(L) Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maou

[JediNight]

I'm predicting (for the anime at least) -- probably open-ended with nothing conclusive.

Or if they don't plan a 2nd season ... gag ending where Sai becomes engaged to Junko and stays at her house. Keena is too dense and bright to hook up and just comes to "visit every day", with Korone staying with them as well for "observeration". Queue teasing, etc.

[wingman32x]

Lol, a good Hattori episode. The idol being Hattori's sister kind of surprised me, but looking back she does look a lot like her. Hattori had really cute facial expressions and her actions were pretty cute, too. Well, it looks like we have our final conflict. Should be an interesting 3 episodes...

[mangatron]

Originally Posted by JediNight

Or if they don't plan a 2nd season ... gag ending where Sai becomes engaged to Junko and stays at her house. Keena is too dense and bright to hook up and just comes to "visit every day", with Korone staying with them as well for "observeration". Queue teasing, etc.

Doesn't this basically describe prior to episode 09? I think it would destroy this series if episode 12 ends with them going all the way back to a first-half of ep 09 atmosphere. For one thing, I'm sure a lot of viewers didn't sign up for that, but most importantly, the end of ep 09 made things a heck of a lot more serious, now that Keena's role isn't entirely a secret now (supposing Bouchi is telling the truth), as well as imminent war and a gag ending would mostly point to... Sai going absolutely nowhere with his goals.

A gag ending is definitely the end of episode 05 I don't think they would repeat that, something that currently holds little water with the progress of some characters. As for my permanent take on an ending, I'd probably wait till after ep 10 airs to hold a press conference (it worked last time...)

Originally Posted by wingman32x

Lol, a good Hattori episode. The idol being Hattori's sister kind of surprised me, but looking back she does look a lot like her. Hattori had really cute facial expressions and her actions were pretty cute, too. Well, it looks like we have our final conflict. Should be an interesting 3 episodes...

Why is it that I was reminded of "Earth: Final Conflict"?

I honestly should have known there was a connection to Hattori after I made that sudden interjection about blue hairs before episode 09 aired.

By the way, I forgot to mention this, honestly guys, was I the only one who remembered ep 01's classroom misunderstanding the moment Junko went near Sai's room in ep 09? (see who knows what I am talking about)

I really did chuckle to myself and said "I know where this is going..."

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

[url=http://h.imagehost.org/view/0320/7_10]

Can someone make a static version of the ending part, where she's turned her head all the way and is facing the camera? I don't have a clue how to do that myself, and it would make a nice avatar.

[JediNight]

Looks like Peterhausen roared a little too loud and opened up a skylight for Sai in Guatemala...

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...khole-2010.jpg

[mangatron]

That sinkhole amazes me no matter how I look at it. What interests me more, is what does it feel like to stand at the edge and look straight down into mother earth

Shouldn't Fujiko have at least some bit of control over Peter, since she was the one who unlocked him... At least to let him join her snail army

[eiyuu99]

The dragon's acknowledged master is the Maou.
The dragon is basically one of Akuto's turning point.

[Saturn Beaver]

Originally Posted by JediNight

Looks like Peterhausen roared a little too loud and opened up a skylight for Sai in Guatemala...

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...khole-2010.jpg

"When you stares at the sinkhole, the sinkhole stares back at you". Wow, I think I just lost a few minutes of my life just staring at it. And since I'm too lazy that I rather use my internet to go to anime forums rather than looking up world news, what causes that exactly?

Just to make this not completely off-topic, I wouldn't expect anything conclusive for the season finale, what's with the light novel still ongoing and all. All I'm expecting is that there will be an epic finale with Akuto, with collaborative effort from his harem and Peterhausen kicking Bouchi's ass. The haremettes and especially Lily is so grateful and impressed that she became and official member of Akuto's harem. Oh, and if there is indeed a separate girl similar but not exactly Keena with blonde hair, let her join Akuto's harem also. And finally, a sequel hook promising a second season with better budgets as soon as there's enough material from the light novels.

[SemperMalum]

A bit off topic:

You know, I never thought I'd say this, but my god once you get the OP stuck in your head, it never leaves. And it becomes addicting.

To the point where I had to look up the video for it. (Eventually, I will muster up the effort to look for subs for the song or lyrics for it)

And not just any video. For anybody that might be interested in Sphere's PV for REALOVE:REALIFE

Click here

[mangatron]

Originally Posted by Saturn Beaver

"When you stares at the sinkhole, the sinkhole stares back at you". Wow, I think I just lost a few minutes of my life just staring at it. And since I'm too lazy that I rather use my internet to go to anime forums rather than looking up world news, what causes that exactly?

