The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E08 – Boars, Stars, and Bears

While the apartment is now repaired (and the kitchen faucet no longer drips!), the MgRonald remodeling isn’t done yet, so Maou needs some new temp work. That notorious NEET Urushihara brings this up is indeed the height of hypocrisy, but he’s not wrong.

When Chiho’s great aunt is injured by a boar at the Sasaki family farm in Nagano, all the young temp workers quit out of fear of attacks. Chiho’s mom drives her, Maou, Ashiya and Urushihara to the farm to help out with the harvest. Maou is happy see sides of Chiho he hasn’t seen before.

Maou & Co are overwhelmed by the sheet vastness of both the Sasaki farmlands and their spacious house (you can’t even see the stairs from the entrance!), but Chiho’s aunt Hinako eases them in with some lighter work, after which her uncle takes them to a hot spring to unwind. There, Chiho suddenly feels something clutch her leg; it’s Alas Ramus!

Turns out Emi and Suzuno tagged along, and it’s clearly not a simple coincidence. That said, when Alas calls Emi and Maou “Mama” and “Papa”, Emi and Suzuno have to spin quite the yarn about long-term babysitting and Alas forgetting her parents’ faces (which is obviously a real thing that happens in families where the parents have to work a ton of hours).

That night, Maou gets his wish to see another side of Chi-chan as she visits him in the night dressed more casually than he’s used to (though he seemingly forgets he saw her in a bikini during the beach arc). They go on a walk, her marvels at how many stars are in the sky.

Chiho tells him about Emi’s mixed feelings about him, Ashiya, and Urushihara doing farm work, since the Demon Army destroyed her hometown and family’s farmland. Chiho reiterates her desire for everyone she loves to live in happiness.

Maou doesn’t get much sleep, as Emi gets the three lads up at 4:30 AM sharp (though Urushihara clings to his futon and gets Emi’s fist in return). Everyone else is already up and eating a hearty breakfast prepared with help from Suzuno.

Because of Emi’s experience harvesting eggplants and Maou’s lack of same, the two are paired up for a greenhouse, where Emi explains why vegetables have to be picked in the morning rather than the afternoon, and before they over-ripen.

Emi also tells him she’s still mad and not ready to forgive him for what he and his army did to her home, but if he were to start regretting his deeds, her anger and hatred might subside…if only “the length of a flea’s turd”, which is a hell of a withering turn of phrase!

After working all morning Maou and the lads get a siesta in, but Maou and Ashiya want to still be useful. They escort Chiho’s baby cousin Hitoshi to see her mom in the fields, since he’s being fussy. I love the little scene of Maou, Chiho, Ashiya, and the little ones getting along, and Hitoshi pulling Ashiya’s hair.

Unfortunately, the good vibes are suddenly extinguished by the arrival of a starving black bear that’s come down the mountain looking for food. The group gets down low and tries to quietly get away, but Hitoshi gets unsettled and starts to cry, alerting the bear to their presence…and that’s how the episode ends.

With a “civilian” among them in Aunt Hinako, dealing with the bear through supernatural means (like, say, Alas turning into a sword) is probably out. Still, I can’t imagine the bear will succeed in attacking anyone. More likely another Sasaki will arrive and scare the bear off.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E07 – A Boom, a Whoosh, and a Hug

The first day’s haul at the beach shack is beyond Ms. Amane’s expectations. Emi meets with Maou, Ashiya, Urushihara, and Camio at the lighthouse to discuss Amane, who is clearly no ordinary human.  Camio explains that the Demon Realm split into hardliners and pacifists after Maou’s fall.

A group of the latter, all ginned up by Olba Meyer, are on there way to Choshi now for the Sacred Sword, AKA Alas Ramus. Both Emi and Maou want to take responsibility for the war they started without leaving it all to Amane, powerful though she may be.

It’s actually a relief that Amane isn’t specifically after Maou or Emi or the sword, and even delivers Maou’s sword that Camio brought along when he arrived in Japan. When a Gate opens and the demon soldiers start pouring through, Emi flies over to meet them first and starts cutting them down, though notably not killing them.

When their leader steps in to have a duel, Emi is game, and has Alas scale down so it’s a more even fight. The fight never happens, though, because Emi bought all the time Maou, Ashiya, and Urushihara needed to transform into their demon forms of King Satan, Sariel, and Lucifer. The troops and their leader are immediately cowed by the presence of their masters.

With a final flourish, Maou puts his arm around Emi and tells his underlings to return home with the message that the king lives and is gathering his power on Earth to bring peace to the demon realm once more. The demons and Camio return peacefully through the light of the lighthouse, and then Maou, Emi, Ashiya and Urushihara close the Gate.

