Demon King Daimao

Storyline
The Story deals with a much more satisfactory feel, yeah sure it may have the destined child grows up for greatness, but it also has the High school/ Drama/ Romance feel to it which by all means its a page turner at best , or in this case "cant wait to see the next episode feel". No ordinary High school, but more of a magic arts academy. this starting from what seemed at first just a normal world. So in stead of the constant hack n' slash rising soldier. deals with a more Mana(magic) based character. so far, as anime goes, it has the girls, the guys with no clue, magic, unknown power, explosions, tease, rising action, plot twist, dueling/combat, character relationship to one another, and rising rivals. all very nice to have , and not too much really, it is follow-able. makes me want to actually see what happens next.

Music
Effects were alright. Music was ok, didnt really see any problem with the soundtrack, wasnt annoying , but seemed too general, i hope they come out with a variety of intros, endings, to cater to different people (ex: Bleach). other than that it was good.

Characters
Another good one!!! the characters are alright, love-able seem to match the role they should play , or at least make it interesting how they will develop, the main character has something big to overcome, against the rest of the characters looks like hes having a hard time. character relation its pretty good, as far as how they act really affects the plot. in a way i think it should be, as long as the author doesnt decide to show it anymore extreme than it has. this really is the big part , because like most drama, the story really goes where the characters decide, "what will happen to him?" "What will she do ?".

Animation
The animation was a little choppy at the beginning. it also gives a feel of new age anime, 3d animation(not too much--not the crappy kind), "pokemon" like animation, and some pretty good effects for like sword busrts, magical auras (Bleach like). So its like an imbred of a few animation types. well put together Grats Animation Team!

Your, Anime Friend. DJ~Animix

Imagine if you wanted to strive to be the Pope in Vatican City Italy and when you were in High School you were told you would wind up being the Anti-Christ! This is basically the problem that the lead character has. After telling the girl he kinda falls for on the shuttle he wants to become a high priest and she vows to help him.

During orientation an artificial being "predicts" that he will become the Demon Lord, she feels betrayed and challenges him to a duel. And the fun begins!

To be exact, this story of "love, magic, and battles" revolves around Akuto Sai (lead), a boy who aims to become part of his country's highest order of magicians and contribute to society. On the day he is admitted into the Constant Magical Academy, his aptitude test predicts the following: "Future Occupation … Devil King." Thus begins his difficult school life in which he is resented by his studious female class head, desired by a girl with mysterious powers, and guarded by a beautiful female android.

This show ends horribly, its like the writers did not know how to finish the story so they just basically set everything back to how it was in the beginning. There is no ending! No closure. I feel like I wasted 12 weeks watching this show. The promises that were made the relationships formed are all reset so nothing is actually ever accomplished.

It is amazing. This show had a 5/5 star rating until the last ep. now I think the whole show was a total waste of time. Who wants to watch a show that has no ending and ends?

So what would you do if your ambition was to become a good wizard, but your school's test equipment declared that you were destined to become an evil demon lord? When I first read about this series, it sounded very promising. Kind of like "what if Harry Potter had been chosen to join Slytherin instead of Gryffindor..". And when the story sticks to the consequences of its premise, it's actually pretty interesting.

Unfortunately, just about every other aspect of this anime is mediocre. It's biggest flaw is that it spends most of its time exploring the cliche-worn paths of the ecchi high-school harem anime. Our hero Sai Akuto tries to do good but is constantly misunderstood by everyone, from his wannabe evil sidekick, to the group of girls he interacts with the most, to the student and faculty at large. The most realistic part about Sai's character is how stupid he is about changing his rep. Everyone buys into the stereotype of Sai as the demon lord, and he bumbles his way through life reinforcing that impression. Even when he has a monitor that he could use to demonstrate his good intentions, he deactivates it at the key moments because a complete stranger tells him to come alone. As a result, even his friends don't understand him at all.

His one male friend sucks up to him because he has the idea that life with Sai as a demon lord will finally let him get laid. In other words, the usual idiotic sex-driven anime sidekick. The girls are one dimensional, either tsundere, shy, evil or robotic, with only their penchant for getting caught out in embarrassing nudity or semi-nudity to redeem them. Sure they're cute, but so what? I've long grown past the point where I can be aroused by a 2-D panty shot that has nothing to do with the story at large. If I want titillation, there are much more effective ways to get it, even in the anime universe.

