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!

Anime Review: Angel Beats

Hello everyone! Today I will be reviewing one of the best anime out there that really affected me: Angel Beats

Before I begin let me say 2 words about why I began to watch this anime:
   1- The original idea (the plot take place in the after life)
   2- The beautiful art/animation
   3- The presence of guitar

With this being said I will begin the review (you can read relaxed, I won't be spoiling the story)

Story:

The story takes place in school acting as a limbo for those who died. People who are sent there are those with lingering attachment to life and are rebelling against there past; In other words people with a hard childhood (sickness, paralysis, un-achieved goals etc...).
Note that people who committed suicide are not allowed to go there and people there can still feel pain, sadness and can "die" (they will awaken sometimes later with no injuries)
The story begins with Otonashi Yuzuru, a boy who awaken there not remembering anything about his life.

Upon awakening he is approached by an armed girl: Yuri Nakamura

Yuri tells him that she is a member of the Afterlife Battlefront (Shinda Sekai Sensen or SSS), an organization she founded and leads against the oppressing God and his messenger Tenshi (Angel in Japanese).

Tenshi

There is a rock band called Girls Dead Monster that act as a diversion for the SSS missions and a guild that mass produces weapons.

The rest of the afterlife school is populated by a large number of "normal" students and teachers Yuri deems "non-player characters" (NPCs) as they are not human, but look and act the part.

Also if they just do like everybody (go to class and everything) they will be obliterated and reincarnated as a sea barnacle (or so they say)

Now I won't say anymore to avoid spoilers, I will just say that the story is really not what you might believe, things are very complicated. We have some childish humor but we also have this dark atmosphere when some of the SSS member's past is revealed. Each one has a unique story, torturous, depressing tale. 

The ending will leave you in tears

(image pretty much accurate of how I felt at the ending)

Characters:

As I mentioned before the story follow mostly Yuzuru and the SSS in their fight against Tenshi. Though we might notice that not all the character's past is covered (the Manga and the Light Novel do)
Each of them also have a special way to make you laugh as they are funny as hell.

Sound:

Nothing to say, the music is awesome, perfect, you will never forget it.

Opening theme "My soul"

"My song" One of the most emotional

And the ending theme which is relaxing after an action episode

Also the music really fits the situations, happy songs in happy moments, sad songs in sad moments.

Animation:

The animation in this series is quite detailed and beautiful. The school campus looks good and the scenery is close to flawless. The character designs are wide and different for every character. It doesn’t rely on sex-appeal or moe characters, which is refreshing. The amount of detail put in the weapons and instruments is impressive. If you’re knowledgeable with these kinds of things, you can clearly see what model, brand and such the different items are. The violence is dramatic, but not «gory» or noticeably special.

The action scenes does not disappoint as well. It gets your blood pumping, and that’s all it takes for a viewer to want to see more.

The series has its own band called «Girls Dead Monster». The amount of detail put into their performances is incredible. If you watch closely, you can see that the guitarist holds the correct chords, the drummer hits the right drums and the bassist plays as if it was a real performance. Now THAT is amazing since anime often just lets the guitarists hand slide up and down the neck of the guitar and so forth.

Difference with the Manga:

The manga is still ongoing, and it is wider since it covers more the SSS's members story.

Conclusion:

Overall, this anime is one for all tastes, and it will have you crying and laughing at the same time. You will start thinking about your own life in comparison to the pasts of the members of the Battlefront and get caught in deep thought. It is visual and musical brilliance, and I would recommend seeing this if you want a mix of everything. It did turn into one of my favorites the moment I finished it, and the same may happen to you.

Final Grade: 9.8/10 MUST WATCH!