7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After enrolling at the Constant Magic Academy, Akuto Sai discovers he's not just a gifted student with magical powers, he's destined to become the Demon King. Though he's not that crazy about the idea, it drives the girls wild! From the sexy school girls in his class to the skin-obsessed android who's programmed to seduce him, Akuto has no shortage of wacky girl trouble. How much temptation can a demon king take? Contains episodes 1-12. Special Features: Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation, Production Sketches.
Starring: Takashi Kondô, Yoko Hikasa, Tsubasa Yonaga, Aoi Yűki, Aki ToyosakiAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 90% |
Action | 29% |
Comedy | 25% |
Romance | 19% |
Fantasy | 19% |
Adventure | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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 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 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 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.
2010
2010
Essentials
2011
Asobi ni Iku yo! / Essentials
2010-2011
2008-2009
2009
Limited Edition
2010
ソウルイーター
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IS〈インフィニット・ストラトス〉
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2011-2012
2008
Anime Classics
2008-2009
2012
Season 2
2007
Essentials
2011
Classics
1996
2010-2011
2011