(CR) Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?

[stray]

That collar is so obviously going back on next episode because nothing says romance and commitment like slavery. I kinda hate this trope.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by stray

That collar is so obviously going back on next episode because nothing says romance and commitment like slavery. I kinda hate this trope.

Maybe it'll become a fashion statement ?

[Frontier]

What better way to cap off a terrible day for Nephy than encountering Chastille and figuring it's finally time for her to get executed? Although then the entire town turns on Chastille and bullies her when the poor girl was just concerned about Nephy. The girl she was supposedly harassing had to stop people from harassing her! Although Manuela makes a great entrance .

What better way to nurse a broken heart than Girl Talk with Big Sis Manuela? Especially when she keeps teasing poor Chastille. Working for the church is not popular it seems .

Nephy knows Zagan well enough to know there must have been more to him sending her away than cruelty, and even Chastille has a positive enough impression of Zagan to see past his bluster and realize he's not an evil man...just lonely. And that makes Nephy resolve that he NEEDS her and she still wants to be with him .

I love how Torres is so traumatized from Nephy that he's completely terrified of plants. And Nephy just greets him like a casual acquaintance .

It's great that Nephy has made friends in Manuela and Chastille (and Chastille isn't being footed the entire bill) although Nephy and Chastille getting kidnapped was definitely not great .

I guess if the Cerulean knights are good at anything other than getting caught by Zagan, it's letting him know something is going on...but it's Manuela taking him to task for his treatment of Nephy, and not understanding her feelings, that makes him finally realize how much she cares about him and that he shouldn't be pushing her away as an Archdemon but using his status to PROTECT her .

So the culprit that's been behind everything and has Nephy and Chastille chained up is none other than...Barbatos. Who has had a grudge against Zagan ever since Zagan killed his master Andras and took what Barbatos felt was rightfully his. All Barbatos wanted now was to become an Archdemon (with the help of the Facestealer's sacrifices) and bump off Zagan, but now he's lost that with Zagan getting the title. Now the dude is totally unhinged .

But Nephy is going to fight for her freedom, to be with Zagan, and to not leave him alone any more because he never treated her as a tool and was kind to her...and as if in answer to her feelings, Zagan arrives to save the day and school his "old friend" .

[FlareKnight]

I love how this all starts with Nephy in a terrible spot, but I spend the early part of the episode solely feeling awful for Chastille . Dang it people. Either have a suicidal Nephy asking if she'll cut her head off or people harassing her. No good deed goes unpunished. Truly is a lesser evil in the world to avert your gaze and keep walking when you see someone in trouble...

Thank god the episode rebounded to remembering the focus here is supposed to be on Nephy's bad situation...not giving Chastille a hard time.

Glad that things did turn around. Although I think Zagan could ease up on the dramatic speeches. Both before going and after arriving. This situation happened because he stupidly kicked Nephy out without appreciating the dangers or her own wishes. Getting to work on rescuing her is the least he can do here.

[zztop]

Looks like the series will be 12 episodes, released across 2 Blurays.
https://madome-anime.com/blu-ray/

Pacing-wise, Reddit commenters say the anime is still covering LN Vol 1 (out of 18 and ongoing).

[~Yami~]

Zagan lost another opportunity for rizz by saying "as expected of my apprentice" instead of "as expected from the woman who will stand by my side forever"

[Frontier]

Even if she can't be the person who has his heart, Zagan is precious to Nephy, and she wants nothing more than to be with him and protect him...and she won't let any other man have her. And in answer to her feelings, ARCHDEMON Zagan arrives to save her from Barbatos .

Ha! Zagan had Barbatos made pretty much from day one. He just had to go and involve Nephy and REALLY tick Zagan off .

Barbatos is basically just a stop gap for Zagan to get to Nephy, wounding Barbatos easily and then undoing Nephy's chains so they can share a tender moment together. Barbatos can't get in the way of their romantic reunion .

Barbatos never stood a chance. Zagan was overwriting other sorcerers' spells at age eight as a fluke, now he has so much more knowledge and experience with magic that he can easily undo all of Barbatos' spells and enhance himself in the process. He truly has become a Sorcerer Slayer .

