Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8 Review – Quick Summary
In The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8, “The Final Duel,” Anos Voltegourde went into the tournament knowing that it would be rigged against him. He also knew that Ray Gransdori had been coerced to fight against him through of a threat to his mother, Shelia Gransdori. Anos also knew that the rest of the trap would be subtle and multi-layered. What he didn’t know was who else had betrayed him, though he soon found out. Can Anos overcome not only the threat to himself, but to Ray and Shelia? What part will Anos’ father’s sword play? And what laws of physics will Anos smash this time? Because you know he’ll smash at least one!
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8
In the other dimensional space, Melheis bragged about how thoroughly he’d trapped Anos. Melheis was shocked when an apparently dead Ray stood up and attacked him.
“We’re blindsiding you right back,” Ray said happily (06:37).
Best in Show Moment for The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8
As enjoyable as the rest of the episode was, I have to award my favorite moment to Misha’s smile. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Oh, There’s Sasha!
One of the measures of how much I like a series is how many moments it puts in contention for Best in Show. I often joke in my reviews of Fruits Basket, like this one for Season 2 Episode 11, about how hard it can be to choose a single moment to celebrate. Well, Misfit of Demon King Academy is doing the same thing almost every week, and this week was no exception. So, I’m going to fall back to my rule of Favoritest Favorite (I earned a Bachelors in English, and I use that as a license to make up words). I’m going to pick my favorite type of favorite moment, and that’s a character moment.
For the last few episodes, I’ve wondered where the heck Sasha got to. It was a great way to build anticipation. When she showed up in this episode to give Anos an award for his victory, I didn’t recognize her at first. I thought maybe she was the reincarnated Emilia, but then two things happened. First, when Anos said that he remembered Misha had mentioned this might happen, the young woman smiled haughtily and said (20:56), “Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but the Necron family is illustrious enough to be granted the role of commending the winners.” So she was a Necron!
Second, she got all tsundere when she offered him the sword.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen haughty look so danged pretty! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Three thoughts collided in my brain. First was, “Oh! That’s Sasha!” The second was “Where are her twin tails?” The third was, “Wow, she makes that dress look good.”
At first, she pretended to just want to hand the sword to Anos as if the moment wasn’t any big deal. Anos, though, wasn’t fooled for an instant. He knew she had perfected the art of tsundere. Teasingly, he said it didn’t sound like she was really trying to commemorate anything. Feigning disdain, she glided up beside him, congratulated him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
But that was only the setup for my favorite moment.
Delivery
As you might imagine, the members of the Anos Fan Union in the stands were aghast. His mom and dad, on the other hand, were almost lost in their pride for their son.
Anos expected what Sasha said next, which was that she was just fulfilling her role. Then, proving just how Over Powered (OP) Anos truly is, he proved that he has power even over the very concept of tsundere. Sasha spoke her true feelings, saying that she’d taken this role because she knew he’d win.
“I have no intention of praising any Demon King but you,” she said, her Demon Eyes of Possession flashing red to prove her sincerity, even if was probably against her will (21:42). He gave her a head pat at that brazen display of emotion!
Just how OPed is Anos? He’s so OPed that he his mere presence commands a world-class tsundere to speak her heart. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
But that was only almost my favorite moment. The real favorite moment came next. Even as Sasha’s blush bloomed because of Anos’ head pat, Anos strode past her. Misha was waiting for him at the exit.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked brightly, with that disarming smile of hers (21:54). She had just watched her sister kiss Anos on the cheek. But there was no hint of jealousy. For one thing, Misha has already cleared the “Say ahhhh!” flag back in episode 6. For another, she loves Sasha. She loves Anos. The three of them get along so well together that I’m starting to think of them as the emotional heart of this series. The very idea that this show, with its premise, has an emotional heart is really encouraging to me!
What did you think of how Anos helped Ray’s mother? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!
