Giving a real irredeemable villain is such a huge win for this series. We've spent too long with the "Wicked" and Loki, "evil is just misunderstood" trope. We need a reminder that there is real genuine evil that cannot and should not be saved or redeemed only destroyed.
>Irredeemability has been done before, and it's been done quite well. But it's fallen so far to the wayside in recent years that it's refreshing when it finally comes up again.
Anime is very guilty of having "sympathetic" monster races/demons. All over the place I see it, and have watched passable shows where this is the sort of messaging. Maybe the "demon" bit is a slight mistranslation, but it's one that wounds badly when watching generic-fantasy-show-###. I'm sorry, I'm not into fantasy for hippy-dippy pastoral harems where if only everyone sang "Kumbaya" all wars would cease and the Garden restored. I'm in it for the action-adventure-romances. The battles. The clever use of magic and wit. Saving of princesses and the valiant last stands against armies of the night.
>Himmel the Hero was sometimes too kind for his own good. He was too trusting. Too naive. He was once asked to slay this demon. <image>But he hesitated.
There was a long con in this arc. This demon fooled me, in so far as my gut reaction warred with what I legitimately didn't yet known. Was there other variables in play? I was under the impression it was maybe a week or so before the demon committed it's atrocity against the mayor. But in either case... they were tricked, and it resulted in more deaths.
The con in the arc deals with a very human thing. Can we trust what received wisdom we have inherited... or could it be flawed in some fashion? As it turns out, the dogma is correct. Demons are to be killed whenever found, if possible.
A very human thing indeed: "...they take advantage of the flaws of human nature..."
The Himmel vs. demon scenario was masterfully written and played on how humans have such a strong and compelling capacity for sympathy, even when it's based on a purely surface-level analysis. It's hard to get through 30 minutes of news without seeing reporters use the exact same tactic.
Regarding the demon girl, someone pointed out that her words ("it hurts, mom") are likely the same ones she heard from the girl she just ate. This makes the whole scene even more impactful, using the words of your victim to deceive those out for your neck.
Giving a real irredeemable villain is such a huge win for this series. We've spent too long with the "Wicked" and Loki, "evil is just misunderstood" trope. We need a reminder that there is real genuine evil that cannot and should not be saved or redeemed only destroyed.
>Irredeemability has been done before, and it's been done quite well. But it's fallen so far to the wayside in recent years that it's refreshing when it finally comes up again.
Anime is very guilty of having "sympathetic" monster races/demons. All over the place I see it, and have watched passable shows where this is the sort of messaging. Maybe the "demon" bit is a slight mistranslation, but it's one that wounds badly when watching generic-fantasy-show-###. I'm sorry, I'm not into fantasy for hippy-dippy pastoral harems where if only everyone sang "Kumbaya" all wars would cease and the Garden restored. I'm in it for the action-adventure-romances. The battles. The clever use of magic and wit. Saving of princesses and the valiant last stands against armies of the night.
>Himmel the Hero was sometimes too kind for his own good. He was too trusting. Too naive. He was once asked to slay this demon. <image>But he hesitated.
There was a long con in this arc. This demon fooled me, in so far as my gut reaction warred with what I legitimately didn't yet known. Was there other variables in play? I was under the impression it was maybe a week or so before the demon committed it's atrocity against the mayor. But in either case... they were tricked, and it resulted in more deaths.
The con in the arc deals with a very human thing. Can we trust what received wisdom we have inherited... or could it be flawed in some fashion? As it turns out, the dogma is correct. Demons are to be killed whenever found, if possible.
I suppose, in a way, it all started with cute-i-fying monsters.
Might want to do a go-around. Added more.
The cute-i-fying certainly speed up the watering down.
A very human thing indeed: "...they take advantage of the flaws of human nature..."
The Himmel vs. demon scenario was masterfully written and played on how humans have such a strong and compelling capacity for sympathy, even when it's based on a purely surface-level analysis. It's hard to get through 30 minutes of news without seeing reporters use the exact same tactic.
Regarding the demon girl, someone pointed out that her words ("it hurts, mom") are likely the same ones she heard from the girl she just ate. This makes the whole scene even more impactful, using the words of your victim to deceive those out for your neck.
Wow, I didn't think of that! Makes the scene that much more chilling and haunting...
Didn't care for the manga, but your opinion was well reasoned.
"Rebelling against a god isn't being evil."
Wow, just wow. I'm going to leave this here for posterity's sake.