Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Demon King Daimao: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Harry Potter and the Weird Little Anime.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 29, 2011

Hopefully this isn’t much of a spoiler any more, but Darth Vader was Luke’s father. The seeming inconsistency between a typical hero springing from the loins of ultimate evil was one of George Lucas’ masterstrokes in creating his Star Wars franchise, one which harkened back to the Joseph Campbell school of mythmaking as much as anything in any of the Star Wars films. Now, imagine what readers would have thought had Harry Potter turned out to be the progeny of Voldemort (and don’t pretend some of you weren’t thinking that might be the case as you slogged your way through the seemingly tens of thousands of pages of J.K. Rowling’s magnum opus). That very point of a sweet natured young wizard with a genetic disposition toward the “dark side” is exactly what you get in Demon King Daimao, an interesting 2010 anime based on a series of light novels by Shotaro Mizuki. The focal point of the series is a young man named Akuto Sai, who is seen being abandoned as a foundling (remember those from your Dickens days?) in the series’ opening scenes, and who we then meet again as a kid about to enter Constant Magick Academy, a la Harry and Hogwarts. (One has to wonder about the utilization of that extra “k” in magick, something usually ascribed to occultist Aleister Crowley). Akuto has dreams of ultimately becoming a Grand Priest, the highest, purist and most holy “career” available in this series’ quasi-futuristic setting, but upon getting to the Academy and undergoing a ritual highlighted by a strange little bird creature known as a Yatagarasu, an oracle somewhat similar to Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat, Akuto is instead informed his destiny is to become the Demon King, something which instantly makes him a pariah at school.

Demon King Daimao is in some ways the polar opposite of Harry Potter, especially with regard to Rowling’s rather chaste set of adolescents and young adults, for whom a stolen kiss is the height of sexuality. Demon King Daimao is full to the brim with “fan service,” and anyone who is easily offended by panty shots, not to mention lots (as in lots) of hand drawn full frontal female nudity had best stay away from this series. Akuto is in fact for better or worse something of a ladies’ man throughout the series. On the train to the Academy (another Potter-esque trope) he befriends Junko Hattori, a sweet girl with a mean martial arts side who comes from one of the priestly families and who initially offers to help Akuto attain his Grand Priest ambitions. That all ends when Akuto is labeled with the Demon King moniker, and Akuto’s buffoonish attempts to convince Junko he’s not all that evil usually end up in lots of havoc being wreaked. Several other females enter Akuto’s orbit, including Kena Soga, another Academy student who is charmingly childlike and has the ability to become invisible; Fujiko Eto, yet another student at the Academy who harbors not so secret romantic feelings for Akuto but who may have darker motives for wanting to hook up with him; and Korone, a green-haired android who has been assigned to monitor Akuto’s activities.

Part of the problem with Demon King Daimao is that it sets up a wonderful premise—will Akuto surrender to his supposedly pre-destined dark side?—and then pretty much shunts that premise off to the side for one episode after another filled with silly hijinks between Akuto and his coterie of females that play more like something out of an anime version of Three’s Company. Akuto and Junko start the series as allies which quickly devolves into them being putative enemies, but the series tries too hard over and over as Akuto repeatedly attempts to set things right (or at least relatively right) with Junko, only to make them manifestly worse. Korone’s lascivious behavior and Kena’s non sequiturs provide the comic element while Fujiko’s scheming provides the drama, but it’s all played too hyperbolically to ever really fully realize the premise’s potential.

In fact Demon King Daimao is probably best appreciated as a comedy anime, rather than an action or fantasy series. The goofy humor, while forced more than a bit of the time, is often enjoyable if not laugh out loud hilarious. Akuto’s slow realization of what powers are at his disposal also gives the series some overall story arc interest, even if individual episodes once again concentrate too much on interpersonal shenanigans and not enough on what really should be the show’s primary focus, namely the dialectic in Akuto’s own soul. To give the series its due, however, the twelve episodes do build toward a satisfying conclusion which ultimately does make use of the show’s artful setup and finally brings Akuto face to face with a destiny he neither chose nor to which he willingly agrees to submit. There’s actually a very nice bit of philosophical thought that goes into the endgame of Demon King Daimao, and while it’s tonally at odds with great swaths of what has gone before in the series, it brings the overall enterprise a certain gravitas which helps to counterweight some of the silliness which has gone before.

This is a series which may have a hard time finding an appropriate audience. Its “fan service” elements would seem to tip it toward the older teen male adolescent audience, and yet those same young guys probably will be less than impressed with the series’ goofy humor and emphasis on the interpersonal dealings between Akuto and the girls rather than on epic battles or other typical fantasy elements. On the other hand, girls may like the romantic elements but not care for the outright sexuality and nudity which is part and parcel of virtually every episode. For those who don’t mind a bit of a “casserole,” as it were, in terms of elements from several different genres, Demon King Daimao might well provide some passing entertainment value, though it most certainly is no Harry Potter or Star Wars, mythically speaking or otherwise.

Demon King Daimao: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Demon King Daimao arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is an often bright and light looking series which benefits from good to excellent character design. The bulk of the series looks very sharp on Blu-ray, though oddly a few interstitial, mostly establishing, shots look rather soft. While the bulk of the series is hand drawn, there are a few passing CGI elements (look at the "magic" floating monorail in the first episode for a good example) which don't quite jive with the look of the rest of the series, and whose perspective can sometimes be slightly off. Line detail is exceptional for the vast majority of the series, colors are very well saturated and offered in an appealingly varied palette, and taken as a whole Demon King Daimao looks very, very good.

Demon King Daimao: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Demon King Daimao sports two lossless Dolby TrueHD 2.0 tracks, one in the original Japanese and the other a rather good English dub. You can't really go wrong with either of these tracks, as they both offer virtually identical fidelity and similar mixes. It's actually interesting to contrast the original language voicework with the English dub, and for that reason alone, you may want to occasionally toggle between the two to hear the differences. Both tracks offer splendid fidelity, though obviously spread over a very narrow soundfield. Music and sound effects present quite a bit of opportunity for robust LFE (this series, as so many recent anime outings have, has a pulsating, bass heavy score which makes copious use of the subwoofer). Dynamic range is exceptional and both tracks have a pleasing balance between well articulated dialogue, music and effects.

Demon King Daimao: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Production Sketches (HD; 11:20) is a compilation of various character sketches set to a soundtrack selections in Japanese. Chapter stops are set at 10 second intervals for quick toggling through.
• Clean Opening Animation (HD; 1:32)
• Clean Closing Animation (HD; 1:32)
• Trailers for Other Sentai Releases

Demon King Daimao: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Demon King Daimao is a patently odd stew that combines a little this-a with a little that-a, but which may be too flavorless in any case to really appeal strongly to any given demographic. That said, there's a lot to like here, including a bevy of scantily clad babes and some appealing characters. The series overall would have done better to have focused more squarely on its magical-fantasy element and not gotten so involved in sitcom-esque hijinks between Akuto and the various girls. The good news is Demon King Daimao does build toward a relatively thoughtful and well executed climax, so if you're patient and don't mind an oddly shifting tonality, this series comes Recommended.