The Misfit of Demon King Academy

Episode 5

“In which our hero beats a sword master with a stick.”

This week's episode serves as a bit of an epilogue for Misha and Sasha's arc while setting up Anos' next adventure.

Now that both Misha and Sasha have a full soul, they are exponentially more powerful—just as Ivis had planned. The two of them alone are even able to cast spells that used to take everything Sasha and a full team of elites had.

However, it's the mental changes that are the most interesting. Both Sasha and Misha have become confident in who they are. Nearly all traces of Sasha's tsundere personality are gone and Misha, while still quiet, seems to be as happy as her sister. They are also able to work in sync, combining their magics in powerful new ways despite never trying before.

But the most telling change in the two is shown when Misa asks them if they believe Anos is the Demon King reborn. Sasha scoffs at the idea. Beliefs can be proven wrong and don't even need a basis in fact. But the two of them know he is the founder of their nation. If they didn't, they never would have been able to use his origin magic to avoid merging. Moreover, they trust him as much as they trust each other and follow his commands in battle regardless of their own fears or insecurities.

But even as the episode sets up the new status quo for Misha and Sasha, it also introduces two new characters which look to be important in driving the next arc of the story forward.

The first is Lay. He is a pureblood unlike any other we have seen. While a member of the royalty, he cares nothing about rank, title, or heritage. In fact, he'd rather stay under the radar if possible. He can get away with this due to the fact he looks to be the greatest swordsman of the new generation—well, unless you count Anos anyway.

But what's most interesting about Lay is that he, in and of himself, is a mystery. It's heavily implied that he is a reincarnation of someone from Anos' past 2000 years before. But who?

There are two possibilities. Either he is the hero, Kanon, or Anos' right-hand-man, Shin.

On one hand, Kanon did say before killing Anos that he'd like to be friends with him in his next life. And as the hero, Kanon had the sword skills—and magic skills—to oppose the Demon King directly.

On the other hand, Shin also requested to be reincarnated when Anos died—despite the fact that his low skill with magic meant he would be unable to recall his past life. Its likewise clear he was the best swordsman on the demon's side in the war.

Meanwhile, Lay, as we see him, seems to fall right between the two. His prowess with the blade is unquestionable. Yet when it comes to magic, he has tons of raw power like Kanon though no talent in wielding it like Shin. It'll be interesting seeing which he turns out to be—and perhaps even more interesting when we find out who the other has been reincarnated as.

Other than Lay, we are introduced to Misa, a half-blood child of a demon and a spirit. Her very existence allows us to learn more about demon society. While we already knew that there was a blood-based cast system in the kingdom, we now learn that, for purebloods, even birthing a half-breed is illegal with the repercussions falling across not only the “perpetrators” and the child but any related family members as well.

Thus, Misa has never known her father. However, her drive to reunite with him has caused her to join the unionist political faction—one that hopes to give equal rights to both purebloods and mixed bloods.

To a person like Misa, Anos is a godsend. His power is proof that the cast system is flawed. If a mixed blood—much less a mixed with zero aptitude under the current system—is able to routinely overpower the purebloods, it's hard to pretend that purebloods are superior.

Moreover, what if Anos really is the Demon King reborn? In that case, that would mean that the founder himself is a mixed blood. That would shake the cast system to its very foundation.

What's interesting is, at this point, it's unclear whether she actually believes in Anos or simply thinks him a useful tool for her political agenda. Demon King or not, his power is real and it can provide her and those like her the protection they need to do their work more out in the open.

It'll be interesting to see how both Misa and Lay fall into the story as we head into next week's sword tournament.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• So now we have both a Misa and a Misha. …I'm sure I'm gonna typo this at some point and confuse everyone.

• I honestly have problems believing that those sword trainers were Demon King Emperors like Ivis considering how easily they were curb stomped--and the fact that Anos didn't even bother talking with them to see if they remembered him.

• Badass moment of the episode? Anos ripping the staff out of the thief's chest and then telling the teacher that if she wants to bully him, she'd better get gud.

• Is this episode implying that all subsequent class battles will be magic mecha castle fights? Cuz I am totally down for that.

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

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.