English Dub Review: ENDRO! “Demon Lord, Vanish into the Sunset!”

“We all know at the end of the day cute wins.”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Having been chosen by the Hero’s Sword, Yusha is finally becoming the hero she’s longed to be. However, there’s still a lot of trials to go through before she can fight the demon lord! The girls squabble over who should be the leader in this episode, then decide that all four of them should help lead.

Our Take:

Our heroines are spending the night at one of the most sacred events: the traditional pajama party, complete with talking about their favorite monsters and more. A pajama party for an adventuring party, as Mei so perfectly puts it. The opening skit is pretty lackluster, and it was very easy to guess what the joke would be before it landed. Unexpectedness is part of what makes humor funny, and I have to admit, there’s not much humor that actually lands correctly in this second episode of ENDRO!

I can count the number of solid gags on one hand. There are a few things that I grinned at, like Yusha’s opening narration being performed while dozing off in class, or how the demon lord has to drink orange juice at the bar because Mao is just so tiny and cute. The funniest part was probably the bit where their tiny flying pet Chibi attempts to become bipedal in order to be qualified to lead the group. The show really leans into this 110% and the exaggerated importance sells it. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where the good jokes end. From the tired boob size jokes to the ‘reading books is unfeminine’ part, the rest of the show tries to recycle overused cliches and confusing, bland characterization to make viewers entertained. But it certainly wasn’t working on me. For a show that’s mainly a comedy, the lack of actual laughs stands out like a sore thumb. I really hope the show can find its stride next week.

Plot-wise, there’s… really nothing at all. At least if there was some semblance of an overarching plot, it would take pressure off the jokes sell the show. Before the end of the episode, there was the upcoming demon lord confrontation to lead up to, but now? There’s not even that since Mao has decided to stop being the demon lord, I guess? The main section of this episode focuses on the girls’ struggles to select a leader from amongst the four of them. It could be an interesting opportunity to make some jokes while exploring their characters more fully, but ENDRO! doesn’t seem to care about painting their population in anything but the broadest of brushstrokes. Yusha is the dumb one, Seiran is the motherly one, Fai is the strong one, and Mei is the one who is actually almost likable. She’s fun, but also kind of dark, which is neat. The ending resolution where they all decide to be co-leaders is boring and was easy to see coming from a mile away.

The dub this week continued to be just okay. None of the heroes make a big impact, except for Mei, who does a nice job bringing some personality and spice to her lines. There were a couple of funny English script lines, such as: “It’s a little monster from my hometown with a fiery passion for dance!” Mei is definitely my favorite. Also, the demon lord has to admire one of Yusha’s skills: “What a weirdo. You’re a skilled sleep talker though.”

While Demon Lord, Vanish into the Sunset! wasn’t a total bore to sit through, I have to admit that these first two episodes don’t seem extremely promising. I was hoping the second episode of the series would raise the stakes or the humor, but neither thing really happened. It’s just not very funny. And without an interesting plot or characters, there’s no reason to watch it. The heroes are still underdeveloped caricatures and the jokes just fall flat most of the time. At least the demon lord is cute?

Score
5/10