Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe!

When I saw there was a place in Arkham in anime, I decided to check it out knowing that it didn’t have anything to do with that super famous city that Batman came from. And that was the cheesiest and sleaziest of reasons why I got myself into watching Kishin Houkou Demonbane. Yup, it is one of those mecha animes of the 2000s that lasts only for a single cour so I guess I won’t be spending too much time on this. Yeah, you know how most mecha animes lasts at least 2 cours. And what’s this? Ecchi in the tag? There’s my other cheesy and sleazy reason to see this…

OVA
The evil Dr West releases a mecha to terrorize the city. The police isn’t going to do anything about it. I mean, how the f*ck are you going to apprehend that giant? So f*ck it, right? But don’t worry, there is a hero of justice in the form of another mecha popping up to save the day! Next day, we see the editor in chief of Daily Arkham mad because their rival, Arkham Advertisers have photos of last night’s battle but they don’t. Cammy Lily Bridge trying to get a job at Daily Arkham but was rejected since her photo of last night’s big battle is too blur. She is about to try her luck somewhere else but I guess he changes his mind to hire her. As she starts work, her colleague tells her about an evil organization known as Black Lodge has always been terrorizing the city but a white angel always came to save the day. Now a mysterious superhuman is involved. There’ll be lots of scoop coming in. Especially Demonbane, the name of that mecha in the picture she took. As Lily tries to ask the public about Demonbane, she meets a crazy woman who only wants to preach about God and a mad police dude who takes it as an insult she compares them with robots. Then she stumbles into a dilapidated room. She thought it was a murder scene but turns out Kurou Daijuuji was just hungry. After feeding him (food is going to cost a lot), she offers him a partnership contract for info. His enthusiast turns into shock when she asks about Demonbane. Since he isn’t willing to answer it, I guess no more food for you, mister. Lily then picks up a strange metal dropped by a strange girl. But then a pair of strange chicks start to harass her with strange powers but is saved by Kurou. She hands over photos of them to her editor but he is not impressed. He wants photos of Demonbane and not the supernatural.

Talking to her colleague about this metal, he thinks it could only be made by Hadou Corp. She waits outside their mansion until Ruri, the leader of Hadou Corp pops up. Her butler, Winfield stops her as she has no appointment. Ruri is willing to answer Lily’s questions but denies of having ever made such metal. She wants to show proof but realizes her metal is missing. Plus, her editor orders her not to write any articles pertaining on Hadou Corp aside their official announcements. Lily gets depressed for a while but decides she is going to get down to the bottom of this. So one night she enters a restricted area and is caught by West. He is disappointed that she is just a normal human and to atone for this mistake, he’ll make her his experimental subject! Luckily Lily is saved by this superhuman dude (Kurou?) and his cute chibi familiar, Al Azif. West sends his mafia goons to attack but loses. The Black Lodge loser won’t give up as he returns riding his mecha with his assistant, Elsa. Yup, he fixed it up a little. And of course, here is also Demonbane. Ruri and her staffs running and monitoring it. Hence your hefty transformation scene as Demonbane manifests and sends the evil West back into nothingness. Then a great pose for a great victory. All Lily could do is stand there in awe and admire Demonbane.

Episode 1
Kurou runs a detective agency as he gets a call from Winfield for a big job that pays big. You bet he is going to accept it. But first, he must meet Ruri who will tell him the job details. He is to obtain a grimoire with real power. At first he is sceptical because of the risks but when they pay him some advance money, he gladly takes the job. He then brags about this to Leica Crusade. She is happy for him. But why still come to the church for free meals?! Bad habit? In that case, why not pay back all he has eaten and make some donation? So he agrees? Yeah, Leica keeps the money to prevent him from spending it all. Ruri wonders if Kurou is the right man for the job. Winfield says despite a dropout from Miskatonic University, he studied under its secret division of mystic theories. Students there don’t reveal themselves and it was a hard time to find them. Ruri really needs that grimoire because it is the only way to fight Black Lodge. Kurou looks through the library when Naia the sexy librarian introduces him some grimoires. But too bad he can’t buy them because she believes he will get a much more superior grimoire. One that can summon God. Back to square one for him. As he bums out in his car, Al Azif crashes onto him. She was running away from Black Lodge. So she’s blaming him for them surrounding them now? They fire but she uses her magic to stop the bullets. However without a sorcerer, it drains her power so she faints. Oh boy, here comes West. He feels insulted Kurou doesn’t know him. His long blabbing allows Kurou to drive away. When Al Azif wakes up, she detects some scent of darkness in him. Is he a sorcerer? She doesn’t think so as he doesn’t have a book although he looks he has great potential. Of course West and his goons have found them. Yeah, his long ranting allows Al Azif to force Kurou to reveal his name so she can make a pact with him. The kiss seals it as she reveals she is created by Abdul Alhazred and is the world’s ultimate grimoire. Kurou turns into a superhuman form known as Magius while Al Azif in her chibi mode. Kurou easily dispatches West but it doesn’t take long before the mad doctor returns in his giant mecha. They will pay many times fold for this humiliation! As he is destroying Arkham, our heroes need to do something. Al Azif laments if only they had a Deus Machina called Aeon with them. But wait. She senses one nearby. Not exactly Aeon but something close. She decides to take this chance as she activates Demonbane. Ruri and her crew are stumped to see Demonbane fully activating on its own without a grimoire.