Any good animation studio can draw ecchi shots of cute 2-D girls. It's part of the job description. And the girls here are very generic in terms of physique anyway. You know you're in trouble when the secondary characters all have different and odd hair colors like green, purple and blue. Moving beyond the character designs, the animation has bursts of originality but trends towards the ordinary with a lot of panning shortcuts. Some credit should be given for the fight scenes, which although cheaply done, are often drawn from interesting viewpoints and choices of attack.

The music is completely forgettable -- literally. After watching three episodes I can't even tell you what STYLE of music the opener is because I just don't remember it. By contrast, I can still hum the openers from Canaan and even Hyakko in my head.

When it isn't distracted by false promises of hot magical school-girl sex, the storyline can actually be pretty interesting. Sai turns out to be a pretty powerful magic user and seems to have an instinctive grasp of how to apply this power. In fact in ep 3, he shows flashes of becoming the demon lord he so despises. When the story stays away from contrived misunderstandings and plot-lines written for the sake of fan-service, it looks like it could be an interesting study of the effect of immense power on a conflicted teenage boy. And then there is the whole evil organization in the school that is trying to co-opt Sai for its own purposes. if it could just keep its mind out of the gutter, there also could be a nice secondary storyline about the romantic conflicts between Sai and the girls. But so far (after three episodes), most of the time has been spent on the misunderstandings and fan-service and less on Sai's development and the temptations of evil.

The best hope for this series is that it tones down the fanservice and sex comedy and takes a more serious approach to its main story line. This could happen. Lots of series have had excess fanservice to lure in the shonen audience and then phase out the panty shots as the series goes on. If that happens, I'll actually have a Spring 2010 series on CR that I'm eager to watch. But for now, it's just filler in my entertainment schedule.

EDIT 18-June-2010: Well I have to give the series credit for tightening up the story in the last few episodes. It came out a lot better than I expected at the time of the original review. Still not the strongest series of the season, but it was much more watchable the past few weeks.

to best some up this show, it’s about a guy laboring under the idea that he is going to change the world by becoming a high priest. Man could that be any farther from the truth. He in fact finds out that he is destined to become a demon lord. So naturally everyone wants him dead, or to try to use him for there benefit. At every turn he’s forced to prove that he is one of the good guys sadly it just furthers his case as a demon lord. It’s a slap stick comedy where everything is taken out of context. Along the way he be friends some interesting girls, who by the way, somehow always get there clothes ripped of. Got to love fan service.

This show is awesome its also hilarious and it has an awesome plot its the best

The story of "love, magic, and battles" revolves around Akuto Sai, a boy who aims to become part of his country's highest order of magicians and contribute to society. His dream is to one day become a "high priest", an exemplar and champion of good. On the day he is admitted into the Konstantin Magical Academy, his aptitude test predicts the following: "Future Occupation … Demon Lord ." Thus begins his difficult school life in which he is resented by his studious female class head, desired by a girl with mysterious powers, and guarded by a beautiful female android.

Akuto Sai (紗伊 阿九斗, Sai Akuto?)

Voiced by: Takashi Kondo, Kaori Akashi (child)[1]

Akuto Sai was left on the doorsteps of a church by an unknown woman. He grows up and transfers into the Konstantin Academy for Magical Arts, hoping to someday become a high priest. He meets Junko Hattori on the train to the school and forms a pact with her to make the world a better place. However, upon arriving, Yata Garasu, the school's oracular spirit, predicts that he will become a Demon Lord in the future. These predictions have never been wrong before, and the student body becomes terrified and paranoid of him as a result. Even so, he still tries to do the right thing when the situation arises and he is shown to have an incredible amount of power within him. For example, he is able to absorb the mana of a demon dog thus transforming it back into a puppy, a feat that has never been performed before. However, his immense power is also highly volatile and most of his attempts at creating magical projectiles, no matter how benign they are supposed to be, usually result in catastrophic explosions. Over the course of the series, Akuto is able to persuade more students to trust him, or at the very least not to assassinate him. He later acquires a powerful "artifact" that belonged to the previous Demon Lord, a massive dragon named Peterhausen (ピーターハウゼン, Pītāhausen?).

Junko Hattori (服部 絢子, Hattori Junko?)

Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa[1]

Junko Hattori is a disciple of Suhara, a samurai-like order of warriors charged with protecting the Empire for generations. She is very devoted to her traditions and has a strong sense of justice. She meets Akuto on the train to the school, and forms a pact with him to make the world a better place. When she discovers that he is destined to become a Demon Lord, she decides that it is in the best interest of society to destroy him, believing that he knew about his destiny and that he tricked her into becoming friends. She usually misinterprets his attempts at good deeds and intentions as evil wrongdoings. She may have feelings for Akuto but refuses to accept them due to his future occupation as Demon Lord. Later in the series, she slowly begins to trust Akuto again and stops trying to kill him.

Keena Soga (曽我 けーな, Soga Kēna?)

Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki[1]

One of Akuto's classmates in classroom 1-A who is always wearing a strange bird-shaped bracelet on her upper arm, later revealed to be a gift from Akuto when she was a child. The bracelet allows her to become invisible to the point of having her own mana cloaked, although this applies only to her body; the bracelet and any other clothes she is wearing remain visible. Aside from near-complete invisibility and flight, Keena is revealed to have developed no other magical powers despite being a good student. She loves rice even though rice cookers are banned from her dorm, as she believes that everyone would be happy if they ate rice together. Keena is often quite nonsensical, often acting based on unlikely and bizarre conclusions. For example, she once believed that she was responsible for killing Junko in a magical explosion, despite it originating from Akuto and Junko only being rendered unconscious. She refers to Akuto as "Aa-chan" and has feelings for him.

Korone (ころね?)

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki[1]

Korone is a Liladan (リラダン, Riradan?), a race of androids, sent by the government to observe Akuto 24/7. She is usually emotionless and stolid, but occasionally curious when it comes to certain things. However, she does display human characteristics on occasion; particularly, she enjoys teasing Akuto, often doing ecchi things in front of him. She sleeps in a small storage closet in Akuto's dorm and has numerous firearms and other items stored inside her handbag, a sort of hammerspace. Korone has the ability to read other people's emotions and can detect an individual's mana levels. She, like all Liladans, can be temporarily deactivated by pulling a switch resembling a rabbit's tail located on her lower back.

Fujiko Etou (江藤 不二子, Etō Fujiko?)

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō[1]

Fujiko Etou is the current head of the Etou family, the head of the girl's dorms at Constant Academy, and the only person who understands Akuto's current situation. Her older brother, the Etou's previous head, was killed immediately after failing a mission and erasing his part of his memory, causing Fujiko to become the new head of the family. However, she keeps in contact with him via his reanimated head, which she keeps in a jar-like container filled with fluid. She is the leader of an underground movement that uses black magic for evil purposes and plans to use Akuto's demon powers once he becomes Demon Lord for her own purposes. She launches various schemes that will put him under her control in advance of his becoming a Demon Lord. Despite her evil intentions, Fujiko is attracted to Akuto.
[edit] Supporting Characters

Mitsuko Torii (鳥井 美津子, Torī Mitsuko?)

Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi[1]

Akuto, Keina, and Junko's schoolteacher in classroom 1-A, Mitsuko is also a school doctor and magical researcher. Upon hearing about Akuto's future occupation as Demon Lord, she plans to turn Akuto into a zombie and study him if he should die. She is a bit too open about this plan much to Akuto's discomfort.

Lily Shiraishi (リリィ 白石, Riryi Shiraishi?)

Voiced by: Ryō Hirohashi[1]

Lily is the Student Council president of Konstantin Academy, always wearing a pointed witch's hat. Her assistants include a robot, a vampire, and a werewolf. In the anime, Lily is the first girl to kiss Akuto and is shown to have feelings for him.

Hiroshi Miwa (三輪 寛, Miwa Hiroshi?)

Voiced by: Tsubasa Yonaga

Hiroshi is Akuto's self-described minion much to Akuto's dismay. A boy of small stature, he is frequently and savagely bullied and he sees Akuto as his protector. His desire to become Akuto's servant began when Akuto gave a speech in class that touched him, although its debatably anarchistic climax terrified the rest of the class. Despite looking up to Akuto, he believes him to actually be evil and often misinterprets his intentions, giving counterproductive advice as a result.

Kanna Kamiyama (神山 カンナ, Kamiyama Kanna?)

Voiced by: Kaoru Mizuhara

Eiko Teruya (照屋 栄子, Teruya Eiko?)

