I was on the fence with watching this one for the first month or so of the season and eventually decided to peep it because of Tao and Sylpha pics that I saw on Twitter. From episode 1 I was instantly hooked and by episode 5, I was very comfortable putting this in my top 10 new shows of the season vid. It’s hilarious, it’s fast paced, wacky but endearing.
The MC, Lloyd being more interested in magical research and testing his magical abilities rather than saving the world or some cliche fantasy plot line made things quite interesting and the devious way he approaches fighting makes him out to be more intimidating than any demon. I mean seriously, don’t let the cute design fool you, this guy is straight up scary in the best possible way and doesn’t hesitate to kill when needed.
Speaking of that design, it’s definitely targeting a certain demographic and plays heavily into it, but it wasn’t nearly as distracting as I thought it would be. It was certainly the most I’d ever seen a male character naked or having their clothes torn off. I just wonder if they’ll ever find this dude some pants.
The other big draw for me here is the side characters and their relationships with Lloyd. Sylpha, the busty overly obsessed maid, Tao the beautiful martial artist with a crush on Lloyd’s alter ego and Lloyd’s family. Being a 7th Prince, Lloyd is nowhere near the throne, but even then, in a lot of shows we’d see a family recognise the OP MC’s talent and try to force them to succeed. Not the case here, they fully respect Lloyd’s desire to conduct magical research and share that with those who can’t use magic in the kingdom. We didn’t see a ton of his family members, but the few we did see all seem to be diverse characters with their own interests. It’s just a cool family who all respect one another and I found that so refreshing.
The first half of the show the story is solid, but the last 3-4 episodes is where things really got special for me. A proper villain who was a challenge for Lloyd, amazing animation, some nice stakes and an emotional twist. Just a very solid seasonal story all around. If you’re anything like me and a big seasonal fan, you’ll find these episodes go by in seemingly seconds!
Just briefly want to touch on how beautiful the art is in this show. Character designs are so bright and full of life and the overall art style is gorgeous. Bravo to all the staff involved in this one, they cooked.
Dainanaoji is my pick for the surprise of the season. Expected a solid 6-7 show and came out much higher and with several new characters I love. The light novel will be getting read
Dainanaoji gets 9 out of 10.