Episode 2
West fires all he’s got but nothing happens. Demonbane fights back and defeats West like easy pie. But to finish him off once and for all, they use their ultimate technique, Atlantis Strike to blast him away. In the aftermath, they are contacted by someone from Hadou Corp that this Demonbane is their secret property and will be sending a team to retrieve it. Despite being warned not to run, Kurou gets scared and runs away on foot! Now that Kurou is Al Azif’s master, she won’t have him be a weakling. She needs him to be the best sorcerer quick. Too bad this dude drives away and ditches her! West reports all this to his boss. But Augustus mocks him for not only losing Al Azif but also ran away. And his robots were useless before an unknown robot. Master Therion leaves it to Augustus to handle things as he is going to meet Demonbane’s new master. Leica hears out Kurou’s complaints. Kurou is shock that Al Azif is also here. Her ambiguous words makes Leica in shock the kind of relationship they are in. Al Azif then brags to the orphans about her cool origins. Words so hard to pronounce that they basically butchered it. Suddenly Therion comes in and swats away Leica. What this sister did to him?! Kurou is shocked he knows his name. Why not? He is the big boss of Black Lodge. Because he further mocks Leica, Kurou gets so mad that his punch destroys his barrier and sends him flying out! Of course if Therion is serious, Kurou can’t possibly beat him hand to hand. Thus Al Azif suggests using Demonbane. The mecha is summoned and Kurou still thinks this is overkill for a single human. He’ll understand why. Because Therion owns his ass in a single hit! Using his gravity spell to crush them, Therion is disappointed that’s all they’ve got. But he has an idea. He’ll kill the sister and the kids! Heck, he just explodes the vicinity too. So mad Kurou is, he breaks out from the magic to fight back. You’re not a f*cking human being! He powers up Demonbane to give a super badass punch. However, Therion has summoned his grimoire, Etheldreda to block the punch. Now he’ll return the favour. In the aftermath, a huge crater in the city. Ruri and Winfield fly in their helicopter to see Kurou standing on Demonbane. Al Azif notes she is not complete and a grimoire and Kurou is not strong enough. He needs to get stronger if he wants to defeat Therion. Otherwise this will happen again to some other innocent people. We know Kurou’s answer already.

Episode 3
Kurou and Al Azif defeats an enemy to obtain pages of the grimoire. Too bad they left some destruction in the surrounding. Flashback shows Ruri chastised them for this because you know hard it is for her to cover it all up. Because Al Azif has missing pages in her grimoire, this means her powers are incomplete and hence they are on a mission to retrieve them. However Ruri and Al Azif start butting heads. Better go and carry out your missions. Hence if they want to keep destructions to a minimum, Kurou must get stronger. When something terrorizes the town, Kurou and Al Azif go into action but bump into West. Not this guy again! Of course, the mad doctor is happy to brag about his new creation as he introduces to them his robot assistant, Elsa! Both sides fight and Kurou accidentally saves Elsa from harm’s way. Elsa’s logic is that now she is in love with him? This is going to get complicated. Kurou thought he obtained the grimoire pages but West steals it from him. Then he summons his mecha. Uhm, it’s Demonbane?! What a rip-off! Time to show who is the real deal around. Demonbane vs Demonbane. However because West has stolen some of the grimoire pages, he is able to replicate some of Demonbane’s moves. Then they fight with their own original moves and this is getting nowhere. So Elsa is going to defeat them and win Kurou’s love? First complication… Ruri watching it all realizes that there is a move they can do to help turn the tide: Lemuria Impact. It is untested and dangerous (it could destroy Demonbane and Arkham) but what choice do they have? Contacting Kurou and Al Azif about this, she then conducts some ritual to send the code to them. Basically, sticking some bomb in the enemy until it explodes. A devastating one too, if you ask me. Some zero mass, infinite gravity and heat that absolutely destroys the enemy. Well, imitation Demonbane destroyed but West and Elsa still live. Elsa admitting they lost this time but next time she’ll win his love! Just glad this fight is over.

Episode 4
Demonbane is undergoing repairs. Yup, they damaged it too much. Al Azif is being bossy to hasten the repairs. This leads to another argument with Ruri. Al Azif steps out of line when she claims she cannot pilot Demonbane and earns Ruri’s slap. I think that’s enough catty drama for today. Later Winfield tells Kurou and Al Azif about Ruri’s background. Her parents died when she was young due to revenge attack from Black Lodge as Hadou Corp defied them. Her only family was grandpa who devoted his life in creating Demonbane, a sword to fight Black Lodge. Hence Demonbane is like a memento from her late grandpa. Suddenly the place is being attacked by Black Lodge. Ruri tries to run but Tiberius is playing hide and seek with her. Kurou and Al Azif make haste to her but is stopped by Titus. It seems the duo are from Anticross, a group of handpicked high level sorcerers who serve Therion. Winfield wants them to go rescue Ruri while he deals with Titus. Boxer vs samurai. Who will win? Meanwhile Ruri is going to be tentacle raped by that monster pervert. Just in time for Kurou to come save the day. Damn, Kurou easily kills him. As Ruri is still very shaken, I guess it is Kurou’s job to help comfort her. She is after all still a girl. Suddenly he is stabbed in the back by Tiberius. How is he still alive? Well, he is dead in the first place! Some immortality magic keeping him alive. Kurou is bleeding like mad and still tries to protect Ruri. Is this time to say he isn’t worthy to pilot Demonbane? Yeah, you’re f*cking making Ruri so f*cking worried! Kurou goes all out to kick Tiberius’ ass. So much so this guy is so mad that he uses his magic to summon his Deus Machina, Beelzebuth. Oh no. How can Kurou fight against this mecha without his own? Worst, he goes unconscious after losing too much blood! Before Tiberius could kill him, Therion orders him to return to base as the goal has been achieved. But Tiberius defies him. He will not allow this humiliation nor his enemies to live. Last warning. Therion induces some pain in him and tentacle freak gives up. Okay, okay! I’ll go home. Next time we’ll finish this. Same case for Titus. Good thing because Winfield is also at his limit after taking some katana damage. The irony our heroes were saved by the big boss of Black Lodge. In the aftermath, Kurou is recuperating in hospital. Could’ve healed faster if not for those pesky orphans jumping about!