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu

Eiko is a government agent sent out to see if Akuto can avert his predestined occupation as Demon Lord. She is very clingy and possesive to Akuto and she occasionally rides on his shoulders much to his discomfort. Similar to Junko, Eiko comes from a well-known family and she and Junko are biter rivals. It is unknown if her family had worked with the governemnt since ancient times.

Anime

An anime adaptation started broadcasting on April 3rd, 2010 on Tokyo MX TV, Chiba TV, and Sun TV[2] with simulcasts available on Anime Network [3] and Crunchyroll. An uncensored version is broadcasted on AT-X two days after it's original premiere. The opening theme is "REALOVE:REALIFE" performed by female Japanese pop group Sphere and the ending theme is "Everyday Sunshine Line!" performed by Natsuko Aso.
[edit] Episodes
# Title Original air/release date
1 "The Evil Demon King is Born!"
"Aku maō tanjō!" (悪魔王誕生！) April 3, 2010
Akuto Sai meets Junko Hattori on the train to the Konstantin Academy. The two make a powerful pact to make the world a better place, a pact that will mean death if broken. Upon arrival, Akuto is declared to be a future Demon Lord and the entire school begins to fear him. After his introduction in class reaches a zealous climax, a fellow student named Hiroshi Miwa looks up to him, while the rest of the class becomes even more terrified. Eventually, Akuto slips up when he volunteers for "cleaning duty", which is slang in Konstantin for becoming a "cleaner," an assassin that maintains the school secrets. This infuriates Junko who challenges him to a duel that ends with Akuto accidentally destroying the classroom in a magical explosion. His later attempts to reconcile with Junko at her dorm again launch her into a murderous frenzy, resulting in a chase through the woods. There, Akuto runs into Keena Soga mid-fight, and she resolves to protect him for personal, though unspecified reasons. She is unable to do so, and Akuto again ends the fight with another freak explosion. Immediately after, he is greeted by Korone, an "observer."
2 "The Odd Observer"
"Kisū obuzāba" (奇数オブザーバ) April 10, 2010
Akuto meets with the principal of Konstantin with Korone in tow. Her testimony absolves him of any evil intent, but the principal has ordered her to stay with Akuto as a bodyguard, and a judge of whether or not he will truly become a Demon Lord. Akuto meets with Fujiko Etou the following day, and she pledges to help him, despite his destiny. She later recommends that they meet in secret in the mountains behind the school, and instructs him on how to disable Korone. En route, Akuto and Korone are attacked by a demon dog, an animal mutated by mana. Akuto is able to absorb the creature's mana and return it to a puppy, a feat that astounds Korone. The puppy picks up the scent of Keena, whose ability to become invisible is revealed. After deactivating Korone, Akuto rendezvous with Fujiko in the mountains, where she asks him to join the school's Disciplinary Committee to help clear his name. As an emergency way to reconcile with Junko, she also gives him a two-shot magical gun that fires medicinal tablets, which she claims will allow the two people shot by it to understand each others' feelings. On the way back, he is tackled by Keena, still fleeing from the puppy, and she is rendered visible (and revealed to be naked) in clear view of the now-reactivated Korone. In exchange for testifying to Korone that Akuto did not try to molest her, Keena requests his friendship, which he agrees to. At the end, Fujiko is shown contacting Junko, falsely claiming that Akuto had threatened her. Fujiko then enters a secret passage in her room, where she converses with her brother's severed head about her plans for Akuto.

Let me preface this by sayin I am no Anime guru, just the opinion of the average guy. This Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao is freaking awesome, the story is intriguing, and moves right along, the characters have personality, and most of all it's freaking hilarious. I can hardly wait to see the next episode! If you have a sense of humor, like magic, and have experienced the inability to explain yourself when someone misinterpreted you, this is for you.

I am sure this is a hit for the teenage boys/ men. The plot and twist in it was very good. The assassin sent to kill the hero, end up not being able too, and turn into allies for him. One charter had confusion on who sides they were on almost to the end, that’s always good. Most of the characters were very well written allot variance between all of them. Allot of surprise and deferring ambition with the hero. To me gives it a good mix for conflict misunderstanding just adds to the, story line. The righteous being self serving evil people. The fall of the high archly of gods was great. The hero lives at the end which to me I think there will be another run of this show. The cast of characters lived that supported the hero. All that needed are new villains and Part two should be made... This my opinion tarakelly