Isekai Maō to Shōkan Shōjo no Dorei Majutsu

How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord – Full Season QandA Rundown

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.

Sometimes Diablo uses his “evil” voice a little *too* much.

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.

I mean how else are you supposed to eat a sausage?

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.

Shera has some pretty adorable aspirations.

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.

The action is pretty damn cool in this show too!

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.

Diablo vs Krebskulm in Episode 12 made for some impressive imagery.

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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A Slave To Sweets – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 12 (Finale) Review

A Slave To Sweets – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 12

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.

I loved the visuals throughout this fight!

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.

So casual about enslavement, or whatever.

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!

Sylvie’s having a hard time processing it all.

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.

Did I say hold a knife to her throat? I meant her chest.

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:

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Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 11 Review

Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 11

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.

Do I think Rem is *actually* dead? No of course not, they’re not going to kill of a main girl, this isn’t that kind of show!

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!

Krem in Krebskulm form. Such pretty wings!

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 2^nd 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:

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Something To Moan About – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 10 Review

Something To Moan About – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 10

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 10.

So wh— I’ll stop you right there.

What? I know what you’re about to ask; you’re going to ask “how perverted does this episode get?” or some other such question that calls into question the ~moral integrity~ of this show as if a show’s overall quality is somehow determined by how much fan service it has. You know nobody makes a big deal about a show being violent or gory but the soon as there’s the hint of sexuality people lose their goddamn minds!

…I was just going to ask what happens in the episode… Oh.

Yeah… no need to get all rant-y right off the bat. So what happens in this episode? Diablo resurrects the Demon Lord Krebskulm by fingering Rem.

Haha… No really, what happens? Really. Like this isn’t me trying to be clever with wordplay or anything or alluding to something else for the sake of making a rude joke. Diablo has to reach into Rem’s stomach to sort of jumpstart the Demon Lord’s soul and when placing his hand on her stomach proves not nearly close enough Edelgard suggests making a hole—but rather than injure poor Rem by making a hole, Edelgard recommends the hole that nature provides.

You know sometimes I think I know what I’m getting into with these reviews and sometimes I’m just at a loss for words. I’d say I was too but that’d be lying—I knew that this scene coming for about 6 weeks now. See because I love my anime merch I early on saw a pass-case (a leather card case to hold a travel/public transport card) with artwork of Rem getting fingered and thus researched a little to see if this was canon or ‘artistic license’. Yes, it turned out the answer was—I didn’t completely spoil myself however as I didn’t know the context of the fingering just that she got fingered.

Can you please stop saying “fingered” it’s seriously off-putting. I bought that pass-case by the way. #notsponsored

Is it wrong that I’m wondering how ‘deep’ he got? Because that looks like quite a bit of his arm!

I didn’t ask! But of course you did… you pervert. So can we move on please? Do they summon the Demon Lord Krebskulm? Yes, and even though the reveal was kind of spoiled by last week’s preview, Krebskulm is not quite what everyone was expecting. Rather than being some giant beast as eluded to by some imagery throughout the series (especially early on) Krebskulm is a cute loli with memory loss—that is to say she doesn’t even remember what a Demon Lord is supposed to do!

She might be small but she packs a punch (apparently, maybe).

So she’s not the threat everyone perceived her to be? Oh she’s still planning a genocide—a genocide on biscuits!

What? Thankfully Shera, being the adorable girl that she is thought to bring biscuits with her and offers them to the starving Demon Lord and instantly she’s enraptured with the sweet treats! (Also, just a small thing but I liked that they called them biscuits here and not the more American term “cookies”)

Okay. So threat mostly neutralised with ‘biscuits’, where does that leave our plot? Unfortunately it seems like Alicia isn’t exactly ‘on the level’ and wants Krebskulm to remember her “true calling” of destroying all the mortal races, so I guess Alicia was evil all along… or was she?!

Well, which is it then?! We get a brief but powerful flashback after they return to the inn that Alicia’s kinda had it hard in life—her parents admonishing her for being smart and wearing glasses, her superiors taking advantage of her and expecting too much. Basically she hates humanity for kinda self-centred reasons and wants Krebskulm to destroy the mortal races to make a “beautiful world” without people. It’s kinda flimsy, but whatever, I don’t think she’ll go through with it in the end—I believe in the power of friendship and that Rem, Shera and Diablo will be able to convince her that some people are good!