In the case of that one in Guatemala, it was the stormwaters that was draining, or something like that. They ran underground. Something like the earth below that spot weakened. I instantly thought of that 2012 movie from Roland Emmerich

And finally, a sequel hook promising a second season with better budgets as soon as there's enough material from the light novels.

Some shopping on Amazon (don't ask) told me that those novels were playing up the "school romance" tagline quite more than what the anime showed us so far. That could have blended into this current season as 24 ep series... but I digress.

Seems like these kind of situations always have me think a series pulling a Fumoffu could work... considering it wasn't bad for Fumoffu.

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

Can someone make a static version of the ending part, where she's turned her head all the way and is facing the camera? I don't have a clue how to do that myself, and it would make a nice avatar.

Like this ?

[Saturn Beaver]

Hmm, I do wish they play the school romance a little bit more...At least it will slow down the pace a little bit and gives promise of more Lily. I really really love Fumoffu, but I wouldn't advise many anime to try it, it's a real risky move and if you don't do it right it just makes things seems random and pointless *coughMayoiNekoOverruncough*.

Oh, and thanks for the explanation for the sinkhole. Sometimes fact can be stranger or at least as strange as fiction...

[Dahak86]

new ep 9 gifs, dam can't wait for ep 10.

Spoiler for lolz:

http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102182.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102181.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102180.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102179.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102178.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102177.gif
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102176.jpg
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102171.jpg
http://img.tv2ch.net/jlab-tv/2/s/102170.jpg

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by Hyouzan

But you're missing my point
It doesn't matter if i know the end results of any of those fights. This is a freaking anime fantasy show for heaven's sake, at worst 90% of the fights will be won by the story's protagonist , 99.9% of the lost fight will only serve to prelude a power-up of some sort, and in the end the protagonist WINS (side character's tragedies and general losses to the world notwithstanding)

And that's what I'm saying. The scenario you've described above is what happens to the typical fantasy anime protagonist, ie the 'hero'. You know, the underdog who has to gain experience to be strong enough (ie. win 90% of the battles), has to learn something from his defeats (ie. 99.9% of his losses), and in the end, would win the final battle.

Now, I ask you this... in Dai Maou, which character best fits this description? Yes, it's Hiroshi, not Akuto. He learned something from his defeat by Mr. X that allowed him to pull the sword from the stone, beats monsters weekly (daily?) to a bloody pulp, and he is prophecized to be the one to beat the Demon Lord.

That's why expecting the same of Akuto, who is the farthest thing you can have from your typical fantasy anime protagonist, and apply the 'hero formula' to him was foolhardy. Really, he has more in common with the antagonists of such fantasy anime (ie. the 'villains), so you should expect similar things from him. From OHKO'ing minions, to defeating non-major characters in less than an episode, to having tricks up his sleeve that comes out of nowhere. His motivations might not be 'villainous', but his attitude (not showing mercy to the delinquents) and his means to do so (that he will take the down the world if he has to in order to accomplish his goals) are something that is shared by the vast majority of 'villains' out there.

So no, you shouldn't apply the 'hero formula' (ie. win 90% of battles, learn something from 99% of battles lost, win the final battle) to Akuto. Instead, you should be applying the 'villain formula' (ie. win ALL the battles but the final battle with the hero, have abilities that come out of nowhere, extremely short fights against anyone but the hero) to him. Even the 10% or so chance to lose in the hero formula is enough to build suspense, but with the villain formula, you can't have any suspense at all whether you drag the fight or not, since he can only be defeated by the 'hero'. In fact, it would feel boring if they drawn out the fights, so I actually commend them on this.

In other words, just because Akuto is the protagonist of the story doesn't necessarily mean you should expect things you normally would of the typical protagonist, especially when he more closely resembles your typical antagonist. Heck, they literally label him as 'Demon Lord' for crying out loud...

[Xagzan]

Originally Posted by SemperMalum

A bit off topic:

You know, I never thought I'd say this, but my god once you get the OP stuck in your head, it never leaves. And it becomes addicting.

To the point where I had to look up the video for it. (Eventually, I will muster up the effort to look for subs for the song or lyrics for it)

And not just any video. For anybody that might be interested in Sphere's PV for REALOVE:REALIFE

Click here

I hear that. I got hooked on it pretty much when I first heard it.

[Arashi500]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

And that's what I'm saying. The scenario you've described above is what happens to the typical fantasy anime protagonist, ie the 'hero'. You know, the underdog who has to gain experience to be strong enough (ie. win 90% of the battles), has to learn something from his defeats (ie. 99.9% of his losses), and in the end, would win the final battle.

