The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

Demon Lord, Retry! R

After landing headfirst into his role-playing game Infinity Game and going through his fair share of adventures and misadventures, Akira has fully embraced his status as the game's demon lord Hakato Kunao. Still hot on the trail for a way out of the game, Akira continues his journey with the blessings of a holy maiden despite being an unholy antithesis. Will he make it out?

Demon Lord, Retry! R is based on the Demon Lord, Retry! light novel series by Kurone Kanzaki with illustrations by Makoto Iino. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.

The good news: Demon Lord, Retry!'s new season seems to be making a gigantic leap forward from its previous outing. Last season gave us something that visually left a lot to be desired; the art style was uninspired, the animation so uninteresting and flat that it was laughable, and the character designs were so cut-and-paste that they looked like if Azuma's Database got drunk in the kitchen and vomited everywhere (see translation: I hated these designs). While the second season premiere isn't exactly a masterwork of art, it looks like Claude Monet by comparison. The art style and animation have massively improved, and there are subtle changes made to the admirable character designs—I nodded my head in approval, seeing Aku looking less like “but we have Rem from Re:Zero at home.”

Even more good news: our main character finally gets a little backstory. Half of the episode dedicates itself to unveiling more about Akira's origin story and the Infinity Game MMO he created and was eventually transported into. The direction throws an element of mystery into the mix; Akira's face and his NEET cohort who helped him make Infinity Game are partially blurred. Names of certain characters are also censored and merely rendered as XX and XXX, and there are a few unexplained twists and moments thrown in for good measure. They're not exactly suspenseful, but I appreciate the attempt to build enough intrigue so the show can resolve them later in the season.

The bad news? The other half of the episode retells the series' first episode. My more generous side likes to see this as an HD remaster artistically and an enhanced retelling narratively. Some subtle changes include how Akira mistakes Aku for being a boy at first and a few jokes and fourth-wall breaks that might come across as cringey and forced to some, but I'd be lying if I didn't crack a smile at a few of them (being a purveyor of cringey, forced jokes, I would). However, these changes don't elevate the reiterated story in a way that makes for a more gripping introduction than the stale one from five years ago. When I saw this new season's opening moments play out almost exactly like the previous season, I felt like my leg was being pulled here. Why am I seeing the same episode twice? Oh, wait, you mean to tell me that Akira dozed off at the hot springs between seasons, and that recap was all just a dream? Motherfucker. Someone call Rip Van Winkle cuz that was one helluva snooze. Here's hoping this season won't be!

You've got to thread a bit of a needle when it comes to starting a second season—especially after a five-year gap. On the one hand, if you just continue with the story like normal, viewers may feel lost—having forgotten so much that happened over the first season in the intervening years. On the other hand, retread too much, and it can feel like you're just rewatching an older episode and getting little out of the experience. Demon Lord, Retry! R is very much the second case.

The first half of the episode is, while technically new, a backstory set before Akira is reborn as his Demon Lord game character in a fantasy world. We see his struggles to make his MMO and his worries about selling it to a major publishing company. It says something about what kind of man he is that he disregards the advice of friends and the potential of making a ton of money—even going so far as to make crappy games for low wages—rather than compromise his artistic vision on a project he truly cares about. It's actually decent character-building and lets us see Akira in a different way than ever before.

On the other hand, the back half of the episode is just an abridged remake of the first episode of the original Demon Lord, Retry!. It shows the first meeting between Akira (now as Demon Lord Hakuto) and Aku and his encounter with the idol. While already redundant (as this is the most memorable scene in the show and is the basis for everything that comes after), it also gives a direct comparison between the two seasons and the change in animation studios. While less detailed overall, the first season's version was more dynamic and action-focused. Meanwhile, this version of the scene puts much more focus on trying to get laughs—even switching over to a chibi art style for comedic effect.

All in all, this episode feels like a serious misstep. It retreads too much, and what's new is not the entertaining part of the show—i.e., evil sci-fi game characters interacting with a fantasy world. As for the new art style and comedic focus, I am willing to withhold judgment until I see more—and I am willing to watch more, if just barely.