English Dub Review: How NOT to Summon A Demon Lord “Slave Market”

Let my people grope!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Celeste shows up in town to tell the adventurers about a traveling slave caravan about to arrive that uses the same level enslavement collars that Rem and Shera have, so they might be able to help get them off. And since Diablo is so OP that he can kill everything easily, they figure this is an acceptable diversion. Once there, despite being in the presence of ENSLAVED GROUPS OF PEOPLE SOLD LIKE CATTLE, Diablo is mainly concerned about creaming himself when he sees them. Our hero. They meet the owner, Medios, who instructs Diablo to read the flow of magic by, you guessed it, groping Shera. This DOES serve a purpose, mainly in trying to weed out the energy being blocked by the collar. But…gah.

They aren’t able to unlock the collars, but it’s a step in the right direction. This calls for some music! Specifically, some odd flute playing outside that turns out to be played by Shera’s brother and first prince, Keera L. Greenwood. He claims to have come with hopes of peaceful solutions, but everyone is appropriately cautious about the guy who’s causing all of this hullabaloo coming right up to them and acting so nice. He simply says he’ll come tomorrow and ask what Shera really wants, and he’ll accept any answer he gets at face value. Diablo sees this as just a formality, but Keera seems rather certain she might change her mind.

Later that night, Shera and Rem can’t sleep, so they talk about their future plans. Shera makes clear she is committed to never going home and actually has plans to open a cat-themed café for her, Rem, and Diablo, who she considers being more family than her blood. Rem is hesitant to be a part of this considering the demon sealed inside of her at the moment, but she figures it doesn’t hurt to look beyond that for now. Then more yuri bait. Meanwhile, Keera schemes to bring Shera home.

OUR TAKE

And just like that, we’re at the halfway point. I know that removing the collars is part of the main story, but this first half really felt like just fanservicey fluff. The main things gained from it are Diablo being able to understand how magic works in this world a bit, which might play a part in defeating Keera whenever he shows his true colors, but for now, it’s just…there. We just visited a place where sentient beings are objectified and considered commodities and prizes, something that relates directly to Shera’s own story arc, but the only actual comment we get on that is Diablo just hoping they aren’t too hot or else he might have to change his underwear. Heck, all we see of these other slaves is that they look pretty well off, and apparently at least some did this willingly. They’re even in cahoots with the Mage Society, so this is just a legitimized business that has no downsides. How are they even slaves? What is the point of these collars?! Why do they even want them off? These girls are head over heels for Diablo, he never orders them to do anything and everything he would ask they’d probably have done willingly from Ep 3 onward! If the three had a more contentious relationship or had some history of being in servitude, maybe any of this might go anywhere, but it really is just there to be the lightest of dipped toes into a slave fetish. It’s the story significance equivalent of a bag of Lays Potato Chips.

So, as for the other half, which progresses the plot just a tad for those with motion sickness, we are just skipping right to meeting the older brother out of nowhere. To no one’s surprise, he’s a scumbag. This is, without a doubt, a straight up rip off from Sword Art Online’s second arc, except with Leafa in place of Asuna and Suguha’s incestuous tendencies switched to Sugou. Keera is shallower than even him, since he has no redeeming qualities, his boring as dry paint, and his tactics are stale as stale can be. He has some sort of mind control magic probably that will take Shera away and then Rem and Diablo will get her back. This is painting a damsel story by numbers and it drives me up a wall because the only thing I can say about it of substance is how complacent any author has to be to think this is worth writing. Though we are here talking about the original version that has been adapted multiple times by now, so clearly it was marketable to get this far. Just please wrap this up so Alicia can actually have a point to being here. I know she gets more to her later, just give me a hint!