Episode 5
Kurou is being called to investigate some island hauntings. But that can wait since it is beach episode! Oh yeah! Girls in swimsuits! Especially sister so sexy! Have you done converting into Christianity?! WTF, West is also here playing in the sand?! More shenanigans as Ruri and her maids force their makeover on Kurou. He is now the prettiest bride?! That’s not over, an almost intimate moment whereby Al Azif finds him interesting because unlike her previous masters, they treat her as a weapon. He is different. Ruri suspects something indecent going on and poor Kurou bears the brunt of whatever punishment. The gang sail over to the haunted island. But upon reaching, the ship explodes. The captain is a monster who claims all men will die and the women will be sacrificed to their god. Kurou sees a couple of women in his dream before waking up next to Al Azif in some underground cavern. From the walls, looks like a cult. This weird moment whereby Kurou stepped on some trap, the fog turns him horny as he kisses and fondles Al Azif all over?! Maybe she felt good for a while before kicking his nuts to get him back to normal. They arrive at the altar where the other women are going to be sacrificed by other monsters. As Kurou and Al Azif fight the monsters, Vespasianus pops up. He is from Anticross and all this is part of his experiment. He uses his grimoire loli to activate the god, Dagon. So, sacrifices weren’t needed? I guess this is cue to summon Demonbane for a big monster fight. Ugly mecha vs ugly seafood. With limited options and Atlantis Strike not even working, Kurou starts hearing voices of those women. They agree to lend their power as they can’t let him die yet. Al Azif recognizes them as pages from her grimoire, Cthugha and Ithaqua. I don’t know what’s going on but it’s the power up they need to finish off Dagon. Vespasianus is impressed by what he saw and understands why Therion is interested in him. But looks like he is moving on to the next phase as he has already gotten the key for it. As everyone takes the ship home, Kurou tries to apologize Al Azif for that rape incident. Just when she is about to forget all about it… Well, Kurou says he will never ever do it with her even if she asks him to. I know his intentions are good but apparently Al Azif is mad and kicks him overboard! Sometimes it is best to just keep your mouth shut.

Episode 6
On a rainy day, Kurou picks up a lethargic girl from the streets, Ennea. This is going to be troublesome. It seems she is amnesiac. He leaves it to Al Azif to bathe and take care of her. Don’t expect him to do it, huh? Next day, Ennea is full of life. Jumping about on Kurou’s body that Al Azif is getting the wrong idea about this unholy act. His body won’t last?! Yeah, blast him through the window and see if his body will last. Al Azif questions Ennea about the scars on her body. Hey, she’s amnesiac, remember? Kurou won’t force her. Kurou calls Winfield for advice but it seems Ennea doesn’t want to go anywhere. She wants to stay by Kurou’s side. I guess this is where the loli rivalry comes in. Ennea shamelessly flirting with Kurou, not shy in spelling it out that Al Azif is jealous. Al Azif so mad that Kurou bears the brunt of her punishment?! Female logic. How troublesome. More loli rivalry as both fight for his attention. It gets more troublesome as West is here, accusing him of being a lolicon. That’s against the law! Oh, Elsa going over to make it a threesome! West will now f*cking kill him! RUN!!! After Kurou bears more brunt of the lolis’ rivalry, Ennea nurses him and asks about the scars on his body. Kurou says he needs to fight or else he’ll regret it later. Hence she poses a question if he could see the future and everything is for naught, will he still do it? Yes. Better than doing nothing. The lolis sure know how to run him broke as they’re out at a carnival. However before them is a couple of Anticross dudes, Claudius and Caligula. Seems they are looking for Tyrant but to stumble into Kurou is a big bonus. They also want him to hand over Ennea. The answer is clear. Time to fight. That is when random grimoire pages scatter and get absorbed into Kurou. Claudius recognizes this as Tyrant. Kurou is now able to wield a couple of guns and do big damage. Caligula gets injured so bad he goes crazy, summoning his Deus Machina. Claudius too. Oh well, Demonbane make it three. The reason Demonbane is getting its ass kicked is because Kurou is trying to protect Ennea who is just standing there watching like an idiot! Do you not know how to run?! Then a slab falls on her. Kurou so mad, he harnesses the power of Cthugha and Ithaqua as well as Tyrant’s guns to destroy Anticross! City also taken a huge damage. I hope this is worth the avenging for Ennea.

