English Dub Season Review: The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After accomplishing everything he could as king, the most powerful Demon Lord ever, Varvatos, is now bored. To spice things up a bit, he is reborn in the future as Ard Meteor. Not without first recalibrating his powers to be perfectly average. But there’s no way he could have predicted that everyone in the modern world would be weak as hell, making him totally overpowering once again!

Our Take:

It’s fun being the most powerful being on the planet, but it can also be pretty repetitive after a while. It would be nice to start over and be a normal human being like everyone else. Fortunately, that’s what this Demon Lord did. Reincarnating into an ordinary boy is easy, but living an average life without being too powerful? Good luck with that.

The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody is an anime series based on the light novel series written by Myōjin Katō and illustrated by Sao Mizuno. It is directed by Mirai Minato and written by Michiko Yokote, with Takeshi Nakatsuka providing the music. The opening theme is “Be My Friend!!!” by Ayaka Ōhashi, while the ending theme is “reincarnation” by ChouCho.

The first season centers on Varvatos, a Demon Lord who defeated the Evil Gods and united the world. After feeling lonely due to his overwhelming power, Varvatos decided to reincarnate as a nobody three thousand years into the future. Now known as Ard Meteor (Nazeeh Tarsha), Varvatos attempts to live an ordinary life and make new friends despite still obtaining his magical strength from his previous life. He befriends Ireena Litz de Olhyde (Trisha Mellon), a withdrawn elf girl who fears being teased for her heritage. The two friends attend the Academy of Magic, where they encounter many obstacles that could threaten Ard’s secret, including Lady Olivia (Kasi Hollowell), who seeks to unravel his true identity. 

One of the things I was interested in the most regarding this show was its concept. There are many action-packed anime shows in which the main character journeys to become the strongest hero in the world. However, The Greatest Demon Lord flips this idea on its head by having the character hoping to become the most ordinary nobody on the planet. This concept does help in making itself stand apart from the other shows with a similar formula, but it also begs the question of whether its execution makes it worth watching or not. 

At first glance, this is a pretty basic show that barely does anything with its magic academy formula that’s been done in the other anime series. It isn’t until its ninth episode, “According to a God”, that the show transitions into a time-traveling adventure involving Ard saving his previous life. While the final few episodes may be a bit more interesting than the previous ones, they don’t pack a punch as powerful and magical as Varvatos’ powers. However, it offers enough moments in its seasonal plot to keep itself from heading below its average quality.

Most of the episodes provide some enjoyment in their comedy and magic-based action. However, a few episodes I enjoyed the most delivered some decent character development amid their magical elements. One of them, in particular, is its fifth episode, “The Story of a Lonely King”, where Ard learns about Ireena and her royal family being descendants of the Evil Gods while rescuing her from Elzard the Frenzied Dragon King (Donna Bella Litton). Along with its fast-paced action, the episode represents a solid depiction of friendship overpowering the secrets the characters hide.  

Another episode I liked was episode eight, “The Mask Laughs”, which saw Ard encountering the mysterious masked man during the festival. It’s a solid conclusion to the show’s festival arc that further represents Sylphy’s (Reshel Mae) character. Although, the plot element involving Lars Al Ghoul’s threat seemed to be forgotten at that point. Maybe we’ll see him in person in the series’ sophomore season.

Each character that’s introduced in the show’s first season had their moments of likability, even though some of them have traits that either grew a bit repetitive or weren’t as developed well as others. In addition to Nazeeh Tarsha’s decent voice work, the show offered an engaging arc for Ard Meteor. We see Ard journeying to become normal and leave his past behind throughout the season, leading him to face the sin of murdering his lover, Lydia (Corey Pettit), during his life as Varvatos. Near the end of the season, he winds up facing an alternate version of himself known as Disaster Rogue (Matthew David Rudd), who seeks to change history by preventing Lydia’s fate. It’s an enjoyable representation of loss and acceptance, even though its execution isn’t as magical as the other series with familiar themes.

Then we have Ireena and Ginny, Ard’s friends and allies. The two girls were also okay regarding their arcs. Ireena, in particular, became withdrawn due to her heritage and mysterious past until she found a friend in Ard who likes her for who she is. Ginny is a succubus who suffered from a lack of confidence due to being bullied by Eraldo Spencer (Mark Allen Jr.) in the show’s second episode, “Non-Standard”. After Ard helps Ginny learn Script Magic to defeat a Minotaur, she has enough pride in her system to stand up for herself. However, it also resulted in her worshipping Ard and planning to create a harem for him. The only issue I had with these supporting characters is them fighting for Ard’s heart, which can be pretty tiring after the first two times.

The animation is produced by Silver Link, the studio behind Deep Insanity: The Lost Child, and Blade. All I can say about it is that it looks pretty good. Regarding its spells and action sequences, the animation delivers plenty of vibrancy and energy to compensate for its simplistic nature. The best uses of its style are the battle between Ard and Elzard in “The Story of a Lonely King” and Ard’s duel with Sylphy in “The Raging Champion”.

Overall, The Greatest Demon Lord is far from extraordinary, but its average plot offers enough entertaining moments to make itself surprisingly enjoyable. The episodes and thematic material were handled well despite them being run-of-the-mill. Additionally, the characters were likable, and the animation offered a magical touch in the show’s action scenes. In other words, it’s precisely what the title suggests, quality and concept-wise, and it works because of it in my eyes.