The third volume of Kyo Kara Maoh has another five episodes of this solid show. This time around King Yuri is a bind again. First he's kidnapped, and then he spends most of the volume shackled to one of his retainers on the run from people who think he's a young bride trying to elope. Like the other volumes, these shows are light and fun and sure to entertain.

Series Synopsis:

Yuri Shibuya is a typical high school student. He enjoys playing baseball, can sometimes let his temper get the better of him, and views school as a necessary evil at best. One day after school though, he discovers that he isn't as typical as he thought. While being picked on by some bullies, he's pushing into a rest room stall, his head is put in the toilet and it's flushed. Instead of getting wet though, he actually gets sucked into the toilet and somehow gets transported to another land.

When people in this land see his black hair and black eyes they proclaim him the Demon King, leader of all demons. This isn't something he really wants or needs, but it's hard to turn down a kingdom.

Demons in this world look and act like humans, but they each have a magical power which makes them more powerful than the humans. This uneven distribution of power makes the humans very nervous, and when the Demon King appears, they are sure it signals the start of a war. With humans gathering magician mercenaries the demon kingdom starts preparing for war too. Yuri doesn't want to go to war, but it's hard to stop it once things get set in motion.

Not only does he have to worry about a war with the humans, but someone has broken into the royal treasury and stolen the Demon King Gem, a symbol of the office. Of course, the theft could be just a diversion, one so his enemies can kidnap him.

Volume Three:

As this volume opens, Yuri is the captive of Lord Stoffel, a royal who was in line for the throne before the real Demon King showed up. Stoffel hopes to turn Yuri to his side, or barring that, to keep him imprisoned and rule in his place. The Demon King's retainers aren't about to leave him in Stoffel's kingdom though. They've raised an army and are preparing to go to war, but Yuri can't stand to think of people dying because of him. He only has a short time to escape and stop the battle.

The next story arc starts with the second episode on the disc. After a quick pitstop back on Earth, Yuri hears that someone who was posing as the Demon King has been arrested in a southern province. This imposter is supposed to have the Demon Flute in his possession, a magical object that only the true Demon King can play. The imposter is scheduled to be executed soon, so Yuri and his companions ride out to save him.

This rescue mission hardly gets started before things go wrong. The party gets split, and Yuri ends up traveling with Gwendal. While stopping for water in a small town, some locals mistake the pair for two lover's who have run off to elope and try to arrest them. They escape of course, but not before they are manacled together. Now these two people who don't get along at all have to manage to work together if they are to survive, much less find the Demon Flute.

This is a fun series, with a good mix of humor, drama, and action. Though it has all the trappings of a typical fantasy series, this show has enough differences to make it feel fresh and new. The fact that Yuri sees things differently since he was raised in the human world adds a nice twist to the show, and also explains why he's so opposed to violence. Every volume has it's share of humor too, and this disc is no exception. The sand bear and the playing of the Demon Flute were nice light moments that make the series fun. I'm happy that this show hasn't turned into the standard fantasy epic.

Audio:

This show has the original Japanese and an English dub track, both in stereo. I alternated listening to these tracks, and while I preferred the Japanese track, I thought the English voice actors did a good job. Both tracks were very clean and clear with no evidence of distortion or other audio defects.

Video:

This show is presented in an anamorphically enhanced widescreen (1.78:1). The picture looked very good, with excellent color. The lines were very sharp and the level of detail fine. Digital defects were not noticed, with even chain link fences and other diagonal lines not showing traces of aliasing. A very good looking transfer.

Extras:

The only extra that this disc has is an animation gallery of 21 images.

Final Thoughts:

This show keeps on going strong with this third volume of five episodes. The show is good solid entertainment with a good bit of action and humor thrown in. A fantasy show that unlike most others in the genre, it's well worth checking out. Recommended.