Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?

Stronk magic boy Zagan falls in love with slave elf girl and buys her, and he treats her, a mere slave waifu, KINDLY? This anime really be breaking new grounds here, never saw that coming. Stockholm syndrome? More like stockholm WINdrome. Hahahaha.... sorry. Whenever our boy Zagan feels a bit sad, elf waifu is always there by his side to remind him that he is 'KIND' because he treated her well. What a revolutionary anime with original ideas!

What did I even expect?. It's a generic 'dude treats traumatized girl with basic human decency until she develops feelings for him' anime. Whoever called this 'original' and ... 'refreshing' compared to other romcoms, you haven't watched enough anime yet (good for you, keep up the great work). It's riddled with so many cliches, dude says lame ass generic lines and regrets his existence right after. Nephy asks him if they could sleep together, bro has an entire cringey internal monologue 'OMH ThIS Is SoO EmBaRRasInG' ~blush~. They even pull the cliche ass 'Am danger now. So I be pretend mean to her and tell her I no need her no more so she go away from danger ~sob~ ~sob~'. Yeah sure my guy, a girl with severe abandonment issues, who you assured should live on for your sake, would be TOTALLYYY fine if you suddenly abandoned her, told her you didnt need her anymore, and kicked her out without explanation. Ugh. If we ignore the basic ass forced romance aspect of this show, and the 'Dummies guide to make characters get closer' lvl character bonding; the world building, the sub plot, and the magic systems are actually somewhat interesting.

This anime is justtt about enjoyable enough to get a recommended from me. I see potential, and its only been 4 eps, and I have a feeling it will get better. But so far, its just been fucking underwhelming. You might like it, so if you're into romance/shoujo, check it out and decide for yourself.

Picture this: A wizard of prodigious power, a recluse by nature, thrust into the midst of a bustling auction. And there, amidst the clamor and chaos, he lays eyes upon a vision of ethereal beauty—a maiden of elven descent, ensnared in the chains of servitude.

In a moment of impulsive ardor, our wizard spares no expense in securing her freedom, only to find himself the unwitting owner of a reluctant companion. Yet, as fate would have it, both master and slave are adrift in the sea of social ineptitude, navigating the choppy waters of their newfound relationship with all the grace of a drunken galleon.

Ah, but ... do not be deceived by the facade of awkwardness, dear viewer. For within the confines of their unconventional bond lies a warmth and sincerity that transcends the boundaries of convention. Their hesitant exchanges and tentative steps towards understanding serve as a testament to the resilience of the human heart. This heart yearns for connection even in the most unlikely of circumstances.

To those who may find themselves teetering on the precipice of indecision, I implore you: take the plunge. Embrace the charm and sincerity of this enchanting tale, and allow yourself to be swept away by its whimsical allure. For in the realm of anime, true treasures are often found in the most unexpected of places.

"How to love your elf bride" covers the unique story of Zagan (a powerful mage) falling in love at first sight with an elf at an auction.

This being a unique type of plot would interest any viewer and rightfully so, as romcoms these days are boring, mostly full of clichés and cringy stories. However, after stumbling upon this anime, I was excited and overjoyed. Even though the plot is kinda basic, the way it is put together would quite easily put a smile on your face.

The comedy is golden, the jokes are amazing. One could not hate but just admire how a fantasy ... type romcom can be of this good length. The somewhat action that I could witness seemed to be not the main driving plot of the story but just something that is important for the story to progress.

The characters apart from the protagonist are quite decent. The protagonist is your average fantasy type MC, from the few episodes that I could watch 3/12 it seemed like he is indeed overpowered (just what you would expect lol)

The art and animation is average. The production quality too is nothing out of the ordinary. The op and the ed are alright as well.

I would recommend you to watch this if you are a fan of romcoms.

No nonsense review, here's the barebones of it:

(5 is average, not bad.)

Story: 8.3/10
Especially if you like fantasy, this is an amazing plot. From the character backstories, the subplots, and the society are all so immersive. I've caught myself clicking off anime half-way through an episode as of recent, or just minimizing it while I play a game. I didn't do that once for Archdemon's Dilemma.

Comedy: 6.8/10
It's hard to execute comedy for some anime, but I feel like this one did it pretty well. There were the occasional jokes that had me cringing, but there were a few running gags that hit perfectly each time. It's ... at a midpoint where if you like comedy in anime you'll like it, and even if you don't you'll be alright with it. The only thing I would say though, is don't get into it *just* for the comedy. There are other anime better suited for that.

