Gregore. Rem tries a powerful summon to fight against it but Gregore KO’s it in one hit. Then Emile Bichel Berger from the previous episode shows up to defend the women’s honour and fights admirably–despite being wholly outmatched, and I mean kudos to this show they made an annoying comic-relief character fully redeemed by standing fast against an over-powered foe. They did however do something I kinda wish they hadn’t, but I think they pulled it off well-enough that it’s not as bad as it may have been.

You did well protecting those waifus Emile.

What’s that? Well I was kinda hoping that Rem would be able to hold her own against Gregore and prove herself capable, without having Diablo have to save her. But… Diablo has to save her, though to be fair he’s saving everyone. And it makes sense that neither she nor anyone else could defeat Gregore… in the previous episode Diablo’s inner-monolgue establishes that The Fallen are boss level monsters, and we already know Rem’s level is around 30 so it would have been unrealistic (but cool) if she had been able to take Gregore down.

So Diablo comes in to rescue everyone, I take it he isn’t able to use a spell as destructive as he did previously since it’s in close quarters? Indeed, and even though this is the second ‘fight’ of the episode it’s still a visually impressive encounter as Diablo uses a spell called ‘Dark Press’ against Gregore which manipulates gravity–then follows it up with Naraku a spell that creates a black-hole which consumes the opponent, sending them to a prison of darkness for all eternity.

That’s pretty metal. Yep, remember Diablo is a Demon Lord, so a lot of his spells are evil. But he’s on the side of good here, which is something people (like Celestina) are slowly beginning to realise. It’s also something that awes and inspires Rem and Shera, as they find themselves being drawn in by his unlimited power–unfortunately for Diablo himself, these high-level spells are taking a toll on his body as he’s exhausted to the point of fainting.

It’s hard to dive into a girl’s chest when that chest is flat.

So he’s not all-powerful after all, huh? Indeed. And Diablo’s realising this world is a lot more ~real~ than he first assumed, people die and they stay dead, and people grieve for their fallen dead. This is a world that has stakes, even for a Demon Lord such as he.

Interesting. So uh… dare I ask about the fan-service? It’s pretty standard stuff, while Diablo is recovering in bed–it’s taken 10 days(!) for him to recover his magic power but he’s still feeling languid. At which point Shera comes in and straddles him, wearing a particularly revealing outfit–then Rem comes in and protests this sign of affection and shenanigans ensue. But it’s not all shenanigans for the sake of shenanigans as the guild-leader Sylvie comes in with a quest, stop an impending war between the humans and the Elven kingdom who’ve come to bring Shera home!

She’s very skittish, but then again she is a Pantherian.

So in a nut-shell? I am particularly fond of how organically this show is expanding its universe and connecting parts that have been brought-up. Unlike a show like Konosuba where the world-outside never really felt connected to its characters (and that’s fair as it’s a comedy first) here all the characters feel important to the narrative in one way or another and it’s never immediately clear how it’s going to resolve, which is exciting! This is a great episode and I look forward to seeing how this story continues!

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

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Listening Is A Heroic Trait Too – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 3 Review

Listening Is A Heroic Trait Too – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 3

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 3.

So it’s been two straight reviews of you defending the fan-service and non-consensual touching shown in this show—are we going to get a third this week? Ha! No such luck, that’s right it’s a rant free-week as How Not To Summon A Demon Lord scales back on most of the things that made it problematic and just delivers a solid episode of plotting, humour, character development and action!

And how’s it fare for that? It’s a really good episode that introduces us to a new and powerful enemy in the form of ‘The Fallen’ who kinda just look like a bunch of roid-raging furries who got lost on a way to a yiff. And also their sexy and fearsome leader Edelgard who’s ready to throw down against Diablo even in spite of seeing his over-powered abilities decimating her minions!

Any interesting new antagonist perhaps? Eh, I give it an episode before she joins in on Diablo’s harem shenanigans.

Wow, not holding out much confidence for this series are we? What are you talking about?! That’s a good thing—this is a harem anime after all!