Chiho, Suzuno, and Amane greet the four when they wash up on the shore, most of their power expended. Amane is glad the mess these folks brought to her little seaside town has been cleaned up, but also tells them that they have to leave as the magic they used has upset the balance of one of the few places where souls can be cleansed during Obon.

The bad news is, Maou & Co. are fired and in a flash of wind Amane and the beach shack have vanished, but the good news is that Amane paid them handsomely for their work, and Maou’s apartment has been repaired, so after a tour of Choshi, the crew is poised to return to the “Castle”.

Maou explains that the sword Camio brought him was made of his magic-packed horn that Emi had cut off, and then perhaps chooses his words poorly when he boasts to Emi that once his power is fully back he’ll “dominate” her and everyone else. That gets both Emi and Chiho upset and demanding either an apology or clarification.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E06 – Chicken Curry

When a fog rolls in so thick they can’t see their own outstretched arms, Maou, Ashiya, and Urushihara seek shelter in their comfy five-tatami room. But when they look out the window, a large form is approaching them: a cyclops. Then a demon centaur.

Finally, a anthropomorphic black chicken Maou actually knows arrives. The other two demons are swept away by some kind of powerful wind magic; only the bird, Maou’s old chancellor Camio, survives, and he soon reverts to a chibi chicken mode.

The first day the beach shack opens things get super busy super fast, and Maou, Ashiya, Urushihara and Amane can’t keep up with the sheer volume of customers or the food and drink orders. Chiho, Emi, and Suzuno come to the rescue, each in character-appropriate swimsuits, and with double the labor (I’m not counting Urushihara) the day is a success.

While Emi cleans one of the ice shavers, Urushihara starts asking her about Olba, a dude from first season who I honestly don’t remember, but who promised him he’d not only spare his life but put in a good word for him in Heaven, where he thought was the only place he could return to after the Demon Army fell.

Later that afternoon, Maou introduces his leal servant Camio to Emi, Alas Ramus, and Chiho, emphasizing that unlike most demons who were more about fighting and killing, Camio’s whole deal was being a thinking man’s demon, and Maou says the creation of the Demon Army was thanks in no small part to Camio’s hard work.

After the episode spends much of its time either being coy about the human that wounded Camio and defeated his two demon escorts or having Urushihara suggest it might be Olba, Amane pops in to ask Maou for help, and Camio immediately fingers her as the culprit. So now Maou knows he’s working for a human powerful enough to waste demons. But to what end?

Also, it’s official: this second season is distractingly awful-looking at almost every turn. This is especially evident with most characters in swimsuits. Those suits and the bodies they’re attached to take different distorted forms in almost every shot. Everyone looks stiff and awkward. If I wasn’t so intrigued about what will become of this revelation about Amane, I’d probably have already dropped this.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E05 – Change of Scenery

After last week’s huge battle, you’d think a laid back rest episode would be in order…right? WRONG! On the very same day, Maou learns he’ll be without a job as their MgRonald is closing for two weeks to be remodeled (though apparently not with those horrid self-service kiosks that sap vital jobs!) and that he’ll be without the Devil’s Castle for the same period of time due to the need for repairs.

Even worse, Maou would have known about this much earlier, but he was too distracted by the potential of having lost Alas Ramus forever that he paid no attention to the warnings about these changes. That said, his globetrotting landlady sent him a mysterious package wrapped like a mummy, which only Emi has the balls to open, revealing…a VHS tape??

Chiho’s family still has a functioning VCR, so she invites Emi and Maou to her place to watch the video. In so doing, she can’t avoid having her mother finally meet Maou, on whom she’s well aware her daughter has a crush. The video is of the Landlady telling Maou about an opportunity to work for room and board at her relative’s beach shack in Choshi City, Chiba.

Maou calls the number on the video, and by the end of the call he’s got himself a job, as well as Ashiya and Urushihara. Maou returns home with the good news, while Chiho’s mom can tell that Chiho is worried about Maou leaving her behind. She tells Chiho that she can do as she pleases as long as she does things “the proper way”.

Chiho, who knows all about the ongoing feud between Maou and Emi, would prefer that all her friends got along. That said, she also wants to be useful to Maou, even if she can’t fight like Emi or Suzuno. She calls her mom and is granted permission to go to Choshi…with Emi and Suzuno, on a girls’ trip.

Emi and Suzuno are all too happy to go along with the pretense, as they were as uneasy as Chiho about the status quo changing. After a ride on a charmingly retro train, they arrive at Choshi and are picked up by the Landlady’s relatve, Ohguro Amane.

