Devils' Crest

Episodes 1-2

When it comes down to it, these first two episodes are all setup. They are most concerned with providing context to the audience so that the ongoing plot, what little we get of it here, makes sense. The first episode is basically a single extended scene that shows how the game system works through "show, don't tell." We see the taming skill in action as our heroes catch a horned rabbit, and we see magic and combat as they go on to fight a dragon.

Why this is important enough to spend an entire episode on becomes clear in the second episode, when the show's premise is revealed: The real world is now infected with monsters, and our elementary school heroes can use magic just like they did in the game. And, to take things a step further, the danger of death is very real. So this isn't the story of being trapped in a VR death game or being forced to play a real-world one. Rather, Devils' Crest is a merging of the two.

But even more intriguing than all that is the fact that all the adults are either dead or missing. This leaves us with trappings similar to Sword Art Online, but with a Lord of the Flies twist (though that latter bit has yet to pay off in any meaningful way).

Beyond building the world and setting up the premise, the rest of the runtime is spent jump-starting character development. The first episode is mostly focused on the core group of Yuuma, Sawa, Kenji, and Minagi, but there is one important scene where our heroes meet their classmate rivals and clash with them. While it doesn't deliver much depth, it at least gives us a baseline for who each rival is and their place in the classroom social hierarchy—i.e., above our heroes.

The second episode spends a lot of time in flashbacks—showing not only how the kids ended up at the playtest but also their past interactions in school. From these, we learn not only why Sumika—Yuuma's friend-turned-monster—is more than just the class princess she first appears to be, but also why Yuuma refuses to give up on her. It adds more emotional drama to their conflict and makes her circumstances as tragic as they are mysterious.

And on top of that is the looming ethical dilemma. Under the magic system, Sumika is a tamed monster—meaning she is Yuuma's property. While he tamed her because it was the only alternative to killing her in self-defense, he may soon be forced to decide whether he should use her in battle or not—and given her current state, he can't even ask her feelings on the matter.

All in all, Devils' Crest feels like it's off to a slow start—though by necessity. It spends these first two episodes making sure that the foundation for the series is stable and ready to build a story upon. However, that doesn't mean we have any clue what's really going on, as the ever-growing pile of questions is already staggeringly large. I wouldn't call this show captivating so far, but I am interested in seeing what it becomes now that the groundwork is out of the way.

Episode 1 Rating:

Episode 2 Rating:

Devils' Crest is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.