(L+CR) Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

[D-KLAC]

ep.1

so um long war between humans & demons being going to one day the blue hero go charge in to slay demon king but surprise demon ruler is woman with big "meat".

give demon ruler/ruby eyes had waiting for hero to come give to explain all about the human vs demon war is like economics business to if go no matter who wins it will lead to everyone loses on this war.

so showing memory lantern, reasons to side with ruby eyes, & deals talkings so blue hero agree to contract to side with ruby eyes so all set now team-up find safer way peaceful way to end the battles.

all set give huh memory lantern show ruby eyes with blue hero pillow size & her horn were fake with that now the journey begins.

[Anjou]

Originally Posted by Cyprene

The issue is running time. The original version of MaoYuu (The one posted on 2ch) ran to 7000 some pages on my Kindle. The book version is about 1500-2000 pages of double-spaced text, which is PURE DIALOGUE. The book version has no descriptive text, and is simply 100% dialogue with the occasional sound effect. The comics haven't even gotten out of volume 1 of the book, and they're up to volume 3.

Question:

Is the book merely an edited version of the 2ch threads or an adaptation of the story?

[Cyprene]

Is the book merely an edited version of the 2ch threads or an adaptation of the story?

The book is the 2ch version, edited, with new content, and a series of interesting essays at the end by very well-regarded authors. I believe the story diverges more as the book goes along (I think the end may actually be entirely rewritten) but I've only finished the first. I'm away from home on travel, and I left my copies in my apartment, or I could give you a better answer to that.

One thing the book does is patch up plot holes created by the fact that the author was literally making up and posting the story as he went along. I'm not sure how many people in the thread realize this, but what you saw in episode 1 was originally intended to be a stand-alone story that was posted on 2ch. It ended where the episode did, with the Demon King and Hero agreeing to join forces to stop the war. The response to the story was so positive that the author kept writing it, and it was posted piece by piece over the span of like 2 years.

Naturally, this left some plot holes. For instance, in the original version of the episode, the Demon King says, "That's why the Human kings sent you here alone, instead of using their armies." The Hero's party was something that was introduced later once he had to turn it into a real story. The book fixes up all these and makes it into one coherent piece.

[MeoTwister5]

Hmmm.... well I have to hand it to the show for being unapologetic on its rather utilitarian views on war. Which is sort of true in a way, as our own history shows how much war itself has fueled many of humanity's major advancement over hundreds of years.

At least it admits that at the end, while many members of society readily admit how necessary war is for the ironic survival of mankind and demonkind alike, there are still those who want to find a way for everyone to live in peace and prosperity in a time when war is no longer needed.

Most importantly, I haven't seriously laughed in a while until she took off her horned headband lol.

[Random Wanderer]

I find the hero depressingly "generic male lead"ish. If anything is going to turn me off towards the series, it'll be him.

Could someone explain the companions? Is there one mage (starting at about the 6 minute point), or three? Because it looked like the same person, but the clothes and hair color changed.

Most importantly, I haven't seriously laughed in a while until she took off her horned headband lol.

I found that amusing, but I'm sure I'm going to find that I preferred her with horns. They gave her a touch of the exotic.

[Netto Azure]

Well the series is certainly Keynesian in it's promotion of War as an economic driver of sorts.

On the other hand I do like it's simplistic surface yet fun and educational views.

It's nice that they're doing the more humorous adaptation for it. :P

[ShiroiRyu]

Boobies part was not necessary but hey ...
Look at the staff : Queen's Blade and Ikki Tousen, that explain a lot. :s

[NoemiChan]

Just scanned episode 1 and I love it!!!! This is romance right?!

I get all excited again. The first anime that caught my interest this season/year.

[Elestia]

A pretty good adaptation of the story. Although, I am a big fan of the Ishida Akira version the starting episode managed to capture most of the important world building elements. I especially liked how they managed to introduce the important political and major characters of the story in response to Hero's questions.

A bit disappointed that DQ is now DK though, although I'll get over it. She will always be DQ in my mind at least. The backgrounds were all very well done giving a charming fairy tale vibe throughout the episode. Most character designs remain good, although I feel that the worst offenders would be the merchant's overall appearance being downright atrocious to look at.

The most unexpected thing was the dakimura which caught me completely by surprise. I laughed, but it felt kind of forced in the context of things. Maybe it was a sense of pandering from the writers to include that scene.

[Anjou]

Originally Posted by Cyprene

The book is the 2ch version, edited, with new content, and a series of interesting essays at the end by very well-regarded authors. I believe the story diverges more as the book goes along (I think the end may actually be entirely rewritten) but I've only finished the first. I'm away from home on travel, and I left my copies in my apartment, or I could give you a better answer to that.

One thing the book does is patch up plot holes created by the fact that the author was literally making up and posting the story as he went along. I'm not sure how many people in the thread realize this, but what you saw in episode 1 was originally intended to be a stand-alone story that was posted on 2ch. It ended where the episode did, with the Demon King and Hero agreeing to join forces to stop the war. The response to the story was so positive that the author kept writing it, and it was posted piece by piece over the span of like 2 years.

Naturally, this left some plot holes. For instance, in the original version of the episode, the Demon King says, "That's why the Human kings sent you here alone, instead of using their armies." The Hero's party was something that was introduced later once he had to turn it into a real story. The book fixes up all these and makes it into one coherent piece.

Thanks for the detailed response!

