It's been a while...Kyo Kara Maoh vol. 1

I don't know why I bother, since no one reads these reviews, but I've returned to review volume one of my current favorite anime, Kyo Kara Maoh. Just for the record, I still haven't finished watching Fate/Stay Night or Card Captor Sakura, hence there not being any full-series reviews. Also, I have no idea where Pinkeh went. Around May she decided she was too cool for AIM (I miss youuuu.....), and hasn't been on Gaia since mid-July. In short, I have no idea if she's coming back or not.

...on to the review!

Disc one of Kyo Kara Maoh contains the first 5 episodes. I've seen the entire first season, so containing myself may be difficult. The story opens with a pregnant woman sharing a taxi cab with a stranger. The man tells her that, in the far-away land he comes from, the month of July, which is when this takes place, is called "Yuuri". This somehow clicked with the woman, and when her son was born, she named him Yuuri.

Fast-foreward 15 years later. Yuuri Shibuya is an ordinary Japanese boy, just going into high school. He loves baseball and hanging out with friends. Perfectly normal...until one moment of indecisiveness throws all rules out the window. Yuuri witnesses his friend, Ken Murata, being mugged. While trying to decide whether he should help the other boy or not, Ken sees him, so he feels obligated to help. Ken runs off to call the cops, and Yuuri is left to deal with the punks. They drag him into the womens' restroom and give him a swirlie...which causes him to be flushed down the toilet. That's right. Flushed. down. the. toilet. This was one of the funniest scenes ever.

When he wakes up, he is in a strange location similar to the Alps. No one can understand him...until a strange guy squeezes his head. Then everyone can understand him and vice versa. Another man appears on a horse and rescues him from the first guy, who seems to want to take him and trade him for money. The new man, Conrad Weller, takes him to a small cottage where he is met by Lord Gunter von Christ, an aristocrat. Gunter informs Yuuri that he is their king...the demon king!

After a bit of persuasion, Yuuri agrees to accept the task. He's taken to his castle where he is scoffed at by Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, another aristocrat, and accidentally proposes to Lord Wolfram von Bielefelt, yet another aristocrat, then accepts a challenge to a duel. During the duel against his new fiance, he displays unusual powers that prove he is indeed the Demon King, but he doesn't remember doing it. The disc ends with Yuuri, Conrad, and Wolfram leaving by boat to look for a special sword, the Demon Sword; Morgif.

It may sound highly generic (except the toilet flushing), but Kyo Kara Maoh is an exceptional story. The characters are all highly diverse, interesting people, and a bit quirky at that. I can watch this first disc over and over and never get bored. I would recommend this to any fantasy/action/comedy fans that don't mind a bit of male/male hinting.

Woo!:
-Art: 5/5
-Plot: 4/5 (for semi-generic-ness)
-Characters: 5/5
-General Appeal: 4/5 (simply because not everyone can handle the slashiness)
-nitpicky stuff: 4/5 (some of the music is annoying)
-Overall: 4.5