English Dub Season Review: Demon Lord Retry! Season One

Our Take:

This is, unfortunately, a harem isekai. I’m not really a fan of harems overall, especially harems in isekai which has unfortunately become a staple of the genre. However, despite my personal distaste, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with having a harem story or two out there. (The issue lies in all the wish-fulfillment stories becoming a genre staple, but that’s a whole other topic entirely.) I don’t see my dislike of harem stories going away anytime soon, however- that isn’t to say that they can’t be done decently well. For example, there is a group of girls that all fall for the main guy, but there’s a reason for that. Maybe he helps them with a problem they’re struggling with. Maybe he becomes their ally on their personal quest. Maybe he gives them confidence. Kunai– well, Kunai’s there I guess.

Kunai just has some really strong pheromones or something, because every single woman with the exception of Madam just falls head over heels for him. The problem is, that Kunai has done nothing to warrant these affections. He is altruistic and he has immense military might, so I can see people superficially falling for him. Those are desirable traits, and close proximity with him would be beneficial for anyone looking to ally with a major upcoming power. Seduction can work as a tactic, for sure. However, the show plays this completely straight, that of course these women have deep and genuine feelings for him, and that’s pretty tiring. The only two women I could see as having some reason to fall for Kunai are Aku and Kirino. Kirino knows Kunai the character before she came here and was already loyal, so there’s already an established relationship there. Aku sees Kunai as the most important thing in her life since he has drastically improved it for her sake, but that also comes more off as a father-daughter thing than anything romantic.

When it’s not bogged down with the harem aspects, the story itself is vaguely interesting. Despite considerable magical abilities and the power to create things from scratch, Kunai still has to adapt to the new world. His strategy isn’t one of brute force, but of economics, as he uses what he knows of modern-day Japanese culture to present what he brings to the table as foreign and desirable. He may be able to defeat demons, but what gives him power is that he is economically viable as a partner to the nobility, especially in bringing things like public baths to a culture that is still relatively far from modern conveniences. He has the knowledge to create a desirable product and is interested in causing reform by gaining economic power and through connections.

I do genuinely think this is clever because Kunai is marked with the title of Demon Lord, his power is less in his magic than it is in his business. He gets into fights, but only one of those really has any long-term effects, because he doesn’t want to rule through fear. This is a strategy that has proven to be effective, since he is working from the inside out, despite being an outsider. I like this aspect and would have liked to see much more detail in this regard.

Unfortunately, this seedling of an interesting plot tends to be bogged down with a lot of unfunny moments that make it a drag to watch. I also can’t really recommend a show that refuses to treat its women as whole characters.

All in all, there are better things out there. Better isekai, better animation, better everything really. If you’re really in a pinch for an isekai, watch Overlord or Slime instead.