Romance: 8.5/10
What everyone, (if you're like me) has been waiting for. I almost exclusively got into this anime for the romance aspect, and that combined with the fantasy too. This will be the longest, most in depth portion of my review. Archdemon's Dilemma uses the archetype of slave/master. That can be a big turn-off for some people, but I insist you get to at least episode five before making any judgements about that in particular. Again, without spoiling, it is handled in a very mature way compared to other anime following the archetype. Speaking of mature, the relationship and parallels between the partners are very prevalent. You'll absolutely be rooting for them.

Score (the music kind): 7.5/10
For some the score doesn't matter, and in a sense I suppose that applies to me too. It only matters when it's good. Here, I would say it's good enough to be mentioned. The music picked truly does encapsulate you in the scenes, especially the highly-emotional ones.

Rewatchability/Continuation(s): 8/10
This is hard to say for the moment, but I really do think this will be a good show to rewatch. Considering how things have panned out for certain characters, I would think it'll be enjoyable to go back and see them again. I personally don't do much rewatching though, and the anime of course hasn't finished, so I'll update this if any of that changes. In terms of continuations (season 2, OVA, etc.) I feel like it's possible. The manga is ongoing, so at the least I would think there would be a season 2. (The continuation part is factored into the score, just because I know some people like that aspect of watching a seasonal.)

Rating: 7.82 (rounded up to an 8)
This rating may change, but I feel as though unless there is a severe fall-off, this shall remain constant. I was looking for a good romance seasonal, and I feel like I hit gold with this. Truly, I think there's something for everyone in this anime. There is a reason why as of writing this review (April 30th 2024), all of the reviews are positive. You might not like it as much as I did, but I am sure you'll like it from some angle. Just don't give up on it until you've made it to episode five, that's my last statement.

Enjoy!

An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride. The title pretty much says everything you need to know about this story. A sorcerer finds himself lovestruck at the sight of a beautiful elf slave "Nephy" and decides to purchase her. The problem is he doesn't know the first thing about love. I decided to watch this since I'm already past 60 chapters of the manga adaptation. What initially attracted me to it was how well the characters were drawn. Such smooth drawings and cutsey chibi designs for all the tender and comical moments. The anime copies this animation style almost perfectly. While many will ... be attracted by the Isekai-like title (it isn't one) or the fantasy cover of a cool spellcaster and a beautifully mysterious elf, those who stay will likely do so for the shoujo lovey-dovey feels. That's not to say there isn't any confrontation to speak of. As an Archdemon, our protagonist Zangan will have to deal with several interruptions to his attempts at getting to know Nephy better. There is a bit of drama here and there, so it's not all rainbows and butterflies. But in regards to battles, they tend to get resolved relatively quick. They aren't half assed CG effects, but they aren't what sold it for me either.
I don't like giving mixed feeling reviews, especially for stuff I genuinely like. But for the sake of others, I must warn you that the progression will feel painfully slow unless you absolutely love the characters (which I do!). If I had to give a comparison, it would be something like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu or the more recent Love After World Domination, but with the comedy turned down a few notches. I don't even remember the story all that well, and yet the main couple, Haruka in particular, was absolutely adorable! And Nephy gives me that same feeling. Seeing an awkward couple try and figure out their feeling for one another is the biggest selling point here. Anyone looking for epic battles and power fantasies should probably look elsewhere.

If while watching this anime you start to hear a phone ringing somewhere, its not. Its just that this anime uses a ringtone for its soundtrack.

Its the story of a sorcerer Zagan who purchases an elf "Nephy" who was put up for bid after her previous master an Archdemon passed.
Archdemons are lords of sorcery, the most powerful sorcerers.

Sorcerers are seen as evil (and rightfully so), and are hunted by the church's holy knights. Not to mention Zagan is being blamed for kidnapings in the area.

Zagan must try to live a peaceful life with Nephy, while trying to protect himself, Nephy, and his castle ... from the holy knights.

Its a typical anime plot. A powerful character who seems evil on the outside but is actually caring on the inside. Trying to protect an innocent girl. Its nothing original.
It all depends on whether you're into this type of plot or not.

The characters are good. Nothing spectacular or super deep. They are written just fine.

Only seen 4 episodes but so far so good.

Just a small review to let people know if it's watchable (also my first review lol).

Initially, I expected 'another run-of-the-mill, average show to have on in the background,' but both the main characters are quite interesting, and their backstories are also well-written. The anime itself isn't groundbreaking or inventing something unique and mind-blowing, but the world setting is still compelling. The first couple of episodes were really enjoyable and a refreshing change from the countless similar isekai anime out there. However, it currently lacks some individuality, which can make it predictable and a little boring at times. I hope the anime doesn't lean towards lazy ... storytelling as it progresses.

