© Murakami, Hongtou, Overlap/Four Salary King Production Committee
There’s a place for everyone in the demon lord’s army – including, apparently, a common working man. Dennosuke Uchimura lived a pretty standard salaryman life until a demon lord summoned him to another world and told him that he wanted Dennosuke to join his army and become one of his kings – the titular Four. One of the big guys. Specifically, what the Demon King wants from Dennosuke is his negotiation skills. Dennosuke likes the feeling of needing change.
concept Headhunter to another world: from salary family to Big Four! (from now on Headhunter) is silly and simple enough, and its execution goes some way to matching it – well, maybe more accurately, it sometimes matches it. The first two episodes have some funny moments Headhunterit’s hard not to be fascinated by Dennosuke as he begins his strange new life day by day. I just wish the series was willing to embrace its silliness more, both through its plot and through its protagonists. Don’t get me wrong: Headhunter There are many funny moments. But for a comedy anime about a salaryman who suddenly becomes otherworldly because there’s a demon lord who’s impressed by his negotiating skills, the first two episodes don’t feel like they’re as effective as they could be; instead, they seem more The interest is in showing the negotiations themselves, as well as some light world-building. But in what seems to be a rather cut-and-paste RPG world so far, I find myself unable to care that much about the world.
I guess what I’m getting at here is that, while they’re not entirely unpleasant, these premiere episodes just lack a certain charm. There’s potential here, and it’s huge – there’s an interesting premise, and a likable protagonist. But the first two episodes feel like they just didn’t take full advantage of that. Worse, it seems to obfuscate its key strengths. After all, I can’t imagine anyone watching this show for its standard RPG world, since there’s so much of that in anime lately. Maybe as the episode continues (I mean, once it starts actually airing) I’ll retract my words, but for now, I’m not planning on starting a bottle of ketchup.
