Created By: Yukiya Murasaki, Takahiro Tsurusaki
Directed By: Yūta Murano
Studio: Ajia-do Animation Works
Audio: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English
Format: DVD, BluRay, Digital
Licensed By: Manga Entertainment UK, Funimation
Release Date: 17th February 2020
Within the MMORPG that is Cross Reverie, one player is known throughout the game for his superior strength and triple-digit level. His name is Demon Lord Diablo! Back in reality, he is simply Takuma Sakamoto. A recluse gamer that much prefers his life as a shut in and lives only through his character in game. Luckily for him, he is magically summoned by a pair of in-game adventurers – into the body of his high level Demon Lord character. Not only does he now share the same appearance and stats as Demon Lord Diablo – but also his spells and magical items. One of which reflects magic, which in turn has placed a ‘slavement’ ritual spell upon his summoners! In order to save face, ‘Diablo’ now acts just like he thinks a Demon Lord would. With an Elf Girl and Pantherian now ‘chained’ to his side, the real adventure begins as he learns just how strong the opponents are in this new World – and just how ‘confident’ his new companions are!
I am back with another isekai anime for you all. This one goes by, ‘How Not to Summon a Demon Lord’. Much like many other shows such as Log Horizon and Sword Art Online, the lead character gets summoned/stuck in a world similar, if not exact to what he had previously experienced in a video game. With our main character leading the life of a hikikomori back in reality, he is plucked from his secluded life and is summoned straight into the World of his favourite MMORPG. Unfortunately for the girls that tried summoning a creature as part of their ‘enslavement ritual’, Diablo’s magical ring has the ability ‘Magic Reflection’, which leads to their spell being bounced back onto the casters. Now that Diablo is in a new World, he now lives in the body of the character he has created and leveled up during his online game play. He also has vast knowledge and skills from his time playing Cross Reverie, which for now is helping him understand this new surroundings.
Outside of the main plot, which was Sakamoto now trying to live up to his appearance as a demon lord. We also have a few other character plots happening at the same time. Such as our Elf girl Shera who is trying to escape her duties and sets out on her own path as an adventurer. Her absence has been noticed from home and her older brother will do just about anything to get her back! This was set up to be a bit of a twisted character arc, but in the end it doesn’t seem to have changed Shera’s character any bit. That’s about as vague as I can put it really, without giving any spoilers. Then we have Rem, the cat-eared Pantherian (who seriously needs to trim down her ear hair!). Rem’s family history is tragic and also a bit of a state secret, her lifes’ goal however is crystal clear! With the help of Demon Lord Diablo’s Lv 150 character stats – Rem is soon freed from a curse that has been passed down from Mother to Daughter for Generations in her family. After just a few weeks of having first met Diablo, Rem is now free. This event should have taken much longer, a season or two at least! It was just too simple and was just a means to an end just for this Demon Lord to get finger-blasting the cat girl!
Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned this earlier on – but this anime is just NOT SAFE FOR WORK! It’s not even safe to watch on a big screen in your family home. This is one of those shows that requires you wearing a big set of headphones, in a locked room with the curtains closed. Not only are there just scenes of semi-clothed female characters and an obscene amount of erotic positions, but also numerous times when the climatic screams will pierce through your speakers if you don’t plug in your headsets! You have been warned, so just try to take my advice and hopefully you will avoid any embarrassing situations with your work/housemates.
We have several races in this show, but there appears to be a clear divide amongst them all and the humans. Those known as the Fallen lie on the demonic side, whilst the elves and Pantherian appear to live separate to the humans. With a clear social divide present, I hope to see this being explored upon more in the next season. As to how this has occurred and will Diablo intervene? To be honest I doubt he will, given his personality. Even amongst the three races outside of humans, those of the Fallen are planning a resurrection of their Demon Lord Krebskrum. A being that was so powerful and was known for being the epitome of evil. That moment of resurrection was incredibly disturbing to watch and could have been classed as hentai at any stage. The end result and the appearance of the Demon Lord, was all a bit underwhelming. This show could have been much more if it had just pulled back on the ecchi. That given, this season did have a few interesting character plots that I would like to see revisited.
Bonus Features Include:
- 01 Video Commentary
- Episode 11 Commentary
- Promo Video
- Textless Song
So let’s begin, this franchise first began back in 2014 as a light novel series under the name ‘Isekai Maō to Shōkan Shōjo no Dorei Majutsu’. It was both written and illustrated by Yukiya Murasaki and Takahiro Tsurusaki. It is currently still on going with 13 volumes out right now and is being released in English by J-Novel Club. Just six months from it’s first light novel debut, the first manga volume was released by Naoto Fukuda. This manga adaptation is still ongoing at 11 volumes right now. This is also being released in English, but by Seven Seas Entertainment. Fast forward to 2018 and this 12 episode anime was released by Ajia-do Animation Works. This long running animation studio is coming into its 42nd year, and has also produced ‘Ascendance of a Bookworm’.
‘How Not to Summon a Demon Lord’ has also been dubbed in English through Funimation with VA’s Eric Vale, Jad Saxton and Sarah Wiedenheft amongst the cast. The anime is available now to stream on FunimationNow, as well as being available to buy on physical release from Manga Entertainment UK. If you did enjoy this series, then fret not as a Season Two is currently in the works and should be released sometime next year. In the end, the visuals were top notch. There were good fighting sequences and some interesting side plots that could be expanded on. There were also some interesting character developments, that I wish were actually expanded on a bit more as they seemed rushed. It was a decent show in my opinion, the rewatchability will all depend though on Season Two. Hopefully next time, with a bit less of the ecchi.
Overall: 6.5/10