When they arrive at the beach shack, it is in horrendous condition after an off-season, which suddenly turns right the ef back on tomorrow. Needless to say, she’s in a bit of a pickle, and Maou, Ashiya, and whatever manual labor they can get out of Urushihara may not be enough.

Demonstrating that at the end of the day they’re both angels, Emi and Chi-chan pitch in to bring the shack back into presentable professional condition. Maou impresses Amane with his ability to organize and delegate tasks, a product of both his past as an overlord and his experiene at MgRonald.

Emi purchases supplies needed at cut-rate prices, Chiho polishes the beer taps, and Urushihara removes the foam from the stools so they’re more inviting. Even Suzuno, who serves ostensibly as Alas Ramus’ babysitter during the cleaning, reveals a heretofore unknown-to-Maou talent of building perfect elaborate Japanese sand castles, which he knows will be a draw for customers.

Working together as a unit, the denizens of both Heaven and Hell manage to restore Ohguro’s to peak beach season condition, while Maou secured a bonus from Amane if he could fill the shack to full capacity. That night the group kicks back with fireworks on the beach, but are suddenly unnerved by the foghorn of the nearby lighthoue, along with strange lights on the ocean horizon.

Amane tells them the story of dead sailors creating those lights in hope of making “new ghost friends”, but considering the presence of Maou, Emi, and Alas Ramus, the fog that suddenly rolls in could also spell additional trouble for our pals.

That said, this was a fun outing that shook up the status quo. Unfortunately, it loses a half-star for being distractingly janky-looking throughout its runtime. I honestly don’t remember the first season’s animation being so rough…fortunately, I love these characters enough to mostly overlook it.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E04 – The Traveler King

With Gabriel promising to return tomorrow, Maou and his generals and frenemies adopt a fortress mentality, sending the normal human Chiho off while Ashiya and Urushihara stay on stanby at Suzuno’s. That leaves Maou and Emi together with Alas Ramus at his place.

While Emi is weary of this arrangement, and can’t commit to allying herself with the devil, she will do what it takes to keep Alas out of harm’s way, so in that regard her and Maou’s interests are aligned. When they turn in for the night, Alas makes sure to grab both of them close.

While initially uncomfortable with the proximity, Maou and Emi bask in their “daughter’s” unbridled love and exuberance, while Emi is genuinely moved by Maou’s bittersweet improvised tale of a traveler who became a king.

Emi gets a literal rude awakening around 5:00 in the morning from Gabriel, who was simply lying in the room waiting for them to wake up (ambushing a sleeping couple is beneath him). Gabriel continues to be a paragon of reasonableness, but makes it quite clear: he’s leaving with either Emi’s sword or Alas Ramus.

We learned from further explanation form Suzuno earlier that as the Guardian Angel of the sephira Yesod of the Tree of Life, Gabriel has a claim to both sword and Alas, as they are shards of Yesod. But that doesn’t matter to Maou, who planted and nurtured the seed that became the apple that became his near-as-makes-no-difference daughter.

When saved from death and reborn (you can see himself in his bedtime story), Alas was a symbol of hope he gained, so Maou offers his head in exchange for letting Alas at least stay with Emi.  Gabriel laughs at Maou and Emi in marital synch one minute, and is choking out Maou the next. He’s out of patience.

But while Emi’s sword can’t do much against Gabriel, and Maou is far to weak to stand against him, Alas is more than up to the task. All it takes is hurting her Papa to send her glowing with rage and blasting out the side of the wall, taking ol’ Gabe for a violent aerial tour of the city at near-dawn.

Emi gives chase, and when she gets her sword shattered by Gabriel, Alas backs her up—as long as Emi tells her she and Papa will be together with her forever. After Urushihara cows Gabe’s Angel guards with the sheer power of his former archangel status, Suzuno takes Maou on a ride to where Emi and Alas are an unceremoniously lobs him at Gabriel.

While grabbing and restraining Gabe, Maou tells Emi to hurry up and kill the two of them, something Emi isn’t going to do even without Alas being right there watching. So Gabe shakes free, leaving Maou to fall. No one can get to him to stop his fall…except for Alas.

Emi then whips out a fresh sword and her armor (complete with a partial maho onna-kishi transformation sequence) to warn Gabriel to get lost, even managing to slice his cheek and make him bleed. But before he goes, he makes it a point to admonish Emi and tell her to reflect on “what sort of being she is”.

