Kyo Kara Maoh! - Review

Yuuri Shibuya is your typical Japanese guy. A bit heavy in the wussy factor but nothing too un-redeeming about him. So he gets dunked into a toilet trying to save a friend from bullies and somehow ends up gets sucked into an alternate world. As he wanders this new world in an attempt to get back he is suddenly declared the Demon King (many companies have localized to specific term of "Maoh" (lit. Demon King) to Overlord). And so now as the Overlord, Yuuri has to deal with ruling the Demon Country while handling good relations with the Humans, their neighbors, all the while learning all the new customs in the world.


While this may seem like a bishoujo anime, it's not. Intended for everyone it just happens to be that the manga looks that way. Honestly, this was one of those anime where I kept watching until something hit me where I thought... "Why am I still watching this?" It's not bad. Don't get me wrong, but it seems to be one of those stories that just kinda drag on with no real purpose (well there is, but you learn that later). It's spiked with a good amount of humor and the writing is decent. However, I definitely recommend this for those with a lot of time. Running over 78 episodes with a third season already out and running, I need you to understand that it's one of those open-ended anime (or was supposed to be) that take up a lot of time and has a lot of filler/character development.

There are many things memorable about this anime. It has good animation. Done by Studio Deen you can expect quality work for the fight scenes and magic. Yes, corners have been cut quite often but it's not a circle yet. Character designs are very sharp albeit outfits seem to require a bit more work. Watching Yuuri switch to his demon alter-ego almost Yugioh! style and still have that same personality is worth while. The music is good but nothing too memorable pops out.

Characters are very well done. If it's one thing about this anime, it's the characters. So in addition to having a very particular personality, everyone's quirks make this show amusing. Yuuri's mom is by far one of my favorite characters. Knowing full well what's happening to Yuuri, she carries an aloof attitude that hides her motherly side. In addition, she pulls off some quick-witted jokes and has a down-to-earth character that hits you like a Mack truck. The downside is that she isn't featured often, but when she is, you can expect to at least smile.


I like this show. It's amusing but time consuming. It's a shounen anime with a good touch of mature aspects to it. It's not high in my list, but it's a recommend at least. It's also not for everyone and occasionally the pacing gets so slow to the point you need to just stop, take a breather, play some games on your computer and come back to it. I've seen my tolerance level drop like a brick at some points for how slow the show became.