She’s been through some shit, but not enough to warrant a genocide.

Anything else you wanted to add? Shenanigans.

Pardon? Some good shenanigans toward the end of the episode, Diablo collapses having expended his magic power on an encounter with a powerful ‘Fallen’ named Eulerex and in order to “recharge” him Shera strips off and proceeds to rub her breasts against him—Krem-Chan (that’s what the show decides to call Krebskulm which I’m thankful for as I’m sick of spelling out her full name each time) sees this and wants in on the fun too!

Wait what was that about an encounter with a powerful Fallen? Oh whatever, I’m talking about the important stuff here! So little Demon loli starts rubbing up against Diablo too and they start moaning and—

End of review!

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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Holier Than Maou – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 9 Review

Holier Than Maou – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 9

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 9.

So last week you were expecting some repercussions for Diablo’s sexual advances on Sylvie and that you’d be annoyed if it didn’t happen— Listen! I say a lot of things…

So I take it no repercussions then, hmm? Well not yet! Sylvie doesn’t even appear in the episode so maybe it’s coming later… you don’t know!

Sounds like you’re just making excuses for your perverted show… Can we just get on with the review please? So after a brief lesson in summoning where Shera summons a Pokemon-looking bird that allows her to see through its eyes like Wargs in Game of Thrones (two pop-culture references in one sentence how about that!). We end up at the most important scene in the episode, the bathing in the river scene!

I know you’re being difficult on purpose now. What, it’s true! Edelgard, the leader of the Fallen who Diablo previously defeated in episode 3 makes her presence known as Shera and Rem are bathing—she’s here because she senses the presence of the Demon Lord Krebskulm residing in Rem which they confirm for her. They form an alliance with Edelgard because she has the knowledge of getting the Demon Lord out of Rem without any harm coming to her.

dl4n6l5xoayot2p — Cute expression from Edelgard!

Well that’s certainly helpful. I love the scene where Rem finally tells the truth of her situation to Shera—who’s been kept in the dark this whole time. These two girls have a genuine friendship, they are literally each others best friends and it’s just great to see this kind of connection in a show like this where usually the two main girls would be bitter love rivals for the protagonists attention.

dl4nzawxsamtqu7 — Shera kissing her new summon, so cute!

I take it that’s not all that happens in the episode? Of course not. Alicia the Knight has returned to the capital where she visits an old acquaintance a holy man and ruthless Paladin by the name of Saddler who will kill anyone and everyone associated with a demon lord. He’s planning on visiting Faltra, the city Diablo, Rem and Shera are in so she hurries back to warn them about his impending arrival.

dl47rsew4acw67j — Yeah… guessing he’s the new bad guy!

So is Alicia good or not? There was some ‘suggestion’ that she may have had a dark past or was hiding something from the others. Well things aren’t made any clearer—after they temporarily ward off Saddler, Rem and Shera want to tell Alicia about the whole ‘Demon Lord living in Rem’ thing because they think of her as a friend and ally too. Diablo is initially against the idea but relents, the anime makes a point of him feeling suspicious of how accommodating Alicia is of learning of this news, but then has him dismiss his thoughts as being “inexperienced with social interactions”. I feel like they wouldn’t have bothered with this unless there was ‘betrayal’ imminent—which would be sad as I like Alicia’s character as she is.

Anything else you want to add? Not really, this was a good solid episode that gets things set up for the end-game, we’ve got multiple antagonists in play, Galford, now Saddler, and potential betrayals from Edelgard and Alicia. Plus there’s the impending summoning of the Demon Lord Krebskulm to factor into it—even if the ‘episode preview’ for next week kind of spoils the “big” reveal. My opinion on the show hasn’t changed, I love the characters, the setting and the ‘service so once again another great time that has me eagerly awaiting the next episode!

dl5u5zuxsaafmsb — I think Rem’s a *little* jealous…

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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Down The Rabbit Hole – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 8 Review

Down The Rabbit Hole – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 8

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 8.

