With my exams over, I have a lot more time for the summer, so I decided to look into some of the series I didn't have time for before. That said, I don't know what I was thinking, picking this one up. Every episode, I oscillate between despising it and liking it. In the end, I'm just really not into slapstick...
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| It's a trap! |
The episodes are half-length, at 12min (including OP/ED), and it's basically crude slapstick (incorporating lots of gore, shock factor, and quick-paced jokes). I can't think of something to compare it to at this moment, but I can note that it's pretty devoid of story. Without losing too much, you can skip an episode and move on. Onto the recapping~ (Warning: covering 4 episodes, it's probably pretty long.)
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| Demons need to eat, too! |
The first episode almost instantly introduced the title character, the demon Azazel of Lust (or Sexual Harassment, as Akutabe announced). Perhaps because it was the first episode, it was extremely toned down in terms of gore/shock, so I decided to trudge ahead. I only saw the trailer of the OVA that Pearz provided and have yet to watch the real thing, but apparently the word is that things got a lot calmer in the interim.
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| Gigantic breasts~ |
How about a quick comment on my theory of breasts (and sizes)? There must be a breakpoint. As breasts get bigger, so do the people around you...until you reach a certain point, after which they only bring misery. Realistically speaking, they'd cause you back/spinal problems...and lots of money to find fitted clothing. In a non-realistic level (i.e. the breasts shown above), isn't it pretty disgusting if your breasts touch the ground when you move about? I know I'm right~
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| I needed a 3-day break after seeing her finger hemorrhage. It's still creepy. |
I probably would have liked this series more if either Akutabe (the man) or Sakuma (the woman) were better-looking. I suppose it's in keeping with the theme of the series that they're not? In terms of characterization, I do like Akutabe since he's the typical super-powered but laidback archetype I gravitate towards. Sakuma is everyone's plaything to use in their jokes, rarely having the upperhand (in fact, I can't actually remember a time when she was the one making the joke...). I don't really like that type of character (though, obviously, it needs to exist; yin and yang, right?).
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A mid-day stroll through the town with the children demons~ |
Ep02 I absolutely despised, due to the central theme. Beelzebub (representing indulgence, perhaps) feeds on feces, being a fly. I really can't handle that type of jokes. Let's quickly move on~
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| Azazel really heals fast... |
This episode also dove head-first into the gore of this show, which had been downplayed in the episode prior. There was blood everywhere...and, miraculously, everyone healed up super fast. There was also the breaking of spines, the eating of faces, and so on. Super slapstick~
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| It turned super shoujo suddenly! |
After how much I disliked ep02, I assume that almost anything could have been better. The story arc shown in eps03-04 was pretty funny for me, introducing two new demons with typical fanfare. The "story" was on the backburner, as usual; the bushido lizard was out to get his "summoner" (I have no idea what to call this guy) together with the object of his obsession, whereas Akutabe was hired by the model's manager to keep the NEET away. I liked the set-up, I liked the demons, and I liked the level of slapstick.
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| Undine the Needy Mermaid. |
While Salamander (the bushido lizard) wasn't bad, it was definitely Undine who made this arc for me. I loved her characterization and voice acting; she would go from psycho-crazy (or...you know, typical anime chick going nuts) to demure (typical anime chick showing affection). I find these archetypes incredibly annoying in context, but it provided some large laughs when shown this way. I look forward to the mermaid sticking around~
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| Some very subtle changes makes a big impact, hm... |
I had to consult for the above change, so I think it's very necessary to present my findings. Undine's change to Hebi was basically removing her double lids. Typically, Asian people have single-lidded eyes, and it's becoming popular for women to have plastic surgery in order to have double-lidded eyes. Judging from the picture above, it does seem to make a difference.
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| Undine also introduces the potential for some girl-on-girl action. |
Maybe I'm just biased, but I'd probably suggest skipping ep02. I found this arc to be great, in comparison, to either of the previous episodes, so maybe ep01 could be skipped to...but then it wouldn't really be a series, would it?
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| A skewer of demons for McDonalds. |
I had initially wanted to do ep05 with this batch, so I waited until Saturday, but... Well, ep05 looks like it's directly connected to ep06, although the main "story" did finish, so I guess I'll batch it later. As a quick overview: this is crude slapstick, with no real story forcing you to come back the next week (although there are story arcs, like with eps03-04). It's humour.
~Aaro
