Maoyuu Maou Yuusha Episodes 7 & 8: “I’ll be back soon. We’ll see each other soon.” and “Take this sword my Lord.”

“I swear on my life that I shall slay you.”

 Episode 7 Summary: As the second summer arrives, the Winter Kingdom has improved significantly with the Crimson Scholar sending one of her students, the Merchant Youngster to help the Winter King. After training with Female Knight and tasting Younger Sister Maid’s carbonated drink, the Hero heads back to Gateway City as the Black Knight to attend a festival. While feasting with the Eastern Fortress General, the Fire Dragon Princess, daughter of the Archduke Fire Dragon, arrives much to Hero’s chagrin as the Princess considers herself as the Black Knight’s wife. Realizing time is running out for her, the Scholar brings Hero along with Elder Sister Maid, whom has become her apprentice, to the Iron Nation to show a new invention that will improve the education of the humans, the Printing press. During one night when both the Queen and Female Knight sleep together with Hero, the Queen reveals to Female Knight that she will be going back to the Demon Realm to maintain her rule and go on a ritual that will renew her right to rule and ask her to protect Hero. Before she and Chief Maid head back to the Demon Realm, the Queen gives Elder Sister Maid a magical ring that will change her appearance to look like her so she can attend meetings in her place. Meanwhile, the Crusader Commander is sentence to death for cowardice and abandoning Gateway City but is rescued by the White Kingdom. Bitter over the Winter Kingdom’s success, the White King and the Commander joins forces to devise a plot against them.

 Episode 8 Summary: Young Merchant pays a visit to the Crimson Scholar’s villa and by her instructions, Elder Sister Maid tries to impersonate her with the magical ring, but is unable to deceive him. Hero then intervenes and takes him to the Demon realm where he shows him that the now liberated Gateway City became a thriving metropolis inhabited and ruled by humans and demons alike and have the Fire Dragon Princess hold a banquet to them, where he offers him the right to explore the commerce in the city in exchange to help in his and Demon King’s efforts. Meanwhile, the Queen has a short meeting with Female Magician at the Royal Library, before entering into the ritual chambers, instructing Head Maid to kill her should she loses her sanity in the process. Back at the villa, Female Knight offers herself to be properly knighted by Hero in a sign of offering him her eternal loyalty, to which he reluctantly accepts. The Winter King is visited by a representative of the church who orders him to hand over Crimson Scholar, who was branded as a heretic and her teachings blasphemous by the newly elected Pope himself, and he rushes to the villa with Archer to warn the others. To protect the Winter Kingdom from further problems, Hero comes up with a plan, by having Elder Sister Maid, disguised as the Scholar, handed over to the church just to be rescued by Hero in a later occasion.

 

What’s this? A filler episode?

I guess we should probably talk about Episode 7 first… yeah that makes sense. As discreet as they may try to be there was no way of covering up this filler episode. I have no problem with filler episodes but… when the series you’re is 12 episodes long and your wasting time with a filler… I guess it makes me wonder if they’ll be able to wrap up all the loose ends by the final episode. I mean, they might make a second series considering the number of light novels, but I have no idea about the amount they’ve covered from the novels. Guess I should do some research?

This episode was nice and slow, not in a boring way, but in a way that was enjoyable and, I feel, well needed. I’m going to give it to you straight, I’m not loving this anime as much as I thought I would. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but whenever I watch an episode I feel as though it’s missing something. Sometimes I feel as though the plot and character development are moving at to rapid a pace and I’m glad that we finally get to slow down and spend some time with the characters we love. Guess the question is, was it a good episode?

We start off with some sword fighting and then some stripping. Yup, stripping. In an attempt to lure the Hero into her arms (and bare breasts) the Female Knight strips down after getting hot and sweaty and entices the fans the Hero with some much needed fan service rest. Okay I’ll be serious. This series is all about those boobs. It’s all about the fan service and this episode noticeably so.

In episode 7, ALL the girls are making a move on the Hero and I guess I like it? ‘Where’s your usual enthusiasm?’, I hear you asking. I really don’t know is my answer. This episode didn’t make me feel the way I wanted it to make me feel, I mean, I usually love this sort of thing! Complicated romances and naked hair washing, it’s right up my alley! But this just feels so… lack luster. I know it was only a filler but why do we only get to see one scene with the Demon Princess? This keeps happening and even though it’s a ‘comical plot device’ (the whole ‘the Hero keeps meeting all these women’) I want more depth! Depth, depth, depth! That’s what it’s all about.

