Makai Ouji Devils and Realist

" Bring two people with totally opposite points of view, throw them in a closed room, and watch them scratch out each others' eyes, this is the best description I could come up with for the anime. And I promise it will get you smiling on occasions, feeling a bit sad on a few others, and laughing hard at 2 am in the morning. "

Introduction:

I've been tired lately of some EPIC yet nerve-wrecking anime ( again ! ), so I decided to start some light anime that will leave me laughing rather than worrying. Apparently, Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist was the cure for my heartache and boredom.  Here is the trailer :3 

Editor’s side note: My heartache is due to my favorite anime taking too long to release new episodes. Ongoing anime are a test of patience if you ask me. On another note, Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist is quite a catch. It is funny, funny, with some good plot, funny, and quite a touch of eccentricity if you ask me although slow paced.

Plot:

William Twining is an aristocrat and has everything handed to him. Although his parents died and his uncle manages his financials, he is the top of his class in one of the most prestigious schools. He is a "perfect" by name, social status, and grades. He is one hell of a realist who only believes in the scientific line of thinking. What William doesn't know is that he is going to be denied from all of the comforts he enjoyed when news reaches him regarding his uncle's bankruptcy due to "Bad Investments".

Random snapshot from the anime, LOOK how promising the LOLs are :3 

Editor’s side note: So, what's so special with Twining? What William does not know is that he is the descendant of Solomon, who according to the story is the man who God bestowed upon him wisdom which is represented by the ring which Solomon wears. He also subjugated 72 demons also knows as the 72 pillars. Yet, what happens when the lord of hell Lucifer falls asleep and hell needs an interim ruler? ( Enters the ELECTOR)

A sample of the demon lords that are shown in the series :3 , and YES this hottie is the lord of FLIES -_- 

When William dashes home to inquire about his unpaid tuition, he is received by his house steward Kevin Cecil who informs him about his uncle's bankruptcy.  Desperate to find a method to pay his tuition, William accidentally enters a secret basement in his house and summons a demon when a drop of blood oozing from his injured hand comes in contact with an old magic circle drawn on the floor.

Kevin the house steward, ummm I shall refrain from commenting and leave the rest up to you :3

Editor’s side note: So up till now, we have a hard headed realist who summoned a demon using a magic circle in his basement who tells him that he is the Elector and has the right to choose hell's interim ruler! So how will William react ?

Characters:

1- William Twining: 

An aristocrat who has gone bankrupt. He is also Solomon's descendant, and a hell of a realist. Although, some of the 72 pillars approach him and try to Persuade him to elect them as the interim ruler, William denies each and every single one of them. He, not only denies their requests, but also their existence/nature as well as his responsibility towards them. He claims that they are all made out of atoms and he is not responsible in any way to deal with hell and its problems, that is if it exists to begin with.

On several occasions William will show his true soft nature especially towards his friend and house steward Kevin. I would like to say that his attitude issues are due to his beliefs although I have a feeling Dantalion will patch things up :P !

William and his friend Issac :3 This was one weird moment ! 

Editor’s side note: Twining's attitude sometimes pisses me off. He is proud on several occasions and denies Dantalion who appears to have made quite a connection with Solomon in the past. My brother says William's initial attitude is more annoying than Arthur Auguste Angel's from Ao No Exorcist.

 Arthur Auguste Angel from Ao No Exorcist, PLAIN annoyance on two feet

2- Dantalion:

He is one of Solomon's 72 pillars and also a Nephilim ( I will let you hit your head on the wall while trying to find a definition for Nephilim :3 ). He is the demon who was summoned in William's basement. He is protective of the initial, although William denies his existence and "badmouths" him on several occasions. He has a major connection with Solomon and wonders why William forgot about him (while William has flashbacks regarding the other demons). 

Dantalion is also one of Lucifer's favorites and is quite POWERFUL ! But why is he protective of William and throws his life to protect an Elector who does not even acknowledge his existence ? ( ^_^ ) NYA-nya !?

Dantalion is a very sweet demon if you ask me !