Episode 7
Claudius and Caligula are still alive but are chastised by Augustus for being pathetic. However Therion wants Project C to be initiated now. Augustus is shocked because Tyrant is needed for this. And so Therion says he will take over Tyrant’s part. As Al Azif analyses the new guns and bullets and is impressed with its mystic power and all, looks like Kurou is spacing out and being depressed. Still can’t get over a loli’s death, huh? As Therion addresses his cult members of the new dawn they’ll bring, Augustus discusses with other Anticross about Therion’s actions. Something is wrong. Project C is important and now he doesn’t even need Tyrant or even Al Azif. He is asking if Therion is worthy of executing Project C. As Project C initiates, a huge sphere floats above Arkham. There are many mecha flying about too but they are autopilot. Why the f*ck does a robot NEED a ROBOT to pilot it?! Therion then makes his announcement to the people of Arkham. Basically their sufferings will be the sacrifice needed to fuel Project C. Chaos descends and Kurou is still depressed? Time for Al Azif to snap the f*ck out of him. Is he going to waste Ennea’s wishes? If he still cannot fight, she will make him stronger. There. This kiss might help. She wants to share his sorrow and pain since he is her master. Just like that, Kurou is back on his feet. Demonbane fights Liber Legis (Therion’s Deus Machina). However the fun is interrupted when Anticross comes to stop their master. Due to the importance of Project C, they will eliminate any obstacle. Therion is not impressed since they are ruining his fun with Kurou. Anticross doesn’t give a f*ck and disposes of Therion. Then they make an announcement to their loyalists that Therion have deceived them. The summoning of Cthulu (the goal of Project C) was not to bring about their utopia but world destruction. Hence they have punished Therion the traitor and now Anticross will be commanding Black Lodge. Meanwhile Kurou and Al Azif see some past vision of the latter. Aeon, Al Azif’s previous Deus Machina was piloted by her previous master. He died. As she doesn’t understand sorrow, it is her duty to find a new master to fight again. From what I understand, she found some happiness in Kurou and before she could complete her love confession to him, they return to reality. They might be safe from Anticross’ attack but Al Azif is unconscious. It’s bad because she starts reverting into her grimoire pages and they’re scattering!

Episode 8
Once more, Kurou in despair. Demonbane’s busted up. Anticross discusses their next move to crush Hadou Corp. Once that is done, no one will oppose them. Ruri tries to stop a very angry Kurou as he wants revenge on Anticross for killing Al Azif. OH SH*T! YOU MEAN AL AZIF IS DEAD?! I can see why he is so mad and sad. 2 lolis died before his eyes, you know. He doesn’t care about his own injuries and just wants revenge. Ruri hugs him to make him think not to waste Al Azif’s sacrifice. Soon, a ship crashes nearby. It is Elsa carrying an injured West. Help, please? It seems West has left Black Lodge for, uhm, creative differences? After Anticross disposed Therion for wanting to destroy the world, their goal now is to take over the world. However, West opposed to this. Instead of using some God to do it, he preferred using his own technology. And because of that differing view, he quit. But not before he destroyed some command centre. You do notice that Black Lodge cannot use its robots to destroy Arkham right now, right? Leica nurses the injured evacuees in the underground shelter. The orphans worry about Kurou. Don’t worry. He won’t die even if you kill him. Holy sh*t! Sister said that?! Kurou goes to the lab to make those special bullets. Damn, Scorpions singing that hard rock metal song while we see this montage?! Oh sorry, it’s just Masatoshi Ono. Song still rocks, though! Kurou realizes he loves this town and people, and that’s why he is going to protect it. Oh, please don’t put on a bat mask and don a dark cape… As he returns, Demonbane is completed?! Turns out West used his artistic genius to fix it. So even without Al Azif, he can pilot it (WTF, he calls it Demonpain?!). Good time to try it out now as Anticross resumes their attack. Elsa might not be Al Azif but she can still substitute the grimoire system and help out Kurou and pilot Demonbane. So we see Demonbane destroy those small robot fries. Anticross is shocked to see Demonbane back in action. First victim to head out is Caligula. If you think this will be an easy pushover, think again. Demonbane has a hard time fighting him so with West’s suggestion of a temporary retreat, Caligula is fooled into thinking he destroyed Demonbane when he tries a sneak attack but that was just a decoy. The real Demonbane pops up from behind and strikes him down with Lemuria Impact. One Anticross member down. I bet Kurou must be feeling so good the way he stands posing outside Demonbane. The revenge party just getting started…

Episode 9
WTF, this allegory from Al Azif. Not sure what she’s talking about but I’m sure it’s about Kurou rising to being a hero, right? As Demonbane undergoes maintenance, Claudius infiltrates Hadou Corp’s base in search for revenge for Caligula. Of course Kurou is there to stop him and he has the upper hand as Elsa assists him. Could’ve finished the kid off if Kurou didn’t hesitate about his revenge for Elsa. Because Claudius makes a sneaky move to escape as he heads into the hangar to steal Demonbane. Don’t worry. Because West is waiting inside to blast him off! Yeah, you showed him! So I guess we have enough of humans fighting. Time to summon the mecha for the big destructive fight. Meanwhile, the command centre is under attacked too. This time, Titus barging in to have his rematch with Winfield. It’s chaotic and distracting, but Ruri and her maids have to help support Demonbane. Once Demonbane is launched, they can have a bigger fight above Arkham. And further destroy the city too. As Claudius is owning Kurou, the only way to end this is to use Lemuria Impact. But Ruri is not responding to give the codes. That’s because she witnesses Winfield getting killed by Titus! NOOOO!!!! But looks like Winfield also took out the samurai (or did Titus used too much power and in exchange paid with his life?) so I guess it’s a dead draw. Ruri is too distraught to pay any attention to Demonbane but luckily plot convenience says the butler must still breathe so as to remind the oujo-sama to do what she needs to do. With that, Ruri sends the much needed codes just in time for Demonbane to send Claudius to join Caligula in hell.

