6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Names can be deceiving, something the warrior known as Hero quickly discovers when he storms the castle of the dread Demon King that mankind has fought for fifteen years. For one thing, the “king” turns out to be a queen! Even more shocking, though, is that she’s waiting for him with an unexpected proposal. She points out that it would be bad for BOTH sides if the war was to end immediately, as without a common enemy, the individual factions of the winning side are certain to turn on each other in a new series of civil wars. However, she has a plan to end the war, bring democracy and advanced knowledge to humanity, and ensure lasting prosperity for both sides, no matter who “wins”. But to accomplish this, she needs a collaborator on the human side, and she’s chosen Hero as the one partner she can trust! Is it a deal with the devil, or mankind’s only hope for lasting peace? The traditional rules of Swords and Sorcery are completely rewritten as the “good guy” and the “bad girl” join forces to save the world in MAYOU - ARCHENEMY & HERO!
Starring: Ami Koshimizu, Jun Fukuyama, Chiwa Saito, Haruka Tomatsu, Nao TôyamaAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Comedy | 25% |
Romance | 24% |
Fantasy | 20% |
Action | 11% |
Supernatural | 7% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When is a Demon King not a Demon King? When he’s a she, and she has quite noble intentions for the most part. The Demon King in Maoyu is a busty redhead named Mao who stuns the series hero, aptly named Hero, when he marauds into his—er, her—lair expecting to slay some horned beast of a devil who has world domination on his— er, her—mind. Anime is filled to the brim with shows featuring mismatched couples, and in some ways Maoyu follows the well worn ruts to a tee, offering two disparate souls who have to learn to work together to forge a greater good. Maoyu is a visually spectacular series that benefits from decent character development and a generally engaging story. Fans of Spice and Wolf may come to Maoyu since it features a lot of the same creative staff, but this series, while still kind of quasi-medieval like Spice and Wolf, is quite different in tone and realization than the earlier entry.
Maoyu is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a really impressively handsome series a lot of the time, with an animation style that seems to intentionally mimic the intricate illustrations of artists like Arthur Rackham. Line detail is very sharp, helping to bring definition to the filigreed costumes and sets, and colors are quite vivid and varied. There are some appealing CGI elements like huge helixes that open up as portals to various worlds.
Maoyu's original Japanese language track is presented via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Everything is very cleanly presented, though some may wish for a surround mix given the glut of sound effects that accompany some elements in the series. No damage or issues of any kind crop up and the track offers great fidelity and dynamic range.
Maoyu may move a bit too slowly for some who want their action nonstop, but it offers two interesting lead characters and a wealth of beautiful imagery to keep the eye entertained. This Blu-ray has solid technical merits and comes Recommended.
Hitsugi no Chaika / 棺姫のチャイカ
2014-2015
2006
2008
Season 2
2007
Classics
2013
甘城ブリリアントパーク
2014-2015
Anime Classics
2008-2009
2010
Collectors Edition
2002-2003
Essentials
2008
InuYasha: Kanketsu-hen
2009-2010
東京レイヴンズ / Tōkyō Reivunzu
2013
Anime Classics / はたらく魔王さま! / Hataraku Maou-sama!
2013
Sailor Moon S: The Movie - Hearts in Ice
1994
犬夜叉
2000-2001
Essentials | 機巧少女は傷つかない / Mashin-Dôru wa Kizutsukanai
2013
2012
2001
2002
2012