The Misfit of Demon King Academy II

Episode 10

Once again, we get one of these episodes of The Misfit of Demon King Academy where an insane amount is thrown at the viewer—and is made all the more complicated by a stream of proper nouns (some of which we've never heard before). Simply put, now that Anos and crew are back in the present, it's time to take down Avos and restore her to her Misa-esque state. Of course, things are never that simple.

Avos is waiting in one room while Shin is in another—except “Shin” is Avos in disguise and “Avos” is Nous Galia. As for the real Shin, he's waiting in another dimension inside the spirit of invisibility to grab Anos for a showdown. Then, on top of all this, the Seven Demon Elders are getting ready to kill all the half-blood students—unaware that mixed within both those students and their forces are Demons from 2000 years before who know very well that Anos is the true Demon King of Tyranny and are secretly supporting him.

Suffice it to say a lot is going on and frankly, this is one of the weaker episodes in the series because of this. There is almost zero hand-holding here—nothing is explained in any detail and you just have to figure it out on your own or be left in the dust. The story is likely told in this rushed fashion to give Anos and Shin as much time for their reunion as possible—which makes sense as it is the best and most important part of the episode.

When it comes down to it, Shin hasn't been rebelling against Anos at all. Rather, he has been buying time. Instead of thinking that killing Anos and supporting Avos was the only way to save his daughter, he fully believed that Anos would save Misa—he just had to make sure her legend survived until Anos was reborn and in a position to do so. Now that Anos is ready for the final battle, Shin is seeking one thing: punishment for his betrayal—and the death of Leno.

For 2000 years, Shin has worked to undermine the peace that Anos died for. He is guilty of this regardless of his reasons. What he doesn't expect, however, is that Anos has no problem with Shin's actions. Rather, Anos would do anything to save Misa—just as he would for any of his other modern-day companions. Nonetheless, Shin wants an honorable death in battle against Anos. However, Anos instead releases Shin from his responsibilities—because now he has different ones.

All her life, Misa has longed for her parents. She knew she was protected by a great demon. Hence, she was able to make the Fan Union in the first place. More than that, she made the Fan Union for the sole purpose of changing the world to one where her parents' love (between a demon and spirit) wouldn't be looked at as a scandal—a world where she and her family could love each other out in the open. If Shin dies, Misa will be denied her greatest wish—and just because she's trying to kill him at the moment doesn't mean Anos isn't looking out for her best interests.

Likewise, Shin, through Anos sharing about his relationship with his new father, can understand his importance to Misa. And for his part, he realizes that he wants to be Misa's father—to take on the role and all it means. It seems that after 2000 years, Shin has found not only a way to love, but to live for it.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• After using Aisha's Demonic Eyes of Destruction to lower their defenses, Misha is able to again create a copy of the Demon Castle Delsgade—i.e., the body of a god—to boost her powers to the point that she can take down all Seven Demon Elders in a single stroke.

• Why is Avos talking like she knows the future? Is it just arrogance?

• There are technically three Lays running around the castle? That's not going to get confusing at all.

• So I guess Lay has just been fighting Avos one-on-one while Anos has been dealing with Shin?

The Misfit of Demon King Academy II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.