[Review] The Demon King’s Journey to the West

[Review] The Demon King’s Journey to the West – Welcome to the seasonal review of the  anime  series based on Shuu  and  Shizuma Yoshinori’s novels  , “ Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou ” . The series  , which attracted quite a bit of attention due to its promotion alongside “ Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei ”, finally ended  its anime episode on Saturday (09/26).

Adaptation of the novel ” Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha ” tells the story of Anos who is the reincarnation of the demon king from 2,000 years ago. Anos carries a mission of peace in his new life. But unfortunately, this future is not as he expected. Many things go against his common sense so he has to fix this problem alone. But slowly, he meets several people who become his newest colleagues. Starting from Misha, Sasha, Misa, Lay, his support group to his former subordinates who are still immortal in that era.

The seiyuu line-up  involved in the anime  adaptation of “ Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha ” also has  a promising track record . The selection of OLDCODEX band vocalist Tatsuhisa Suzuki  as  Anos Voldigoad  made me sure that this adaptation would be interesting. However, the production committee made a bold decision by choosing Tomori Kusunoki and Yuuko Natsuyoshi who played Misha and Sasha Necron respectively . I consider both of them to be rising seiyuu and both seiyuu  can maximize their potential in playing these two  unique heroines  . Then Sayumi Watabe and Nene Hieda also performed well playing Eleonora Bianca  and  Misa Ilioroagu respectively  . Both of them are also on the rise after only filling minor roles for several years previously.

Then what about the adaptation of the story from the novel? Before that, I try to be as objective as possible in this review. So it will feel like there are many points that can be debated positively.

Fair Enough Story Cutting, Except….

Skipping many details of the dialogue may feel wasteful, but it is necessary to satisfy the target achievement. As soon as we entered the adaptation of the first volume, I started to realize that many dialogues were cut but only in the small talk. Then the different time settings, such as when Anos fought Leorig at night which was different from the novel. Then the depiction of the flashback to 2,000 years ago which should have appeared at the beginning of the story, but was pushed to the second episode of the anime. This is only a small part of the difference in the adaptation of the story, but the flow of the depiction in the anime is still in accordance with the novel. So that makes me feel more relieved.

But as an Eleonore devotee, I regret the portion of the story at the end of the third volume that I hope can be adapted. Although it is only a fanservice , this moment shows Eleonore’s trust in Anos not only in physical condition, but also from her own soul. This cut part still makes me disappointed.

I can only give a score of 7.5/10 for the adaptation composition. Not bad, but also not reaching the point of satisfaction that I want. I give a thumbs up to the story composition, Jin Tanaka, who is also the composition of the series ” Yuru Camp “.

Rollercoaster Pace in Big Campaign

The number of skipped  parts must of course be positively proportional to the tempo of the story. If I summarize, the tempo used in the  anime adaptation is: fast-slow-medium-fast. Starting with the opening scene of the episode which is accelerated in order to introduce the characters of Anos, Sasha, and Misha. The director then slows down the tempo in episodes 3-4-5, before increasing it again in the following episodes until episode 9. I don’t need to explain anymore in the remaining episodes because some of the details have to be shortened in order to finish the series in episode 13.

For a storytelling model that requires a play-pause method to understand the terminology, characters, and explanations of the connections between the two camps (humans and demons), I think this tempo is still at a good level. However, that level is only the average of each episode. The peak of confusion for me if I don’t read the novel is in the first two episodes, episode 10, and episode 12. Moreover,  the plot twist  in the  Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha  series has the potential to make the audience scribble their own notes due to the crisis and identity change factors.

Animation Looks Excellent Despite Couple of Setbacks

Since Silver Link handled the Bofuri anime adaptation earlier this year, I have been convinced that the Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha anime adaptation will have good animation quality. Unlike usual, the budget for each episode does not seem too lopsided. So the animation work is not too problematic in each episode. The main problem with  this anime  adaptation is the coronavirus which pushed  the anime broadcast from spring to summer. Coupled with the deficit in the April 2019-March 2020 fiscal year that Silver Link just announced some time ago. Silver Link, which officially absorbed all the assets of its subsidiary, Connect , was then fully acquired by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation . This studio is now regenerating under a new owner, and hopefully the sales of their  anime BDs  , including Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha, can reach their target.