Emi returns to earth exhausted but none the worse for wear, but the damage is done: Alas is gone. After saving Maou, she said she wanted to be with them forever she’d have to say goodbye “for now”. Maou is devastated, but as Chiho learns while having coffee with Emi, by “for now” Alas meant only for a short while, as she has now fused with Emi’s sacred sword (now a dagger).

Emi presents Chiho with her very unique predicament of wanting to defeat the Devil King someday, but not being able to do it with a weapon that’s also his child! Emi’s fine with that; she’d rather Maou and Emi simply continue to get along, even if watching them grow kinda-sorta closer thanks to Alas leaves her out in the cold romance-wise.

Alas also insists Emi not let Papa suffer longer than he needs to, and has them reunited that evening. To Emi’s surprise, seeing Alas again actually brings tears to Maou’s eyes; Chi-sis explains to Alas that people also cry when they’re happy.

We find out that Gabe told Emi he hoped she’d prioritize the world’s safety, and then learn that Lailah, Emi’s mother, was the one stole Yesod in the first place. Could Emi’s mom be the woman who saved Maou’s life? There’s a lot of intrigue (and potential dread) on the horizon, but Alas wielding her innate power has at least bought this little pop-up family a little more time to be happy.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E03 – Family Matters

With the mission of keeping a smile on Alas Ramus’ face, Maou and Emi play the roles (in Emi’s case, reluctant role) of mama and papa for the mysterious child. They buy her a hat to keep the sun off her face, one of the countless things parents must think about when caring for their child.

Unbeknownst to either Maou or Emi is the fact that Suzuki, Chiho, and Ashiya are tailing them. Suzuki wants to see Emi’s face while she’s on a date with a man, Chiho is curious and a little worried, and Ashiya just wants to make sure Maou doesn’t spend too much.

Alas seems particularly drawn to bright colors, such that watching a colorful power ranger show suddenly activates a purple crest on her forehead and makes her drowsy. Maou and Emi take her out of the show, and while Maou goes to obtain a cold drink, a mysterious woman in white appears, seemingly heals Alas, and disappears before Maou returns.

With Alas feeling better, Maou and Emi take her up into the Ferris Wheel. Suzuki and Ashiya follow, but Chiho is held up when she helps an old lady with the ticket machine, so the other two end up nice and cozy in what Suzuki describes as “a private room in the sky”. Suzuki x Ashiya shippers: it’s time to eat!

When Emi tells Maou to spill the beans about what’s going on with Alas, he tells her how the day his clan and parents were slaughtered, a passing angel took pity on him and saved his life. To Emi, this means an angel was indirectly responsible for letting the Demon Lord rise to power and conquer Ente Isla.

Alas, he surmises, could be an incarnation of Yesod, one of the sephiroth, or cosmoplastic orbs of the Tree of Life. That means Alas is beyond angels and demons, but in her own special category. Whatever she is, she needs to be cared for, and Maou and Emi do a good job throughout the day.

However, that day is interrupted by unwanted visitors: Urushihara and Suzuno are captured by Gabriel and his heavenly regiment. Gabe has a simple ultimatum for Maou and Emi: hand over both Alas Ramus and the sacred sword. Neither are interested in handing over either.

When Gabe resorts to brute force, Chiho appears and shields Maou from further harm, bowing and shedding tears on his and Alas’ behalf. Disinclined to look or sound like the “bad guy” (he is an angel after all), Gabriel decides to withdraw for the time being.

However, he promises he and his heavily heavies will be back first thing in the morning to collect the child and the sword. With that threat looming, Maou asks Emi to stay at their place tonight, an offer that flusters both her and Chiho. Time for a sleepover!

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E02 – Bringing Up Apple Baby

Alas Ramus is an Ente Isla name, but while that’s her apparent origin, the reason for the child suddenly appearing and imprinting upon Maou and Emi as her Mama and Papa remains a mystery throughout the episode. But since this circle of frenemies is made of kind and decent people, the mystery (and the ramifications of whether she really is Maou and Emi’s offspring) are secondary to the need for Alas Ramus to be cared for.

Those unable to take the child in give good reasons, while Suzuno steps up, citing her extensive childrearing experience. But Maou decides that his “castle” will be her home, even if he isn’t sure he has what it takes to be a dad (nor Ashiya and Urushihara her uncles).

Chiho doesn’t like the prospect of Maou having a kid with someone who isn’t her (eventually, in the future, mind you) but when her friend at school asks her how her confession went and she wonders if Maou can’t see her as an equal but only someone to be protected, she takes it upon herself to be the best goshdarn auntie she can be.

