Episode 9: "Merits and Demerits of Master and Servant"
This week's episode begins with some hot and heavy fan-service that if not for the hilarious censors, could easily find a home among some popular hentai series. Somehow, I still find that because Basara has such appeal as a male protagonist, the fan service works for both male and female viewers.
Aside from the Basara, Yuki, and Mio action in the beginning, the remaining portion of the episode focuses on more plot development. Mio is kidnapped by a mysterious female demon, and then a flashback begins that reveals how Mio's human parents were murdered and how she came to discover her powers
Admittedly, the shift in playful tone to tragedy is a bit abrupt and not as smooth as some of the other tonal shifts. That's probably because Basara is distracted by another female student - which does serve the whole harem/ecchi theme of the series, but feels a bit false because Basara's previous honor, loyalty, and nobility.
Perhaps it only works on a level to characterize Mio's obvious jealousy. Overall, the buildup to the latter half of this week's episode is not as smooth as the series has done previously, but it at least accomplishes its goal: to transition to Mio's capture by Zolgia.
The second half of this episode reveals some complicated matters through an exposition-heavy conversation between Basara and Takigawa. It ultimately leads what will likely turn out to be a plan to get Basara near Mio so he can rescue her, but with the apparent betrayal of a major character, the second half of this episode is a bit overstuffed.
Overall, "The Testament of Sister New Devil" continues to impress me more than other series of this genre this season, but if there was an episode that did not seamlessly combine all of its plot and character elements, it's this week's episode. In service of finishing the master-servant ceremony and providing fan service, the back half of the episode feels rushed and ultimately leads to all the information being revealed to dialogue rather than action.
Nevertheless, with Maria's huge character reveal, there will likely be a better episode to follow this one next week.
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