Here we are again, with a new adaptation of a fantasy light novel. It checked all the cases. Harem? Overpowered protagonist? Formulaic and predictable story? Fan service? I do not know what it is with those authors always using an OP main character, but not being able to fit him in the narrative. A narrative that tends to already be boring, so add to that a guy that can obliterate the world in seconds and has the personality of a piece of wet paper and the likability factor of a granny murderer and you can see that we are going nowhere. But our prayers might have been heard because The Misfit of Demon King Academy is a breath of fresh air in that category, the overpowered protagonist finally done right in one of those adaptations. Will Anos be back in all his mightiness for The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2?
What happened so far in The Misfit of Demon King Academy
After 2000 years of wars, the Demon King Anos Voldigoad decides to sacrifice himself to put an end to the endless conflict between humans, Gods, spirits and demons. Tired of the bloodshed and mindless violence, he dies hoping that when he will be reborn, it would be in a peaceful world. 2000 years later, Anos is reincarnated with the advantage of still having all his powers. But if it is true that the world is not at war anymore, Anos also discovers that pureblood descendants are oppressing the lower classes of demons, the ones that interbred with other species (hybrids). The peace he wished for also caused magic to slowly wane and today, some spells and types of magic have even completely disappeared.
Set on getting his throne and people back, Anos enrolls in the Demon King Academy, an elite institution created to find the reincarnation of Anos and established in his old castle. The people in charge are convinced that their master will be back as a pureblood noble and ignore Anos’ claim, despite the tremendous power he displays since he is now a hybrid. Not only that, but our protagonist is also labeled a misfit for remembering history differently than the rest (and for being a commoner). And for a good reason: Anos’ past has been falsified, an impostor now using his legacy mixing it with lies. The Demon King has his work cut for him, between finding the identity of the impostor and graduating from the Academy while forcing them to acknowledge his superiority.
What is going on with Silver Link?
The Misfit of Demon King Academy premiered on July 4, 2020 and ended on September 26, 2020 after 13 episodes. The anime is directed by Shin Oonuma, written by Jin Tanaka and Keiji Inai composed the score.
If the introduction does not highlight it already, the strong point of The Misfit of Demon King Academy is in its main character and the way he is handled. The rest is way too generic. The story and the plot deserve a 5/10, but the series is still rather enjoyable nonetheless. That 5 is the result of a lack of originality, which does not mean that you cannot enjoy it. The show is not trying to cover this flaw by being uselessly complicated, adding elements we do not need and fully assuming its simplicity and repeatedly seen tropes. The pace is proper and makes it easy to follow and understand the story. And if some people feel that it can sometimes feel rushed, the short format (13 episodes) is actually a good idea because the execution is formulaic: a hater appears, the hater disses Anos, Anos wipes the floor with the hater’s face, Anos goes back home to his parents and they have a good time. Episodes are not really standalone here, so that is not a formula you want to see for too long.
So, you might ask: “Why is then that The Misfit of Demon King Academy is a breath of fresh air?” Simply because Silver Link gave us something else to focus on since the story is not strong enough to do so. Usually, with those light novels featuring an overpowered protagonist, the audience ends up bored or rolling their eyes to the back of their head. In one case, they tend to refuse to use their powers and only do so when the situation is really dire. But they are also really naive, kind and selfless. Always doing the right thing and saving everyone. The problem here is that if you want your character to restrain himself, at least give him a personality. Something we can latch on and that will make us forget that they are so powerful. In the other case, it is just taken to the other extreme: the protagonist is an asshole with a loudmouth and hands that he cannot keep to himself. I could have used ‘overconfident’, because it would be justified with so much power, but no. Their overconfidence is not even entertaining to watch, as they are done in 10 seconds and then we are done. And outside of that, there is not much we get to enjoy in them. They barely go through anything and do not feel the need to change. Boring.
