The Misfit of Demon King Academy #05 – The Transfer Student

Welcome to Anime Asterisk. So for today’s episode, I will be reviewing The Misfit of Demon King Academy #05 – The Transfer Student.

 

So episode 5 begins with a flashback to the mythical age. Anos and his armies are engaging the Great Water Spirit, Lignon, in battle. As Lignon blasts away Anos’ troops, one of his generals, Shin Reglia (CV: Wataru Hatano) , implores Anos to let him take care of Lignon. Approving, Anos further promises to grant Shin a wish if he wins. Shin cleaves the water spirit with one strike. Returning to his lord, Shin receives Anos’ praise and requests that he be resurrected next to his lord. Anos warns Shin that he may be resurrected without his sword skills. But Shin replies that he does not mind. Suddenly, the pair are interrupted by the arrival of Hero Kanon. As Anos deals with Kanon, he orders Shin to search for Reno. Shin then leaves as Anos fires a magical blast at Kanon.

 

Back in the present, Anos walks into the classroom and sits with his teammates, Sasha and Misha. Both of them are  excited about receiving their dungeon test results. The teacher (whose name is now Emilia Ludowell) then enters the room and announces that a new transfer student will be joining the class the next day. Ms. Ludowell then further announces that the scepter that Anos’ team had retrieved has been stolen, so Anos’ team will be rewarded with a score of 70. Upset, Sasha yells out that they should still get 100% because it was the school who lost it.  But Ms. Ludowell argues that there are various circumstances around it.

 

One of the male students then starts to mouth off, suggesting that Anos was the one who stole the scepter. Another girl, Misa Irilogue (CV: Nene Hieda) stands up and tries to defend Anos’ team. Arguing discrimination, Misa instead gets scolded by the teacher for doing Unitarian actions on campus. But before a further fight can break out, Anos abruptly announces that he will smoke out the real culprit. Going over to the male student from earlier, Anos reaches into his body and pulls out the scepter. Handing it over to Ms. Ludowell, Anos whispers into her ear that he knows that she was the one who instructed the student to steal it. Warning her to do a better job next time, Anos walks back to his seat as a flustered Ms. Ludowell quiets the students and begins class.

 

After class, Anos and his team are approached by Misa who thanks him for helping her out. Curious, Anos asks her about the Unitarians that Ms. Ludowell mentioned earlier. Misa explains that the Unitarians are a  political campaign group that seeks to unify the demon race under the guide of Melheis Boran (CV: Houchu Ohtsuka), one of the Seven Elder Demon Emperors. Misa further explains that all of their members believe that Anos is the true demon king and offers to show them their headquarters. Accepting, Anos has her guide them to the Union Tower and introduce them to the other Unitarians. However, before Misa can properly introduce them, all of the female members start screaming and fangirling over Anos.

 

Nervously laughing, Misa reveals that they operate under the disguise of a Anos Fan Union group. Hearing that, Anos chides them for being weak and Misa agrees with him. Continuing their conversation, Misa asks if she can show him something and leads him to a room with an old magic sword in the middle of it (or rather half a sword).  Looking at it,  Misa explains that this sword belonged to her father and that she is of half-demon/half-spirit descent.

 

Misa further explains that her mother died when she was young and that she thinks that her father is royalty, but has never met him in person. Misa continues that the only thing she has from him is this sword she received on her tenth birthday and believes that a day will come when royalty and hybrids can come together in peace. Pleading, Misa and the girls then beg Anos to let them join his team. Nodding, Anos tells them that he will let them join if they can show him the depth of their resolve first.

 

The next day, Anos and other students gather in the arena for a magic swords exam. The instructors explain that whosoever can pull out their swords can compete in the upcoming Magic Sword tournament. Sasha and Misha have problems with the task, but Anos effortlessly pulls his out with magic.  Impressed, one of the teachers, Gaios Anzem (CV: Tetsu Inada) offers to spar with him. As the other instructor, Ydol Anzeo (CV: Kousuke Toriumi) starts calling for others who have passed the test, everyone hears the sound of a sword being drawn and look in its direction.  Noticing a strange silver-haired teenage man, Ydol recognizes him as the new transfer student and asks to show him his skills. In a flash, the new student easily beats Ydol. At the same time, Anos defeats his opponent. Addressing the new student, Anos suggests that the new student was holding back.

 

Later in Emilia’s class, the new student shocks Emilia by stating that he will not become a team leader. Introducing himself as Lay Glanzudlii (CV: Takuma Terashima) to Anos, Lay requests to join Anos’ team instead. Amused, Anos declares that he will not accept him as a team member unless he proves himself first. Taking the opportunity,  Anos suggests that Misa and the fan union should team up with Lay during the next team competition exam, that way he can test their resolve. Lay and the girls accept.

 

The next day, Lay and the girls meet up to plan their strategy. Noticing Lay’s  easygoing demeanor, Misa admits that Lay isn’t like most royalty. Nodding, Lay admits that he isn’t a fan of the royals’ elitism and wonders if the founder was really all that great.  On Anos’ side, Anos declares that he will take on Lay, while the Necron sisters take on the fan union. Sasha and Misha agree. Misha then uses her ring to create an ice castle. Noticing the level of Misha’s magecraft, Sasha asks about it and Misha replies that it is because of the ring. Though Anos hints that it might be something else.

 

The battle then gets underway. As Anos confronts Lay in a sword duel, the Necron sisters take on Misa and the fan union’s golem. Using Jio Graze, the Necron sisters manage to blast a hole in the golem’s side. Noticing the strength of their magic, Misha surmises that their power may have increased power because of the fusion magic Anos used on their sources. Excited, Sasha mutters to herself how awkward Anos is. However, before she can finish that thought, Sasha is attacked by Misa.

 

Impressed by Misa’s skill, Sasha adorns the Phoenix Robe and joins forces with Misha. Using fusion combo magic, the sisters smash Misa and the fan union’s golem. While Anos crushes Lay after a earth-shattering battle. Surrendering, Lay remarks that he really enjoyed the battle. Anos replies that he did too. Lay then oddly remarks that he had strange feeling of nostalgia and Anos replies that they may have met 2000 years ago. Anos then asks if Lay believes that he is the true demon king. Lay replies that he isn’t sure, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be true. Lay then asks about  the results of his test. Helping him up, Anos tells Lay to address him by his first name as they are friends. Lay replies that he will beat him next time.

 

So a lot of stuff happened this episode. We got the introduction of two new potential team members for Anos, Misa and Lay. I feel like there was a lot of misdirection as to who these characters are and how they are related to Anos. In Misa’s case, I feel like she could be related to Shin, Anos’ general. While Lay could either be a reincarnation of either Kanon or Shin. I’m leaning more towards Lay being Kanon’s reincarnation than Shin’s.

 

As for the episode as a whole, I kind of liked it. The fan union was hilarious and the comedy was amazing. But, the overall  writing and animation was weaker than previous episodes. This is especially true in terms of Lay’s characterisation. While Lay’s introduction did stand out and set striking image of him. His personality is just way too passive to take him seriously as a rival character at this point. Rather than a intimidating rival, he feels too much like a potential teammate or a friend. Pacing was also weaker as there was jolt between the arena scene and the shift to the classroom scene.

 

I was also a bit irritated when I saw Crunchyroll had changed the spelling of Emilia’s name in the subs. Crunchyroll should aim for consistency with their subtitles. Additionally, I also felt like the insert music for the battle scene could have been a bit louder. But, the battle was very  fun and exciting and we got to see the Necron sisters new power-ups. So overall, it was pretty good episode.