Episode 10
When Elsa tries to contact command centre, there is no response. That’s because Tiberius has taken Ruri hostage! You bet Kurou is mad. Not going to lose a third loli! But he can’t do anything as Tiberius beats him up for the pain he has given him. Ruri tries to be a hero and wants Kurou to run away. He can’t. What did I tell you about losing another loli?! Tiberius then overwhelms Kurou with his creepy aura. He sees many ghostly spirits. Tiberius wants him to become one of his spirits. His remorse will enhance his strength. Once again, Ruri would take Kurou’s place for that. Girl, what did I say about Kurou losing another loli???!!! Time to turn this around as Kurou use his special bullets to shoot Ruri free. Shouldn’t he have done this earlier? It’s not like he was obstructed or something. And look who has returned to join him? AL AZIF!!!!! OMG! She’s back?! Nothing welcomes her back as they both kiss. Flashback she was in despair in some battlefield covered with crosses on fire. A voice apologizing that they weren’t with her but someone who is still currently fighting is. I guess we all know who. And just like that, that’s how Al Azif came back to Kurou’s side. Don’t really get it, though. Thanks to the duo back as a combo, they give Tiberius the beat down with their Demonbane (I guess time for Elsa to bow out and play supporting role of taking care of Ruri). Heck, they don’t even need Lemuria Impact to defeat him! So easy! But wait! Remember Tiberius is an immortal? How you gonna kill him? Not sure if Al Azif’s baseless optimism did the true or Naia did some nudging. Because Demonbane pulls out some dimensional sword! So insane that Tiberius is even afraid of it! Can’t blame him. When he gets sliced, he gets dragged into some scary dimension that he doesn’t want to be. But he has to. Because as the villain, the script says it’s his turn to die. Another Anticross down. While Al Azif knows this move’s name (Shining Trapezohedron), she doesn’t recognize this power. Kurou doesn’t give a f*ck about all that. He is glad that she is back. That is all that matters now. Naia seems pleased with this outcome. Meanwhile, Vespasianus kills off Augustus because like a typical bad guy, he claims he is the only one who is befitting of Cthulu’s power. The irony of talking about betrayals because Augustus didn’t die and kills off Vespasianus instead. Yeah, he has the power of God the world is now his.

Episode 11
So Augustus is going to take over the world in his giant sphere? It’s floating over the ocean. Can’t miss it. Ruri’s ship is heading there. Damn, can it support the giant Demonbane? Why does Demonbane need a ship to be transported?! It’s not like it is being repaired, right?! Anyway, Ruri kisses Kurou! Not because there needs to be love rivalry, but to pass him the codes so he can use Lemuria Impact any time. That’s good because now for Demonbane to kick ass, first up is Titus. This dude still alive? But he gets killed off easily by Lemuria Impact!!! I guess he had his rematch with Winfield so no point dragging out this fight for another episode. Now they go face the emperor. Augustus your typical villain in wanting to take over the world when suddenly he gets killed off! OMFG! WHAT THE F*CK HAPPENED?! They don’t want to drag on the fight for the rest of the episode either, huh? The one who killed him is… ENNEA?! Rather, her real name is Nero. Nero the Tyrant and part of Anticross. So she is back and going to destroy the world, huh? Oh damn, I wonder how conflicted Kurou is. Screw your kill-no-loli policy! She’s going to kill you! Fight back! If that doesn’t get him serious, Nero becomes dead serious in wanting to destroy the world, the city he loves and all the people in it. That motivate you enough? So Demonbane draws out Shining Trapezohedron and slices Nero. But wait. Did Kurou miss her? Well, he claims Shining Trapezohedron is to sever evil. And what he cut down was the evil of Nero and now before him is just a girl named Ennea. F*cking loophole. Now let’s go back together, okay? Too bad she can’t. She claims all she wanted was to meet him because he is strong but that is just running away. Lucky bastard Kurou gets kissed from her, Al Azif just got to hold it in and not be a b*tch to ruin this death flag moment. Nero hopes to be strong next time but there won’t be? That’s because something bursts out from her stomach like that Alien horror thingy!!! WTF?! It’s Therion!!! He’s back? And he claims he was born from Nero at this moment just to fight him. With all that kissing, Therion kisses Etheldreda to start the true goal of Project C. A huge door pops up. Yog-Sothoth whom Therion has the blood of and thus his father and with mother Nero, he is the son of God! Sorry for those expecting it was Jesus. Oh right, Jesus brings salvation. This son will destroy! Anyway, this door connects to all the beings and gods of different worlds. You know what it means opening it here, right?

