The Setup (And My Immediate Red Flags)

Another isekai. I know. I know. But here's the thing - I genuinely love the mechanic of someone getting stuck in their game world. There's been some brilliant anime in this genre that have managed to explore identity, power, and what it means to be human. So when I started Demon Lord, Retry!, I was cautiously optimistic.

The premise is solid enough: Akira Ono, a 30-something game developer, gets transported into his own MMORPG as his character, the Demon Lord Hakuto Kunai. He has the appearance of a mafia boss, smokes constantly, and must navigate this world while figuring out how he got there. This is a classic isekai setup with potential for interesting commentary on power and identity.

However, the female characters then appeared. And oh boy, did my feminist alarm bells start ringing.

The Female Character Problem

Aku - The Pitiful Waif Trope

Let's start with Aku, a 13-year-old girl who becomes the first companion our "Demon Lord" encounters. She's introduced as a sacrifice, cast out by her village because of her heterochromatic eyes and infected leg. The show presents her as this pitiful creature who is bowled over by any scrap of kindness from the gruff Demon Lord.

And here's where it gets uncomfortable: Aku has the appearance of a child, but she's written to be completely devoted to this much older-looking man. The power dynamic is already problematic, but then the show chooses to amplify it. In one episode, Aku crawls into Kunai's bed "innocently." WTF, anime. Just... WTF.

The age gap presentation is nauseating. We have this older-appearing Demon Lord surrounded by younger-looking women, and the show seems to think this is romantic rather than creepy. However, it then unfolds as a daughter-father relationship in the Male Protagonist. It's giving me serious paedophile vibes, grooming vibes, and I'm tired of anime that thinks this is acceptable.

Luna Elegant - The Holy Maiden Who Gets Spanked

Then we have Luna, the 16-year-old Holy Maiden, who becomes the second major female character. She starts with some promise - she's powerful, confident, maybe even a bit arrogant. Finally, I thought, a female character with some agency!

But nope. The show's solution to her "attitude problem"? Our protagonist spanks her. Multiple times. And he enjoys it, stating outright "I am enjoying this."

The show frames this as comedy, but it's just sexual assault. Luna even calls him out later: "he is obsessed with my butt." And when the male protagonist protests that "It sounds bad when she says it like that!" - I'm screaming at my screen: BECAUSE IT IS BAD!

At least Luna has some self-awareness about how gross this is, but the narrative never actually condemns the behaviour. Instead, it turns her into another love interest who develops feelings for her abuser.

Mikan - The Barely Dressed Warrior

And then there's Mikan, the adventurer who is supposedly a competent B-rank fighter. Her character design in the anime is ridiculous - she's wearing "armour" that barely covers her nipples and private parts. We're talking about a fantasy setting where people fight monsters, and this woman is essentially going into battle in a bikini.

The manga/light novel had her in more reasonable attire. Still, someone in the anime production decided that what this series needed was more gratuitous skin. Because heaven forbid we have a female fighter who looks like she's prepared for combat.

Season 2 - False Hope and Deeper Problems

I almost didn't continue to season 2, but curiosity got the better of me. Initially, the producers might have learned from the criticism. The women were more appropriately dressed (thank you, Mikan's actual armour), and I had a glimmer of hope.

However, the show then said "hold my beer" and decided to get even more problematic.

Violence Against Women Becomes the Norm

Season 2 introduces us to Milligan, and we get our first taste of direct, graphic violence against women. The implications of what this character has done are shown in disturbing detail, and it made me genuinely nauseous. I understand that villains need to be villainous, but the way this was handled felt gratuitous and exploitative.

Nobody in the show properly condemns this behaviour - they cover it up and move on. Where's the character development? Where's the moral outrage? Instead, we get more of the same: women as objects to be saved, used, or discarded.

By episode 7, we have our second case of rape. The show doesn't hold back with the grim implications, but it also doesn't seem to understand the weight of what it's depicting. These aren't plot devices - they're serious crimes that deserve serious treatment.

The Belphego Incident - When Bad Gets Worse

The season's villain, Belphego, assaults his daughter, Organ. And what does the show decide Organ's reward should be after being rescued? She suggested that she should "have children" with her rescuer.

I cannot express how much this made my skin crawl. This woman has just escaped an abusive situation, and the first thing someone suggests is that she should focus on reproduction? At least Mink drags her away, but our male protagonist's silence speaks volumes. His lack of response feels like the show asking the audience to draw their conclusions, which is a cowardly storytelling tactic.

The Bechdel Test Failure

Throughout both seasons, this show fails the Bechdel Test spectacularly. The female characters exist almost entirely about the male protagonist. They talk about him, he saves them, and they develop feelings for him. Their own goals, dreams, and relationships with each other are barely explored.

Even when we experience moments of female friendship, such as between Mink and Organ, they are quickly overshadowed by their relationships with male characters. The show features multiple interesting female characters, but ultimately wastes them by making them mere accessories to the male power fantasy.

When the Plot Becomes Personal

Around the halfway mark, the show takes an unexpected turn when Ivy becomes entangled with a criminal organization. Suddenly, she's outwitting grown men and devising elaborate schemes. The pacing picks up, but more importantly, we see how survival has sharpened her into something formidable.

This plot isn't a magical transformation or a hidden power reveal, though her cheat code is an Isekai who speaks to her in a chime. It's the logical endpoint of someone who has had to think ten steps ahead to eat dinner. Ivy's intelligence was always there; the world just finally created circumstances where it could be recognized as valuable rather than a threat.

The Unnecessary Fanservice Problem

Season 2 also treats us to a completely unnecessary hentai scene when Mink encounters a slime creature. Look, I'm not against sexual content in anime when it serves a purpose or fits the tone. However, this scene felt like it was added just to tick a box on some executive's checklist.

There's a time and place for everything, and when your show is already struggling with how it portrays women, adding gratuitous sexual content makes the problem worse. It's lazy writing that prioritises cheap thrills over character development.

What Could Have Been

The frustrating thing is that Demon Lord, Retry! had potential. The concept of someone navigating a world they created is fascinating. The questions about identity, power, and responsibility could have been explored in a more meaningful way.

The show even has moments of clarity, such as when the protagonist becomes annoyed at the bunny people for using phrases like "hop" and "bunny" to appease humans. If only the show had applied this same level of awareness to how it treats women.

Some of the female characters start with interesting premises: Luna's magical power and political position, Mikan's adventuring career, Organ's complicated heritage. But instead of developing these characters, the show reduces them to their relationships with men.

The Verdict

Demon Lord, Retry! is a masterclass in how not to write female characters. It takes every problematic trope in the book and cranks them up to eleven. The age gap issues, the sexual assault played for comedy, the gratuitous violence, the constant objectification - it's like they were trying to create a feminist critique bingo card.

I appreciated Season 2's attempt to tie the isekai character back to his modern life, and there were moments of genuine cleverness in the world-building. But these brief highlights are completely overshadowed by the show's treatment of women.

If you're looking for a good isekai with decent female representation, skip this one. There are so many better options out there that don't require you to constantly cringe at how women are portrayed.

But if you're a masochist like me who enjoys yelling at problematic anime, then welcome to the club. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Final Thoughts

The fact that this show got a second season while better anime get cancelled is a depressing commentary on what audiences want. We can do better than this, anime industry. We deserve female characters who are more than just objects in male power fantasies.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go watch something with actual strong female characters to cleanse my palate. Any recommendations?