Spoilers want a promotion.
I don’t know why sometimes I pick something to review instead of what I’m watching. Yes, I eventually will end up watching both but regardless, this is what’s picking my interest right now. There’s not much to it. It’s sort of an isekai in reverse. Instead of an everyman getting transported to a fantasy world, we have fantasy characters actually traveling to our reality. It’s not a ground-breaking storyline but rather a bit of slice of life where the comedy naturally comes up.
The Devil is a Part-Timer (2013) is an anime adaptation produced by White Fox and directed by Naoto Hosoda. It is based on the light novel written by Satoshi Wagahara. The Demon Lord Satan has failed on his conquest of Ente Isla. Defeated, he and his general Alciel escape through a gate into modern Tokyo. Penniless and running low on magic, Satan adopts the name Sadao Maou to work at a burger joint from the MgRonalds franchise as Alciel becomes Shiro Ashiya who just takes care of things around the house. Of course eventually Maou must face the music. First up, his worst enemy, Emilia the hero will… get a job in a call center after taking the name of Emi Yusa.
How it works may be a bit of a guess, but I can’t deny it does. Somehow offsetting the fantastic with the mundane results in a comedic tone that will be familiar. The other plus is the slice of life priority that permeates every adventure. Work schedule must be respected, salary must be earned, meals must be cooked, laundry must be washed and so on. It makes the entire magical fantasy power struggle familiar, bringing it down to earth. As a matter of fact I found the daily trials and tribulations so engaging that having fantasy battles almost felt like an interruption. Those burgers are not going to flip themselves yano.
Highly recommended so far for fans of anime and comedy. I’m halfway into the first season, and I’m actually looking forward to catching up so I can watch the second season that came out this year (2022). Whether or not I’ll be watching that depends on how this one wraps up. Worth a watch for anime fans, if you’re into the genre and don’t mind some humour with your epic good vs. evil confrontation.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 