Wolfe reporting.
So, Hataraku Maou-sama is one of my favourite anime of all time. It didn't become that way until the second time I'd watched it through, however, because of reasons I'll explain later.
Described by Wikipedia as action, comedy, fantasy, and romance, Hataraku Maou-sama is one of the most interesting comedy anime I've seen. It has 13 episodes, which is my favourite number.
Concept: So, first off, you must understand that the characters I talk about only have portions to do with the representations I am familiar with. So, when I talk about the main character being Satan, don't think about the fallen angel who sows seeds of sin/evil. Instead, think of this guy as the head of a clan, the clan happening to be demons and their leader happening to be named Satan. This guy cares for his demons and wants them to live in peace, so he decides to rid the world (Ente Isla) of those pesky humans who keep picking on his demons. He wages war upon the humans.
So, he and his demon generals (including names like Lucifer that again have nothing to do with human understandings) set out and conquer three out of four of the islands. But, thanks to some Royal Army and mostly thanks to the Hero, the fourth island pushes back. They take out their attacks, then reclaim the four islands, and then wage war on the demon's island.
Desperate, Satan and his right-hand general Ashiya jump through a warpgate of sorts after claiming to eventually return to take back what is theirs (or something of the sort).
Plot: So, if you expect the anime to be like the build-in (what was covered under "concept"), you'll be very disappointed. This is a comedy anime with edges of what can be called romance. It felt similar to a "Slice of Life" anime, but then again, I'm just throwing around terminology that I can't pretend I fully understand.
Satan and Ashiya warp into none other than Tokyo, Japan. They discover that Earth doesn't have magic in the air, so they conserve what magic they can (and revert to human form). They pick up the Japanese language and manage to get themselves a small little apartment. So, Satan gets a part-time job at a MgRonald's fast-food place, and Ashiya runs the home and does research on how to obtain magic in this world. Satan and Ashiya also pick up the names Maou and Alciel (respectively).
So, to clear up any confusion, Maou is a really nice guy. He's nice to his customers, coworkers, and roommate, even to strangers standing out in the rain. If I had been able to see him like this the first time around, I would have enjoyed it as much as I did the second time around.
After a few days pass, Emilia the Hero finds Maou and Alciel. She pursued them through the warpgate with the intention of finishing them off-- but her backup didn't come with her, and she couldn't replenish her magic any more than the guys could.
There's friction between Emilia and Maou, especially. And that line basically describes the rest of the anime. It was a tsundere relationship of sorts, which is my favourite. They end up having to work together when they find themselves attacked by somebody who wants both the Hero and Satan dead.
Characters: There's a coworker girl who loves Maou, people who want Maou and the Hero dead, and Emilia wondering why the heck Satan (the guy who killed so many in Ente Isla) is such a legitimately nice guy. There're other character too, of course. And that's the story!
The major characters got some backstory, obviously, and we got hints of backstory from most minor characters too. The characters were all well-developed, although most of them weren't highly-intelligent. The interactions between the characters is really makes the anime amusing.
Music: The music was/is alright. It doesn't stand out too much, but it didn't take away from the anime, either. If you wanted a feel for the anime, this soundtrack gives you a pretty common feeling.
Introduction Sequence: Eh, this is a tough point. I didn't really like the first intro sequence, as it was just a compilation of a few shots used in the first two eps. The second one was much better, giving you more of a feel for what the anime's about, too. Here they are: OP1, OP2.
Animation Style: The animation style was good, actually. It was weird to have such a cool animation style in the lead-in, to go to such a normal and (by comparison) boring style.
Examples:
So, obviously there's a range of the amour-laden magic-blasting humans-versus-demons graphics to the normal-human graphics to the chibi-or-strange-human graphics.
Believability: Okay, assuming that this Maou-sama has nothing to do with the concept of the Devil and that this Maou-sama is actually a nice guy... well, no, the anime is still not very believable. Characters aren't exactly running each over in trains, but there's still a lot of normal-rule-defiance. Too many times did catastrophic events unfold but, miraculously, there's not a single casualty. BUT, for what rules they did establish, they kept to them, keeping me enticed.
Combat: The combat was amazing, especially any combat that you see at Ente Isla. Some of the combat in Tokyo isn't as great, or makes you wonder "how did that not kill/harm anybody?!", but it's not bad, either. For an example of the combat, and a taste of the anime, watch this.
Power Balance: Eh, on Earth where everyone's struggling to keep their magic reserves, the power is pretty well-balanced... if you ignore the two main characters. Emi and Maou are seriously over-powered. I didn't mind, though.
Darkness and Bloodiness: Surprisingly, there was some blood, and there was some dark. Not much of either, because it's a comedy anime, but there was some, and that made me happy.
Philosophy: Because it's a comedy anime, there wasn't much in way of philosophy. There was the idea that "anyone can be good or evil if they choose to be", but there's really not that much depth in that thought.
Resolution:
Characters (+)
Animation Style (+)
Combat (+)
Power Balance (-)
Believability (-)
Philosophy (-)
Total score: 8
Wallpapers:
AMV's:
(unidentified song) - this is okay, though a bit amateur.
..and, that's the only one I could find worth linking. (sigh)
For the Japanese, はたらく魔王さま is interesting. The end bit (魔王さま) is Satan-sama (-sama being an honorific), and はたらく appears to be simply "work". "The working Satan" might've been the intended translation, or maybe my understanding of はたらく is different than what it should be.