So what wanton and lewd acts are you deigning to defend this episode? You ever get so drunk you mistakenly fingerbang a rabbit girl thinking she’s a body pillow?

*spit take* What the hell?! I didn’t think so…

Are you seriously telling me Diablo did ‘that’?! If by “that” you mean bring Sylvie the rabbit-girl guild leader to orgasm through the use of his fingers, then yes, “that” indeed did happen in this episode. Though not until the end of the episode, you know after Diablo goes about defeating a weapon of mass destruction tier Hydra summon from Shera’s evil brother, then defeating Galford who’s trying to instigate a war between his hold and the Elven Kingdom. So you know, basically saving the world in the space of an episode!

Is this your roundabout way of saying we should talk about the rest of the episode first because I mean you brought up the, uhh… thing… in the first place? Certainly was attention grabbing wasn’t it! But yes, the ‘rest’ of the episode, i.e. all the quality stuff that’ll be forgotten by everyone being too hung up on what happened at the end. So the Hydra that Keera summons is unlike any beast Diablo has ever seen—and Diablo raises the point himself, that this (probably) means that despite some superficial similarities initially this world is more different to the game world of ‘Cross Reverie’ than he anticipated, which is exciting for him! After some difficulties even making a dent on the beast, Shera gives Diablo the helpful hint to destroy the creature’s core to get it to revert to a crystal—which he does by electrocuting the whole thing. Now, Keera is defenceless and at Diablo’s mercy…

Does Diablo kill him for what he did to Shera last week? He probably should have but Shera interjects and asks to spare his life, as much as she hates her evil brother—they’re still blood and she still has memories of the good times they spent together. As he’s escaping however a sword strikes from the darkness of the woods decapitating Keera and killing him instantly. It’s Galford—the Timothy Dalton looking guy from a few episodes ago. He’s not happy about the easy resolution and wants to force a war to happen so he can make a claim for the Elven territory through invasion. Obviously Diablo’s not having any of this and the two fight, but the old man is much tougher and faster than he looks! It’s a hard fought fight but eventually Diablo bests the bastard through superior intellect and strategy.

Does Diablo kill this guy then? Nope, I guess the series needed a recurring villain. Which I’m ~kind of~ okay with as not only is he pretty-well established now, has a lot of influence over the town and has some pretty badass abilities that pose and actual threat to Diablo it’ll make for some interesting match-ups in the future!

…we are at the point we’re you’re going to talk about the ‘incident’ now, aren’t we? Yep.

When things start looking slightly sideways it’s fair to say you’ve had too much to drink!

Fine, go on then… explain away! I’ll just sit here with my fingers in my ears. Speaking of fingers, Sylvie comes to visit the mana-depleted Diablo who is bedridden, bored and broke. She comes (ahem) bearing gifts, specifically a bottle of what looks like whiskey or some other type of alcohol. Diablo isn’t sure what his alcohol tolerance is in this world—presumes its substantial since he’s a big guy and so down a tankards worth—and is instantly hammered. In his drunken haze he mistakes the petite Sylvie for a body pillow (dakimakura) and takes her in his arms. Remarking on the high quality of the material as he rubs against her bare skin. Then he removes what little clothes she has and starts stroking her… then his hand moves south of the border and well in the uncensored AT-X version you see a little bit more than on the Crunchyroll stream so there’s mistaking that he goes down the ‘rabbit hole’ as is it were.

And are you going to try and justify his actions like you’ve done many times before? Nope. As amusing as the scene is (this is comic relief fan service here) Diablo is indeed in the wrong, having an altered state of mind due to alcohol is a flimsy excuse at best—whether she enjoyed it or not is also not justification after the fact. The only thing that potentially ‘saves’ the scene from being assault is whether Diablo is held accountable for his actions in a future episode. Obviously I don’t expect him to go to jail or anything, Sylvie seems like a practical kind of woman and she even says afterwards “you better make this right”. Meaning she knows a transgression has been done to her, she’s not traumatised by it due to the nature of their relationship but she does feel like she has been wronged so it simply remains to be scene what he’ll have to do to ‘make up for it.’

