As soon as MC gets to school he is put through a rigorous health and well-being test, also known as a smoking, bespectacled bird in a jar. Who also tells the future, specifically the future job of the person under inspection. This all takes three seconds. And shocking twist, MC turns out to be destined to become a Demon Lord. Such a good setup, this anime should be interesting!
It's from about this point that things all go awry.
Why does it go awry? Well, let's start with my ratings.
Story: 3
"Why did you give it a three, you just told us that the story was set up so well, how can anyone mess it up?" I hear you asking. It's rather simple really, the extent of the plot and the story.
Now, don't get me wrong, the story isn't actually that bad, for a 50 episode series, 26 at a push, the problem with it is that the story is jammed into 12 episodes. You can literally see the anime bursting at the seams by how much story it's trying to hold in. I quite frequently got confused by a turn of events simply because of the lack of development and potential forshadowing, and the final four episodes or so felt like a two hour slog *per episode* that much story is crammed in. It goes from a fairly light, gag-based setting, where panty shots are routine, to suddenly the world has been flipped upside-down, shit got serious somewhere off-screen, and panty shots are routine. The lack of development in the major areas of the story had me almost reaching for the stop button in the final few episodes.
The magic system in this anime felt tacked on as an afterthought almost, as a body to convey the fact that weird shit is happening, and indulge in too much nudity.
Characters: 3
As a consequence of the above crammed story, the characters come off as one-dimensional, and unrelatable. The main Love Interest (and good luck trying to pick EXACTLY which one of five girls this is supposed to be, the OP and ED don't help this cause) regularly flip-flops between support and understanding, and hatred and anger, all with love underlying it, something that is never developed.
MC is no exception to the one-dimensional characterisation that was caused by the jam-packed storyline. In the first episode, prior to learning his future occupation, he claims that he want's to become High Priest of all things Holy, Just and Pure (so much so that apparently littering would cause him to loose all chances). This is so that he can fulfil his wish of helping all those worse off, later the wish becomes to change "God", and finally to destroy "God", all with little indication of what happened in between.
Of the rest of the main cast, which is very thin on the ground, there is Evil Witch (who tries to promote the Demon Lord), Creepy Stalker (An android sent to keep an eye on the Demon Lord), Love Interest #2 (Ditzy), #1 Follower (Complete with catch-phraise "Aniki!") and Evil Bitch (nemesis of Love Interest #1). Add a giant dragon that knows more than it lets on and there is your cast, and motivations. Things get a little complicated when #1 Follower gets Powers Of His Own, but that doesn't result in much.
Secondary Cast includes another potential love interest (also Student Council President), the school nurse (and MC's homeroom teacher), and a bunch of people who really only serve to deliver a handful of lines.
I gave Art and Sound 7 simply because there wasn't much I could fault it on, it worked, the art got across more than the story could manage (not saying much) and the sound was everything you could want from a soundtrack, it didn't get in the way. Otherwise, nothing outstanding.
My enjoyment of this series was limited. I've harked on enough about the presentation of the story, so I won't bore you any more with that. As a result, enjoyment got a 3.
Overall I gave this a 5, due to the bonus marks from art and sound and for having a good basic idea, but I had to fight for that high a mark, simply because of how much I was disappointed with it. The mood flip-flopped (as often as Love Interest #1's mood) between light-hearted, gags and nudity to Serious Shit. I would watch an anime that expanded on the story so things made more sense and they fixed the pacing issues, but wouldn't recommend watching this series.