When she arrives at Maou’s Ashiya is looking gaunt after Alas cried basically all night. He is also genuinely grateful from the bottom of his heart that Chiho showd up with all the necessities one needs to take care of a young toddler. At her job, Emi is pressed by Suzuki about this new child in her life, and under duress produces the line of the episode: “It’s not like that! Um, I mean, it kind of is? But it’s not!”

Rika can tell that Emi is actually fired up about hanging out with this kid and offers her some free amusement park tickets. Meanwhile, Big Sis Chi and Suzu arrive at MgRonald with Alas in Chi’s arms, it looks to everyone in the shop that she’s holding her and Maou’s love child. Kisaki effortlessly holds Alas in her arms and takes them into the back room.

She’s not mad, just concerned: she knows Maou and Chiho are good kids, but society thoughtlessly leaps to conclusions fast, so she warns against doing anything that will cause rumors that might make things unpleasant or even harmful to them. When they’re on their own, though, Maou earnestly asks Chiho if he can keep relying on her, the only human in Japan he can trust. Chiho, realizing he doesn’t just see her as a damsel, is moved to happy tears.

When Kisaki presents Maou with three amusement park tickets, he and Emi end up with six—enough that even if the two of them take Alas for a day of fun while playing the roles of her parents, others are able to tag along and observe…and they do. Emi also makes it a point to hit up the salon and dress up to the nines for the “big day.”

Ashya and Chiho encounter each other fortuitously and decide to combine their recon efforts; they’re soon joined by Suzuki, who took off work for what she expects to be one hell of a cute “family date”. But the trip to the amusement park is almost sure to be interrupted by a guy I’m assuming to be Gabriel, who heads through a gate with several guards on a mission to restore the “Tree of Life” to its “proper form”. He must be talking about Alas Ramus, whose names mean “wing” and “branch.”

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E01 – Back on the Job

This episode of The Devil is a Part-Timer—the first in over 3,330 days—is all about reorientation and re-acclimation. We’ve got Team Maou, consisting of former Demon Lord Maou Sadao and his two generals Ashiya Shirou (now an anal-retentive househusband) and Urushihara Hanzou (now a NEET).

On Team Hero we’ve got the ever-irreproachable Yusa Emi, who lives in luxury compared to the former bad guys, and her elegant ally Kamazuki Suzuno (who shares a wall with the lads). Then there’s Team MgRonald: Maou, Sasaki Chiho (who harbors a crush on him) and their cool boss Kisaki.

We’ve also got Sariel, originally there to retrieve the Hero Emilia’s sacred sword, but now addicted to “Big Mags” but unlike the guy in Super Size Me does not wear it well.

Being gradually re-introduced to everyone, I had a feeling of things gradually coming back to me. I didn’t re-watch the first season…though I probably should have, as I’ve watched literally hundreds of series since. But in it’s leap from the Obama to Biden administration, I can report the show has lost none of it’s charm.

Ashiya futilely attempting to school Urushi on the finer points of housework (like how to work a…semi-automatic washer?) is fun, especially since these dudes used to be evil generals. Emi visits Suzuno and overhears their mundane bickering. Chi-chan jumps at the chance to help Maou when it rains and he forgot his umbrella.

The episode is full of little cozy laid-back moments…right up until an unknown creepy presence asserts itself.

The whole gang comes together in the outdoor hallway as the culprit behind everyone’s side glances finally makes its appearance: a cockroach, AKA Taro-kun, AKA Blatella Germanica, hilariously pixelated for our benefit. I truly love how that’s the biggest “threat” in this episode!

Hanzou and even Maou shrink before the sight of the rampaging insect, but it’s ultimately Suzuno who puts an end to all the excitement with her hairpin hammer, smushing the bug with authority and style. The episode could have had her miss and kept the madcap battle going, but it didn’t need to, and I’m fine with that.

Near the golden hour of another hot summer day one year since Maou & Co. arrived on Earth, the gang calls a collective truce to burn some flax stalks Chiho brought in preparation for Bon. The serene scene is interrupted by the appearance of a gate, out of which pops…a giant golden apple.

Maou and Emi then start lobbing insults at each other, leading to Emi drawing her sacred sword. She has every intention of slicing Maou in two, but he shields himself with the apple, which sprouts tiny arms that stop her strike dead. Out of the apple pops a tiny girl who sneezes and falls right to sleep.

They bring the girl inside, where she awakens, introduces herself as Alas Ramus, and proceeds to call Maou and Emi her “mama” and “papa”, like a baby animal imprinting itself on unwitting bystanders.

Only once all the familiar faces are accounted for does a new face show itself and shake up the status quo. I did not expect this show to ever return after so long, but by the end of this episode I’m very happy it did!