Synopsis

Kurou Daijuuji is an out of work, jack-of-all-trades private investigator in the city of Arkham. Freeloading at a church, and desperately looking for work, he's contacted by an agent of the Hadou concern, looking to offer him a job: Find a Grimoire of great power. Little does he know that the Grimoire he will find will propel himself and the Grimoire into a fight for the future of their city and their world; not to mention each other. This is so, given that this Grimoire is also a very pretty girl, and one of the most powerful of her kind: Al Azif, also known as, The Necronomicon.

Fields	USA Info	Japanese Info	Image
Title		Kishin Houkou Demonbane OVA
Alternative	デモンベイン,
Dates		May 18, 2006 – August 17, 2006
Company	Half H.P Studio
Creator	Nitro+
Director	Shoichi Masuo
Genre	Giant Robot, Romance, Drama, Mythos
Related	Cthulhu Mythos, Every Giant Robot Show ever made

Review

Oh, you silly Japanese. What won't you turn into a cute girl? No, seriously...what's up with that?

Demonbane is twelve episodes of clichè giant robot goodness. In fact, I'd say this is probably giant robot anime distilled down to its purest modern form. If you have ever watched Akane Maniax, you know that giant robot fantasy that permeated a good portion of it? This entire series could have been substituted for that, and you'd not seen a lick of difference.

This is not to say it was bad, only that if you're a fan of giant robot stories, you've seen this before. This anime breaks no new ground on that regard; which is rather amusing, since it's also based on an H game, like a lot of recent anime has been. However, this particular tidbit should probably scare the living shit out of you once you read about the details of "Demonbane." Still, it has everything, the love interest, the secret organizations opposing each other, the quasi metaphysical nonsense that tries to make itself out to be deeper than it really is...I mean, you're here to see giant robots kick the living fuck out of each other. You know, YOU DIG GIANT ROBOTS! I DIG GIANT ROBOTS! WE DIG GIANT ROBOTS! CHICKS DIG GIANT ROBOTS!

Sorry, had a Megas XLR withdrawl moment there, pay it no mind.

This series draws its quasi metaphysical nonsense from an already existing source, that being the Cthulhu Mythos, originally written by H.P. Lovecraft. You honestly won't see very much of Lovecraft's take on the Mythos here though. This is more of August Derleth's works on the subject, which is actually more compatible with a giant robot anime.

H.P. Lovecraft's take on the universe was that of an amoral existence where humanity was, at the very best, only slowing down its own inevitable termination as the Old Ones return. We were ants, cockroaches really...scurrying about; and when the original inhabitants of this planet came back, it was over for us, and there wouldn't be a god in the universe, or the universe itself, that would care. There was no hope, no hope, no hope at all...we were well and truly fucked as far as Lovecraft's stories went.

August Derleth, on the other hand, didn't get this particular aspect of Lovecraft's work. His stories reflected a more good vs. evil mentality that dominated his inherent Christian values. He also wound up rewriting a bit of what Lovecraft described in his universe. More bits and pieces really, like the elder sign, but concerning things like that, what you'll see in this anime is what Derleth put into the Mythos stories. And considering, in the end, it is a giant robot anime, it will be pro-human; filled with hope, with people growing enough to stand against the greater forces of evil. So no, we won't be seeing people's minds popping like grapefruits because they got within a hundred miles of a fully materialized Great Old One; like you would in one of Lovecraft's stories.

The funny thing about the Mythos aspects of the story is that they are completely irrelevant and unnecessary. Oh sure, they're a fun bit of trivial pursuit, and where convenient for the creators of the game when needing a bit of fancy quasi-mystical bullshit to add greater significance and magnitude to the giant robot battles, but in the end, there is really no true NEED for them. They could have come up with their own words for what was shown here, and there would be no way to tell that there was any connection to the Cthulhu Mythos at all.

No, in the end, this is just a giant robot anime, and is honestly nothing more. The mythos elements were a convenience, but certainly not anything that was crucial to the story. I think perhaps, that's the full tragedy of this series, good as it was. I'm a sucker for the Cthulhu Mythos, in its more Lovecraftian form, and yet, for any of its interpretations, it wasn't really put into this anime in such a way as to make it truly PART of the story.