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Elestia

The most unexpected thing was the dakimura which caught me completely by surprise. I laughed, but it felt kind of forced in the context of things. Maybe it was a sense of pandering from the writers to include that scene.

Yea I'm going to agree with you on this assumption. Even thought the scene was both funny and cute it did feel kind of shoe horned in there. They could've used the time to show more of the Hero questioning the whole reason for him becoming a Hero in the first place.

[Cyprene]

Well the series is certainly Keynesian in it's promotion of War as an economic driver of sorts.

I would disagree with this. The idea of government war spending as driving the economy (Keynes' fiscal multiplier) is not one that the show ever espouses.

What you see instead is war as a unifying force: both the demons and humans uniting to face a common enemy, with the attendant economic benefits that that brings. This is something that's in a lot of shows. What makes MaoYuu unique, at least in my experience, is the idea of war as something that the civilization depends on, that the entire world is now depending on this war, and the short-term shock from ending it will be so big that it threatens to swamp the whole society and kill millions of people.

[Elestia]

Isn't this the same economic model that 1984 uses for the three superstates' perpetual war?

[Cyprene]

Isn't this the same economic model that 1984 uses for the three superstates' perpetual war?

It's similar, certainly. Maybe somebody more familiar with Orwell could chime in here. But the difference as I understand it is that the superstate war in 1984 is essentially a controlled ruse, intended to keep a small number of people on top and everybody else on the bottom. If everybody in 1984 were to for some magical reason pack up, stop fighting, and go home, things would get better for the majority of the population.

In MaoYuu if the war stops everyone dies.

[Random Wanderer]

An impression I'm getting is that Maou would like there to be another option: some way to solve the problems she stated without having to constantly be at war, and she's hoping the hero can actually help her find one. I don't think she's really saying that the war is good so much as she's just pointing out that the consequences of ending it would be worse than letting it continue, unless they can work out some other solution for the issues that the war is currently providing the solution for.

[Cyprene]

An impression I'm getting is that Mao would like there to be another option: some way to solve the problems she stated without having to constantly be at war, and she's hoping the hero can actually help her find one. I don't think she's really saying that the war is good so much as she's just pointing out that the consequences of ending it would be worse than letting it continue, unless they can work out some other solution for the issues that the war is currently providing the solution for.

This is exactly right. That's what she meant by "the other side of the hill." She wants to fight a way to for the war to end without causing the kind of chaos she described. And that's what she's going to spend the rest of the show doing just that.

[Netto Azure]

Originally Posted by Cyprene

I would disagree with this. The idea of government war spending as driving the economy (Keynes' fiscal multiplier) is not one that the show ever espouses.

Ah yes of course. They are trying to break the cycle of war as the sole fiscal multiplier through the introduction of new ideas into the world. Still the initial premise does point to it and I just wanted to point it out.

Also me likes that Young Merchant showed up through the Q&A portion. Probably my favorite character in this series.

[Graveyard Duck]

Originally Posted by Cyprene

But the difference as I understand it is that the superstate war in 1984 is essentially a controlled ruse, intended to keep a small number of people on top and everybody else on the bottom.

Spoiler for War in 1984:

The war in 1984 (which is real, but exaggerated for party purposes) is there to destroy production that goes above the bare minimum to sustain the society. It's there deliberately to keep conditions from improving as well as providing a common enemy. It has been going on for decades, since the world was devastated by the wars that formed the three power blocks.

The main difference is a matter of duration. The war in Maoyu has been going for 15 or so years, with none of it affecting the central nations directly. Eventually, the fact that the production of the war-stimulated economy in Maoyu is going directly to be destroyed in the war may catch up to the countries and result in economic downturn (massive government debt, inflation, etc), but in the short run it can lead to positive results. I don't know if Maoyu touches on this subject, but it's not just a matter of humanity to end the war but that some economic models predict that the war boom is not sustainable in the long term.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Hmmm.... well I have to hand it to the show for being unapologetic on its rather utilitarian views on war. Which is sort of true in a way, as our own history shows how much war itself has fueled many of humanity's major advancement over hundreds of years.

As the show also pointed out, it's not that war does anything good; it's that humanity is too dysfunctional and refuse to work together unless it is for the benefit of murdering other people.

It's like saying doing the work at the last minute forces you to focus and do things faster. When in reality you could have done exactly the same thing months ahead and save yourself the stress. The misconception wars are beneficial is caused by the fact that it sucks money from future generations by going into debt, to cause a boost in project funding. And then in peace time we spend everything to pay off that debt.

If you want the benefits of war and not the bloody corpses, you can just create a fake war budget and spent that money on R&D. It would be the same thing, and is essentially what we call "Fiscal Stimulus" these days.

[Cyprene]

I don't know if Maoyu touches on this subject, but it's not just a matter of humanity to end the war but that some economic models predict that the war boom is not sustainable in the long term.

Well, the odd thing about the society in MaoYu is that it IS stable. (That word, "stable", ends up being very, very important later in the story.) This is a pre-industrialization, decentralized feudal society, so a lot of the nasty tricks that can create short-term booms followed by busts, like deficit spending and war bonds, simply don't exist. If the system were allowed to run, the war would continue more or less indefinitely in its current state. Neither side really has the manpower to mount a sustained invasion of the other (Notice how the humans were able to take exactly one city, and the result was that they immediately lost one of their own territories.) and so it just drags on and on forever. It's nasty and horrible, with thousands of deaths on both sides, but like the 1984 war, it'll just go on and on, making people miserable forever.