I never realised her eyes look like they’re buffering. *Speaking of buffering…*

So you’re finally putting your foot down? I could just shrug it off as silly fan service comedy moment but I think this show is smart enough to know—and foreshadows it with Sylvie’s remark—that this is a universe with consequences, yes it may appear to be ‘fantasy’ and ‘harem’ on the surface but this show continues to hammer home the fact that this isn’t a game, this is real and actions have consequences. So I’d be surprised if there aren’t any consequences for Diablo’s actions—even if it’s just a slap on the wrist.

So what’s your final opinion on the episode? It’s another great episode of a show I love increasingly more with each passing instalment. Keera’s death was surprising, Shera’s emotional reaction was impactful, the action was exciting and innovative and there’s still (presumably) a lot more to happen in this world. And with regard to the final scene, well I guess we’ll see if this show stands by it’s commitment to the ‘this world has consequences’ mantra it’s sewn throughout the series so far!

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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The Slimes That Bind Us – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 7 Review

The Slimes That Bind Us – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 7

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 7.

So how far are you going to go to try and excuse the gratuitous fan service this episode? There’s two very distinct types of fan service in this episode—the light-hearted type that benefits our protagonist (and therefore the audience as his analogue) and the creepy type which is relevant to express the complete moral degradation of the villain who is inflicting the “fan service” upon the character.

And you intend to defend them both? The first type doesn’t need defending, it’s entirely for comedic effect—though comes with the added benefit of explaining how Diablo is able to continue making powerful potions despite the interface between in-game and real life being very different. The second type is defensible in that it’s indefensible, i.e. it’s not meant to be just for the sake of arousal.

Fan service that’s not meant to be sexy? Care to elaborate? Well first some context—Shera’s evil brother Keera comes to collect his sister despite having no intention of leaving with him—that is until he plays a brainwashing tune on his magical flute and she can’t help but oblige his wishes. As we discovered last week Keera’s intent is to have his sister give birth to an heir, which she obviously has no intent on doing as she wants to be free to live her own life. So Keera decides to ‘punish’ her by tying her up and unleashing a slime that wraps around her like tentacles and slowly melts off her clothing.

Sounds like typical fan service to me… The show paints what’s happening to Shera as an inherently bad thing—you’re meant to feel uncomfortable and feel sorry for Shera as she’s being assaulted by the slime that’s been unleashed by her leering brother. And the show doesn’t make light of what’s happening to her—she cries and objects and wails and then when Diablo comes to the rescue he doesn’t blush or ogle her unclothed body he simply covers her up in a cloak, comforts her and makes her feel safe.

And I want to keep watching you three forever and ever!

But surely just having this type of scene in an anime is meant to appeal to and arouse someone, you don’t have a “clothes melting slime” attack a main-character and it ~not~ be seen as fan service? It’s all about in how the scene is presented, the only other character in the scene is an evil, incestuous, would-be rapist who has kidnapped his sister and is assaulting her in this dehumanising way—and he’s enjoying every minute of it, if the audience is truly on Shera’s side and not just watching this show as passive voyeur this scene is meant to be gross and exploitative. Yes it’s still ~technically~ fan service, the same way that a damsel in distress in a Bond film would be tied up and have her clothes strategically torn to both highlight her sexuality as well as present the evilness of the villain.

This guy needs to get his ass kicked, and quick.

Wait… I thought you said it was “gross and exploitative” now you’re saying it’s “highlighting her sexuality”? It can be both believe it or not—if anything this show is proof that ~just~ because a show has a lot of fan service doesn’t mean it can’t be complicated and nuanced. Speaking of which…

Yes? The character development in this episode on everyone’s part is just so damn good! It’s so well-written and naturalistic that even simple looks carry so much emotional impact. Even the brief flashback to Diablo’s in real life childhood where he thinks he’s made some friends over a shared interest in video-games only to find out that they were using him to get good in-game items is not only shockingly relatable (at least to this reviewer) but it’s done in such a subtle way and carries its impact through the rest of the episode. Not only that but there’s so many great moments early on between Shera and Diablo that lay the groundwork for a deeper relationship between the two and allows each of them to be vulnerable with each other in ways that neither would have anticipated before coming into each other’s lives.

