Yūsha Yoshihiko

勇者ヨシヒコ
Yūsha Yoshihiko
The Hero Yoshihiko
Genre Comedy, Fantasy, RPG
Written by 福田雄一
(Yūichi Fukuda)
Directed by 福田雄一
(Yūichi Fukuda)
Starring 山田孝之
(Takayuki Yamada)
木南晴夏
(Haruka Kinami)
ムロツヨシ
(Tsuyoshi Muro)
岡本あずさ
(Azusa Okamoto)
佐藤二朗
(Jirô Satô)
宅麻伸
(Shin Takuma)
Country of origin Japan
Original language(s) Japanese
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 23
Release
Original release 2011

Yūsha Yoshihiko to Maō no Shiro (勇者ヨシヒコと魔王の城, lit. "The Hero Yoshihiko and the Demon King's Castle") is a 2011 Japanese television comedy about Yoshihiko, an inept hero who sets out to find the cure to a plague, but ends up fighting a larger evil. Yoshihiko is guided by a comedic Buddha, and accompanied by an incompetent wizard, a woman who wants to kill Yoshihiko because she thinks he killed her father, and a warrior who will kill Yoshihiko as soon as the warrior finishes telling Yoshihiko his stories. The series is heavily influenced by the RPG game series Dragon Quest, and contains references to other fantasy and science fiction series too, such as Monty Python.

The second season Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi (勇者ヨシヒコと悪霊の鍵, lit. "The Hero Yoshihiko and the Evil Spirit's Key") was broadcast in 2012.

Plot

Yūsha Yoshihiko is a young, adventurous child who inevitably becomes The Hero Yoshihiko after the Hero Teruhiko, who went searching for a miracle herb to cure a plague which struck the village, never returned. He pulls a sacred sword from a stone within his village, which determines him as the next Hero. Due to these events, Yoshihiko must embark on a journey to the Evil King's castle to find a cure for the plague that has stricken his village. Along the way, he finds many new companions and allies, who help Yoshihiko reach his ultimate goal.