Now, I ask you this... in Dai Maou, which character best fits this description? Yes, it's Hiroshi, not Akuto. He learned something from his defeat by Mr. X that allowed him to pull the sword from the stone, beats monsters weekly (daily?) to a bloody pulp, and he is prophecized to be the one to beat the Demon Lord.

That's why expecting the same of Akuto, who is the farthest thing you can have from your typical fantasy anime protagonist, and apply the 'hero formula' to him was foolhardy. Really, he has more in common with the antagonists of such fantasy anime (ie. the 'villains), so you should expect similar things from him. From OHKO'ing minions, to defeating non-major characters in less than an episode, to having tricks up his sleeve that comes out of nowhere. His motivations might not be 'villainous', but his attitude (not showing mercy to the delinquents) and his means to do so (that he will take the down the world if he has to in order to accomplish his goals) are something that is shared by the vast majority of 'villains' out there.

So no, you shouldn't apply the 'hero formula' (ie. win 90% of battles, learn something from 99% of battles lost, win the final battle) to Akuto. Instead, you should be applying the 'villain formula' (ie. win ALL the battles but the final battle with the hero, have abilities that come out of nowhere, extremely short fights against anyone but the hero) to him. Even the 10% or so chance to lose in the hero formula is enough to build suspense, but with the villain formula, you can't have any suspense at all whether you drag the fight or not, since he can only be defeated by the 'hero'. In fact, it would feel boring if they drawn out the fights, so I actually commend them on this.

In other words, just because Akuto is the protagonist of the story doesn't necessarily mean you should expect things you normally would of the typical protagonist, especially when he more closely resembles your typical antagonist. Heck, they literally label him as 'Demon Lord' for crying out loud...

Although Akuto fits the villain formula better, the last part of both the hero and villain(who wins the final battle) isn't a definite in a case like this. Akuto also hasn't used that attitude on anyone not better fitting to an antagonist description (even a lesser one) then Akuto.

[mangatron]

Originally Posted by Saturn Beaver

Hmm, I do wish they play the school romance a little bit more...At least it will slow down the pace a little bit and gives promise of more Lily. I really really love Fumoffu, but I wouldn't advise many anime to try it, it's a real risky move and if you don't do it right it just makes things seems random and pointless *coughMayoiNekoOverruncough*.

heh, I forgot to mention why Fumoffu worked and why something like Gundam Seed can't pull a Fumoffu: Fumoffu worked for FMP because in Season 1 of FMP, we got a few peeks at what Sagara's school life is like in a story that was mostly serious, and how hilarious it could be if continued. As well as for manga readers, who got to see so in more detail before Fumoffu arrived, in which the school comedy approach Fumoffu took was eventually well recieved. Something like Gundam Seed can't pull a Fumoffu because, well, that would mean characters doing something we didn't see them do before, which can very well make or definitely break our perception of the series in its entirety.

Dai Maou could work if we base it on the fact that the novels play the "romantic school comedy" quite heavily even throughout 8 volumes, and since we've already seen what Sai's school life is like (especially with Korone around, and the fact he desires a school life), I'd welcome such a thing, if only for 12 episodes. Or the fact we don't see much Lily so far

I'm still amused at DCII's slice of life 1st season, serious business 2nd season approach

Oh, and thanks for the explanation for the sinkhole. Sometimes fact can be stranger or at least as strange as fiction...

After I tossed the 2012 thought aside, I wondered how that sinkhole happened. My first thought was a bunker buster, since I've seen something like that happen before. But then a little search online brought me to the news. It ended up with a "oh, I see" moment because I've been through a couple of tropical storms before.

And google said at that moment I was searching, that "Guatemala sinkhole" was the 2nd most searched topic in the hour

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Xagzan

I hear that. I got hooked on it pretty much when I first heard it.

So did I. Irresistible. Like a freight train of melody. This and Sarai-ya Goyou's are the two best OPs of the season, for me.

[DragoZERO]

This is an awesome series, truly. The pace is definitely picking up too.

And Junko is an awesome, awesome, awesome tsundere. I did feel bad for Keina, spending her birthday all alone like that.

[wingman32x]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

This is an awesome series, truly. The pace is definitely picking up too.

And Junko is an awesome, awesome, awesome tsundere. I did feel bad for Keina, spending her birthday all alone like that.

Junko is freakin awesome. I just love her facial expressions and reactions to everything related to Akuto.

And hey, Akuto warned her that this might happen, but she kept on saying "I'll tell you when it gets close". I did love her having ricecakes as a birthday cake .