Unexpected vulnerability from Diablo in this scene.

Well that’s g— And it’s not just Shera and Diablo, Rem gets a sweet scene as she convinces the crestfallen Diablo to come to help rescue Shera—cementing the importance of their three-way friendship and the life they have all share together. Unlike some shows where it feels like characters are together for their own selfish reasons, or even just because they’re thrown together by circumstance (which is how this show started) they now genuinely feel like a family who rely and depend and yes, even love each other. And as much as I enjoy the fan service moments in the show, ultimately it’s the characters that has me prematurely calling this my favourite anime of the Summer 2018 season!

Aside from this moment being so sweet it’s also *such* a well-framed shot.

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Sexually Liberated Elf – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 6 Review

Sexually Liberated Elf – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 6

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 6.

So how are things in this episode? *deep breath* I have a feeling a lot of people might stop watching this show after this one…

Oh really? That bad huh? Well personally I loved it, it was probably my favourite episode of the season thus far—but yeah I dare say if previous episodes were fan-service at level 7 or 8 then this one is pushing a 10. I mean on an abitrary scale designed to appeal to people who don’t watch a lot of ecchi, for me this is like a 6 in levels of extreme sexuality with Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid being at the top of that scale—but that’s a discussion for another day.

So the fan service is really extreme (by normal person standards)? Okay so here’s the thing, I think the earlier stuff in the Slave Trader’s tent is 100% justifiable under the context of the narrative—but at the same time I can totally understand people being ~turned off~ by such a scene.

Just a normal, wholesome scene in a normal, wholesome anime.

I’m almost afraid to ask but what happens in this scene? Well Diablo, Shera and Rem visit a traveling Slave Market as they’re under the impression she’ll have the know how to remove the magical slave collars that Rem and Shera have been sporting since the first episode. Medios, the slave trader does indeed have that knowledge and the ceremony begins—basically the ceremony entails Diablo having to visualize Shera’s magical flow and grab hold of it. Which means a lot of groping of Shera’s scantily clad body til she’s basically orgasming from his touch.

Hmm, I see. I look forward to you finding a justification for such a scene as being anything other than shameless pandering. Here I go! So historically speaking slavery and likewise the subjugation of women by men has always in some way led to a denial of very many things. So with the liberation of women both symbolically and literally in society as well as the burgeoning feminist movement, one of the many things gained was sexual independence and what’s a more liberated expression of such freedom than the female orgasm! Therefore, I posit that having Shera achieve a magic-induced orgasm to assist unlocking the literal slave collar around her neck not only makes sense but is in-line with feminist ideals.

Wow. I mean I’ve seen some grasping at straws and then there’s that. Kudos for trying though, how about you just be honest and admit that you just really like this show and stop making such leaps in logic to justify your adulation. Fine, I admit it this show just pushes all my right buttons, but you gotta admit that was a pretty good attempt at making a case for the fan service in this episode?

You have a rare gift—one that I hope never to receive. So back to the episode proper does the “ritual” work in getting off Shera’s collar? Well she certainly gets off—heh heh heh—but no, as it turns out the magical lines binding the collar to her are like thousands of strands of twine and undoing them all is not only difficult but will probably take multiple and more concerted attempts—so expect more scenes like this in future episodes I guess is what the show is saying!

Right, and the rest of the episode? Things get surprisingly touching (no pun intended) as Shera has a deep and meaningful moonlight conversation with Rem about the kind of life she wants to live—she wants to open a cafe and not only that she wants Rem and Diablo to work with her because she sees them all as more than just friends, their her family now. And it’s so wholesome and sweet I honestly got a little misty eyed!

Man, I want this as a spin-off show please and thank you.

Wait, wasn’t there something about a war breaking out because Shera didn’t want to go back to the Elven kingdom but her brother wanted her back? Oh yeah, that. Her brother shows up at the inn they are staying at and he’s ~suspiciously~ charming and nice about it, saying that if by morning Shera still doesn’t want to come home she’ll respect her decision and back off.