Editor’s side note: Dantalion's voice actor was a shock. I knew I heard that voice somewhere, yet I never knew this deep voice was the same as Misaki Ayuzuwa from Kaichou wa Maid sama as well as Ittoki Otoya from Uta-no Prince Sama and Inuta Kobungo from Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun!

 3-Sitori 

He is also a candidate to replace Lucifer as the latter is in deep sleep. He appears to be a fallen angel as seen in one of Solomon's memories. Sitori is very refined, loves eating biscuits and quite powerful. He reigns over 60 armies of hell and is one of Solomon's pillars.

Editor’s side note: During his first appearance I had one reaction: "NOT sure if MALE OR FEMALE :P " Rest assured, he is a male !

 4- Gilles de Rais 
I do not know why but this DUDE (HE IS A DUDE ) pisses me off. I am not sure if he is a comic relief but he really needs some help. He is quite strong, battles Dantalion in the first episode if I am not mistaken and it is revealed that he is a man who died 400 years ago and became a Nephilim serving under the Great Demon Duke Baalberith. He once was in love with some historical character that we KNOW :3 !

Editor’s side note: During episode 7 mom walks into the room. I hit the pause button and the video stops at this scene. She inquires about the current scene and I tell her some stuff are better left unexplained .

There are other characters, whom I shall refrain from discussing in order not to ruin the anime for you :3

 I love your red hair dude, but hmmmm !

 I fell in love with his voice, he has the same voice actor for shirou from Ao No Exorcist and Hannes-san fron Attack on Titan

 Astaroth-sama quite a character. She reminds me of Youruichi from Bleach !

Camio, he is one of my favorites, pretty refined with a delicate human nature !

Music:

The intro was not bad, quite catchy but not very memorable ( in my opinion ) ! I enjoyed the closing more, and I like the vocals and lyrics :3  :3

Comments:

- I enjoyed the anime. It was a good change of genres, quite funny, and yet has an interesting plot of its own.

- I love how the battle between heaven and hell develops.

- Themes of friendship, betrayal, humans vs demons vs hell are raised and you can't help but love the demons in the series.

- One of my favorite quotes relates to how humans are more cruel that the darkest demons.

Although many might down-rate it, according to the atmosphere and the nature/genre of the anime as well as my psychological state while watching it, it would give it an 8 or an 8.5! Many would argue that it does NOT rival other 8 or 9 rated anime, but within its genre I would say it did a great job!

Kamisama Hajimemashita

Introduction:

I was listening to "Just Tonight" by The Pretty Reckless and somehow it reminded me of a task that has been on my laptop's sticky notes for quite a while: "Read Kamisama Hajimemashita's 100th manga issue". So, instead of searching for the translated manga issue, I decided to write a review for the anime hoping it would reignite my passion for the manga (it never died if you ask me) and refresh my memory regarding certain events.

Editor’s side note: Although this anime may look like an underdeveloped one , there is more than meets the eye. I also have a thing for bad-ass demons that have animal ears and tails ( call me a creep but the anime had quite a nice flavor especially when I was quite stressed due to my exams).

So what is Kamisama Hajimemashita about and what sets it apart from other anime that fall under "shoujo, slice of life, and mystery"? Let us take the first step and introduce the plot and hopefully things will interest you and get you watching the anime or even reading the manga which is much more developed and intriguing!

1- Plot: ( YOU by The Pretty Reckless is playing in the background which fits perfectly :P )

Momozono Nanami is a regular highschool girl until she is evicted from her house thanks to her reckless father who left her with debts and made his escape just before the debt-collectors claimed their rights. ( Quite a role model for a father if you ask me :P ! )

We are presented with Nanami sitting on a lonely park bench when she hears a man's voice requesting "HELP". Nanami sees a full grown man on a tree being harrassed by a dog. Nanami comes to his aid and chases the dog away.

Editor’s side note: This was quite a hilarious start if you ask me. Seeing the man on the tree, and having a young school girl chase the dog away ( by simply shaking her foot at it) made my mother laugh as she, my older sister and I rewatched the anime.

