Demon Lord 2099
Entry updated 27 January 2025. Tagged: TV.
Japanese animated tv series (2024; original title Maō 2099). J C Staff. Directed by Ryō Andō. Written by Yūichirō Momose, based on the Manga by Daigo Murasaki and Kureta. Voice cast includes Hana Hishikawa, Satoshi Hino, Miku Itō, Masaya Matsukaze, Daisuke Namikawa and Kaori Nazuka. Twelve 24-minute episodes. Colour.
Nearly 500 years ago the war in Alneath between mortals and Immortals ended when Demon Lord Veltol (Hino) was defeated by the human hero Gram (Namikawa), with some help from the magical "holy sword Ixasorde of the Goddess Meldia" (see Fantasy). As Veltol dissipates he assures Gram that, being the Invincible King, he will return.
He does so in 2099 when fellow immortal Machina Soleige (Itō) arranges his Reincarnation: Veltol promptly boasts he is ready once more to dominate Alneath, but Machina has to inform him that things are not as they were. 80 years previously Alneath clashed with another Dimension's world – Earth by name – fusing them together. 90% of the population died (see Disaster) and national governments collapsed, leaving independent City-states inhabited by people (humans and others) from both realms. Earth's science-based Technology and Alneath's "magitech" combined and prospered: the Fused Era began. Machina shows him the city they inhabit: a bright, bustling Cyberpunk metropolis. Veltol's attempt to impress the locals with a display of magical pyrotechnics only garners tuts of disapproval: "It's forbidden to use grand Magic inside the city." Veltol's magic is diminished, reliant as it is on people's belief in him – that faith is weak these days. He also learns that, shortly after the fusing, immortals had been declared not human and their hunting permitted: of Veltol's "six dark peers", one has died, four disappeared (we learn later one has been killed) – and when he mentions the sixth, Marcus, Machina quickly changes the subject.
Nonetheless, he learns that Marcus (Matsukaze) is the CEO of Ishimaru Heavy Magical Industries (IHMI). IHMI have developed the magigadget "Familia" that attaches to the nape of the neck, enabling its wearer to perform magic – it also acts as an AI assistant and has an Avatar. Marcus has designed it so that "higher incorporeal beings" like Veltol cannot use it – in his current state he is a comparative magical weakling compared to Familia wearers, though he is more upset by how the Familia does away with traditional steps in the magical process, such as incantation. Violently dismissed by Marcus (who plans to become the Demon Lord himself), Machina takes him to her tiny apartment – Veltol initially assuming the entire complex is her castle. She tells him Marcus had instigated the immortal hunts to strengthen his position – though the mortal population's hostility has since waned. The next day they go shopping to buy more suitable clothes (currently people assume him to be a Cyborg), and he decides he should get a Job. However, along with his lack of skills, his inability to wear a Familia makes this impossible. Nonetheless, his "appraisal" spell enables him to comprehend Computers and Technology and so defend himself when they are used to attack him. He also bumps into Gram, who had been granted eternal youth by Meldia: he has since wandered the world, disillusioned.
Veltol meets "aether hacker" Takahashi (Hishikawa), a garrulous self-proclaimed "pretty super-genius" activist who performs minor sabotage to protest against this "rotten society": she is also a friend of Machina and hits on the idea of having Veltol earn money by becoming an online celebrity gamer (see Videogames): it turns out his ego and pomposity is ideal for streaming and he quickly acquires over a million followers – their engagement means his magical powers grow (he finds baiting trolls helps too). Grateful, Veltol helps Takahashi to steal from the Yakusa – it turns out they are about to sell a list of surviving immortals to IHMI – and he defeats one of the company's Mecha (later, another employee wears Powered Armour). The pair discover Takahashi's employer has been murdered, but has left a video explaining the city's Power Source, the Aether Reactor, relies not only on aether but immortals – it burns their souls as fuel (the IHMI inspired immortal hunts had been an excuse to gather "firewood"). Marcus now abducts Machina – the reactor is burning out and her soul will give him enough time to find an alternative source of energy: Veltol, realizing he cannot rescue her on his own, asks Gram for help – very reluctantly, he assents, also noting Veltol is not as cruel as he once was. Takahashi's hacking broadcasts Veltol all over the city's numerous screens, the attention boosting his powers, enabling him to defeat Marcus and cast him into the reactor at the end of episode 7.
The remainder of the season is more rooted in fantasy, with Veltol searching for the three missing Dark Peers. A key piece of information is stored at a school of magic's treasury, in a city dominated by Alneath's three great clans. Veltol, Machina and Takahashi – after some document editing by the latter – join the school as an exchange students (see Education in SF). However, the treasury has been sealed for five centuries and requires three objects to open it, each held by the heads of the respective clans (see Clichés). The Goddess Meldia (Nazuka) becomes involved but eventually the three gain access to the treasury.
Demon Lord 2099 is an enjoyable light Science Fantasy Anime; though there is plenty of action, the focus is on Veltol coming to terms with a world where – save for the fantasy gaming world – he is a fish out of water. Though he never loses his arrogance or vanity (a common source of the show's Humour), his interactions with Machina, Takahashi and Gram cause him to acquire empathy. [SP]
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