Episodes

Season 1

No. Yūsha Yoshihiko to Maō no Shiro (The Hero Yoshihiko and the Demon King's Castle) (12 episodes) Original airdate
01 "In Which the Sword Falls Out of the Stone"  8 July 2011
In Cowboy Village, one of many villages that have been ravaged by a devastating plague, Yoshihiko and his sister Hisa have only each other when their father, the Hero Teruhiko who went searching for a miracle herb to cure the plague, never returned. Now the village held a sword-in-the-stone test to see who will be the next hero, which Yoshihiko passes. With his new Beckoning Sword, he embarks on his journey and first meets a blue blob, who goads him into fighting it. He then encounters Danjo, a fierce fighter with a wild exterior, who vows to kill him as soon as he finishes telling him his life story. Danjo is the first one to note the importance of Yoshihiko's Beckoning Sword. Not long afterwards, they are ambushed by Murasaki, a vengeful girl whose father was supposedly killed by Yoshihiko, though her proof is erroneous. They then stop to get provisions at a guru's village, but the guru Merebu is actually a fraud who can do no more magic than changing someone's nose to that of a pig's once a day. The group is feeling purposeful until they run into a completely unexpected person, and then Buddha suddenly appears to give them a new quest. 
02 "In Which Hideous is Used Too Much"  15 July 2011
After their first quest culminated as an anticlimactic disappointment, Yoshihiko and co. are now on a quest to defeat the Demon King, who is the cause of the plague. Their first battle is against a band of contract mercenaries, who operate on a strict 9-to-5 schedule. Then they wander into a mysteriously empty village, but they soon learn it is the place of a yearly ritual in which they send a young girl as sacrifice to the mountain god who guards the village. Yoshihiko volunteers themselves as escorts for the sacrifice, but hope they can change the mountain god's mind. Along the way, they encounter various enemies, like the Demon King's minions, a mother and her momma's boy, and a killer koala. When they finally reach the mountain god's shrine, things take an unexpected turn. Buddha later shows up to chastise them about straying from their quest, and directs them to head east. 
03 "In Which Hisa Gains a Boyfriend"  22 July 2011
Immediately, Yoshihiko and co. are faced with another mercenary, a lewd and scrappy man who devoutly believes in proper dick placement. After all the men are affected by improper dick placement, Murasaki defeats the man using Yoshihiko's Beckoning Sword. The four sleep in forests until a kojima points them towards a village, the target of a cave monster who tears up their crops and attacks the villagers. Since they've been warned that the monster closely guards its cave, Yoshihiko decides to lure it into the village and attack it at night. However, due to his unfortunate ability to sleep without detection, the monster destroys the fields, and the four have no other choice than to confront it in its cave. But they are extremely unprepared for such a high-level monster and are about to forgo the village until one villager lets slip about a swordsmith on the Eastern Mount who can forge an "undaunted blade." Intrigued, the group battles their way up the Eastern Mount to meet Gantesai, who requires a soul in order to forge the sword. The four discover their inner personalities without their soul, and in the end manage to imbibe a sword with enough power to destroy the cave monster. 
04 "In Which Yoshihiko Basically Dies Twice"  29 July 2011
Yoshihiko and co. run into another mercenary of the Demon King, but seems to be the evil counterpart of Merebu, which admittedly isn't that evil. Yoshihiko becomes deathly ill after walking through a leech-infested forest, and Buddha appears to give them a proper instruction in their quest: to find the Angel's Robe that will protect them from the Demon King's attacks. Their first obstacle is a kappa, who proves most formidable. They are forced to find a magical weapon to defeat him, but even then, the Angel is highly reluctant to give up her robe. The group tries everything they know, but with Murasaki's idea and Merebu's spell, they find a way to blackmail the Angel in giving them her robe. Having gained an important item, Buddha comes to tell them they now need to head west. 
05 "In Which Tumblr's Gifset Makes Sense"  5 August 2011
The group's first attacker is a surprisingly sexy assassin who uses poison and knives. Unfortunately, he gets carried away rather easily. Buddha gives them another item to acquire: the Shoes of Invincibility. They are hidden in Oith Village, a strange place where five men rule the town and everyone must be funny or be jailed. Pretending to be just travelers, the group is welcomed but are secretly investigating the village and its inhabitants, who are a curious sort. After separating and getting hit with several traps, the four are reunited in a face-off against the leader of the five men. At the end, Buddha gives another item quest: the Demon's Helm, which is rumoured to repel any attack. 
06 "In Which the Poop Looks Like Chocolate Cream"  12 August 2011
The group faces off against an overzealous husband who neglects his chores and his fed-up wife. While fighting another monster, Danjo becomes confused and attacks Yoshihiko, putting him in the closest village clinic. Gravely injured, Yoshihiko nonetheless wishes to join his group when he realizes they've left town after Buddha told him where to find the Demon's Helm. However, his nurse, Lienne, becomes attached to him and worries about him moving while injured, and takes a monster's attack for him. Danjo, Merebu and Murasaki are powerless against the monster guarding the Demon's Helm, and go back to get Yoshihiko, but are thrown by his decision to forgo the Demon King mission to instead slay the sorcerer who cursed Lienne from being able to kiss a man--Yoshihiko in this case. However, Lienne convinces him he can slay both the monster and the sorcerer, and he breaks the enchantment with a shocking twist. After being devastated, Buddha erases all memories of what transpired so that Yoshihiko is once again focused on the Demon King. 
07 "In Which Merebu-san is Only Worth 5 Gold"  19 August 2011
Murasaki learns a new skill, and no assassins attempt to kill them. Buddha sends them on a quest to find the Dragon Shield, which, by way of an enka singer, they find is in a rich man's house. The man will give them the shield on one condition: that they go and collect years of back rent from the tenants on his rental property. The tenants live in a five-story pagoda, and it appears to follow the usual "level up" format. After going through a mismatched cast of tenants, the group are now on a mission to find the Philosopher's Mail in an eastern village called Akibara. 
08 "In Which Teen Idolship is Threatened"  26 August 2011
The group encounter a former foe, the overzealous husband, though his wife shows up not long afterwards with a bone to pick about his reading habits. On their way to Akibara Village, they pass the Dharma Shrine, which is where they can change jobs in order to learn new skills. They all have an idea of what they want, but Yoshihiko is accidentally forced to become a Teen Idol. 
09 "In Which Merebu-san Learns Crickle"  2 September 2011
Almost immediately, a servant of the Demon King pops out in front of them with a chorus of fangirls and stage music. When Buddha tells them that there is one more item to be found, the Ring of Life in the Fairy Village, he fails to tell them where the village is located. However, two young fairies stumble upon them, and Yoshihiko is the only one who can see them. For piggyback rides, the fairies lead them to their castle, where the Goddess of the Fairy Village tells them that the ring had been stolen by the Devil Priest, a bitter foe. The group sets off to get the ring back, but they first have to fight the Priest's half-human, half-animal monster guardians. 
10 "In Which Murasaki Secretly Proclaims Her Love"  9 September 2011
Amane Village is their last destination before the Demon King's castle. The group won't be able to reach the castle without the help of a flying carpet, which is fortuitously up for auction at a tiny auction house. However, everyone, Yoshihiko especially, is thrown when the winner of the flying carpet turns out to be Hisa, now a married Baroness. Yoshihiko deplores her to give them the carpet, but she refuses, and will only relent if they can defeat her esteemed personal chef in a cooking competition. A manservant of the house takes pity on Yoshihiko and tells them of her favorite dish, halo-halo bird with poxy flower. These ingredients are extremely hard to procure, and the group is sent on another quest to retrieve these items. 
11 "In Which You Should Never Fall in Love with a Maid"  16 September 2011
Yoshihiko and co. have finally made it to the Demon King's castle town. The Demon King has devilishly camouflaged his castle in the midst of modern Japan, where every building is a candidate for a castle. After replenishing themselves on crepes and ramen, the four split up to increase efficiency. But the Demon King is playing them all into his hands, and the group finds themselves even further engrossed in modern Japanese culture... 
12 "In Which It Ends"  23 September 2011
The voice card for all the monsters turns out to be the Demon King himself! Despite his impending battle, the Demon King seems to find Yoshihiko amusing, and sends down his personal servant, Gordon, to greet them with their first battle of Demon King Castle. It does not turn out quite as well as they expected, but Murasaki saves the day with her newly acquired spell. But Gordon is still undefeated, and Buddha tells them there is another sword they need to find, stashed away with Yoshihiko's predecessor, who is hidden somewhere in the city. 

