REVIEW: ‘Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle,’ Episode 4 – “The Princess, Destruction, and a Short Journey”

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is one of many Fall 2020 anime adaptations beefing up the roster this year. Billed as a slice of life, high fantasy comedy, Sleepy Princess mixes episodic antics with an overarching story of a damsel in distress that upends every trope, all while barely keeping its protagonist princess in check. Nothing can stand in the way of her getting more than forty winks. If anything, Syalis has proven herself the kind of character demons should actively try to avoid. In episode 3, Syalis took down yet another fierce foe: books! Well, and her aching back. That’s just as important too. Who knows what wacky antics Princess Syalis will get up to this time. All I can say for sure is that sleep-related issues will definitely be at the top of the list.

Sleepy Princess episode 4, “The Princess, Destruction, and a Short Journey” opens on Princess Syalis attempting to solve her newest problem: finding a way to have a peaceful bath. Back in her own castle, she had ten maids waiting on her hand and foot, including when she bathed. Ultimately, that meant never having a moment alone even in the bath. That also meant no falling asleep as the maids worked together to maintain their Princess’ beauty.

Yet here in the Demon Castle, Syalis is one of a kind: the sole human amongst hundreds of demonic denizens. Her dreams of peaceful bath time are within reach. That is, if she can find a tub large enough to satisfy her desires and her height. Thus, Syalis is off to the communal baths to find her bubbly dreams.

…And probably cause a whole lot of problems along the way.

Just like previous episodes, in Sleepy Princess episode 4, Syalis hyper focuses on her desires and her desires only as she tries to find her own comfort in the Demon Castle. Along the way, she readily crushes any and all demons who come between her and said goal. Truly, Syalis antics -and her willingness to utterly wreck monsters for her own personal benefit- are still funny, enough that it’s hard to stop watching Sleepy Princess.

In the next third of Sleepy Princess episode 4, Syalis has a new focus: cooling down in the middle of Gooderest’s brutal summer. While her bath dreams have been achieved, Syalias is boiling from the summer and craves something cool. There’s a stark lack of air conditioning in the cast, which means that the princess’s poor soul is steadily withering. Yet when Princess Syalis soon learns of something special: a place the Ice Area, a realm that can even freeze time and silence clocks. And as expected, Syalis hones in on that single detail. Without a thought, starts plotting a way to get cold as quick as she can…after eating a sizzling hot steak dinner.

Thus begins Syalis’ plundering of demonic parts as she harvests resources to help her on her quest. This time, it’s a Tire Demon, who she uses as armor to protect her body from the fierce cold of the Ice Area. So far, it’s smoothing sailing as Princess Syalis wanders into the area undetected…until she things go belly up.

This time, things don’t go as planned as Syalis has quickly dragged into the battle between fire and ice demons. However, the princess quickly turns things in her favor and demands that the cold demons build an ice fort in her room. She also demands that the ice demons gift her two or three ice seals to her -er, to the princess. Still, in the end, Syalis is able to get some rest thanks to tricking the ice demons: as a bonus, she even gets some shaved ice to boot as well as her own air conditioner!

However, in the final third of Sleepy Princess episode 4, Princess Aurora Sya Lis Goodereste -who we know as Syalis- finds herself with a condition that even ice can’t fix: she shrinks herself via a magical hourglass, turning back into a more child-like for than her previous teenage body. 

Syalis once more turns to use the demons for her own benefit. This time, she uses them as a makeshift ladder. When that fails, she’s left between a rock and a hard place. Until, of course, the demons take pity on how utterly cute she is and help her out. Even though she’s small, Syalis remains a tiny terror. Without hesitation, she yanks quills from her would-be helper’s head and attacks! However, she soon encounters two too strong foes: Great Red Syberian and the Demon Cleric, Leonard. 

Sleepy Princess episode 4 serves as a strong reminder that humor can win out over plot development.  There’s a lot of laughs as Syalis tries to fix her problems with a single-mindedness that could take out the Demon King himself. Curious viewers won’t get to see the hero, but…I get the feeling he’ll be back in action soon.

New episodes of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle stream on Funimation every Tuesday.