Demon Horns and Angry Fathers
If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord Episode 4
There’s always something pleasant about a story that takes a predictable conflict and resolves it in a fairly ordinary way but manages in the process to actually address a lot of the little issues that would linger if not acknowledged. Uchi no Musume this week demonstrates that it has more going for it than just a cute demon girl and an overly clingy adoptive father as we finally see Latina face discrimination due to being a devil.
I will admit, I wasn’t expecting the teacher to be as violent as she was about the whole thing and honestly it was infuriating watching her swing the most adorable Latina around like that. It kind of made me wonder if the could have had a less cute and innocent child in the same position and whether it would cause as much anger in the audience toward the teacher or whether it is the cute that really sells how heinous this crime is.
However, the students, just kids themselves, rise to the occasion and defend their friend. This was a nice surprise in and of itself. While I kind of expected Chloe and the boys to stand by Latina, the rest of the kids from other districts and backgrounds really had no reason to truly stand with Latina and yet they did in a fairly admirable manner.
Yet, despite having friends who stood by her side through that ordeal, Latina wasn’t instantly over it. The words of the teachers hit home for her and plunged her into a true despair reminding her of her time alone in the woods and she acted out, violently, against herself.
Affiliate Link – light novel
The portrayal of Latina through this episode was really nicely done, but it is Dale that really got my attention in the second half. After playing the comforting parent, although Latina’s ‘I love you the most’ is probably going to get a few viewers off-side, Dale confronts the school and demands consequences for the teacher in question. I’m really wanting to know what the medal was that he was wearing and what authority he actually has but it was a very cool Dale.
Yet, the angry parent lashing out isn’t new. It was after that, when Dale acknowledged his own part in the tragedy. The fact that he didn’t answer Latina’s question about why devils and humans didn’t get along and the fact that he taught a young and emotionally vulnerable girl to use magic that could do real damage was on him. And while he didn’t do either thing maliciously, he understood how it contributed to where Latina ended up.
Four episodes in and If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord has finally shown it is going to be more than just cute screen caps of Latina. While it might not rise to the top of the season, there’s some steep competition this Summer, it is clearly going to be an enjoyable viewing experience.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
Want to read more reviews discussing how cute Latina is?
Images from: Uchi no Musume no Tame Naraba, Ore Wa Moshikashitara Maou mo Taoseru Kamo Shirenai. Dir. T Yanase. Maho Film. 2019.
While I appreciate what this episode tried to accomplish, I think that a little more subtlety on the part of the fanatical teacher would have made her both much more frightening and much more dangerous. The further into the season we get, the more I can’t help but feel that this series’ production was just too rushed, and that we might have gotten a much better show if they’d waited another season or two to release this. . .
Given Dale’s over the top antic in the lead up episodes I kind of assumed we’re not getting subtlety in this story so the teacher being so incredibly in your face about her fanaticism seemed to fit within what we’d seen of this story. I agree that subtlety might make this better, but I’m just kind of enjoying it for what it is.
True enough, but this seems to be a season of good shows that should have been great shows. . .and I hate to see them miss that mark due to poor craftsmanship!
True. There’s a lot of anime I’m enjoying but they aren’t a must watch by any means. Even Astra Lost in Space isn’t quite as tightly put together as it could have been. Still great fun to watch but not quite going to make any of my all time favourite anime shake in fear.
I mentioned it before, but this series has a nice way of getting pretty dark while also retaining that cute quality, when each is needed. I’m pretty happy with how it’s being handled so far, and I hope they continue to do a good job with this series.
I’ve certainly been enjoying it and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more.
This episode really came as a suprise to me. I did not expect this show to change into something this dark, but it did, and it didn’t shy away from it either. I really liked how Dale handled himself, without going into full on rage mode, but just with a calm and measured voice. Honestly…this made it even more menacing. I also loved how the kids all came together to defend Latina. Also totally unexpected. This episode was a real suprise, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the show will take us next.
Yes, while I was enjoying the cute and fluffy side of this, this episode finally addressed a lot of my wondering about the ramifications of human adopting demon girl and while I still have many questions I’m now a bit more confident that maybe this story intends to deal with the issues rather than just giving us the cute icing on the top.
I agree. When I first started watching this series, I did enjoy the feelgood aspect of it (really against all the darkness in to the Abandoned Beasts, this is a nice counterbalance), but I’m pretty sure this series will walk down a different path too. Still…I do also think it will remain cute at the same time and not lose all of it’s lightheartedness. That said, this was a surprising episode. That’s for sure! 😊
I actually thought that even though the stuff in the classroom was dark and quite brutal as a tonal shift, it was the best thing about this show thus far, giving it some much needed substance and should be a continuing focus.
However, it is clear that won’t be the case and it will just be cute loli does cute things to please her lolicon fans. I hope I am wrong but you know how it is with anime….
It could go one of two ways in that we might get just cute demon girl for the season being cute, or it might get unbelievably horrible. Anime doesn’t seem to do these things half-way.
I like anime stories with complicated characters sometimes. Other times, I just wish everyone was like a plain character Luffy, Natsu, Goku or Naruto. #RestHard