Hataraku Maou-sama 05: Caught Between Two Places

Emi combines armor and formal business attire well here.

The 5th episode of Maou-sama saw some unusual alliances form as Emi, Ashiya and Maou combine to save the city from Lucifer’s reign of terror. The episode immediately began with the confrontation at the end of the last episode, and Maou deduced that Orba Meier from the Holy Church on Ente Isla was working with Lucifer. A battle then progressed throughout the city before Maou teleported to a location with many people around. He appeared to be mortally wounded, but the despair of the people around him brought his powers back. The final battle occurred as Chiho watched and afterwards Maou returned the city to its previous unharmed state before returning to work in his quest to win Employee of the Month.

The Return of the Recap 33

Since the last installment of this particular feature, the following has happened to all of the shows I had been watching:

• Oregairu – since picked back up after I dropped it on episode 1, see I can change.
• Space Brothers – Dropped after the 3 consecutive recap episodes reminded me of how badly this series has been edited.
• Devil Survivor 2, Attack on Titan, Aku no Hana all dropped for being too boring in my opinion

I sometimes worry about stuff like this, probably too often. I find a series boring, it then becomes popular. Or the reverse, I like a show so much early only to have it go in a terrible direction. It feels like I cannot win sometimes. It just becomes a problem having my finger so far off the pulse of what the rest of this community is watching  that I just kill conversation, or get left out entirely. Perhaps I intentionally isolate myself when it comes to the series I watch. Yet it just feels like I’m insulting people by responding “oh, I dropped that” when a show comes up in conversation.

Anyway, that’s obviously not of much concern to you my readers, you want my thoughts on the shows that I’m still watching instead, so here you go.

Hataraku Maou-sama 04: Out Goes the Comedy

Emilia was much different a while back.

The plot kicks into another gear this week in Maou-sama as more and more people cross over into Japan from Ente Isla. As Maou finishes rescuing all the survivors from the attack underground, Emi remembers her youth with being forced to fight against the Demon King because she was the daughter of a goddess. Then her father was killed as her village was torched by the general Lucifer. Now, Emi has to deal with the fact that the one she was trying to kill turned out to become a decent person once he learned about humans. After Maou’s landlord comes in after Chiho misunderstands Emi and Maou’s relationship, she reveals that she knows exactly what’s going on between the two worlds in a not so subtle way. Chiho ends up running into Lucifer, who destroys another building as two of Emi’s allies from Ente Isla prepare to arrive in Japan.

Hataraku Maou-sama 03: A Different Kind of Attraction

I’m really liking the subtle character design change when Emi gets serious.

The 3rd episode of Maou-sama reveals a plot to kill the Overlord and the Hero, but also reveals Chiho’s attachment to the other world. The episode starts with Chiho preparing for her big date with Maou, while Emi takes a call from a semon from the old world who wants to kill both of them off. Later, she has to bail Ashiya and Maou out of jail, before ending up stalking Maou on the date with Chiho. Then, Chiho reveals that she can understand communication from Ente Isla before Emi interrupts the date to warn her to stay away from him. They fight until there is an earthquake which traps Emi and Chiho. After Emi uses some magic to put Chiho to sleep, Maou emerges from the rubble in demon form and wants to save everyone.

The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat: A Quick Take

I’m now interesting for being uninteresting.

A boy who wants to be able express his mind and a girl who wants to hide her emotions prey to a cat statue and get more than they wish for in the first episode of Henneko. Youto happens to be an extremely perverted high school boy who is somehow perceived as an upstanding student, but he wishes to be able to speak his mind openly. He hears about a cat statue that grants wishes if an offering is provided, so he heads to the statue and meets a girl named Tsukiko who is there because she no longer wants to express her feelings so easily. They pray to the statue and the next morning Youto earns the nickname of the Hentai Prince and Tsukiko is completely emotionless. The pair have to learn to deal with their new situation and another girl who seems to have Youto’s facade.

Valvrave The Liberator: A Quick Take

Absolute quality here.

An indecisive high school boy finds himself caught in the middle of a war in the first episode of Valvrave. A boy named Haruto lives his life on a neutral world where war is but a distant thing. He’s willing to let himself be trodden all over until the girl that he loves is killed in the crossfire as their world comes under attack. He pilots a mecha that a group of terrorists was trying to seize and ends up saving the day to the acclaim of everyone there. Then he gets out and is killed by one of the terrorists, until he gets back up and attacks him.