How Not To Summon a Demon Lord Almost Had Me

 

• Genre : Isekai, action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, fanservice
• Episodes: 12
• Studio: Ajia-Do

 

Do we still make fun of gamers? Video games is one of the most profitable industries in the world and I do believe the biggest grossing entertainment industry at the moment. Everyone plays video games. People can make a good living playing video games and even gain a degree of fame. Yet we still pretend that gamers are an ostracized minority or somehow not cool. So silly. Besides, I think anime has clearly established that the best and most dedicate mmorpg gamers, like Takuma Sakamoto for instance, are most definitely going to get transported into a real life version of the game were they can be like gods or… Demon Lords. Must be though having incredible power and being constantly surrounded by super attractive fantasy ladies. Then again, with great power…

I watched this because of Karandi. She doesn’t know it but I did. When How Not To Summon a Demon Lord was airing, I gave it a skip, just because I was already watching Log Horizon at the time and it seemed redundant, but I did follow along with her episode reviews. And she really praised this show, so after a few weeks, I stopped reading the reviews and added the show to my watch list.

I wasn’t too familiar with studio Ajia-Do and in fact I think this is the only show I’ve seen from the studio. It’s effective. Ok, so How Not To Summon a Demon Lord is a very fanservice heavy show. I’m not sure how it qualifies on the scale, ecchi light maybe? In any case, the character designs are a selling point here and clearly the production knew that because they are really nice. Admittedly, aside form main character Diablo, the men’s designs are more lacklustre but he makes up for it and all the ladies are stunning. Those designs are by far the high point of the production.

The backgrounds and colours are good, the sound design and voice acting is also good although there is a lot of moaning that occasionally sounds very silly and fake but I think it was part of the joke. I found it funny in any case.Finally the animation is decent but I did notice some pretty obvious drops in art quality once there was a bit too much going on in a scene.

You know what, I’m going to actually try do put together a review that will give you an idea of whether you want to watch the show or not. I would describe How Not To Summon a Demon Lord as a mix of KonoSuba and Log Horizon with a dash of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Did I just name all the isekai I know? Maybe….

Wait hear me out, How Not To Summon a Demon Lord stats off as a well meaning raunchy comedy in a high fantasy setting just like KonoSuba. Although it does get a lot more explicit on the raunchy side. However, it actually develops into an overarching storyline with a connected plot and hero’s journey that would fit quite well as a season of Log Horizon. The jokes do make way for the story and it’s honestly compelling, if a bit cliché. As for the dash of Slime. Well Diablo is not unlike Rimuru. He’s a bit more immature but generally he has the same well meaning attitude and wish to help all those around, despite his looks he generally tries to solve conflicts through diplomacy or at least intricate planning and he’s a bit overpowered compared to everyone else which transforms the very nature of conflict in the story.

Honestly, all the plot, character and isekai elements were there to make for one of my very favourite shows. But sadly, the fanservice sort of wore me down at the end. It was pretty good up until the half way point, even the 3/4 mark I would say. What didn’t work for me, personally, was that it was sort of old school fanservice. 90% of it was boobs. Shera’s huge bouncy breasts which often end up expose or “accidentally” groped several times per episode. It just lacked variety is what I’m saying. And if you happen to prefer butts…too bad! It’s all about the chesticles here! The second issue was that for me, sexualizing children or child like characters is pretty uncomfortable and there was quite a bit of that in the latter episodes which made it less fun.

I still enjoyed the series as a whole. There were just a few things that didn’t work for me.

And here are some warnings if you are thinking of watching it but are sensitive to certain elements. There are explicit sexual acts and a lot of wink wink nudge nudge, this isn’t sex I’m just pouring my hot magic into this naked girl as she moans moments, but I do believe private parts stay covered, although barely. At least half of those explicit or heavily implied sexual acts are dome without consent. The slavery trope is exploited throughout the entire season with quite a few mentions of “good” slave masters. As I mentioned, there is underage characters put in naughty situations and also in violent ones. At a couple of occasions the action was brutal enough to give me serious pause and I’m rather desensitized to violence. Still I didn’t expect it here and it was pretty shocking when it came. Also, if you don’t live alone, you may want to listen to this one with headphones, unless you don’t mind everyone assuming you’re watching porn. In which case, rock on!

If any of these things bother you enough to make you enjoy a series less, then How Not To Summon a Demon Lord will probably not be your thing. Not only are all these elements present, they are pretty much ubiquitous. However, if you enjoy them or are indifferent, I think there’s a good time to be had with How Not To Summon a Demon Lord’s classic fantasy adventure and well meaning hijinks. The series struck me as at times clumsy with it’s handling but never disrespectful or mean as can occasionally happen.

Favorite character: Sylvie (I mean, c’mon!)

What this anime taught me: Magic reflection rings are super useful

“Always buy a bigger bottle than you think you’ll need, it’s better to be safe than sober”

Suggested drink: Demon Possession

• Every time Shera and Rem bicker – take a sip
• Every time the camera focuses on Shera’s chest – I don’t know, breath in or something
• Every time Diablo blushes – gahhh
• Every time the enslavement gets reexplained – take a sip
• Every time anyone uses a called moved– call it out too
• Every time Shera and Rem get along – raise your glass
• Every time anyone is naked – fan yourself
• Every time we hear Diablo’s inner monologue – listen
• Every time there’s an art fail – take a sip
• Every time we see Emile – cheer
• Every time we see the flow of magic – get water
• Every time Diablo gets called kind – take a sip
• Every time Diablo notes a difference from Cross Reverie – take a sip

Did you know that game apparently exists? It’s the right genre and all but it doesn’t seem obviously related either….

I avoided the naughtier screencaps I’m afraid. I’m sure you can find them somewhere…