Episode 12
Therion claims that everything from the forming of Anticross to being born from Nero was part of his plan all along. So now he is going to unleash another god upon this world and destroy it. You bet Kurou will fight him to stop this madness. But wait. Al Azif wants to sever their contract. Because walking through this door means walking into the space of past, present and future. He won’t get back. But Al Azif can. Spare me all your pathetic excuses because whatever it is, Kurou is coming with her, right? She won’t be alone facing and fighting the evil for eternity. Smooth operator Kurou must have said all the right stuffs to make Al Azif all emotional and confused. Yup, finally she confesses. He is important to her not as a partner or a master but as a lover. Here’s one kiss for the road. Now let’s go fight this evil. Entering the door, Therion expects Kurou as he even gives away the hint to end this: Destroy Liber Legis. Well, duh! As they fight, Therion narrates that this fight has been repeated hundreds of thousands of times. Therion is full of hate for Kurou for her is pure and noble. Only Kurou and Al Azif can take his hatred in this world. Despite taking damage, Demonbane heals because of planet Earth?! Planet Earth is the one protecting them?! HUH?! To end all this, they pull out Shining Trapezohedron. But looks like Liber Legis can do that move too! As Naia narrates, using this move would mean annihilating the existing the other of the other. She relishes to see what comes next.

When both Deus Machina clash, Naia is ecstatic her universe that was trapped inside the Shining Trapezohedron, will now return to its original state. But don’t laugh yet you b*tch! Because Demonbane is glowing shiny! Is it going Super Saiyan?! Naia is scared and panics. She doesn’t recognize this ending. Yeah. WHAT THE F*CK IS THIS?! Kurou realizes Naia AKA the evil god Nyarlathotep is the one behind all this, so he lectures her about his times in despair. It brought out 2 emotions: Anger and hate. So the reason he can rise up is because of that and also he is human?! HUH?! With that, using some combo pose with Al Azif, they blast away Naia! Therion also gets caught in the blast. Etheldreda wants to protect him but Therion thinks this is fine. He wants out of this infinite loop. And so the duo wander for eternity together and consider this their salvation. Kurou and Al Azif is also wandering for eternity inside Demonbane. Well, they have all the time in the universe for each other, right? Is this what you call eternal bliss? Uhm, only… Al Azif then sends Kurou back to Arkham as she believes his smiles are suited there. Against his will, she says her goodbye. So Al Azif gonna run away with Hadou Corp’s property, huh? Kurou returns to Arkham and life returns to normal. Some don’t even recognize Kurou? Yeah, it’ll be troublesome if Elsa now takes over the top spot since the other lolis are gone. Yeah… As he wanders around in despair, suddenly Al Azif returns! WHAT?! HOW?! Because they got a contract together. WHAT?! HOW?! I don’t get this but some alternate dimension of Kurou, Al Azif and Demonbane made it possible for this to happen. So this is the reward from god? Now they can kiss for how long they want. What’s the use of having Demonbane in Arkham? It’s not like Black Lodge is a threat anymore, no?

Whore Of The Machine Fraud: Demon-bland!
Well, thank goodness I don’t have to rewatch this hundreds of thousands of times for eternity! Oh boy. I’m glad it has ended after a dozen episodes. Not to say that I didn’t like it nor that I was not enjoying this, it was pretty much mediocre overall and my sentiments were hovering somewhat at average throughout the season. Until the final episode when they start bombarding with all the confusing stuffs. Blam! WTF?! WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING?! I just didn’t get it. I’m too f*cking confused. So it didn’t turn out to be a generic and cliché good versus evil at least on the main character level. So they didn’t dedicate the last episode to be just a big straightforward smashing fight between Kurou and Therion after all. True evil turned out to be something else and our hero managed to save the day and end the universe level of Groundhog Day. Thank goodness I didn’t have to watch this hundreds of thousands of times before reaching this ‘unseen’ conclusion! Thanks Kurou, you saved me lots of time! I’m never coming back to this series again!

On the surface, the story seems pretty simple and cliché because you know, guy who knows how to pilot the best mecha is needed to fight off an evil organization. That’s that. But you know, they have to keep the twist or something and that’s why towards the end of the episode, it become something of more than mere mortals of organizations fighting each other for world dominance or protecting the world. It has now transcended into the level of gods. Oh dear. That’s where I got so freaking confused and my excitement level just dropped like a rock! Because in the end, I guess Black Lodge wasn’t truly the real bad guys here since Anticross were doing most of the heinous attacks as we’ve seen. And I wonder if Al Azif got all her pages of the grimoire back to become complete. I suppose that isn’t necessary since she found completion and wholesomeness with her love for Kurou, RIGHT?! LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!! YEAH!!!

But to be fair, I wasn’t familiar with this series in the first place. That’s because it was adapted from an adult visual novel. An adult visual novel, huh?! No wonder it had ecchi in its tag. But too bad if you’re thinking for something really raunchy, you’ll be in for some big disappointment as the ecchi level is not even half of it. There are a few panty flashing scenes but they are so far and few in between and they last so short that it is the case of blink and you’ll miss it. Uh huh. It feels a lot like that. Even the first time when Al Azif and Kurou met with the former crashing on the later, having her crotch shoved in his face, I think that is by far the raunchiest the series could get. Oh wait. Perhaps the one whereby Kurou almost raped Al Azif on the cult island. Well, even if it is by the 2000’s decade era standards, the ecchi levels are just paltry. Maybe if you really want more than that, the game has more to offer. I mean, they have to make this family friendly when they adapt this into anime, right? Or at least acceptable levels of ecchi that would make the episode being able to air.