Trust you to say that! Listen, I know a lot of people watch these kinds of shows for the actual plot and characters—which is fine, sometimes they have good ones, sometime they have a gimmick that lends itself to entertainment value, sometimes they have characters you root for and care about. I’d say this show has all of these factors in a decent amount—but I just want to say for the people who are watching this show and don’t care too much for the sexual content, things are going to get… deeper.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy with the spoilers! Hold your horses I didn’t spoil anything! I haven’t read the Light Novel source material—even Volume 1 of the manga I bought recently has already been surpassed by the anime. But I did seesome things tweeted out by the Animate (it’s an anime/manga and merch retail chain in Japan) twitter account that made me do a little ~digging~ and it seems we might have a bit more controversy before the season is out—assuming the anime adaptation gets to the moment in question.

Alright, but why even bring that up? Because I kinda feel bad if after convincing people to watch this show after the ~events~ of the earlier episodes and then after a relatively ‘normal’ episode like this it ends up upending expectations later on.

That’s not of your concern though… that’s on the show, and if people decided to drop it or even deride it later on that’s fine too. It’s all part of the process is it not? Hmm, when did you get so smart…

I’ll take that as a compliment (I guess). So what else happens in this episode? Well we’re also introduced to Emile of the Adventurer’s Guild, who immediately proclaims himself to be a defender of all women and is here to protect the virtue of Rem and Shera from Diablo. The guy’s just a fedora and a neckbeard away from calling them both ‘milday’ and proceeds to completely misread the situation in addition to not listen to the girls protests that Diablo is actually a good guy and is trying to find a way to remove the slave collars too—well at least not at first. I thought it was a smart bit of writing having a guy like him show up because it shows that not only are these women capable of looking after themselves and aren’t in need of a ‘hero’ to ‘save’ them but also that sometimes hollow proclamations serve the person saying them rather than the people they are supposedly defending. Sometimes it’s better to listen to individual persons genuine concerns and address them in turn rather than rush in and proclaim yourself a defender of an entire gender just for the sake of your own image.

So much for no rants in this review… Shut it!

Anything else of note happen? Well earlier in the episode Sylvie gives them a super easy quest with a big reward to make up for last episode’s ‘trap’ but Rem doesn’t feel right about going on the quest because she thinks the reward is too generous and doesn’t want to be indebted to the quest giver—Celestine, the head of the Mage’s association. Staying back in town proves a dangerous decision as Galluk—the douche who tried to challenge Diablo to a fight in the first episode has gone postal and stabs himself with a knife which turns him into one of the swol furry-esque The Fallen. This is especially bad because as you (might) remember, Rem has the soul of the Demon King Krebskrem inside her and if she dies it comes out!

Yikes!And of course the episode ends on a cliffhanger with Rem in her predicament and Diablo about to face off against the fearsome Edelgard! Argh, I wish more episodes were out now—the more I recalled this episode writing this review the more I enjoyed it. Also an unexpected benefit of Diablo being from ourworld is that he can fantasize about the characters in non-fantasy attire: Shera in a bikini ftw! Okay, now that I’m done undermining my authority with that bit of drooling fan-service adoration I’ll stop.

As if I wasn’t going to include this image…

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

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

The Grope Debate – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 2 Review

The Grope Debate – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 2

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 2.

So last time you made the case for Diablo’s non-consensual antics towards his female ‘companions’. How much of this review are you going to spend defending his “antics” this time? Cutting right to the heart of the issue now are we?

Well, let’s face it, it’s half the reason people are even reading this review! Fair enough, can’t argue with that.

So what does Diablo do that could be considered ~problematic~ in this episode? Well the episode opens with Diablo waking up in bed with his left hand firmly planted on the breast of busty elf Shera who is sleeping beside him.

Oh, well that’s just an innocent mistake right? Eh~ well he kinda keeps groping her breast long after coming to the realisation of what he’s done—his inner monologue protests his left hand’s ‘actions’ and he even calls for his right hand to help stop his uncontrollable grope—only to find his right hand is copping a feel of Rem’s flat chest who is sleeping on his other side.

…Well. This ought to be fun… What?

Watching you try and justify these actions! For a moment, I almost thought “you know what, screw it, this is just harem shenanigans in a silly anime I don’t have to justify them” but that’s the easy way out. So you know what, I’m absolutely going to justify his actions—or more appropriately try and explain the in-universe context.