Which again, is not to say that it wasn't enjoyable, but again, you won't be seeing people's very souls shatter like glass in a nuclear hollocost when things start happening that are beyond these meatsacks we call minds ability to handle. So, with that out of the way, I'll start on the specifics.

Kurou Daijuuji, as stated in the synopsis, is an out of work jack-of-all-trades investigator, typical of most Mythos type stories (they usually have some sort of investigator trying to figure out what happened, heh) who has been free loading at an orphanage/church run by Lieca who, I THINK, is a nun, but if she is, she doesn't much act like one given her manner of dress and the fact in one episode she runs around in something I hesitate to call a bikini, so perhaps she is simply the caretaker of the place...yeah, that's what I'll tell myself as I watch her bouncing bosomy blosoms jiggle along the beach...yeeessss...

In any event, he winds up getting a job from the Hadou organization, run by the current heir, Ruri Hadou, as bosomy a formidable young woman as you'll see anywhere, to locate for her a Grimoire of immense power. She pays in advance, and so he's off to search for one in Arkham City. He was chosen due to the fact he was once an initiate of the Magical Studies group in the Miskatonic University. Remember what I said about the mythos trivial pursuit? In any event he winds up at a book store he knows for a fact just wasn't there before (which you'd think, in his line of work, that he'd have went, "This is a bad idea.") where he meets a girl who could be Tenchi Muyo Ryouko's sister, who calls herself Naia. She tells him she has no Grimoire for him, but he will find one just for him, very very soon.

Keep in mind as you watch this anime, it was based on an H game. Like most anime that are based on games, and especially H games, you'll be able to see where the writers threw something in there that was game specific, or that you'll see probably could have gone full H in the original game.

Let me get off track a moment. I've been seeing this a lot in game based anime. Games have whole subquests and substories that you just cannot put into anime. Yet the writers throw these references into the animes anyway; and a lot of times, it just makes no sense. I saw a couple of glaring ones in Utawaremeono, Fate - Stay/Night had some of the worst offenses of this I'd ever seen, and this one has several plot points that really shouldn't have been included as they make no sense in the context of an anime with a linear plot...IE, unless you've got time to spend developing some of these subquests, it might be best to try and write around them, or write them out completely. The story becomes disjointed and jarring otherwise, and you find your audience, even if they've played the game, going, "What the fucking fuck was that fucking shit, mother fuckers?"

I keep saying, coherency is a good thing. Work towards it, you sad fucking excuse for writers! Seriously! Did you people not go to school? Did they not teach you not only how to read, but how to understand?! Oh right, I suppose even in Japan, modern education deserves to be put in quotes...cock sucking sheeples.

Anyway, Daijuji leaves the shop, dejected, but runs into the Black Lodge, the ones the Hadou organization are opposing, chasing what appears to be a girl. Appears being the biggest word to remember here. Turns out this loli, and yes, she is definately dressed as such, is really a thousand year old near tsundere Grimoire called Al Azif, also known as, the Necronomicon. In fact, all the Grimoires on this show have the ability to take human form. They have wills and souls of their own...they all turn into lolis dressed in EGL clothing, however. I wonder if this is simply that it's only because they approximate human form, or, in terms of the game, it's just the idea of getting to bone a cute loli that is the draw here.

Yes, you heard me right. This is also a love story between Daijuji and his little loli Necronomicon. About half way in, she goes into dere-dere mode, and desperately wants to be seen as a woman to Daijuji so badly, that she...hell, *YOU* can taste it. Which he honestly finds nothing wrong with; though I have to honestly wonder if he should be worried about papercuts. Might have to worry about the pages sticking together too.

Yeah....

Originally I thought this series had a bit of a ambiguous personality disorder, in that it didn't seem like it knew where it was going...sort of like an Oh! Great story, only far better written. However, watching it again, I realize that it was simply nothing more than the protagonist honestly just feeling a giant case of "What the flying mother fuck?!" concerning what's going on since he was only hired to find a book, and that's all he was banking on. He had no intention of getting in the middle of anyone's war, and certainly not as one of the primary combatants; which he winds up doing, not just as Al Azif's new Sorcerer, but also as the pilot for the Demonbane mech in answer to the Reanimator himself, who summons up his own mech in a fit of pique to trash the city.