Furthermore, this series draws a lot of references to HP Lovecraft’s Cthulu’s mythology. It is all over the place from the terms they used and I only know about this not because I was a hardworking and curious otaku who decided to find out and know more about it. But rather because at the end of each episode, there are useful notes of the Lovecraft terminologies used. Yes, I watched a fansub version of this series so they took the trouble to actually put up lengthy and comprehensive notes of those terms. It is quite enlightening, informative and interesting. But too bad for me, I immediately forgotten all after reading them. It’s like it never went through my brain at all… Sheesh… Also, I am today’s years old to find out that Arkham wasn’t just some reference from the DC Comics side but also a fictional city in Lovecraft’s stories. Sighs. Aside the Cthulu references, it is odd that the Anticross members are named after Roman emperors. Not sure if I see the connection here but it just feels weird as f*ck to see these people with Roman-like names. I mean, samurai guy has this Titus name? WTF? I thought Musashi would’ve suited him fine. But no Julius Caesar anywhere, though. Supposedly the most famous Roman emperor and the first one that comes to mind if we were tasked to name them, right?

The characters, well, uhm, I’m not really impressed with all of them. Even for Kurou and Al Azif who are given the most screen time. Sure, they want to showcase their bond and all but sometimes when I think about it, it’s pretty weird that a human is having some sort of bond with a book anthropomorphized as a loli. Oh heck, lots of anime have main character humans who has a familiar who is non-human. Anyway, it’s one of those dumbfounding moments we see from the beginning as Kurou accepts Al Azif to be part of his life no matter how bratty she is because she’s acting like she’s some big shot or something. Then we got to see their dynamism because that is pretty important in controlling Demonbane and somehow they pull it off. Repeat that sort of shenanigans until the final stretch where Kurou somehow has managed to turn the grimoire filled with emotions. I know books give humans who read them lots of emotions but it’s like roles are reversed here. Can’t be separated. We’ll always be together. And even during that short stint of Al Azif’s absence, they come back stronger (because absence makes the heart grow fonder?), more emotional drama between them before the happy ending of them being finally together. Phew. Sounds pretty confusingly straightforward.

If I had to pick the best character of this series, it is by no doubt the good evil doctor West. Yes, he is the only reason why my face and smile light up watching this series. I never get tired in seeing him stride into the scene with his nonsense because that’s just who he is. Even if he is clearly written as a comic relief character and joker, this flamboyant dude who is always at his own pace and rocking with his electric guitar if he isn’t tinkering with his machine, he is what made watching this series tolerable. Being an idiot is perhaps a double edged sword that contributes to his success and downfall. Too bad this fool didn’t get much of a screen time ever since he left Black Lodge. Yeah, I suppose this guy is too big to be part of Anticross either. It felt like they scaled him back although his flamboyant outburst is still there. Can’t take that away from him. Never change, West. Never change. This guy should’ve been the f*cking hero to pilot Demonbane and save the world! Who knows what kind of ending we’ll get. But I bet it would’ve been an interesting one with this guy at the handles!

The rest of the characters feel redundant or at least close to that. For example, Ruri. I guess her role is so that we know where Demonbane comes from. I mean, it just can’t fall down from the sky like that, right? Somebody has to create and own it, right? And what better way for a rich girl of dead parents acting as the leader of a wealthy company to have all its resources to maintain and repair it. Seriously, her revenge against Black Lodge feels so secondary that it feels forgettable. Sure, she can’t pilot Demonbane and perhaps that’s why. Otherwise, she’s just, well, I won’t say she is as bratty as Al Azif but she’s still a rich oujo-sama and has some standards to her. Hence her role is like holding on the codes for an ultimate move before they decided she won’t be any further use and thus passing it to Kurou just like that. Should’ve just given it to him in the first place. Or did she not trust him that much? Or do they need to force that kissing scene? If that’s all to her, I guess this says a lot about Winfield too. Just a loyal butler who protects her. And she has maids who double as staffs at the command centre to monitor Demonbane. Yeah, I can’t remember their names.

I thought Leica would have some sort of important role later on but I guess she’s just a sister for some mini diversion. Very irrelevant to the story and I suppose the only reason Kurou has ties with her is that this broke guy needs to go somewhere to get his free food. Ennea. Something feels weird they introduced a character and killed her off by the end of the same episode. If I was paying slightly more attention, I should’ve seen it coming that she would return for the plot twist. And then get killed off again. Wow. Loli died twice. I mean, what’s the point of throwing a mysterious amnesiac character and to never let her see the light again? Eventually, Al Azif is the only loli for Kurou. Nero FKA Ennea dead. Elsa lost her memories for him (it feels that she is just being playful with her flirting rather than anything serious). Ruri got a corporation to run. See what I mean?

Remember that Lily reporter from the OVA? I was also expecting her to pop up somewhere but too bad that didn’t happen. Speaking of the OVA, it came out 2 years before the TV series and those who watched it then may have been confused and unsatisfied with the rushed outcome of it all that amounted to nothing. Well, looking back in hindsight, the OVA felt like one big promotional stint to promote the game back then. It was just to introduce Demonbane and nothing else really mattered.