Despite these critiques, it's a good show, and I'd give it a deserved 7. It's not the kind of show that's 'not good enough for a 7 but also not bad enough for a 6,' as there's an enormous amount of mediocre anime hovering around the '6.5' score. Give it a try, and you'll experience something funny, wholesome, and relatively well-animated :)

Mainly cute/awkward fantasy and a little bit of Romance anime

TL:DR
Good, decent word building, good MC, one or two okish side characters so far, cute wifu, okish figh system, story is not too deep

Summary:
In this world there exist humans and demis and some people can do magic but that's a learnable skill. But obviously magic goes against God so we also have a church that antagonises all ppl who practice magic. Also witchers are viewed as cold, egoistic ppl who use others for themselves. Sounds kinda deep storywise but is really not. Than there are arch demons who are the 13 most powerful witchers and our ... mc become one of those eventually. But first he buys his elf wifu, who is a slave.

World building:
Not insane but it does the trick. We get an appropriate image of the world, its systems and how it functions. Not to much exploration nor adventure tho. So far no geopolitical aspect are introduced but the church isaan institutional antagonist to magic.

Characters:
The MC is a young man, who is a strong witcher but quite new in a world where witchers can get as old a 1000 years he is practicing macig for only 6ish years. He isn't too much of a big deal until he suddenly is lol. Also he is incredibly antisocial and can't talk to girls which makes it funny when he talks to his love/slave/property/apprentice/maid (they are all the same person). Then the wifu is cute which is most important and also has a hidden power and gets treated nicely fortthe first time in her life which is kinda ridiculous but if you don't think about it it is wholesome. Then we have a couple of side characters that are also ok.

Fight system:
We have basically magic and holy swords... I guess. The magic has a system behind it but it isn't really explained just that it works with cycles and they can be programed.BBut it is versatile. Then the slave wifu has a different kind of unique magic. And the holy church just used the holy sword, nothing special here.

Story:
Mainly the MC falls in love with an slave at an auction, buys her in the most retarded way instead of bidding 10% more he bids 1000% more. We'll now he is poor but that isn't much of a problem because he lives in a castle and instandly gets money again. He wants to get closer to her but isn't used to talking to anyone, she isn't used to being treated as anything more than a piece of shit,ehich again is somehow weird since she is incredibly beautiful but also insanely powerful. So they get closer to each other and then the church wants to kill him but get low diffed, then a "friend" wants to fuck with him but gets low diffed.

I tried this show on a whim not expecting to like it at all, why did I not expect to like it? Well - because I don't usually like anime shows that have things like "elf bride" in the title, no offence to people who do....but generally shows like that are not my thing.

But even from the first episode of this I knew I had made a poor assumption about the quality of this show, it is really good!

- interesting magic / power mechanics
- solid world building
- complex characters (even if it doesn't seem that way at first)
- even side characters seem interesting
- really funny ... in a silly/ awkward way
- show can be dark + serious when needed, and it feels like there could be real stakes later on
- wholesome moments / clean and cute romance
- little fan service so far (hopefully it stays like this)

Bonus - really comfy ED!

I really recommend trying this show, I am fairly certain this is going to be my favourite of the season. As a dub watcher I am only 3 episodes in, but I will be sure to update this review if I feel the quality starts to slip!

So it does work - after series like ‘I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness’ failed to realise such a promising idea in a halfway acceptable way, ‘An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride’ kicks down the door and shows how to do it right!

Witchers are brutal, human-sacrificing, child-eating mages who are feared by all. Zagan is one of these hated sorcerers, although he doesn't really fit the stereotype. So when he falls in love with the slave girl Nephelia at first sight, he buys her and finally has an excuse not to pretend to be the ... evil sorcerer.

You might be wondering why I wrote so little about how Zagan loves Nephelia in my summary - it's in the title, after all? But luckily, for once, a series manages to build a story and a world around these character dynamics, both of which are entertaining as hell. The familiar ‘I'm ashamed to even touch her like a 12 year old’ that both Zagan and Nephelia display is reduced to a character trait and so can't be annoying, it's even cute to watch in this anime.

I hesitated to watch this one for a long time because I was really burned by lousy anime like ‘I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness’ or ‘Unnamed Memory’, which realised the concept of two unequal lovers more than just shabbily. Now I'm glad I did after all, this is the best (completely new) anime of the season so far.