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EP. REVIEW: The Misfit of Demon King Academy


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Engineering Nerd



Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 897
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 2:58 pm Reply with quote
One year ago, one of my close friends asked me to name some light novel series that has the best "bromance" (she is a BL fan), among some other titles, this is the one of the choices I come up with (you will see what I meant a few episodes later in case ep2 didn't already give you enough hints Wink )

Some may find our hero insufferably arrogant(I did too in the beginning), but I do advise people to give a chance for a few more episodes, because I do believe you will find out this story is much more layered and nuanced than "wish-fulfillment/How-to-curb-stomp-my-oppositions- 101"
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18138
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:02 pm Reply with quote
While I had a mildly positive reaction to episode 1, episode 2 is what really hooked me on watching this series out. In addition to the factors Richard mentioned, I've always been fascinated by how historical truth can be distorted by the passage of time and teller and consider it a plus when series tackle that issue.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:16 pm Reply with quote
I can't believe all it took to make this show fun to watch is making the protagonist fun to watch. What a novel concept!

I probably shouldn't like this show as much as I do, but it really does have a lot going for it, shockingly.
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Zerreth



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 207
Location: E6
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:46 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
• I like how Sasha discards her ego when faced with Anos' power. She doesn't splutter and bluster about things being “impossible,” she simply understands she is outmatched, and still has the guts to lead her troops in a final desperate attack.


This is what sealed it for me.
What we got from the beginning were characters, not caricatures. There were nagging feelings I had while I was watching where I was expecting to see certain emotional pitfalls from years of conditioning due to poor presentation but they were deftly sidestepped.

There are characters that exhibit trope-y traits but it doesn't define them. I look forward to how this show pans out. It's a surprising breath of fresh air.
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cfalcon



Joined: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:02 pm Reply with quote
I love the hilarious moments sprinkled into this show, eg when seconds after being born, the baby MC names himself with his adult voice. Anime hyper
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Melicans



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
Posts: 620
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:05 pm Reply with quote
cfalcon wrote:
I love the hilarious moments sprinkled into this show, eg when seconds after being born, the baby MC names himself with his adult voice. Anime hyper


Not gonna lie, that one made me laugh out loud. Definitely enjoying the series more than I expected to.
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BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Posts: 1493
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:17 am Reply with quote
This is one of those shows that really surprise you with how good it is, despite delivering just exactly what you expect.

I'm really happy to see Richard's reviews on ANN, btw.
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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 642
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:34 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Anos' parents have the perfect attitude for their situation. “Our boy grew up seconds after birth? Cool! He wants us to uproot our lives and move to the city to be with him? You got it! He's introducing his harem to us? I'll make the food!”


spoiler[IIRC the webnovel later gives a reason as to why Anos' parents are stupidly supportive of their son.

Anos' mother was diagnosed with a high chance of infertility, and in the rare chance she gets pregnant the child would likely be stillborn or deformed.

So when she did get pregnant, she prayed for her child's survival and swore she'd support the child no matter what. It was that power of prayer that made Anos' soul be attracted into her baby and allowed for his rebirth, and the rest is history.]
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manapear



Joined: 02 May 2014
Posts: 1524
PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:20 pm Reply with quote
I didn't get to the novel, but I remember liking the manga well enough. I feel like it was going to drag and getting annoying, but it was fun. (In large part, because Anos is fun.) I'm gonna try the anime and hope to enjoy it too~.
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Treecko Tempo



Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 155
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Three episodes in and this show has been the one that has most exceeded my expectations of any show from this season. Its been a bast to watch so far and I cant wait to see what next week brings.
Quote:
I don't know what's better, Anos making his secret paths and trials magic proof or Misha's genuine excitement at watching him brute force his way through them with physical strength alone.
Misha's clapping whenever be brute forced things was really funny and it fit perfectly in the scenes.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:20 pm Reply with quote
One interesting comment Anos made that I'm waiting to see how it pays off even more than the "dying at midnight" clock, was that Sasha shouldn't have been able to revoke their Zecht. Why not, what made her sure that she could (if it wasn't just ignorance of how things are supposed to work), and how was she able to (if in fact the Zecht was actually voided)? That's an impressive amount of intrigue packed into one brief action and one casual line.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:59 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
One interesting comment Anos made that I'm waiting to see how it pays off even more than the "dying at midnight" clock, was that Sasha shouldn't have been able to revoke their Zecht. Why not, what made her sure that she could (if it wasn't just ignorance of how things are supposed to work), and how was she able to (if in fact the Zecht was actually voided)? That's an impressive amount of intrigue packed into one brief action and one casual line.


An interesting point to keep in mind is that Sasha actually established the Zecht with Misha, not Anos, despite Anos being the one she challenged to a fight and Anos being the one she had discussed the terms of the Zecht with; Misha had no relation to that besides being on Anos' team. If the other party being Misha is what allowed her to cancel the pact, then this is absolutely something she had planned for a while, or at least an out for her if she did decide to go through with whatever it is she's doing.
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Morry



Joined: 26 Jun 2016
Posts: 756
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:04 pm Reply with quote
This series embraces the chuuni in a way that makes the hilarity circle back to being ingenious. Anyone competent would detect any magic shortcut? Make a completely ordinary passage hidden behind a completely ordinary wall at the very start of the dungeon so you can just walk through it. It's so stupid, no one would possibly think to check.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:55 pm Reply with quote
I think I'm enjoying this for the same reasons I enjoyed Reincarnated as a Slime. Both MCs are stupidly OP, but they're just totally matter-of-fact about it and don't have to gloat about it obnoxiously when they handily defeat their enemies who underestimate them (well, Anos sometimes gloats a little, but I forgive him, as it's not mean-spirited, even when he's killing and resurrecting a guy a dozen times Laughing). It's nice to see characters who aren't always spoiling for a fight, don't have to power up to get things done, and the arrogant bad guys get soundly defeated (rl seems to be missing that right now).

The real trick is to do that without being boring. I think it's because with most shounen series you know the hero will win, but he has to jump through a lot of contrived hoops to make things seem dire, where as with Slime and Misfit, the hero just wins and the story moves happily right along.
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thedarkemissary



Joined: 07 Apr 2010
Posts: 88
PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:55 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
I've always been fascinated by how historical truth can be distorted by the passage of time and teller


The mystery of the narrative is really the only thing keeping this thing interesting. Honestly, all the spectacle of the action is rendered moot cause not even the physics of cause and effect can effect Anos. Soaring music, high speed action, fancy artwork; none of that matters. Ep.4 would have made just as much sense if Anos just showed up and announced that he wins and Ivis's plan is thwarted and Ivis just says, "okay" and gives up. None of the conflicts have any weight, given you already know how they'll resolve. It's not just that the MC wins (happens all the time), it's that NONE of the obstacles MATTER in any meaningful way. Misha has a problem, I'll solve it by being the MC. Sasha has a problem, I'll solve it by being the MC. God of Time can't beat me, cause I'm the MC. Time paradox? Not a problem, after all, I'm the MC. What makes me the Demon King? I'm the MC.

At this point, once we get to the end of this thing, it's looking like Anos is just gonna tell the final boss that their plan was pointless and he'll just undo everything these past 2000 years with a snap of his finger and in essence none of this gobbledygook we've been watching will have mattered. And you could speak to the relationships and the characters, but (in-universe) everything would have worked out exactly the same regardless, cause Anos is Anos.

Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't just imbued himself with the knowledge of what really happened. I assume he can, if he wanted, since he's Anos.
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