Lv1 Maou to One Room Yuusha

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"* Based on a comedy fantasy manga by Toufu.

The Demon Lord has been defeated by a brave warrior, but is destined to arise again! Ten years later, he emerges early from his slumber to exact his revenge. However, he returns to find that neither the world nor the legendary hero are what they once were. Can the powers of darkness triumph over...a shut-in slob?

Source: Seven Seas Entertainment"

Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi(?)

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1-2

More raunchy than I expected, but I enjoyed the first couple episodes of Lv1 Maou. While the concept of a hero being washed up isn't exactly new, there is an abnormal amount of humanization applied to Max's situation and downfall... in a contemporary setting no less. Magic and laptops? Try to ignore the setting details.

Maou is flipping the script by not being the fish out of water in this case- he's pretty well adjusted, wardrobe aside, and bounces off Max well. Secretary is the biggest stock fanservice character so far, but there hasn't been much delay in expanding the cast so I've got high hopes for where this goes.

3-4

Treading water... The youtuber bit was okay, but the only compelling story thread currently is the potential conflict with Leo the (other) hero essentially strong-arming a terrorist state that the kingdom has to either deal with or legitimize. On the one hand, that reminds us that this is a 'fantasy' in only the thinnest of terms, as society is as contemporary as it gets, but also avoids injecting a fantasy political conflict into the 'real' world and navigating that awkwardness.

The hijinks alone can't carry this, so I hope the stronger story points come front and center sooner rather than later.

5-10

An example of a show that is more interesting the less it focuses on the main characters. Max and Maou aren't really exploring anything new for these latest batch of episodes, but Max's potential influence on the political rumblings is somewhat interesting, as is he being written off by most parties. I like a good political ploy. The teasing of the lady mage is a good touch, if completely irrelevant to the episode its shown in.