Sounds too good to be true. Of course it is, we wouldn’t have any drama if it was. The episode ends with brother dearest giving a monologue atop a tree exclaiming how much he wants to impregnate his sister accompanied by his best evil laugh.

Oh, incest, wonderful. Well what do you expect from royalty—and elves—and anime.

Fair point. So I take it you really enjoyed this episode? Yes, as I said before it’s probably my favourite one thus far—honestly I’m at a loss for words at how well this show can go from sleazy and salacious to wholesome and heartwarming, while still retaining a sense of humour, a commitment to world-building and all-round excellent characters. I don’t deny the fan service here will be so high that a lot of people will tap out but for me this exactly the show I wanted!

As if I *wasn’t* going to include this picture.

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Reigning It In – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 5 Review

Reigning It In – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 5

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 5.

So what happens in this episode? Well it takes place immediately after where last week ended with everyone’s favourite loli guildmaster Sylvie explaining the situation they are in—namely the Elven kingdom wants Shera back and are willing to go to war to get here and not only that but Shera’s brother has put a bounty out on his little sister!

Man, can’t stop looking at how crooked her eyeline is… *very* distracting!

Serious business. Indeed, and what’s more this is a situation that Diablo feels completely out of his depth of. He may have overpowered combat abilities but his communication skills are very lacking—the idea of having to play diplomat sends him into a panic! And it’s good to see this side of Diablo, not that we haven’t seen this before but after how resolutely he decimated his opponents in the last episode it’s still great to see.

So how are Diablo’s communication abilities specifically tested in this episode? Well he and the girls meet with Lieutenant General Chester Ray Galford the lord of Faltra City, recognised “hero” and all around Timothy Dalton look-alike (anyone else think that or is it just me?). And I think what’s most interesting about the scene—and by extension the whole episode—is how hard they hammer home the fact female autonomy, independence freedom and the importance of being able to choose your own destiny. Obviously this isn’t a bad thing at all—I love it in fact, but it almost feels like they’re trying ~extra~ hard to make up for the fact that two of the female cast wear slave collars. And I totally get it, it wants to have your cake and eat it too but all the same it does feel a bit heavy-handed.

Wait… so you’re criticising the show for being ‘progressive’? No, uh… it’s hard to put into words. I’m just saying the show is trying very hard to not be one-note—which again, is great, if it is indeed sincere about it and is not just paying lip service.

…Right. Let’s move on, shall we? So what else happens in the episode? Well, after their meeting with Chester Ray Galford goes more or less without a hitch, they’re introduced to Alicia Crystella—an Imperial Knight, and a rare one at that as very few of them are female! She’s almost like the opposite of Diablo, at the very least opposite in terms of her excellent interpersonal and communication skills. And she’s kinda adorable and I love her already, but whatever that’s par for the course for me… She joins their crew to help protect Shera—and immediately fails when a bunch of enterprising townsfolk interrupt their leisurely stroll through the city and kidnap Shera.

Oh dear. I do like that Diablo’s decided to take a “non-lethal” approach to this whole “quest”, rather than just kill everyone that stands in his way (and he very easily could) he’s almost imposed limits on himself to make the ‘game’ harder. But in a way it’s also Diablo coming to terms with the sobering reality he learned last episode, that this isn’t a game—it’s real life and indiscriminate killing might be all well and good in a video game but that doesn’t sit right with him now. And after a fun little chase sequence and another ingratiating appearance by Emile Bichel Berger, Shera is rescued and they can continue on to the next episode!

Kinda doesn’t sound like much happens in this episode? It’s definitely a set-up episode and despite the minor action-scene towards the end feels miles more low-key than the previous episode. But that’s okay, we need the breather, we need the re-iterating of fundamental character ideals and we need a bit of levity—which this episode provides substantially. Getting to know these characters over the previous episodes helps a lot in making an otherwise ordinary kind of episode feel more alive, there’s a lot of great small moments, like with Rem jostling for relevance against Shera’s advances and Shera herself being especially cute throughout. It’s not my favourite episode but definitely a part of what is quickly becoming one of my favourite shows of the season!

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