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makai ouji

Makai Ouji: Devil’s and Realist

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Reviewed by Mitsugi:

 

I was originally lured into watching this anime because it is directed by Chiaki Kon, the director of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, an anime I enjoyed quite a lot.  I should have learned my lesson after watching Umineko no Naku Koro ni that Chiaki Kon is capable of being involved in some not quite so good anime.

 

The story centers around William Twining who is a wealthy and very intelligent noble, who attends a prestigious school.  After William’s uncle goes bankrupt, William is unable to pay his school tuition.  To avoid this catastrophe, William searches his house to find something of value to pay his school fees.  What he finds is a gate that allows him to accidentally summon Dantalion, a demon, who identifies William immediately as the reincarnation of Solomon and the “elector” the man is able to announce a replacement ruler of hell the ruler of hell, Lucifer, has fallen into a slumber and the other high ranked demons of hell are seeking a replacement to rule over all of hell.   Soloman was a powerful figure in hell in the past that had abused demons to conquer and rule over his nation.  None of this is really very important to what happens in this anime.

 

Makai Ouji suffers, as much as any, from the anime “gloom”!  (dum dum de dum!) What unfolds are two episodes of story setup, eight episode bishi romp, rife with man love, dumb comedy, and unbelievable and yet totally expected circumstances that are the embodiment of some genre of anime and two episodes of wrap up in which the selection for the ruler he hell is settled.

 

Things that occur in the middle section of this show:

 

  • One at a time, William learns that everybody he knows in his life is a demon (shocker!), even his family butler who has been with the family since William was born.

  • There are lots of “almost kiss” moments between Dantalion and William

  • Male demons that look like girls frolic around and beg to be named king of hell

  • Male demons all fighting over William for his affections

  • Really senseless school events such as festivals and boat races suck up screen time

 

Let’s get right down to what this show is really about: Boys love, bishi love.   This show doesn’t even really do that well.  For people who watch this show to see a romance blow up between two men, this won’t happen.  There are moments in the show where Dantalion will say to William “Command me” or “I won’t ever leave your side” but this aspect of this show never really blooms and for this reason, I think fans the the show are asking for a second sesason to be made.  Lord help me.

 

Where a second season to be made, the one benefit I would hope for would be a heavier emphasis on one part of the series that actually could be interesting, the war between Heaven and Hell.  This is teased a lot but unfortunately it never really gets around to it.  It would be nice to see this in a sequel were it to happen.

 

[starrater]

utena

Revolutionary Girl Utena

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Episode Reviewed In: EMAIL CHIAKI IF YOU KNOW THE EPISODE – use the contact form

Alternate Titles: Ursula’s Kiss, Utena, Girl Revolution Utena, Shoujo Kakumei Utena (少女革命ウテナ)

Original Japanese Release Date: 1997

Episode Length/Run-time: 39 Episodes

Summary:

When Utena Tenjou was a young girl her parents died and during her despair a prince on a white horse gave her a ring, telling her to never lose her nobility and strength.  She was so impressed by him that she decided to become a prince herself and dresses as a boy at her school, Ohtori Academy.  One day she observes what seems to be a lovers quarrel involving Anthe Himemiya and Saonji, a member of the student council.  When she approaches Saonji she is swept into a world of duels because of her ring surrounding Anthe, the “rose bride” and the power to revolutionize the world.  What these duels are, who the mysterious letter sender known as “End of the World” is, and Utena’s place in it all remains a mystery.

Review:

How to make this review not a small novel will be a mystery for me.  It’s no secret that this is likely my personal favorite anime of all time.  But, even if this wasn’t the case this anime is so full of symbolism, story, and general “WTF?” that it’ll be hard to keep this review short(er).  But, here goes nothing…

The anime is, foremost, a Shoujo anime.  Despite having its share of action in the duels and sometimes hostile relationships between the characters the anime is primarily relationship driven.  Utena’s role is similar to what the main character of a Shounen anime would be.  Strong, determined, kind-hearted, yet naïve in a way that often times will land her or those she cares about into trouble.  Despite this she retains her femininity often times through the affections of other masculine characters.  However, to say it is “relationship driven” is well, an understatement.  The relationships in Utena are so jacked that it’s one of the hardest things to follow.  To illustrate this or perhaps help some confusion I made a relationship map of the most basic of relationships, and even then there are some question marks.

The series is broken up into three arcs.  The first arc is about 12 episodes and this is the “Rose Bride” arc.  This sets up the characters, world and the duels.  As this arc ends the world is thrown into chaos through the second arc the “Black Rose” arc, about another 12 episodes.  This arc brings forward sub characters to duel Utena for Anthy’s hand.  The final arc is the “Apocalypse Saga” where the conclusions of the series are drawn.

This series could’ve done fine without the Black Rose arc and duelists.  They do bring out backstories for each of the characters, and provide some further detail on the story, but beyond that they’re next to filler, making the series even more episodic.  And the series is pretty episodic to begin with.  The other problem with this arc is things begin to get really cracked out and crazy (dueling on convertibles anyone?).

The ending is complex, and is something most people debate.  That’s one thing I love, this series is steeped in symbolism and every person can have an equally valid interpretation of it.

It is mature content which I wouldn’t recommend for younger viewers.  Otherwise, I personally recommend this series as a favorite that everyone checks out.