The true antagonists are finally revealed and to be honest I’m not to worried about them. They were both failures before what harm can they do no? Why did the antagonists have to be so poor… I miss the day’s of interesting bad guys, don’t you? It may seem like I’m being EXTREMELY vague but I’m really not, there isn’t much more to say about them. They have an evil laugh and a grudge? I’m sorry, DEPTH! Where art my depth?

I’m not going to complain all the way through this post though so don’t worry. I really liked the Demon Queen face off with the Female Knight over who got to sleep with the Hero. I LOVED the Demon Queen’s ‘compromises’. She so funny. The result, after an intervention from the Head Maid, is a harem. Yup. Well, an almost harem.

I’m going to finish my review for episode 7 off with a disappointed pout. The episode count is getting uncomfortably high and they’re making unimportant filler episodes? Don’t play with me Maoyuu, you better have a nice and ‘conclusive’ ending… Oh! And how could I forget! Technological advancements! What’s the new technology this time… THE PRINTING PRESS! I’ve seem this one loads of times in medieval anime and TV shows alike, it’s an expected cliche. Hell, I knew what it was before they even revealed it. I guess I’m just that experienced… Oh! And carbonated orange drinks! Anything that Little Sister Maid does is cute and awesome so that’s that. Episode 7 was mediocre.

NEXT EPISODE! Episode 8. After watching both I feel as though these episodes are definitely providing us with that ‘calm before the storm’ feeling. Something bad is coming and we can all feel it…

The Merchant is back on the scene and after the Little Sister Maid’s cuteness we get down to business. Or not. I find it hard to believe anyone is THIS perceptive. I hate it when anime do this, they give us a character who had appeared in what, 3 episodes, and is supposedly this ‘God of perception’? NOBODY would have been able to see through the disguise, it was good. I was having a hard time telling if it was the Demon Queen or not and I already knew that she had left! I refuse to acknowledge the Merchant’s ‘abilities’.

Now let’s get into the good stuff. That was pretty much my only complaint about this episode so I thought I’d get it out of the way first. I liked the nice little showing of Gate City, it’s something that I’ve been waiting to see for 3 episodes now and it’s finally here. This is what I call depth and development. The world is changing and this city is the foundation for change and peace. Nice.

The Demon Princess part of the episode was nice but unnecessary. The Hero has grown up quite a lot and is now making comments on the Demon Princess’s chest? Anyone else notice that he’s becoming more and more like a mixture of the Archer and (mainly) the Demon Queen? She’s had this massive impact on his personality that I really like. He’s nothing like the naive character that we saw entering the Demon Queens palace in the first episode and I like it. Even though it feels rushed he’s developed into a new man and that’s important. The way he was before meant that he couldn’t do anything to change the world, he had to make himself a ‘better’ and more just person to accept both Demons and Humans and bring them together for the greater good. Nice work Hero!

Actually I do have one more complaint. Well it’s note really a complaint just a… gripe. The Mage. I know longer care for her. Enough said.

The Demon Queen. Why was she even in this episode? We only needed to see her go into the room at the end and that was it. There was no need to see her meet the Mage because nothing was established. It was pointless and unnecessary and I don’t like it.

Dammit I have another gripe. The Female Knight’s submission unto the Demon Queen. Why has the Female Knight given up on her quest to be with the Hero? What the hell is actually going on? Without the love triangle Maoyuu isn’t the same Maoyuu. You can’t just offer yourself to him as a guard! Where’s your drive gone? Your zest? Your spirit? What have you become Female Knight?

Now finally for what you’ve all been waiting for. The storm has arrived. The Demon Queen has been branded a heretic after her potatoes were discovered to be of demon kind and now the church is against her. I just know I’m going to love this plot point! The trials and tribulations of the Demon Queen… yes… When it got dark at the end of the episode I was just beginning to get engaged and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing. Sure I’m looking forward to the next episode but why couldn’t the have me at hello, so to speak. Looks like next episode is going to be epic. I’m actually quite excited.