How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord

Episode 8

At this point, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord has become a solid example of what happens when a power-fantasy isekai show puts in real effort, actually thinking through many elements that its peers in the genre don't consider at all. In many cases, a character gets dropped into the fantasy world and wanders over to the closest kingdom, starting to operate as a hero for hire for the powers that be. This episode of Demon Lord asks an obvious question: why would we assume that this random kingdom was justly ruled? Yes, the sexy slavery show is now tackling the political underpinnings of its world, offering a little more complexity for viewers who may have just tuned in for the boobies.

This plot twist is set up very well. We get a solid action scene of Diablo vanquishing Keera's hydra summon (which sports a pretty cool design), hammering home that our demon dude may be super-strong, but he's still relatively low on the isekai-hero power scale. Interestingly, Diablo has assumed before now that he was literally inside the world of his video game, only beginning to consider that this may actually be a wholly separate world that just resembles the game in broad strokes. This is mostly used to apply tension where Diablo would otherwise steamroll everything with his game skills, and while it works to a point, the fact that he winds up one-shotting the hydra anyway somewhat undercuts that appeal.

Another place the show runs into issues with its attempts at nuance is in dealing with Keera after the monster fight is over. Yes, there is a discussion to be had about someone like Diablo using lethal force on his enemies, or even Shera's messy family situation at the root of all this. However, having her simply ask Diablo to spare her brother because ‘he's family’ seems too shallow. Yes Shera, you two did grow up and laugh together, but he also hypnotized, tied up, and tried to rape you, so perhaps this isn't the best example of blood being thicker than water. It's a plea for sympathy that backfires completely for me, as I was all too happy to see someone else (be)head Keera off at the pass.

The pervy prince getting his comeuppance at the hands of Galford (remember him?) keeps the show unpredictable in just the right way. Even Diablo seems to recognize that this plot has gone off the rails compared to the basic wish-fulfillment plot the beginning of the show prepared us for. Even with Diablo eventually winning his fights in this episode, it's still appreciable that the story is so willing is to throw real challenges and struggles his way routinely, even using these moments to pay off plot points set up in previous episodes. The magic-sensing Diablo learned a couple episodes ago returns to help him break out of the barrier Galford erects around him, prompting me to realize that this fanservice show has a more well-thought-out magic system than some of its more serious cousins in the genre.

The revelation that Galford was using Diablo to make gains against the Elven kingdom is a welcome twist. It's a more realistic take on fantasy politics that pays mind to how Diablo's presence would affect this world. Someone with that level of power suddenly appearing and naively going along with the quests assigned to him would find themselves being manipulated quickly by those already in power. And even with the plot's surprisingly strong ideas, there's still plenty of entertaining goofiness to be found this week, mostly as the dorky Diablo explains the various meta-gaming strategies he's deploying as a sorcerer fighting a warrior. However, even with a few close calls in the battle, Diablo's ultimate victory still comes from a big winning blow he just pulled out of his ass. That remains the biggest problem with the fights in this show so far; it seems like Diablo really is losing, until he too-suddenly isn't. I do like the wrap-up at least, as Diablo opts to bluff and intimidate Galford to protect himself and his companions. I'd never really thought about the potential utility of a villainous monologue before, but it's another funny use of Demon Lord's gimmick.

The ending of all this does seem dour, with Shera of course having complicated feelings about her brother's demise, and Diablo having to reckon with getting played; he doesn't even get to collect the quest reward money! Even if it's a somewhat gruesome ending to the arc, I kind of like that this downer ending further distances us from the easy-mode wish-fulfillment that the show could have indulged. There's something to be said thematically about Diablo being summoned by reflecting an enslavement spell, but now finding himself more unsure than ever about whether he's really acting freely in this world or still being manipulated by powers that be. It's all more than I would have expected from this show, but it's also a double-edged sword in that I now expect more from the story going forward. So now I'm hoping Demon Lord will do better at things like the combat or emotionally nuanced drama. On that note, I definitely wasn't crazy about the episode-ending fanservice of Diablo drunkenly assaulting Sylvie, but that's because I know the show can do fanservice better too! Demon Lord has shown us how well it can tell its simple story, so it will be harder to swallow moving forward if it falls below its steadily rising standards.

Rating: B

How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.