Summary
Quick Links
There are more than 50 anime for the Fall 2024 season. Some are sequels of well-known titles (Blue LockSeason 2,Re:ZeroSeason 3, the 3rd part ofBleachSeason 3, etc.), while others are brand-new IP that are predicted to take the world by storm (Dandadan, Raise wa Tanin ga Ii, Uzumaki,etc).
With such a huge selection of anime, it’s practically impossible to watch everything this season has to offer. Some of the good ones will inevitably slip through our fingers. This article is about one such anime. This one is calledDemon Lord 2099.Since it’s already midway through the season, we figured this was a good time to conduct a mid-season review while introducing this fun hidden gem at the same time.
First Appearance
Episode 1
Let’s start with the positive. From the interesting premise to the unique and funny idea implemented in the story, here are some of the great things aboutDemon Lord 2099.
A Demon Lord in a Cyberpunk World
When Demon Lord Veltol Velvet Velsvalt is awakened by one of his subordinates, a loyal female demon named Machina, he fully intends to resume his reign of terror. What he doesn’t realize, however, is the fact that 500 years have passed since his death at the hand of Hero Gram. And now, the medieval country that was known as Alneath has evolved into a futuristic metropolis with flying cars and massive skyscrapers.
To make things worse for Veltol, his magic is pretty much useless in this Cyberpunk world. But Veltol is not one to give up so easily. The world may change, but his ambition remains the same. He will conquer this new world asthe one and only Demon Lord.
I Gain Power from My Subscriber
The source of Veltol’s magic power is the fear and admiration of his subjects. The more people fear and admire him, the more powerful he becomes. Unfortunately, now that his name has been long forgotten, Veltol is no different than a regular person. So, for the sake of conquering the world, he needs to gather followers once again.
–Veltol, episode 3
Warframe vs Dark Souls
Demon Lord 2099has its fair share of great fights, but there is one particular fight that stands out from the rest. This fight happens in episode 6, between the Hero Gram and one of the antagonists, a woman named Kinohara. In this fight, Kinohara uses an armor created using bleeding-edge technology that is not even available to the public yet. As for Gram, he uses the same gear that he always uses. The one that allows him to demolish Demon Lord Veltol 500 years ago.
This fight is amazing for numerous reasons. First of all, the animation and the action sequence are electrifying to see. Second of all, this fight represents the best of the past vs the best of the present day. It also represents magic vs technology and experience vs talent. Interestingly enough, the sight of a Kinohara in her full high-tech armor fighting against Gram in his medieval armor is like seeing a character fromWarframegoing againsta character fromDark Souls.It’s bizarre and exciting at the same time.
A Little Bit of Everything
Demon Lord 2099is an anime that has a little bit of everything. It is a perfect marriage between fantasy and science fiction. It has a mind-blowing action sequence that can keep you on the edge of your seat, but it also has nonsensical comedy that will make you smile and scratch your head in disbelief.
This anime can also be classified as reverse Isekai. After all, Veltol is a fantasy character who is summoned, or rather revived, into an ultra-modern world. At the same time, wholesome moments between Veltol and Machina, like that time when they go shopping and eat together, area reminiscence of a slice-of-life anime.So, as you can see,Demon Lord 2099combines so many great elements from different genres into a cocktail of fun and engaging stories.
Like otheranime in the Fall 2024 season,Demon Lord 2099is already at the midway point of its story. At this stage, we can already decide whether or not to follow this anime—we highly suggest you do, by the way. So the question is what’s next? What are some of the things that we want to see in this series going forward?
While creating a story using the elements of numerous genres is certainly amazing—and difficult to pull off, if I may add—it also carries an inherent risk that needs to be addressed sooner or later. That risk is a lack of direction. Sure, it’s interesting to see a demon lord who conquers the world during the day andstreamDark Soulsduring the night, but where are you going with this?
If the story really wants to make Veltol a true Demon Lord, then he needs to focus on his campaign of terror. Surely committing acts of violence or spreading destruction all over the place is a better way to induce fear in the common folks, right? Or maybe he wants to live a normal life as a live streamer? In that case, focusing more on the slice-of-life aspect is the best option, isn’t it? This means presenting proper character development and crafting more wholesome character interaction.
“Hah, such low-level insults are nothing compared to the comments from my obsessive haters.”
There are two likely paths thatDemon Lord 2099can take for the future. Stay on its course and attempt to deliver the current cocktail of genres to the best of its ability, or pivot into one of the genres and focus on delivering a robust story. None of those are easy and risk-free choices, but one thing’s for sure, no matter which paths the showrunners choose, we will still followDemon Lord 2099till the end. This is one of themost fun anime that this season has to offerand we are certainly excited to watch the new episode every week.