Season 2

No. Yūsha Yoshihiko to Akuryō no Kagi (The Hero Yoshihiko and the Key of the Evil Spirit) (11 episodes) Original airdate
01 "In Which There Were Only Two Save Points"  17 October 2012
One hundred years after the Hero Yoshihiko defeated the demon king, someone has broken the seal and evil has been released back into the human world. Yoshihiko's village is about to be overrun by demons, so the village elder decides to gather the young men in the village to choose a hero fit for following Yoshihiko's footsteps. When turned down by the young men, the elder finds out there is a descendant of Yoshihiko's living in the village, who turns out to be a young boy well-versed in child labor laws. Desperate, the elder begs assistance from Buddha, who promises to bring Yoshihiko and his companions back to life. However, they are not brought back entirely complete. 
02 "In Which the Mirror is Useless"  23 October 2012
While wandering around, Yoshihiko and co. come across their first villain, a hipster with a sword and an accompanying hipster girlfriend. Buddha returns from his family trip and tells them they need to find the key to lock up the demons again, but to do that, they must try multiple keys. He directs them to the first location, Ganza Village, where the village chief's son is about to get married to a princess from Kabana Village. As Yoshihiko and co. barter with him about the key, a messenger tells them the princess has been kidnapped by bandits, so then Yoshihiko and co. are hired as mercenaries to get the princess with the key as payment. However, the princess is not at all what she appears. 
03 "In Which Only the Young One Looks Passable"  31 October 2012
Yoshihiko and co. run into a bandit who misuses poison mist. They then go to a village that has an evil aura around it, and find that there are only men in the village, with not a woman to be seen. At night, Yoshihiko discovers that the men start to walk around and meow like cats. They consult with the local medicine man who tells them that a monster had come and taken away all the women, and none of the strong men were able to stop him. Despite being totally unnecessary to their quest, Yoshihiko and co. take up the mantle and dedicate themselves to finding and returning the women. Yoshihiko and Danjo devise a plan that disgusts and disheartens Murasaki and Merebu, but Murasaki just ends up kidnapped. 
04 "In Which Shiroiko is Super Cute"  12 November 2012
After Danbe Village, Yoshihiko and co. come across a bandit in training. He's accompanied by a license official who gets Yoshihiko to practice with him. Buddha then directs them to Torodaan Village, where there is a key that emits evilness. Once there, they find the new village chief has been levying a heavy tax on the villagers in exchange for protection against ghosts. Danjo scoffs at the idea of spirits, but in exchange for the key, the four of them agree to go defeat the boss ghost. Through this journey, Danjo is quick to reconsider his position. 
05  19 November 2012
06  22 November 2012
07  28 November 2012
08  6 December 2012
09  11 December 2012
10  24 December 2012
11  30 December 2012

Main cast

Other cast

References

    External links

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