Oh, NOW Barbatos pulls the friend card. As if. Though seeing the flashback and how they were hanging out since they were kids, and Zagan was even there to watch Barbatos strike out with and get slapped by women, they probably are the closest thing they've ever had to friends. Which is enough to get Zagan to let Barbatos live, especially since Barbatos can't beat him and Zagan enjoys Barbatos' quality wine .

I guess this is a lesson about not punching summoning circles lest you summon a demon. Something beyond human comprehension or human ability to defeat, even in an imperfect state, something so intimidating Zagan thought they were all screwed. Their only salvation was that the demon reacted to Zagan's Archdemon ability from the punch and imprinted on him as its master so Zagan could send it away. Though imagine what that thing could have done for him...but probably for the best to not keep it around .

Look at Zagan carrying everybody out of the cave! He even got Barbatos holding onto his cape .

The Cerulean knights pick up Chastille, Manuela heads off (after making sure Zagan and Nephy resolve their relationship problems), and Barbatos heads off in a huff. Which just leaves Zagan and Nephy together to mend things. Nephy wants to be with Zagan, and Zagan wants them to be on a first-name basis...and if he can't properly confess his love for her, the least he can do is basically swear they'll be together for the rest of their lives. That's a proposal if ever I've heard one. Even did a title drop !

Oh, they brought the collar back. Well, now it's basically just symbolic of their bond (and Zagan's equivalent to a ring) so it's really just a fashion statement...but I'm not surprised they brought it back .

Zagan and Nephy are popular! Though also drawing attention from other sorcerers .

Poor Chastille. She couldn't free herself from her bonds, she fainted at the demon, and she loses her job when she sticks to her guns and refuses to go after Zagan. But at least she's staying true to herself .

[stray]

And... we're back to slavery. I really hate this trope...

[Lex79]

One thing I like about this series is that this is the end of volume 1 and our protagonists, despite not saying it explicitly with words, are basically a married couple.
Barbatos should have killed Zagan when he had the chance...assuming he ever had one, given that child Zagan managed to kill his master. Still, he was very lucky, just imagine if he managed to summon the demon without someone with the Archdemon's sigil to control it.

[Der Langrisser]

Nope, the collar is now something like an engagement ring for Nephy, it has nothing to do with slavery anymore.

[stray]

Originally Posted by Der Langrisser

Nope, the collar is now something like an engagement ring for Nephy, it has nothing to do with slavery anymore.

I mean its a fantasy world; I'm sure things like blacksmiths exist who could make an actual ring out of it. Putting it on as is pretty much implies she peaked during slavery. Series wants to have its cake and eat it too.

[Frontier]

Well, Chastille's lost her job and her sword, but honestly she doesn't mind it so much. She joined the church and became a knight to protect the people, and she was no longer fulfilling that duty as it was. Though it doesn't seem like they're done with her quite yet, especially when a fierce Holy Knight named Raphael is showing up to possibly take care of her AND Zagan .

All work and no play makes Nephy want to surprise Zagan! And even if he's too tall for her to surprise him, it's still utterly adorable. And Zagan could never resist some fine Nephy cooking .

Can we get more of Manuela dressing Nephy in sexy outfits? That imagine spot was great .

Of course what's less enjoyable is an uninvited guest, Valefor the Apparition, who shows up to take Zagan on...but all the man wants to do is enjoy his pudding from Nephy! Which means Valefor had no chance .

But this is an anime, so Valefor turns out to be...a little girl! Because no fantasy show is complete without a dragon loli .

Valefor is basically just a kid who is desperate to gain power even if it means challenging the local Archdemon, but she's still a kid, and while Zagan doesn't like kids, he at least understands them well enough and knows how to set them right especially out of consideration for Nephy. So why not feed her and put her to work ?

Valefor, or For, gets along well with Nephy though it seems like she's dealing with a lot of stuff from her past that makes her wary of people and closed off. But Zagan and Nephy treating her like a child and being considerate of her really hits her hard emotionally, and the headpats don't hurt either .

Who would have thought the pair would take in a dragon girl as their first child? They definitely don't seem to mind being parents once they realize they've adopted their first kid !

[Kamijou Touma IB]

this show is great, Foll (this is the LN spelling) is just so cute.

[Lex79]

The cast of characters is one of the best thing about this series. The more are introduced, the better it becomes.