The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e – Episode 8 discussion
- Anime Evo: The Misfit of Demon King Academy – 08
- Random Curiosity: Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha – 08
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 1 Review: The Misfit of Demon King Academy
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 2 Review: The Witch of Destruction
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 3 Review: Sasha’s True Intentions
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 4 Review: 15th Birthday
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 5 Review: The Transfer Student
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 6 Review: Magic Sword Tournament
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 7 Review: Mother’s Words
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 8 Review: The Final Duel
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 9 Review: The Mystery of the Hero Academy
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 10 Review: The Inter-Academy Exams
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 11 Review: The Glow of Life
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 12 Review: Taboo Magic
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 13 Review: Let the World Be Filled with Love
“Where are the moderates?”
plus
“To make that work for me you’d have to lean far more into the errosive aspect of violence”
I’ve been thinking a lot about the use of violence as a reaction to oppression. I just watched a great video by Gary Younge on Double Down News: https://twitter.com/danagould/status/1299143136879366144
It talks about violence in the current BLM movement, and he made some insightful comparisons to historical events like the French Revolution. More importantly in this context, he pointed out that violence may well be the only option left because protesters across the years have exhausted everything other option.
In other words, the moderates tried everything, and it didn’t work.
In the case of The Misfit of Demon King Academy, it hasn’t shown any interim efforts, so maybe you’re reacting to that? The hybrids seem to jump straight to violence, when it’s available in the form of Anos, without any intermediary steps.
That would make sense, especially from a world-building perspective.
Now, it could be that additional world-building will give a reason for the lack of moderates. Events in episode 9, for example, hint at something that could explain it.
You know, there’s this aspect about the show I really dislike, and it’s sort of encapsulated in the “worship” that aligns with “the power to eliminate competition”. It’s hidden behind the fact that the opposition are supremacists, but there’s a sense of picking your sides over scorning supremacism itself. It’s sneaky, and I don’t like at. “I have no intention of praising any Demon King but you,” feeds into that. The fanclub song with it’s on-top/beneath duality also feeds into it. It’s not obvious, and there’s nothing immediately conclusive.
On the other hand, I did like the way Anos saved Ray’s mum. It’s both treasuring his father’s sword, advertising his position, and feeding the spirit source all in one. Our protagonist really is using his position to encourage people to do the right thing. And I also think that – writinwise – this is quite clever. I was in full eye-roll mode when Anos announced that Ray’s mum was okay, but the explantion totally turned me around.
I’m not quite enjoying the show as much as I did in the beginning, as cumulative effects make the annoying parts stand out more, but every now and then it pulls something genuinely interesting, too.
“You know, there’s this aspect about the show I really dislike, and it’s sort of encapsulated in the “worship” that aligns with “the power to eliminate competition”. ”
I think I know what you mean. Do you see a supremacist attitude on both sides? From one perspective, I do. I mean, Anos is so over powered that he is the history-unencumbered definition of supremacist in that he advocates for the supremacy is a group — him and anyone following him.
This is an age where the concept of supremacism is understood to be itself a danger.
In the case of Anos, though, since he is so over powered that at 10% capability, he can kill the god of time, I’m not sure where that leaves us. It’s satisfying to watch him smash the faux-supremacists. I can’t blame the Anos Fan Union for using top/bottom imagery given how much they’ve suffered at the hands of the royalists.
“I was in full eye-roll mode when Anos announced that Ray’s mum was okay, but the explantion totally turned me around.”
I think that might be a great summary of what I find so appealing about this show. Sure, Anos is OP and he’s going to win everything. But he does it with such style and creativity that I can’t help but be interested.
Plus, Misha is just such a dear.
***Do you see a supremacist attitude on both sides?***
No, I don’t think so. The top/bottom imagery in the fanclub’s song for example, doesn’t give me vibes that they think hybrids are superior. It’s more a glorification of power, because they now have a powerful saviour to worship. You need power of some sort to overthrow an oppressive system. I can’t blame them either for that song, but I’d clam up and refuse to sing.
Look at it from a different side. What we have seen so far is a clear division into royal and misfits and a supremacist elite, with little in between. Where are the moderates? The odd misfits who do rise to power? Life is never that simple, and if you make your fiction that simple and focus on power as the major problem solving tool…
Maybe it’s that supremacism is such an easy “evil tag”, that insta-legitimises any violence, and it’s just so great to see bad people suffer. To make that work for me you’d have to lean far more into the errosive aspect of violence (there’s a little discussed aspect of the death penalty, for example, about what the death penalty does to the executors and their supporters – it’s related).
I’m not even entirely sure myself what my problem here is.