*grabs popcorn* So consider what kind of life Diablo—Takuma Sakamoto had before being ‘summoned’ to this other world, he was a shut-in who almost constantly played the video game Cross Reverie, now suddenly he’s in that world. What are the possible options for his new reality, either he’s in a dream—and let’s face it all rules are off in a dream, he’s in the video game itself—same situation, the rules are off. The third and probably the most accurate option—at least given what this show is telling us about this world—is that it’s an alternate universe that happens to share multitude similarities with the game world Takuma is most familiar with.

And what does that mean for your ‘no rules’ hypothesis? It still applies.

Excuse me? Please don’t tell me your condoning non-consensual touching in the context of this narrative? In the context of this narrative Diablo is “god”, this is a world made for him. And it just so happens though that he’s a kind, nervous, socially awkward god who just wants to help his new friends out of whatever problems they have. And so when he ends up getting involved in ‘inappropriate shenanigans’ with these girls it’s his privilege as a “god” to suffer little to no real world repercussions for his actions. You cannot equate real world logic to a series that in itself is so out of the norm from anything that anyone could quantify as reality. In video games the player is ‘god’ and in this world Diablo is ‘god’.

Sounds like a lot of ‘mansplaining’ and ‘male privilege’ to justify a few cheap thrills if you ask me… Have you been talking to my irlwaifu? What I’m saying is that if this series was a harem anime that took place anywhere in the real world, his actions—specifically the non-consensual ones could absolutely be put under a critical microscope and be called out for how harmful they are, but not only is this pure fantasy, it’s an idealised very specific fantasy for one character. There’s nothing to be gained from drawing parallels to reality when every encounter is orchestrated in hyper-unreality to garner a very specific reaction from the protagonist.

So are you saying a negative reaction from someone viewing these scenes is ‘wrong’? Now you’re just putting words in my mouth. The way everyone perceives media is different; my opinion is no more or less valid than anyone else’s—why does it feel like I’ve made this speech before recently…

Hmm… I don’t know if I agree with you but I see your point. Wouldn’t it be nice if every interaction with contrasting opinions ended like that?

So this review ended up a lot longer than intended and we’ve basically talked about what amounts to the first few minutes of the episode! Want to speed-run the rest? Sure, so after the ‘groping’ we end up at the Adventurer’s Guild where Shera and Diablo are going to have their level checked (there’s no need for Rem to do so as she tells us she’s level 40). Shera goes first, she’s level 30—apparently very good for someone with minimal experience in adventuring, Diablo goes next and it’s over 9000! Okay not really, but his level is too high for the ‘magic mirror’ to be able to assess. The Guildmaster, rabbit loli Sylvie tells Diablo he’s “too strong” for their Guild—only meaning he’s a higher in level than she is and wouldn’t he feel weird taking orders from someone weaker. Demonstrating that ego-less shut-in personality he says he has no problem with that and just want to be in a guild so he can help people.

That’s pretty altruistic, I’ll admit… wait what’s this about a “rabbit loli”? Shhh. So they take a quest to defeat a powerful monster in the woods, end up ambushed by some snooty elves, who are their to rescue Shera from the “slave trader” Diablo because she actually is a princess of an Elven country and is supposed to be marrying her brother(?) and having children. But she is defiant, saying she’s nobody’s slave and only lives her life for self and her companions! It’s a very rousing speech that I think perfectly highlights how strong and independent these female characters are—

—How long til’ she’s straddling Diablo in bed and confessing her love for him? About 5 minutes, but it’s her choice (probably).

Is it hot in here or is there an elf girl straddling me?

What do you mean by “probably”? Well it’s a slightly worrying thought I had, but what if these girls are only sticking around with Diablo not because he’s a nice and understanding and helpful guy, but because the ‘slave spell’ that’s ended them up with a collar each around their neck is influencing their decision making abilities and free will.

Well that would be problematic, wouldn’t it?! You’d love that, wouldn’t you, just seeing all my hard work defending this show blow up in my face!

Maybe then you’d be honest with yourself and just come out and say the only reason you’ve put so much energy into defending this show is because you think the female characters are attractive and you like all the fan-service it has! It’s a factor! But I’m genuinely interested in the story here, the characters are enjoyable to spend time with, there are good bouts of energetic humour, it’s well animated and it’s just plain fun! Maybe I’m kinder on this show than I would be on one that’s lacking some of those elements, but maybe we all need to enjoy a little ‘fantasy’ from time to time…

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

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Is It Wrong To Suck A Cat Girl’s Ear In Another World? – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 1 Review

Is It Wrong To Suck A Cat Girl’s Ear In Another World? – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 1

What’s the show? Hot NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 1.

