When it comes to some anime, you can tell what the whole story is going to be like by just reading the blurb on the back of the case, some you can tell everything by seeing the rating and why it’s rated so. The Testament of Sister New Devil is a classic example of that, an anime that gives you exactly what you know you’re going to get and nothing more.
Title: The Testament of Sister New Devil
Genre: Action, Harem, Demons, Romance, Ecchi, Fantasy
Details: 13 episodes
Release Date: January 10, 2018 (Australia)
Languages: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English subtitles
Number of Discs: 2
Runtime: 325.0 mins (23mins per episode)
Distributor: Madman Entertainment
Special Features: None
Rating: R18+: High impact sexual themes and sex scenes
Running into your new stepsister in the bathroom is not the best way to make a good first impression, which Basara Toujou learns the hard way. When his father suddenly brings home two beautiful girls and introduces them as his new siblings, he has no choice but to accept into his family the Naruse sisters: busty redhead Mio and petite silver-haired Maria.
But when these seemingly normal girls reveal themselves as demons—Mio the former Demon Lord’s only daughter and Maria her trusted succubus servant—Basara is forced to reveal himself as a former member of a clan of “Heroes,” sworn enemies of the demons. However, having begun to care for his new sisters, Basara instead decides to protect them with his powers and forms a master-servant contract with Mio to keep watch over her.
With the Heroes observing his every move and the constant threat of hostile demons, Basara has to do the impossible to protect his new family members. Moreover, the protector himself is hiding his own dark secret that still haunts him to this day…
Basara Tōjō
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura (Japanese); Chris Hackney (English)
Basara Tojo is a Year 1 high school student at Hijirigasaka Academy and the main male protagonist of the story. As a member of a hero clan, he grows up in a hidden rural village. Basara wields the formerly cursed sword Brynhildr. Basara is the only son of Jin Tōjō, formerly acknowledged to be the ‘Strongest Hero’ in the village. As Jin’s son, great things are expected of Basara and he is unusually strong even as a youth. Basara’s father tells him that he is remarrying and that Basara is going to have two younger step-sisters, Mio and Maria. The four of them move into a new house (since the girls’ mother is away overseas) and Jin is soon called away on business. The girls take advantage and try to force Basara to leave the house using magic. However, this backfires and Basara tells them to leave. He then contacts his father who reveals the girls’ true nature to Basara and why he took them in. Having decided to protect them as their older brother, and in spite of their deception, Basara goes after the girls and saves Mio’s life.
Mio Naruse
Voiced by: Ayaka Asai (Japanese); Lauren Landa (English)
Mio, the main female protagonist and titular character, is a Demon princess and heir of the former Demon Lord, Wilbert, as well as niece to the current Moderate Faction leader, Ramsus. She grows up in the care of some of Wilbert’s followers ignorant of her heritage. Mio becomes aware of her heritage and inherits her true father’s abilities after his death only six months before meeting the Tōjō family. She and Maria are hiding from the current Demon Lord Leoheart’s minions who want to kill her for the powers that she inherited.
Maria Naruse
Voiced by: Kaori Fukuhara (Japanese); Kira Buckland (English)
Maria is a succubus and is Mio’s follower and guardian. Maria loves Mio like a sister and is willing to give her own life to protect her. However, true to her succubus nature, Maria likes to tease and trick Basara whenever she can, but she genuinely likes him and considers him to be her older brother, although she seems to enjoy getting him in perverted situations, all that leave him uncomfortable, as she is also responsible for Basara’s and Mio’s alone moments, involving the two in uncomfortable positions or moments, that may get both naked. Her tricks often gets her in trouble and results in Mio punishing her.
Yuki Nonaka
Voiced by: Xanthe Huynh (Japanese); Sarah Emi Bridcutt (English)
Yuki is a member of the Hero Tribe and Basara Tōjō’s childhood friend. A rather calm and serious person who only shows her more affectionate side to Basara as she has had a crush on him since they were children. She is one of the observers watching Mio Naruse and is the Class Representative of Basara and Mio’s class in Hijirigasaka Academy. Unlike nearly all of the other people in the Hero Tribe, she does not resent Basara regarding the incident five years ago. She holds Basara as the most important thing in her life despite stating that she is looking out for everyone else because she knows that his people have turned on him, not the other way around.
Kurumi Nonaka
Voiced by: Iori Nomizu (Japanese); Cindy Robinson (English)
Yuki’s younger sister and also a member of the Hero Tribe. Kurumi has a hostile attitude towards Basara, but after being saved by Basara during their fight she realizes what Yuki knew all along and he continues to blame himself for not being able to control his ability which causes the accident 5 years before Mio meets Basara and develops a crush on him as well. She specializes in summoning spirits. Kurumi’s most sensitive spot is her underarms. She later joins Basara’s group as the fourth female.
Zest
Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida (Japanese); Jeannie Howard (English)
Another demon, made by Zolgia to be his right-hand, sent to keep an eye on Mio alongside Lars, and is originally envious of the pacts that Basara has with Maria, Mio and Yuki, since they care for each other. She later joins Basara’s group as the fifth female and third demon girl following Zolgia’s defeat and her defection to the Moderate faction. After spending time with Maria’s mother, Sheera, Basara discovers that her bust had become considerably larger. She and Basara are convinced by Sheera to make a third Master-Servant pact, to not only increase their strength but also to protect Zest who would be in danger should the tension between the demon factions increase.
The Testament of Sister New Devil delivers what I expected form the get go: A weird mix of comedy, fanservice, sexual mishaps and action. Honestly, there isn’t much to say about The Testament of Sister New Devil beyond this. Given the situation between devils, hunters and humans; there is just what you expect. You get a few battles where the hero (Basara) awakens a magical power to protect the new demon lord (Mio) and he gets help from other characters from time to time. Outside of these battles there is the typical tropes of the long time best friend who is secretly in love with the main hero (Yuki), who is torn by her love for the main character and her duty to killing demons. There’s also the typical sexual tension between lead female and lead male, which thanks to the “help” of a third party (Maria), ends up with outrageous sexual mishaps and all that jazz. All this leads up to a choice the hero has to make between one or the other, but he goes with the demon lord chick because tropes.
What didn’t work with The Testament of Sister New Devil is the same as what works: It’s just what you expected from the show from reading the box. The issue is that after seeing more extreme versions of this in things like HighSchool DxD, The Testament of Sister New Devil just seems tame in comparison. The almost instant forcing of the sexual mishaps from Episode 1 just seems like the show is relying more on the tropes than it is developing a different style or even decent characters. Everyone in The Testament of Sister New Devil is just a stereotype and that’s it, and frankly I’m getting to the point where I’m over seeing this time and time again. Maybe it’s just me getting sick of the same things, or maybe the writing has just died off like it has in Western media.
The Testament of Sister New Devil is a show that relies too much on tropes to get it over the line, which is a huge missed opportunity. However, there is a solid delivery in those tropes that can keep someone entertained through it’s limited run time. The animation here is rock solid, as is the audio, but it’s the writing that lets The Testament of Sister New Devil down at the end of the day. You’ve seen things like this before and you’ll see it again. This was half-assed writing with a pretty cover… Such a shame.
©2015 Tetsuto Uesu,Nitroplus/PUBLISHED BY KADOKAWA Kadokawashoten/The Testament of Sister New Devil Partners
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Devilishly Sinful
Summary
The Testament of Sister New Devil is a prime example of hiding behind a bunch of tropes to sell a story that just really isn’t there. While the characters could become something more, they just don’t grow beyond who they are at the start of the show. You’ve seen this before and you’ll see it done better elsewhere.
