The Testament of Sister New Devil (Season One)
Basara’s father remarried and now he has two new sisters, Mio and Maria. With their mother working out of town and Basara’s father heading off on business, he finds out that there’s much more to Mio and Maria!
What did you watch?
So, The Testament of Sister New Devil has been on my to-watch list ever since Dewbond, the world-renowned king of the Shinmai Fanclub piqued my interest. When I started my A to Z Anime Challenge, I quickly pencilled it in as my letter T. I needed to find out what could make someone so insanely passionate about a series. If you’ve ever witnessed Dewbond talking about it, he approaches it with an unrivalled intensity. There will be spoilers and I’ll attempt to keep all of the screencaps to a safe for work level… mostly…
What happened?
Once Basara’s father left town for work, Mio and Maria revealed that they were devils. Mio was, in fact, the daughter of the previous demon lord and Maria was a succubus. They told Basara that there was much more to the world than he realised. However, they had no intention of hurting him and instead planned on erasing his memory and sending him away too, leaving the house as their base. Sounded like a good plan, but for one small detail – Basara and his father are both heroes, exiled from the Hero village and their tricks wouldn’t work on him.
Basara sent them packing, furious that they had duped his father. However, his father had known all along and let them think they had tricked him as he had chosen to protect Mio from the devils that hoped to steal her powers. He hoped that Basara would join him, which he, of course, did. With everything out in the open, Maria suggested that Mio and Basara perform a master-slave pact so that they can always find one another, only Maria did it backwards, making Basara the master. When Mio refused to accept that status quo, it activated a succubus curse that could only be stopped by… well, it’s succubus magic, I’m sure I don’t need me to spell it out for you…
What did you think?
Before I begin, you should know, I just let out a long sigh. This series was distinctly average. There isn’t anything to really get excited about. The characters are nicely drawn and the world fairly interesting, but the story is flat and lacks any real direction. On top of that, the action is boring… well, not the “action”. The ecchi content is probably the best aspect of the series, but even then it just feels like they’re all going through the motions. Only Maria seems to have any impulses of her own and as a result, she is a lot of fun.
What was your favourite moment?
Mio and Yuki were in direct competition for Basara’s attention and that spilt into their school swimming session where they raced and fought to come out on top. Meanwhile, Maria had snuck into the school and convinced Basara that they need to search the area. Somehow, this led them to the girls’ locker room. They kept the lights off so as not to attract attention. Maria then thought this was a good time to put Mio’s panties on Basara’s head and before he could react the girls headed back from the pool. With nowhere to go, Maria and Basara hid in Mio’s locker. Mio opened her locker to find Basara with her panties on her head and Maria’s head up his shirt, licking his chest! It was completely absurd and it really made me laugh.
What was your least favourite moment?
There was an episode where the youngsters from the hero village had challenged Basara, Mio, and Maria to a fight where the winners would get Mio. This was prompted by the demons that kept coming to catch Mio, drawn by her powers. So, rather than take care of the demons that were actually a problem, they wanted to kill the girl that was just trying to live a normal life… doesn’t sound very heroic to me. On top of that, the fight lasted an entire episode and it was the dullest battle I’ve witnessed in a long time. Once more, there didn’t seem to be any depth to the characters’ intentions beyond the director said you need to do this.
Who was your favourite character?
It had to be Maria. She was a shining light in this series and carried it if I’m being honest. It was refreshing to see a female character that was so completely comfortable with her urges and desires. Yes, she was a succubus, so it should come with the territory, but with the master-slave pact and the strengths gained from their interactions, you’d think they would have all been a little more open, not least because they were a bunch of teenagers. Who are these chivalrous teenagers that don’t think about sex? Or… maybe, I’m just weird!
Who was your least favourite character?
This could be almost anyone else. For the most part, all the other characters were flat and lacked any life. Basara was the moody teenager that was just moody for no reason. Then, there was Yuki, a moody teenager who had no personality beyond wanting Basara. Finally, Mio, you guessed it, a moody teenager who also wanted Basara. All of these characters failed to develop beyond the initial depth and continued to drift through the series. It really didn’t feel like anyone wanted to be there, apart from Maria, who seemed to relish making them do whatever she wanted.
Would you like some more?
I’ve watched quite a few ecchi series and the ones that rise to the top are the ones that find a balance between the story and the fan-service. This one has no balance and the story really doesn’t do enough with what it has. There was a lot of potential and with the right story and characters, this could have been a great series. You wouldn’t even need to change the look of the characters, just give them some life and make them actually want something.
What have you learnt?
As is so often the case, throwing fan-service at a title is no sure-fire guarantee fix. Whether that fan-service is in the form of sex, action, or whatever. There needs to be some substance. Every character wants something and actively pursues it or finds reasons not to but to have them all just float around without a purpose really sets up the story to fail. After all, the story is king. If that works, you can add in the fan-service later, as long as it fits. It feels like this series was developed around a number of ecchi moments and the story shoehorned to fit. But, it just doesn’t fit.
Other Posts in the Series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – The Day I Got a Little Sister
- Episode 2 – First Contract Between Servant and Master
- Episode 3 – Reunion and a Gap in Trust
- Episode 4 – Until Sadness Reaches Zero
- Episode 5 – A Little Sister’s Morning Demon Lording
- Episode 6 – Bearing Growing Emotions
- Episode 7 – The Depths of Love and Hatred
- Episode 8 – Erotic Succubus Out of Control
- Episode 9 – Merits and Demerits of Master and Servant
- Episode 10 – Plaintive Betrayal
- Episode 11 – Espionage… What Lies After
- Episode 12 – For This Night, This Moment
- OVA
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Didn’t care for the series but absolutely loved Maria–she should have been the protagonist!
Agreed. Maria was easily the star of the show and without her it would have been an absolute snooze fest rather than being distinctly average.