SPOILERS BEWARE If youve watched DaL up to now then you know very well that at its core this is a series in which our protagonist Shido encounters spirits goes on dates with them and makes them fall for him. This principle doesnt change with the fourth season as it offers two new characters which join his harem while also exploring the character Ive most wanted to learn about since she was introduced all the way back in S1. DaL is far from being the best anime however this series is pretty iconic to me and it is one of my guilty pleasures as when watching it simply makes me happy. There are far better harems out there but DaL has been my favorite for a long time and likely will stay as my favorite harem series of all time personally. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990374353449390100/unknown.png The first three episodes cover the first arc of the season which introduce a new spirit Nia Honjo. At the start of the very first episode she was freed by Kurumi after being held captive for five years by DEM. Her personality may very well be the most carefree and sly of all and her jokes are top notch. Her angel Raziel allows her to know eveything about the world which is how she learnt of Shidos existence and the angel can also write future events that she wants to come true. Shes a manga artist and an true otaku. Nia is the second spirit seen after the spirit of origin which I will touch on at a later point since we finally got more info on her. Kurumi asks Nia for a favour and finds out she is still far too weak to face against the origin spirit through Raziels power. In the final episode of this arc Nia inverts after she suddenly remembers the torment and suffering she endured for five years at the hands of DEM. Her inverted Sephirah crystal is extracted and is absorbed by Isaac granting him spiritual powers. Shido still manages to seal and save Nia however she loses the majority of her spirit powers as they were taken by Isaac. With this outcome it almost renders Nia useless as a spirit which may be a good thing since it allows her to live like a normal human. Something to note that Nia mentions right at the end of this episode is that all spirits were human before they were granted their spirit powers. This is the case for Kotori Origami Nia Mukuro and even Kurumi as we learn as well however the rest of the group thought they were original spirits which isnt quite the case but Ill return to this point later in this review. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990375044314202152/unknown.png The next few episodes cover Mukuros arc excluding the 5th episode which is essentially filler. Far in outer space a new spirit is discovered called Mukuro Hoshimiya she wields a staff called Michael as her angel. Her angel has a key at the end of its staff which allows her to lock all memories of an entity. She locked away her heart hence not being able to feel any emotion due to a past incident in her childhood locking away all her emotions made her the ultimate kuudere though Mukuros heart is opened by the very same key which locked it. With her heart opened she does a complete 180 with her personality change however when it seems like she was going to be sealed she states her condition very clearly Shido has to love her unconditionally but only her and forget about all the other spirits. By the end of the final episode of this arc all of Mukuros past is revealed. As its been foreshadowed from glimpses of previous scenes during this arc she locked away everyones memories of her sister in order that her sister would only look at her but this backfired and she became an outcast of the family which likely led to Mukuro locking away her own emotions. She did the same for everyones memories of Shido however by the end of it all he didnt reject her and became her family instead essentially saving and sealing Mukuro. The conclusion is cheesy however Ive come to expect this after so many years of watching anime. One thing that really stood out in this arc in particular was the CGI was very noticeable sometimes better sometimes worse it kind of bothered me for the most part which makes me believe I much rather have no CGI then even the best CGI possible just old school animation is more than satisfying for me. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990375993292242974/unknown.png Last but certainly not least the final arc of this season is the arc that Ive been waiting to see since S1. None other than my absolute favorite character from DaL and generally one of the most influential anime characters as to why I watch anime today I wrote about Kurumi in great detail in my review for the first season for why she is so important to me so check it out if you want as I wont be repeating it here. The final four episodes of this season cover Kurumis arc and stating they were the best episodes of this season would be an understatement the past two arcs were mediocre with some slightly good moments however Kurumis arc truly knocked it out of the park. I have a huge bias cause I love her so much but still her arc was sublime. Im not sure what my expectations for her arc would have been beforehand however what I received was way more than satisfying. She makes her conditions for sealing her power clear as daylight. Its do or die time as whoever makes the other fall for them is the winner. Kurumi also seems to have a huge weakness for cats although seeing her pouty over being unable to pet a cat was damn right adorable The final two episodes explore her backstory and oh boy is there a lot that gets revealed. The original spirit known as Mio Takamiya which is the same last name as Mana as well as Shidos original family before he was adopted into the Itsuka family so keep that in mind as it will likely be important for the future gave Kurumi her spirit powers. Sephirah crystal give humans spirit powers however originally they come in an inverted form which makes humans who absorb it go berserk. After a crystal is refined over many human sacrifices a human may become compatible with it such in the case of Kurumi. Kurumi was tricked into killing spirits who were originally human thinking she was helping save the world but in reality she was helping Mio achieve her goal. Due to this she killed her best friend Sawa unknowingly for this act she holds a grudge against Mio which is why its her goal to kill her the original spirit. While I am on topic of the original spirit back in the third episode Nia mentioned that all spirits were once human which is a theory that is likely true. The reason Yoshino Natsumi and the other spirits dont remember being human is because Mio locked away their memories the same way she thought she locked away Kurumis that we saw in this flashback. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990376850603790367/unknown.png 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990378085339762688/unknown.png If that wasnt enough backstory for Kurumi then the final episode offers even more It is also revealed that Shido died not once but as Kurumi said he fell into DEMs hands exactly 204 times which is also the number of times Kurumi had to save Shido. Shido did ask the question of why she went through all that trouble if devouring him was so much simpler and quicker and well the real answer to that is that shes already fallen for Shido. This is only further proven by the fact her sixth bullet had been sealed since her fight with Kotori back in S1. She gave an unconscious Shido a kiss as a thank you after the battle and that happened to seal a small part of her spirit power the sixth bullet. It was at this point that Kurumi likely opened her heart to Shido so when the game of making one fall for the other was proposed Kurumi was likely already pretty fond of Shido and just needed the final push to get over the finish line. Then there is the final reveal. Reine is the original spirit? Or a version of it since we saw another Reine also onboard the Fraxinus as the other was taken hostage by Kurumi. For the most part this season was pretty mediocre but Kurumis arc was the saving grace for why this season will get a decent score. The best part is is that her arc isnt even concluded yet this season leaves on a huge plot twist which makes me look at the entire series in a completely different perspective as well as leaving with a cliffhanger as to whats next? 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990379309472571423/unknown.png 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/990379520253104149/unknown.png As I mentioned initially DaL is far from being perfect however there is something special about this series which makes me enjoy every moment of it the good and the bad all of its moments. DaL is an iconic series to me thanks to Kurumis influence as to why I even watch anime today and that will never change. DaL is far from being perfect however its certainly my favorite harem and that will likely never change. Onwards to S5 which was revealed at the end of the final episode S1 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/15742 S2 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/15781 Movie Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/16134 S3 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/16219
75 /100
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