THE TESTAMENT OF SISTER NEW DEVIL #1 -- Special Review

We're sampling all the new pilots this Winter. Check out our thoughts on...

• JOJO'S - BATTLE IN EGYPT ** ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM ** DEATH PARADE


• MARIA THE VIRGIN WITCH ** YATTERMAN NIGHT ** THE ROLLING GIRLS

The Testament of Sister New Devil is a show about a high school student named Basara Toujou whose father sits him down one day to announce that 1) After a long period of being single, he’s planning to re-marry, and 2) as a result of this joyous new union Basara will be gaining two new step-sisters!

First there’s the teenage sister, Mio, who has a habit of repeatedly appearing in front of Basara partially naked, and seems to enjoy sneaking into his bedroom to straddle him in the morning, then hitting him and calling him a pervert.

Then there’s the younger sister (I’m guessing 10 years old?), Maria, who gleefully points out and encourages the sexual tension that seems to be forming between Mio and Basara, and appears to be openly rooting for her older brother and sister to form a pornographic incestuous relationship.

== TEASER ==

HOWEVER, the situation takes a strange turn one evening when Mio and Maria reveal to Basara that they are NOT ordinary human-beings! Rather, Maria is a succubus, and Mio is a demon lord! And now that internal struggles and politics have forced them to flee their old home in the demon world, they arranged a plot to move into Basara’s house in order to use it as their base of operations on Earth.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Before Mio and Maria can use their magic to control Basara’s mind and compel him to leave his house so that they can hold supreme dominion over his…living room, I guess…Basara reveals that HE ALSO is no ordinary human!! Rather, he is descended from a clan of heroes who have magical powers of their own. Because of this, Basara is able to summon an enchanted sword and repel Mio and Maria’s magic.

Later, when Mio and Maria are attacked by rival demons from their homeland, Basara decides to overlook their previous duplicity and help them as a (wait for it) Testament to the family bond which, however it came into being, the three of them now share.

Because…what’s that you ask? Am I typing out the transcript of a game of Mad Libs I played with my friends over Malt Liquor and Cocaine? That’s a good guess. But no. Did I recently suffer some sort of brain injury that prevents me from typing coherent meaningful sentences on my keyboard? Again, no. Am I just trolling you? Making up a synopsis that must be false because, clearly, no show like the one I just described could ever get made in a sane and just world? For the third time: No.

That really is the plot of episode one of “The Testament of Sister New Devil.” I really don’t know what to say about this show except that…in a way…I can sort of respect how it manages to gather nearly every fanservice trope that’s been used in nearly every fanservice anime since that genre was first invented, and combine them in one place for audiences to see.

If you are a person who has spent weeks, months, potentially years trying to convince your friends and family that anime is a legitimate art form capable of sophisticated storytelling, deep and meaningful examinations of the human condition, and amazingly poignant depictions of the ever-changing dynamics between men and women, I would NOT recommend showing this anime to them. It will not help your case. If however, you just wanna kick back, eat some popcorn, not think too hard, and enjoy a fanservice anime that knows what its target audience wants and is ready willing and able to give it to them, then this is definitely the show for you.

Watch this pilot and decide for yourself.

(Special thanks to Hyper-User Takashichea for the screencaps)

Kaita Mpambara works every day to try and create shows, stories, and characters that are as exciting, energizing, and entertaining as the very best works that have been given to the world by both the western and eastern animation industries. Keep up with his musings on life, the universe and everything by following him on Facebook.

from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1AN6pxK