In the case of Anos, I am reminded of characters you can find in Disgaea. He is ridiculously strong: able to even kill his enemies by snapping his fingers or lifting a whole castle to just throw it like a paper plane. It is so over-the-top that it is actually entertaining. And he even uses different skills each time. Which not only trumps boredom with diversity, but also adds to his fantastic power. Since he is so strong, he can literally do whatever might pop in the staff’s head. It would still work because we saw that he had a whole catalog of skills. Thanks to that, the viewers stay for the fights because they want to know how Anos is going to humiliate them as we already know that he is going to win. The man is overconfident and cocky, ruthless with his enemies while making sure to enjoy humiliating them by defeating them in seconds before bringing them back to life and killing them again until they yield. But he is also kind and caring with the people he respects. And he respects people based on their nature and personality. Strength has not much to do with it, which points at some kind of wisdom. Anos’ character has a nice balance to him: we are reminded that he is a demon king, but he also has a human side. And that’s where you see where The Misfit of Demon King Academy is going: the fights are fun to watch, but Anos’ challenge is in his interpersonal relationships. Not that he is going to go through a whole emotional journey since the man has no real potential to unlock here, but he will have to adapt to how his wish for peace has changed his own descendants.
The rest of the cast is a good surprise as they are not just waiting in the background until the anime feels like they should come and play the cheerleaders for a man who does not need such. The most important ones have their own arc and a developed background. They come with their own motivation and stand on their own two feet. Anos might not need them in a fight, but those characters still have things they want to do themselves and be a part of. Plus, through them we can see the different sides of the Demon King and learn what is actually making him so powerful (for example, we learn that teleportation magic doesn’t exist anymore after he uses it to help one of the twins). There is nothing groundbreaking in them, but they are not boring and try as much as possible (for this category of anime) to avoid being walking clichés. The character design is pretty forgettable while still being clean and nice to look at. The animation is pretty traditional and the action sequences are fluid enough, while taking it up a notch compared to the animation used for most of the season. Silver Link is no stranger to fantasy adaptations after all.
Silver Link is keeping busy with no less than 5 different projects for 2022 and what is left of 2021! They are all adaptations of manga, light novels or smartphone games.
What do we know about The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2 so far?
On March 6, 2021, it was announced that The Misfit of Demon King Academy would be back with a second season in 2022. The new season will have two cours which might mean that it will run for approximately 24 episodes. Not too many details have filtered for now.
What are fans saying about The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2?
Fans are obviously ecstatic about the new season. With adaptations of light novels, it is difficult to assess whether or not a new season will be produced since the anime is often used for promotional purposes only. Now, the fandom is just waiting for more information. The subreddit is active and to be frank, it seems like it has always been. Posts are frequent so if someone has a question, they can be sure it is going to be answered there. There is also a Discord server. On Twitter, you can follow the official account in english. The Misfit of Demon King Academy is often mentioned and we can see it in several “Favorite Anime” lists. The show received honourable scores on IMDB, AniList and MAL.
Will there be The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2?
The Misfit of Demon King Academy started as a web novel on Shousetsuka ni Narou in April 2017 and started being compiled as light novels in March 2018. The series is still ongoing with both mediums. The light novel is illustrated by Yoshinori Shizuma and has 10 volumes. The manga started in July 2018 and had to end prematurely in July 2021, after the mangaka Kayaharuka passed away. It has a total of 4 volumes.
The series has not been licensed in English in the West, but you can find the Japanese Blu-ray online. Those often come with English subtitles. Volume 1 sold well (for the industry) and there is a good chance the other volumes did too as The Misfit of Demon King Academy was heavily streamed in Japan. As expected of the franchise, the merchandising is pretty good. There are a lot of goodies available (dakimakura, figures, towels, t-shirts, wind chimes, etc) and with season 2 coming, the selection is bound to increase.
If you were not convinced of the show’s popularity, Google Trends will surely change your mind. Not only is it possible to see that a good number of countries are into it, but the graph is also really telling: it never reaches zero and has kept high values over time. In Japan, the graph has no middle ground: it goes from one extreme to the other. People are either actively looking it up or not at all.
When will The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2 be released?
For now, all we know is that it will be in 2022. The anime is planned to air in split cours meaning that it will go on a break for a few months between each cour. The details at the moment are really sparse, but we do know that staff and the cast will stay the same. Silver Link is still in charge of production.
What can we expect in Season 2 of The Misfit of Demon King Academy?
Since season 2 has been confirmed, let’s not spoil the season here. But the curious ones can start reading the web novel as it is being translated by fans. The anime adapted the first 3-4 volumes of the light novel. With 6-7 extra volumes available now and the possibility that more would be released before the anime starts airing, when it is being airing and during the break between each cour, there sure is a lot of material to work with.
