The responsibilities that come along with doing the right thing can easily come to be seen as being more trouble than they are worth. Only the naïve can afford to cling to idealism without becoming jaded and embittered by reality. And yet, in our hearts, most of us consider ourselves to be good and come to justify, overlook, and often times not even recognize the minor transgressions committed in the pursuit of happiness. And why not? Most of the problems are too big to do anything about, or not any of our business, so we walk on by or make the easy choice.

Yuri Shibuya, the protagonist of Kyo Kara Maoh!, simply cannot tolerate injustice. Despite the recognition that his principles are only going to cause him grief, Yuri will do what he feels is the right thing no matter what. So when he sees bullies picking on Ken Murata, an old acquaintance of his from school, Yuri is compelled to intervene. Being something of a wimp himself, Yuri only manages to take Murata’s place as the target of the bullies’ ire and unceremoniously gets his head flushed in a toilet. Pretty crappy luck, right? Well, it gets worse for Yuri, as the toilet bowl proves to be a proverbial rabbit hole, and he literally gets sucked down it like Alice, only to find himself in another world.

Upon awakening, Yuri is disoriented and perplexed by the attire, demeanor and language of the people around him, even more so when one of them uses some form of magic so he can understand everyone, and then tries to abduct him. It would seem his black hair and eyes mark him as a rarity in this new place — a big change from homogenous population of Japan, where the combination applies to pretty much everyone. And when even more strangers come to his rescue, Yuri is shocked by the revelation that he is destined to become the ruler of this new land, called the Great Demon Kingdom.

While the label demon brings to mind horns and cloven feet for most of us, the demons of the Great Demon Kingdom aren’t all that perceptibly different from normal humans in appearance. What marks them as different is their exceptionally long lifespan and ability to use magic. These demons exist under the guidance of an ancient hero called the Great One, who long ago saved the world from destruction and whose spirit now resides in a tomb, communicating with an oracle to oversee his people for eternity. It seems the Great One foretold Yuri’s arrival and has big plans for him.

The current Demon Queen, Celi, is delighted by the arrival of her successor, seeing an opportunity to pursue a more carefree lifestyle, though not all of her three sons share her enthusiasm. To Yuri’s relief, Celi’s middle son Conrart turns out to be Yuri’s godfather, having traveled to the human world entrusted with looking after him until he was safely born. However, her other two sons have their doubts, with the youngest, Wolfram, going so far as to insult Yuri’s parentage. Taking offense to Wolfram’s words, Yuri soon discovers just how much he has to learn when he inadvertently proposes to Wolfram, who takes the act very seriously, despite Yuri quickly insisting he has no interest in men.

As the series continues, Yuri is faced with not only learning how to handle his new role in this strange new world, but also at trying to end the animosity between the demons and humans that inhabit it. His kindness and naiveté prove to be a winning combination, and soon the rift between the two peoples begins to close.

Yuri’s time in the Great Demon Kingdom proves to be ephemeral, and he is periodically transported back and forth between his old home and his new one. And in one instance, his friend Murata is sucked into the new world with him. It turns out Murata is the reincarnation of another historical figure called the Great Wise Man, who once served as the advisor for the Great One himself.

Murata’s arrival coincides with the beginning of the major plot point for the first two seasons. It seems that one of the larger human kingdoms has found one of the Four Forbidden Boxes. These vessels were used by the Great One to seal away an evil called the Originators that threatened to destroy the world four thousand years ago. Realizing the danger these items present, Yuri is determined to gather all four for safekeeping and to help bring about world peace. However, the task itself may prove to be the undoing of the world.

As the boxes are gathered, it becomes clear that none of what has happened to Yuri has been pure coincidence. Everything it would seem has been subject to manipulation by a higher power, and now Yuri and his friends must dare to defy destiny or forfeit everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Themes about the courage to follow your heart no matter the consequences and questions about destiny are prevalent throughout the episodes of the first two seasons. And while it might make for feel good storytelling, it also starts to get old in the roughly 80 episode long haul the two seasons comprise.

Populated by a menagerie of pretty boys and silly plotlines, Kyo Kara Maoh! is a quintessential shojo series that is likely to only have limited appeal beyond its target audience. While the main story is solid enough, the flamboyance of many of the characters is likely to alienate a lot of the wider anime-viewing audience who are looking for a good fantasy series. While a third season does exist, despite having yet to be released domestically, the second season wraps everything up nicely, so potential viewers need not worry about not getting closure.