Black Lodge as the antagonists, well, as an organization as a whole, they’re pretty paltry and bland. Not to mention pretty cliché either because with such an organization like them, they have to have elites. Anticross, people! Such groups are claimed to be the best of the best but looking back in hindsight, they’re just slightly better than the average. Their roles only serve to make Demonbane stronger because how else is this Deus Machina gonna grow and showcase us his awesome arsenal of firepower? Unfortunately some Anticross don’t get too much attention especially like Augustus who is Therion’s right hand man. And then he just get killed off so easily? Plot twist, sure. He is not the final boss our heroes should be fighting! Vespasianus also feels redundant and perhaps the only Anticross whom Kurou didn’t get to face off. Even Titus had his short bout with Kurou despite his fight with Winfield is largely side-lined. And the big boss himself, I should’ve guessed he would return in the end after being killed off so fast by his own men, but even the final fight with Kurou didn’t last long enough. Yeah, we’re running out of time so better rush and reveal Naia as the puppet master and finish her off. Because Therion isn’t such a bad guy, he gets some sort of salvation too. Heck, I don’t see how Black Lodge terrorized Arkham in this series. Even so it was because West was running about with his failed mecha contraptions and faceless goons. I wonder if Batman would have had an easier time if this was his Arkham. Heh.

The action parts are okay. This being mecha genre so I guess they have to pull off all the big flashy robot moves. It’s amazing Arkham still stands despite all the big mecha stomping around. Anyway, Demonbane has his fair share of arsenal but nothing really extraordinary. He’s got his Atlantis Strike and Lemuria Impact and a few others but that’s just about it. Hey, it’s an anime of the 2000’s. Big huge mecha fights over the city we’ve got. Is there anything more we should ask for?

The art and animation really do reflect the style of that era so you can say it is pretty dated. There are some CGI effects used especially on the Deus Machina. Although not a masterpiece, they are at least a lot better than some of the CGI quality that is used in today’s anime! I kid you not. You thought today’s 3D technology would be better but I still continue to see horrible CGI renditions in certain scenes. Perhaps the quality of the animation was not so good back then and hence it helped to cover up the CGI shortfall? But I still think it looks better compared to today’s ones. I also want to point out that the design of Demonbane, isn’t the mecha one big ugly mother?! I don’t know, it has a face! Ugly face! What’s more, WTF does Demonbane need to have huge knee horns or something?! It feels so clumsy?! How the f*ck those this Deus Machina fight efficiently with it?! It also has huge arms and huge legs but the torso area so thin! Feels like it could snap any time. I also read that this series made some design changes to some of the Deus Machina (like Dagon) but I didn’t see the original works so I can’t compare. This anime was done by View Works and this series has been their only ever production till today. Not sure if they have closed down or become inactive. Their website since inaccessible.

Voice acting, it’s nice to hear some old recognizable seiyuus like Norio Wakamoto as Augustus, Jouji Nakata as Titus and Takehito Koyasu as Winfield. But my favourite one definitely goes to Takumi Yamazaki as West (Kayneth in Fate/Zero, Bansai in Gintama, Kanjurou in One Piece). This guy’s joker voice definitely fits this joker character like a glove and I’ll never tire listening to his antics. If only he had a spinoff series… The other casts are Kentaro Ito as Kurou (Renji in Bleach), Rie Kanda as Al Azif and Etheldreda (Erika in Fortune Arterial), Junko Asami as Ruri (Freya in Detective Loki Ragnarok), Hikaru Midorikawa as Therion (Lancer in Fate series), Mia Naruse as Nero/Ennea (Anri in Happiness), Mikako Satou as Elsa (Suzuka in Lamune), Nami Kurokawa as Leica (Sayaka in Yaoke Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na – Crescent Love) and Ai Orikasa as Naia (K.K. in Kekkai Sensen).

The opening theme, Evil Shine by Yuichi Ikuzawa fits the theme of the series well because of its rock outfit. He also sings the opening and ending themes for the OVA, Hito, Kami, Hata – Man God Machine and Redeem Your Dream respectively. I somewhat prefer the latter as it is a slow rock. But the one I love best is the insert song by Masatoshi Ono, Cry Of Vengeance. Playing with the montage of Kurou being depressed over the loss of Al Azif as he plans his next step in revenge may be weird, but the song is pretty cool itself. The only combo breaker from all these rock outfits is the ending theme plays to a slower ballad, Modern Rose by Kanako Itou.

Overall, this anime isn’t a good one but it is not that bad that it will be occupying my top 10 worst animes of the year. I was all pretty average and cliché to me before the complicating final stretch. There were dumb stuffs, there were unimpressed stuffs. Seriously, no matter how much I love West and love his silly antics, he himself isn’t enough to save this anime overall. He’s just a mad doctor, not a God. Could he be Batman’s Riddler in another alternate dimension? Nah! Not sure if Lovecraft fans would find this an insult but in the case they do, I think that comedy Nyaruko one should be a bigger insult. And mecha fans would definitely be spoilt for choice in getting better mecha animes. Yeah, Gundam and Macross should be the basic start and recommendations. But as far as this series is concerned, for better or worse, there have been no news about remakes or reboots. Otherwise we’ll have to throw that smarty pants guy into Arkham Asylum along with this mediocrity. You’ll have all the time in the world to watch it over and over again for eternity!