Review of Demon Lord 2099

Maou 2099 was probably the second biggest surprise of the season for me after Mecha-ude. I’d seen the books around in stores for the last couple of years and kept passing on it before the anime got announced. I decided to hold off and wait for the anime and I’m glad I did because wow. This was great. I really can’t describe the sort of feeling this show evoked in me, I can only compare it some other recent experiences like Cyberpunk 2077. ID:invaded and No Guns Life from a few years ago. The futuristic setting, the characters, the interesting world-building and mechanics, this wasa blast to watch every week and I’m going to miss it.

The shortest way I’d describe Maou 2099 is Hatamou, but good. Much better story, more action, more interesting characters, better lead, but you still have a demon lord who’s teleported to earth. Combine that with the cyberpunk setting and you got something special. What’s cool is that in this universe, earth and the original fantasy world have merged, so you aspects of fantasy mixed with more sci-fi stuff. Scientific devices control the output of magic similar to Mahouka, making it accessible for everyone, which means the superiority that the demon lord enjoyed in his original world doesn’t exist anymore. I thought it was very cool to see Veltol have to adjust from being the apex predator of his world to being just another loser in ours. They actually addressed this in a mature way too rather than just playing it up for laughs. There’s a proper mental and social adjustment process that we see him go through thanks in large part to best girl Machina.

While Veltol finding his way in this new world is great, what I loved most about this show is the chemistry the trio have. Takahashi, Machina and Veltol are such a good team. It has some vibes of Maou Gakuin, but Veltol has way more personality than Anos, and actually acts like a normal person for the most part. I’m a huge sucker for characters being loyal for extended periods of time and seeing Machina’s backstory and all she went through in the centuries between Veltol’s “demise” and his awakening in this new world was beautiful. I think everyone should be rewarded for their efforts and I’m really pleased with what the author did for her in the second half. They ended up being one of my fave ships of the season. There’s a real homey/comfy vibe to this story, you just have to watch it to understand what I’m talking about.

I think Maou 2099’s success is due in large part to JC staff only adapting two books in a whole season. It really feels like all the story beats got developed well, pacing was perfect. I couldn’t detect any rushed eps or anything dragging on. Having recently ordered the books while waiting on the season to finish before starting them, just from the titles I can tell each volume handles its own mini arc which makes adapting it a lot easier.

This was definitely one of the better looking JC staff productions. Fights looked great, character designs are very accurate to the LN and the soundtrack was really cool. Not to mention having the best ED of the season!

Maou 2099 was an amazing watch to me personally. I think Veltol learning to live again and finding new purpose was a beautiful storyline, the antagonist in the first arc was compelling, the romance is subtle but sweet and it’s a cool ass cyberpunk world. Can’t ask for much more. On to the books we go

Maou 2099 gets 9 familias out of 10.