This is all in the first episode. The second episode expands on the Black Lodge, where you meet the real enemy. I have to admit, I had always wondered what it would be like if a Giant Robot were to fight a Z fighter...you get a real good view of just how that would play out in this ep.

Through the twists and turns of the series, whereby you go, "Yeah, I remember that from 'In the Mountains of Madness,' or, 'You know that scene turned full H in the original game,' or even, 'Wow...tentacle porn,' (yes, it has that...well, not actually, but you know they fucking had it in the game during...certain scenes) the series really shines in the later third when the heroes get every advantage they've got systematically stripped from them. Hellsing fans will get a kick out of part of it, as it's a definite homage to a certain storyline from that manga. It was truely some masterful writing, and you've just got to see it to truly immerse yourself in just how cool this really was. I would say at this point, it was the closest to that sinking feeling you get when you first realize that in Lovecraft's universe, everything that you are, know, knew, or will know or love...is fucked; and there ain't shit you'll ever be able to do to stop it.

The animation was nothing short of spectacular; both cel drawn and rendered CGI. I know some really dislike the mix of CGI and cel drawn, but for me, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it worked out pretty good as far as the Giant Robots were concerned, which is near exclusively where the CGI was used. I'd love to know what program they used to model their mechs in, as well as seeing their wire meshes.

The music was beautiful, in just about every way. I'd love an extended version of the opening theme; that was some kick ass metal. The closing theme was quite beautiful, but I'm curious if there's another version than the one that appeared on the soundtrack. I'm not sure about that one at all. The background definately kept one moving through all the parts of the series...it was top notch stuff.

If you couldn't tell from the above, I really loved all the characters. From the reluctant hero Daijuji to the villains named after various Ceasers of Rome to the main villain, Therion, they're all a lot of fun. Admittedly not all of them last very long, but still, they keep the story going and none are really wasted; though I think this series probably should have had a couple more eps to develop all of them a little better. Twelve eps is hardly enough time for a cast this size.

I'll even say I really enjoyed the ending. Current anime have had a lot of bittersweet endings, assuming theY DID end...though often they're ending badly which tends to totally KILL a series in the minds of its fans...such as they were. It was getting to the point you almost don't want to watch a series cause you'd be thinking, "Okay, how are these pricks going to fuck this shit up this time?" What's the point of watching stuff like that? If I wanted self torture, I'd go watch videos this year's political campaigns again. No, this one had a nice sugary El-Hazard makes you feel lovey dovey happy bunnies in the world ending. You'll want to kiss your girl or guy and make sweet love to them 'til the sun comes up; for hope will be spreading across the world in rainbow shining light for all to see.

Well, maybe not THAT good, but you'll have a definite warm fuzzy after this one. And after all the crap I mentioned above, it's a welcome relief. I find it kinda odd though, that back awhile ago, I was so tired of the happy ending, I wanted to watch a nonstop marathon of Phantasm just to remind myself that the goodguys can lose. Now I'm so fed up with the alternatives, it's actually a welcome change to see a near Di$ney sort of ending. The irony is so thick I could almost choke on it.

If you're a fan of Giant Robot anime, you can't lose with this one. If you want to kill a few hours, this is a good series for that sort of thing too. About the only thing I can really say is, it's probably not a good idea to think about the lolis too much. I mean, they're mostly just part of the story here; and they contribute to it in a good way. The alternative is thinking about how you could be playing the original H game, and feeling your eyes exploding and your brain leaking from the sockets when you get to certain parts of it with those lolis.

On the other hand, if you're looking for something deep and meaningful, or want some really good applications of the Cthulhu Mythos, you'll need to look elsewhere. This is an anime for those guilty pleasures people have, and not really something that appeals to the wider range of entertainment. It's got a lot of good stuff, but make no mistake, this one is definately a niche anime; it's not the next "Oh, My Goddess!", "Tenchi Muyo!" (Ova 1 and 2), or "Evangelion."

I can recommend this one, but again, don't be surprised if it doesn't appeal to you; it won't appeal to everyone given its very nature of being a typical Giant Robot anime.

In the end, I leave you with this question: What do you think Ashley Williams would have thought if he found the Necronomicon this cute and cuddly in the Evil Dead series?