English Dub Review: The Misfit of Demon King Academy “Magic Sword Tournament”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Despite losing to Anos in their agreed match, Lay and Misa are allowed onto his team. The next day, Anos meets with Melheis, another of the Seven Emperors who does not remember him, though it seems that the memory tampering was immediately after Anos sacrificed himself. The Magic Sword Tournament is fast approaching and it also seems that someone from the Royal Supremacists is forcing Anos to compete due to him being the apparent hope for the Unitarian faction, so Melheis suggests he drops out. Later, when Anos returns home, he finds Misha and his mother making him dinner. As thanks, he and Misha hit the town and visit a model shop that Misha works at that specializes in tiny home replicas made with creation magic. Naturally, Anos way better at doing that than her and makes her a ring out of a sculpture he made.

He also meets with Ivis, who reports that Melheis is not who he says he is, which is naturally suspicious. The report brings them to a hospital that happens to hold Lay’s sick mother, who is suffering from what is known as Spirits’ Disease. The day of the tournament arrives and Anos thinks about not competing, but is convinced by hearing that two other Emperors are making this a trap AND by the efforts of his adoptive father to get him a sword. His first opponent is Krut Ludowell, the brother of his teacher Emelia.

OUR TAKE

Things technically progress further into this arc as Anos further examines how the politics of the kingdom are interfering with this big ol sword tournament and his rising claim to fame. I think this is the fourth Demon Emperor we’re meeting, once again with little fanfare AND looking like pretty much just some random dude, though it does seem at least a little bit like they’re setting up Melheis to be the big bad of the arc with how much he is probably manipulating things behind the scenes. Though of course there really isn’t a ton on the line for Anos, since he’s on God Mode all the time and can out do anyone at anything if he so chooses. In fact, what bugs me even more than that this week is that everyone seems to think he’s a hybrid and therefore the spokesman for the Unitarian movement. I mean it’s good that he supports it and all, but he’s also clearly not a hybrid, he’s the real demon king who has come back to reclaim his power. Basically everything he’s doing with that should be going to someone like Misa, who actually IS a hybrid. But it’s clear she’s not gonna play a very big role in this story.

And hey, now we get to have a tournament arc! I love those! Except it’s clear this barely even a backdrop, let alone an actual focus for the story, and we’re setting things up for a rematch between Anos and Lay. What makes me think that is partly that Lay is the only one who has shown to give Anos some sort of run for his money, so he’s the only one whose fight with him would be interesting enough to save for the end, and partly because Anos has been shown to plow through characters who are initially introduced as super strong and pompous because this is a power fantasy first before it is a story. And that power fantasy aspect seems to extend to its harem aspects as Anos proves that he can pick up a new skill in the blink of an eye and show up Misha. his friend/love interest, at this thing she’s worked so hard to be good at. Remember fellas, if you want to impress a girl, make sure to be so good at the thing that she’s worked hard at that it makes her efforts feel like crap! But at least we’re finally about halfway through this thing.