Next Time: I'm not sure what I'll review next, actually. I have a ton of anime I could choose from, but I don't know what I'll end up with. You'll have to wait and see!
Wolfe out.
So, Hataraku Maou-sama is one of my favourite anime of all time. It didn't become that way until the second time I'd watched it through, however, because of reasons I'll explain later.
Described by Wikipedia as action, comedy, fantasy, and romance, Hataraku Maou-sama is one of the most interesting comedy anime I've seen. It has 13 episodes, which is my favourite number.
Concept: So, first off, you must understand that the characters I talk about only have portions to do with the representations I am familiar with. So, when I talk about the main character being Satan, don't think about the fallen angel who sows seeds of sin/evil. Instead, think of this guy as the head of a clan, the clan happening to be demons and their leader happening to be named Satan. This guy cares for his demons and wants them to live in peace, so he decides to rid the world (Ente Isla) of those pesky humans who keep picking on his demons. He wages war upon the humans.
 |
| Satan battling the Hero. Source: me! |
So, he and his demon generals (including names like Lucifer that again have nothing to do with human understandings) set out and conquer three out of four of the islands. But, thanks to some Royal Army and mostly thanks to the Hero, the fourth island pushes back. They take out their attacks, then reclaim the four islands, and then wage war on the demon's island.
Desperate, Satan and his right-hand general Ashiya jump through a warpgate of sorts after claiming to eventually return to take back what is theirs (or something of the sort).
 |
| Behold the terrifying demon leader, Satan. Source: me! |
Satan and Ashiya warp into none other than Tokyo, Japan. They discover that Earth doesn't have magic in the air, so they conserve what magic they can (and revert to human form). They pick up the Japanese language and manage to get themselves a small little apartment. So, Satan gets a part-time job at a MgRonald's fast-food place, and Ashiya runs the home and does research on how to obtain magic in this world. Satan and Ashiya also pick up the names Maou and Alciel (respectively).
So, to clear up any confusion, Maou is a really nice guy. He's nice to his customers, coworkers, and roommate, even to strangers standing out in the rain. If I had been able to see him like this the first time around, I would have enjoyed it as much as I did the second time around.
 |
| Alciel and Maou. Source: me! |
After a few days pass, Emilia the Hero finds Maou and Alciel. She pursued them through the warpgate with the intention of finishing them off-- but her backup didn't come with her, and she couldn't replenish her magic any more than the guys could.
There's friction between Emilia and Maou, especially. And that line basically describes the rest of the anime. It was a tsundere relationship of sorts, which is my favourite. They end up having to work together when they find themselves attacked by somebody who wants both the Hero and Satan dead.
 |
| Chi-chan has her cute moments. A lot of them. Source: me! |
The major characters got some backstory, obviously, and we got hints of backstory from most minor characters too. The characters were all well-developed, although most of them weren't highly-intelligent. The interactions between the characters is really makes the anime amusing.
Music: The music was/is alright. It doesn't stand out too much, but it didn't take away from the anime, either. If you wanted a feel for the anime, this soundtrack gives you a pretty common feeling.
Introduction Sequence: Eh, this is a tough point. I didn't really like the first intro sequence, as it was just a compilation of a few shots used in the first two eps. The second one was much better, giving you more of a feel for what the anime's about, too. Here they are: OP1, OP2.
Animation Style: The animation style was good, actually. It was weird to have such a cool animation style in the lead-in, to go to such a normal and (by comparison) boring style.
Examples:
 |
| The old style. Source: me! |
 |
| The new style. Source. |
 |
| My reaction to this change. Source. |
 |
| My reaction to this image is this image. Source. |
Believability: Okay, assuming that this Maou-sama has nothing to do with the concept of the Devil and that this Maou-sama is actually a nice guy... well, no, the anime is still not very believable. Characters aren't exactly running each over in trains, but there's still a lot of normal-rule-defiance. Too many times did catastrophic events unfold but, miraculously, there's not a single casualty. BUT, for what rules they did establish, they kept to them, keeping me enticed.
 |
| The combat was good! Source: me! |
Power Balance: Eh, on Earth where everyone's struggling to keep their magic reserves, the power is pretty well-balanced... if you ignore the two main characters. Emi and Maou are seriously over-powered. I didn't mind, though.
 |
| Oh yeah! Source: me! |
Philosophy: Because it's a comedy anime, there wasn't much in way of philosophy. There was the idea that "anyone can be good or evil if they choose to be", but there's really not that much depth in that thought.
Resolution:
Characters (+)
Animation Style (+)
Combat (+)
Power Balance (-)
Believability (-)
Philosophy (-)
Total score: 8
Wallpapers:
 |
| Classic. Source. |
 |
| Juxtaposition. Source. |
 |
| Some concept/fanart stuffs. Source. |
 |
| Screencap that is definitely a wallpaper. Source. |
AMV's:
(unidentified song) - this is okay, though a bit amateur.
..and, that's the only one I could find worth linking. (sigh)
For the Japanese, はたらく魔王さま is interesting. The end bit (魔王さま) is Satan-sama (-sama being an honorific), and はたらく appears to be simply "work". "The working Satan" might've been the intended translation, or maybe my understanding of はたらく is different than what it should be.
Next Time: I'm not sure what I'll review next, actually. I have a ton of anime I could choose from, but I don't know what I'll end up with. You'll have to wait and see!
Wolfe out.
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