WARNING: This post contains spoilers for The Misfit of Demon King Academy, Season 1’s first episode.
I went into watching The Misfit of Demon King Academy‘s first episode without any expectations. I have yet to read the light novels or manga, so I can’t attest to how well it follows the source material, but I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly this anime hooked my attention.
I’m not quite sure what I thought I was in for with this series, but my initial thoughts definitely didn’t include a guy getting resurrected multiple times so he could be killed over and over again, or vengeful zombies.
Before I get into my review of the series, here’s a brief recap of The Misfit of Demon King Academy Episode 1:
Anos Voldigoad, the Demon King of Tyranny, is reincarnated 2,000 years into the future. Much to his parents surprise, Anos grows rapidly, transforming from a baby to a young man seemingly overnight. And after just a month of being born, he is already old enough to enter Demon King Academy, a school created to find and train the next Demon King of Tyranny.
Ironically, the prophecy of his arrival has already come true, but Anos is going to have to reprove himself in this new world, and his journey begins with the entrance exams.
Walking into the entrance exams, he meets Misha Necron, who Anos extends some kindness towards and the two quickly become comrades. They walk past Zepes, a royal of the Indu family, and it is here were the comedy really kicks in.
Zepes is an absolute tool and watching Anos put him in his place over and over again throughout this episode is funny to watch. I mean, he puts this guy through a lot in the small amount of time he’s known him, and rightfully so.
He blows out his flames like they were a match, he mentions that his magic power is so little that he missed it while passing by, he killed him, then resurrected him, and repeated that process multiple times, and as if all that wasn’t enough, he turned the guy into a zombie. But, to be fair, that last one was Zepes’ older brother, Leorg’s, fault.
There’s this whole pureblood against hybrids thing happening between the descendants, as seen with Zepes and Leorg’s treatment of Anos and their fight later on, so there are some deeper issues going on that give this series more substance.
In this way, it really reminds me of Black Clover. When it really comes down to it, it’s not where you come from or who you are that matters, and I really enjoy watching characters like Asta and Anos put uppity “royals” in their place.
I was worried I wouldn’t like The Misfit of Demon King Academy, especially with him being so overpowered, but it’s done in a humorous and unique way. The premise is overall one that just really interests me.
The true highlight of the series so far though is the duality that exists between Anos’ title, the Demon King of Tyranny, and his personality. While he’s surly towards some, at the root of it all, he is a truly kind and gentle guy.
The world, characters, and the battles so far have me excited for the episodes to come. The Demon King has returned to find himself a misfit in the world he once ruled over, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store this season!
The Misfit of Demon King Academy is available to watch now on Crunchyroll.