Mikage thanks the young girl for her help and inquires about her current state. Nanami retells how she has no home to return to and how her father left her to fend on her own as he made his escape. As a result, Mikage draws Nanami a map and tells her she can have his home, after all, he has been absent for 20 years and "TOMOE" would knock his teeth off if he sees him. Mikage kisses Nanami's forehead and tells her to make his home her own.

    Enter Tomoe :3 ! <3

Editor’s side note: If I were Nanami and a strange man kissed my forehead or even approached me, I would dropkick him so help me GOD! ( I just wanted to point that out :P .)

There is no doubt that for every "golden deal" there is a catch, for there is no such thing as a "free lunch"! Apparently our young hero walked into what she calls an AYAKASHI haunted house. As she enters she is attacked by an angry fox familiar ( Tomoe, who is quite a hottie with epic fox ears and tail ). The latter tries to rip her throat out, only to stop at a split of a second pointing out that the girl is not MIKAGE. At that moment, two shrine servants, Onikiri and Kotetsu, state that she has Mikage's seal which deems her the deity of the shrine.

Onikiri and Kotetsu being harassed by the ladies who serve Tomoe wine :3

As a diety and the official inheritor of Mikage, Nanami has to attend to several tasks. Things start to hit a wild turn when several tests of faith, will and power are thrown at her. Will Nanami rise to the occasion  or give up to her mere mundane nature? More importantly what does Nanami have to do to make Tomoe acknowledge her? Will she succeed in fulfilling her role as a diety of a shrine when her weak state and mundane nature constrain her from seeing "deity-fit tasks" to their proper ends?

Nanami sealing the familiar contract with Tomoe ( nyahahahahahah :3 )

2- Characters: (Need you Now by Lady Antebellum is playing which is quite true because I miss Tomoe)

Other than Nanami, we have Tomoe as a lead character. He is a fox demond and Mikage's familiar serving as the shrine's guardian. Other than the shrine tasks, he also writes down the believer's prayers which he has kept in journals that are neatly saved awaiting Mikage's return. In the past, Tomoe was quite a demon who would wreck havoc, massacre humans, and hunt just for the pleasure and to satisfy his blood thirst. This is revealed in the manga in more details, the latter lays the foundation for the coming arcs relating to his past and how it links to Nanami's. ( It was a great read discovering Tomoe's past and secrets; the manga left me eager and demanding ).

Kurama Shinjirou is a prominent pop-idol who is supposedly a fallen angle from hell ( his stage image :P ) when in fact he is a Tengu who descended the mountain 16 years ago. He picks on Nanami on the first day causing her to cry. Later on, when he discovers her deity nature, he tries to devour her, to which Tomoe comes to the rescue and injures Kurama with his fox fire after turning the latter into an ostrich. After that encounter, Kurama befriends Nanami and helps her out on several occasions including the event when Tomoe is shrunken into chibi/baby form and left defenseless.

There is also Mizuki who was the familiar of a different shrine deity who died and her shrine was submerged under water. He is one hell of a funny character ( wait until he starts playing the flute). Also, Mizuki has white hair and green eyes and usually rides on a snake and makes divine wine!

3-Music:

The into and closing songs is quite addicting. My mother ended up happily humming them all day!  I wouldn't blame her for the tune is quite catch and the rhyme is a memorable one. The original soundtracks are quite.

COMMENTS:

I loved the anime; it was warm, mysterious, and quite relaxing. The story develops more and takes some good twists and turns both in the anime and more evidently in the manga. I bet manga issue 100 is going to be a total mind-blower. Keep in mind, that Tomoe has a very dark past and you will not be let into that past except by looking at the hairpin shown in the anime. The anime does not show anything regarding his past, yet , I hope there is a season 2 since  the manga develops the plot further and will leave you with an open jaw on several occasions. 

There is beauty in the anime/manga's simplicity, and a touch of eccentricity that sets it apart. I recommend it to you all give it a 9/10 compared to its fellow anime that fall under the same sub-genre.

I hope you enjoyed the review and would give the anime a try :3 ! I am off to read manga issue #100 !