misheard: (Emilia)
Mini ([personal profile] misheard) wrote2013-10-15 11:09 am

Fandom essay for KB "torture/interrogation". Sariel in the Hatoraku Maou-sama anime.

Let's talk about Sariel. Sadly I only have the anime going for me, so whatever character revelations there are in the later novels, I've missed them. But he's pretty interesting in the beginning.

His public guise is the manager of Sentucky's, always flirting with the women and always creeping them out. Does he intend to drive women away? I'd say no. Probably he just doesn't know the exact level of flattery that women like yet. He has the attitude of someone who expects women to like him, and he's not stupid, so I'd attribute that to unfamiliarity with humans and their reactions.

After it's revealed that he is in fact an angel, and what's more an angel intent on killing Emi (and Chiho along with her), things get more interesting.

What he does to Emi, keeping her motionless while he continues to blast energy beams at her, is clearly torture. No doubt about it. What's also clear is that he's enjoying it. His smiles get creepier than normal. He talks about being 'chivalrous' and that she should just give in, but she's already told him that she can't do what he wants. And he blasts her a lot more after that unnecessarily before coming to the conclusion that he has to extract it from her body directly.

That also involves a process she won't enjoy. Big surprise.

After Sariel starts taking off Emi's shirt to get at her heavenly silver so that he can get the sacred sword, ostensibly the reason he had been torturing her, both Emi and Chiho start freaking out and calling him a pervert. Sariel damns himself further by revealing that while he doesn't have interest in Emi's flat chest, he does like Chiho's fuller figure, and will be sure to investigate Chiho's body thoroughly.

It's about that part that Emi and Chiho start throwing words like 'pervert' and 'molester' at him. Incidentally, the last one that he takes offense to as he hasn't actually done it is 'underwear thief'... implying that either he considers that worse than molestation or he acknowledges he's molested women before.

Then Emi goes into the 'Maou will definitely kick your ass if you harm Chiho' part, Maou shows up, the battle happens, etc. At one point Sariel tries to take Chiho hostage, only to be mega punched by Maou who had disguised himself as Chiho predicting that very thing.

So, what can we take from this?

Heaven has really bad taste in archangels.

Sariel has preferences in women that affect how he tortures them. Whether he would actually sleep with a woman who didn't piss him off and wasn't a good research sample remains unclear. My vote is 'yes but it would be less fun'. I mean, he's enjoying himself so much! Don't tell me physical orgasms would be better.

Everyone Maou gets near actually does suffer from his presence. That couldn't have been pleasant for anybody. Except Sariel. It was a lot of fun for him right up until he got punched in the face.