Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle

Episode 4

It's time to ask a very important question: Should Princess Syalis, in fact, take over the Demon Castle? I think you'll agree that the answer is yes. She doesn't act like a model prisoner anyway, and her behaviors are actually at least partly in line with the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale that this series is on one level a parody of: if you think about it, Princess Aurora (we'll stick with the Disney name because that's Syalis' first name and unspeakable things happen when Sleeping Beauty is named Talia) had to have been pretty active herself before she pricked her finger on that spindle, because her father had ordered all spinning wheels in the kingdom destroyed, meaning that the one she found was tucked away in some far-flung corner of the castle. So, Princess Aurora – heir to her parents' throne - was, in a manner of speaking, running around exploring before she got her hundred-year nap. And really, isn't that more or less what's going on here?

Putting aside the idea that Syalis would probably kill for an evil fairy to knock her out for a century, we really have to admire how persistent she is and how single-minded that makes her. Witness Exhibit A this week: She's in such need of a better bath that she barges right into the male public bath to fetch her water (never mind why; the tub breaking totally wasn't her fault), blithely ignoring all of the naked men who are trying their damnedest not to be naked in her presence. Did she not see them? Was seeing naked guys normal back in Goodereste? Probably she was just hyper-focused on that bathwater in a true measure of just how much she values a good night's (day's) sleep. Also, why is Quilladillo embarrassed if he's technically always naked?

She's also impressively intelligent, which isn't something we often see princesses in stories credited with. Not only has she created her foolproof method of cell escape, but this week she also manages to get all of the Ice Area demons on her side with her brilliant disguise as the tire monster. Sure she straight-up murdered the guy to steal his corpse, which she then crawled inside and wore as a costume, but didn't he look like a happy ghost? And she then made sure that all of the Ice Area demons thought that she was Twilight's heir, so they'll be sure to do whatever she says, including building her an ice cave out of the Ice Golem's dismembered corpse!

It is at this point that I would like to point out that many Sleeping Beauty stories feature a woman who wants to kill and eat children, without the benefit of a Demon Cleric who can cast Resurrection. Clearly Syalis isn't as bad as her, because she knows that there is a Demon Cleric who can cast Resurrection. Moving on.

So clearly, as a clever and focused princess, Syalis is basically the perfect heroine we've all been yearning for. And she's even cute when she misuses a magical artifact and turns herself into a child for the poor put-upon demons to snuggle! Yes, Princess Syalis is the total heroine package, and that's why Great Red Siberian should give her back her snuggly eggplant seals and Twilight should officially make her his heir. And if you're not convinced yet, I'm sure she'll do some more praise-worthy and exemplary things next week – just wait and see.

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Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is currently streaming on Funimation.