And what’s it about? Takuma is a shut-in who is obsessed with the MMORPG ‘Cross Reverie’ so obsessed in fact that he’s the most powerful character in the game, bequeathed the title of Demon Lord Diablo and something of a ‘final boss’ for other players who dare take up arms against him! But one day he wakes up in the fantasy world he loves so much, except he’s not himself in this world but rather has all the physical and power-based attributes of his online avatar, Diablo!

Right… And how did he get into this fantasy world? Ordinarily when it comes to these Isekai shows I’d say something like “don’t be ridiculous they don’t explain the how of these things, it just ‘happens’!” But here it seems he was ‘summoned’ here by busty elf Shera L Greenwood and pantherian (cat girl) Rem Galleu. What the were expecting to summon was an obedient slave, but because of one of Takuma’s—or rather Diablo’s—magical items all spells are countered and returned to the caster, meaning these two girls are his slaves!

Oh boy… Now now, I know what you’re thinking and this show could have immediately made the mistake of creating a lecherous scenario by having Takuma take advantage of his situation, but right from the get-go not only is Takuma so inexperienced with social interactions that he has to revert to ‘RP’ing’ as Diablo in all his conversations but he is as keen to break the spell as the girls are!

Why do I have a feeling you’re having an imaginary argument with people who don’t like this show? Because I know they’re out there and I know they’ll take this one element of the show and just run it into the ground. If Takuma/Diablo had been in any way a jerk to these girls or mistreated them I’d have been against him from the get-go, but not only is he understanding of these girls he goes as far as to pledge his allegiance to Rem in order to help her out of her difficult situation?

And what situation is that? She’s got the soul of an ancient and powerful demon lord called Krebskulm inside her that will be released unto the world when she dies.

Oh, so a minor thing then. Why does he help her out? Because he’s a nice guy? Okay, maybe it’s just because he’s treating this like a game and wants to get to the final boss ASAP, but regardless of his true intentions, he ishelping and accepting of Rem in a way that no one has ever been before, he treats her like a person and isn’t afraid of what’s inside her…

Uh-huh, and what’s this about your so-called “nice-guy” protagonist ‘torturing’ her to get the information out of her?! This is why I shouldn’t let you read my notes… *sigh* okay, fine—he does ~kinda~ cross the line by forcing Rem onto the bed and proceeding to stroke then rub and then suck the cat girl’s fuzzy ear in order to get the information out of her. But I’ve seen worse in more positively received series, and even if we’re not comparing, not only is it integral to moving the plot forward but by the end of it nobody is harmed by these ‘shenanigans’… I know, I know it sounds like I’m condoning non-consensual touching here and this is a slippery slope to go down and the last thing I’d want is for people to misconstrue my words as condoning this behaviour in the real world but it’s all about context here!

And what context is that exactly? Aside from what’s explicitly shown on the screen?Let’s not pretend this show isn’t something it’s not, it’s pretty heavy on the fan-service and it’s a comedy driven harem anime—you can judge this against reality as much as you want but the simple fact of the matter is this a fantasy series in more ways than one…

You don’t get *this* kind of ‘service’ on Crunchyroll.

So it gets a pass because of its genre? I don’t understand what you mean by ‘gets a pass’ it’s in a similar vein to Konosuba, Is It Wrong To Try & Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon and especially No Game No Life—and while those shows have “problematic” elements too it’s never serious enough to derail the show.

But shouldn’t every show, even those shows of very similar genres and types, strive to be better than what’s come before? Maybe this is a horribly reductive thing to say—especially in a day and age where the media we consume can be held up a microscope to us as a society but the only obligation this kind of show has to my mind is to be entertaining.

And what about the ways in which its similar to those other ‘isekai’ show, isn’t that a detractor from its overall quality? In some ways it has a lot of derivative elements from those aforementioned series’ but I prefer to think that this show is picking ~just~ enough common elements to create that warm sense of familiarity, while still having its own story to tell and characters to inhabit it. At the end of the day it’s just a whole lot of fun, and while it’s too early to say whether the ‘yet to be introduced’ characters will have as much charm, I’m already won over by this world, it’s inhabitants and the socially inept overpowered protagonist that’s stuck there!

*insert obligatory Megumin reference here*

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