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.

The humans aren't helpless either. There are four Forbidden Boxes of incalculable power that are scattered over the world. Only a certain key can open them, but the power they contain could be used to destroy the demon kingdom. Yuri has set out to obtain all four and store them safely in his castle, but that is easier said than done.

Volume Nine:

As this disc opens, Yuri and his comrades are fighting in the big tournament that the kingdom of Big Cimaron holds every four years. The winning team is granted whatever they desire, and Yuri is hoping to be victorious so he can request their Forbidden Box, The End of the Wind. Realizing that the ruler will never grant such a request, a couple of members of the demon tribe sneak through the castle and steal the box while the tournament is going on. It's a good thing too, because the King of Big Cimaron will do anything to make sure his team wins, including cheating.

In the tournament ring however, Yuri isn't thinking about the box anymore. He's been pitted against Conrart, one of his loyal servants who gave his life, or so Yuri thought, to save the demon king. Now Conrart claims that he's no longer loyal to King Yuri. What caused this change of heart and how he managed to re-grow his arm are mysteries that Yuri wants answered.

After escaping from Big Cimaron with the Forbidden Box, Yuri is still worried about Conrart and doesn't believe that he's really changed sides. Even with this weighing on his mind, there are two more boxes to find, and he can't let his personal troubles get in the way of his duties. Hearing a rumor of the location of the third box, Yuri heads out with his team to go get it, but Big Cimaron has heard the same rumor and they've sent Conrart to obtain the box too.

I was disappointed that the season ended with a whimper instead of a gang. While I wasn't expecting everything to be wrapped up, I was hoping for a bit of closure, or at least a cliff-hanger that would get me excited about seeing the next season. As it is, they didn't try to create a satisfying conclusion; they just ended the current sub-plot. That's not really a problem as the second season is going to come out in the US starting later this month.

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 on this disc is a gallery of line animation from the series.

Final Thoughts:

While the season didn't end with a bang like I was predicting, this show is still solid and enjoyable. This final volume of season one has some interesting revelations as well as some fun action scenes. It looks like the second season is shaping up to be just as exciting as the first one. Recommended.