May 9, 2013
Inevitably, this anime will be compared to Spice and Wolf, given the choice of voice actor and the plot with economic themes. While there are some similarities, the two series couldn't be more different. S&W has a light plot(microeconomics) with more focus on the interaction(romance) of the two main characters. While Maoyuu have an ambitious plot(politics, liberation, macroeconomics, war), with less emphasis on the two protagonist.
If you are watching Maoyuu with the expectation of S&W successor, then you'll be deeply disappointed. The romance in Maoyuu are presented in a Rom-Com fashion, which isn't any serious. Instead, Maoyuu's plot involves a reenactment of how catalyst that
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rapidly changed our society today played out in a fantasy world where Demons and Humans co-exist. If you are watching Maoyuu with the plot as the focus, perhaps you'll find the series more enjoyable.
Plot - 8
The plot is insightful if you actually know what's going on, but the director skimmed over too many important details. The main story is the Hero wanting to end the War between the Demons and Humans. But there are many more hidden plots. Like the reasons for War(misunderstanding, discrimination, macroeconomics), oppression between nobles and serfs(slaves), how to end war(education, economy). Also the different degree of manipulations going on. From the Central government to the civilian/army/hero, or the merchant to the government, or religion to the civilians.
The plot is ambitious, but poorly executed. The average audience would not understand the connections between each subplots and the main plot. If you haven't read the source material, like myself, you'll have to fill in the connections between each events yourself. That's not how an anime driven by plot should be presented. Sadly, if the series were a 2-course anime, it could have expanded upon many of the subplots, or even a deeper relationship development of the characters.
Art/Sound - 7
The Art is average for a fantasy anime, and the music fits. Some action scenes were nicely animated.
Character - 6
There are many characters but not enough character development. For example the Merchant had a major role to play in the series, but he wasn't developed enough that the audience could relate or understand his actions in the subplots. The Head Maid never had the development that justified her strong loyalty in the subplot. The Mage never had much screen time, most of her actions were of confusion to the audience.
The only character with a properly developed subplot were the Maid Girl. As it was portrayed early she was born of a serf(slave), and don't have much confident in herself. But under the influence of the plot, she gave a great speech which deeply connected with the audience. If more time were taken to develop the characters, then the plot could also be better understood.
Enjoyment - 7
The plot was interesting as not many anime touches on the politics of War, revolution, and macroeconomics. But it shouldn't have rushed and assumed the audience could guess the minds of the characters when they weren't developed enough. The interaction between Maou and Hero is pretty enjoyable, though not as good as S&W.
Overall - 7
The series did not focus on it's strong point which is the plot, but instead tried to compete with S&W on character interaction/chemistry with a generic rom-com relationship. It could have stood out with it's ambitious plot if given more episodes to develop and more action/adventure scenes. Instead it tried to fit a massive plot into 12 episodes. S&W had 13 episodes and it only had two recognizable characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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