Season 2? Too early for this. Unlike  Bofuri  and  Destruction Flag Otome  series which have already received announcements of their second season production,  stakeholders  have to wait until the work guarantee can meet the target. Under the new owner, hopefully Silver Link’s board can announce the second season early next year or at least in February 2021 (when the last BD volume is released).

Oh yeah, I’m not the only one who gave a review in this adaptation. BlueHeaven also gave a paragraph or two that you can read below.

Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha starts its anime like most meta isekai , even though it’s not an isekai. The initial story is enough to make people who are not readers of the novel or manga think this is just an ordinary mainstream anime , nothing special. OP characters and harem potential like most trash isekai series made Maou Gakuin almost dropped by me.

But after the story stepped on 3 episodes and above, the tension given was quite different. I saw a special vibes that could be given by this anime and managed to open my memory of the manga that I had read. Yes, it turns out I had read the manga but not completely finished it. So when Sasha still hadn’t shown her true intentions, I already knew it. Unfortunately, in the eyes of otaku who had just followed the anime, Sasha’s character was compared to Malty’s character from Tate Yuusha no Nariagari

By seeing the presentation of anime like this, it becomes a lesson for us not to judge anime before they finish showing it. Well, at least until the season is really over . Because I had started to believe that the anime would be interesting, but in the end it was still disappointing.

Actually, in the middle of the anime, they still use the same format over and over again. So Anos is the demon king, but no one wants to listen, then he has his subordinate demon elders who are brainwashed, in the end they need to be fought and realized first. Anos is all OP , solving every problem in the end, almost everything goes smoothly. Even though this format is used over and over again, it is still within my tolerance level to maintain my enthusiasm for watching the anime . Maou Gakuin still has an aura that no matter what, it can make me curious about Anos’ behavior which is actually predictable.

The depiction of Anos’ past is the key to why this anime is still saved in my eyes, at least it’s not as bad as anime that uses OP characters but fails to present their real story . Anos’ omnipotence is actually interesting to watch, more interesting than just seeing the potential waifu of a group of women within Anos’ magnetic reach. Maybe this is the true meaning of OP , where I will be able to continue to accept this Anos character even though the story is not that great.

Too bad. At the end of the anime, the pacing is actually messy. Gomen, I must spoiler , so in the last arc discussed, the demon king academy held a field trip to the hero academy. This part alone is already suffocating. Even though it was cheated, the response from the demon king academy was still not exciting enough in my eyes, until everything had to be taken over by Anos. Long story short, Anos managed to defeat the hero academy’s top students, but the story suddenly changed to a larger scale. The declaration of war between humans and demons was echoed again, all starting from a field trip that was suffocating. Not to mention what made me annoyed here, the way they resolved it was so bad. I like the story of the shell necklace

which unexpectedly told the story of the ehem I won’t spoil you too much . What is clear is that the ending is still a bit crazy in my eyes. I don’t know if it’s because the fan union idolizes, it doesn’t seem like it, but it’s strange in the eyes of many otaku out there. I feel more strange why the Avos confessor had to appear at that time and what the plan was at that time was still not finished telling him. At the end of the anime, we only see a scene where everything is peaceful without fully explaining what the anime really wants to tell. Where is Shin, and what will happen if this story is brought to season two, all of that is not depicted in the ending.

At least Maou Gakuin isn’t too bad to watch and unlike the trashy mainstream formats out there. Anos’ character is also surprisingly good , making me respect him so much. Sasuga Anos-sama.

Well, that’s it for our  review of the anime adaptation of Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha , Kaczmarek and BlueHeaven. Stay tuned for the anime adaptation reviews from last summer coming in the next few days, weeks, or months.