Take Overlord, mix in your standard ecchi harem, add a dash of softcore porn and what do you get? A surprisingly well-done Superman story, as it turns out.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is the story of a shut-in young man who has next to no social experience. He spends his time in MMORPG Cross Reverie–but even there he shuns others and plays as a “solo player.” His character in the game is the feared Demon Lord Diablo, a max-level character sporting incredibly powerful end-game gear and items.
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However, one day, he finds himself inhabiting the body of his character–summoned into the world of Cross Reverie by buxom elf Shera and loli catgirl Rem. But when these two try to enslave him, the spell is reflected (thanks to his gear) and enslaves them instead. Faced with an insane situation and zero social skills, he does the only thing he can think of: he doubles down hard on his roleplaying–attempting to solve his problems by acting like the prideful Demon Lord he’s often pretended to be.
Unfortunately, there is one other issue he must contend with: his own power. While the world he’s appeared in appears to be the world of Cross Reverie, the people–and monsters–are much weaker than in the game. If he’s not careful he can easily kill even an army with a single spell. So while he was strong in the game, he’s nearly invincible in the fantasy world. He’s basically Superman in a world where true rivals are seemingly non-existent.
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When you have a character so ridiculously powerful, it can cause problems for the narrative. Basically, if there is no danger, there is neither tension nor suspense. Moreover, if it’s obvious the character will win regardless, it can be hard to empathize with the character.
This is the problem that many people have with DC Comic’s iconic Superman. Despite having an interesting cast of allies and villains, the fact that physically harming him is largely impossible (outside of his specific weaknesses to Kryptonite, magic, and red sunlight) makes it hard to see the potential drama in his stories. However, that’s why the best Superman stories aren’t about the “super” but the “man”–about the personal issues that Superman must deal with.
After all, being so powerful causes its own slew of problems–and this is exactly what How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is all about.
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The most obvious of these problems is that, while Diablo is nearly invincible, those around him are not. At the climax of the first arc of the story, Diablo stands on a bridge, protecting a castle from an army of the demonic Fallen. At the same time, a single, yet powerful, Fallen has infiltrated the city nearby–the same city where Rem is currently waiting.
The dilemma is not whether Diablo can beat them or not–neither the army of Fallen nor the single Fallen in the town presents much of a challenge given his powers. Rather, the issue is that he can be in only one place at a time.
While he can beat the Fallen at the castle, it’s quite clear that no one else can. If he leaves, the castle will be all but overrun and everyone inside will die. On the other hand, if he leaves the single Fallen in the city to run free, not only will many people die at its hand, but it will kill the person responsible for keeping the city’s anti-Fallen barrier in place as well. This will in turn all but assure the city will fall in a future Fallen invasion. It’s a genuine dilemma and one that causes tension thanks to Diablo’s limitations and the danger to his friends.
That escalated quickly… (via How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord) pic.twitter.com/lbD4EVfi4I
— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) August 1, 2018
In the current arc, Diablo faces another problem he can’t simply solve with his powers: Shera is actually an elvish princess. Her people want her back–though only to use as breeding stock for the royal family. Obviously, Shera is against the idea (as she ran away in the first place to avoid this fate) and Diablo isn’t inclined to force her into sex slavery. However, the whole situation is causing a major diplomatic incident between the human kingdom they’re currently in and Shera’s people. In fact, the elves will declare war if Shera is not returned to them within 10 days. And on top of that, bounty hunters are roaming the city looking to grab Shera at the first opportune moment.
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Now, Diablo could wipe out the elvish army in one stroke by burning the forest they’re hiding into the ground. But while that’d solve the immediate problem, it would still leave the kingdom at war. And while the King’s army would be unlikely to be able to punish Diablo by forcing him out of the country, Diablo would no doubt be hounded constantly, unable to live in peace. Likewise, the bounty hunters would keep coming after Shera.
There is also the psychological aspect of the whole thing. While he plays at being a Demon Lord, inside he is a scared Japanese kid. He has no want to kill people–especially the innocent–and doing so would likely destroy him mentally. Thus the drama this time comes from him having the power, but the price for using it being too high.
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This is why even with all the insane fanservice, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is one of the series I look forward to every week. It takes an overpowered character and then puts him in situations where that power is, at best, irrelevant, and at worst, a liability. So if you’re like me–or are just looking for a more fast-paced (and way more sexualized) anime like Overlord–definitely give this one a shot.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord can be seen with English subtitles on Crunchyroll and dubbed into English on Funimation.
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