For many years now, I’ve been appreciating the story and characters in “The Devil is a Part-Timer!” The original 12-episode anime was popular and well-recieved. It had some good humor, interesting mythology, and a clean, eye-catching art-style.

Nine entire years later, season 2 (part one) was released. The general reception was bad. However, I enjoyed it, and didn’t see any drops in quality. So I concluded the negative reception was mostly due to the fact that people put “nostalgia glasses” on and held the first season on a pedastal – when in reality, it was never that great, and nothing really changed.

Considering all the criticism and low ratings for season 2, I didn’t expect the anime to continue. However, season 2 part 2 began airing in the middle of July. So, I will be writing episode reviews every three weeks until the season is done. Please note that I will follow Crunhyroll’s numbering system and refer to these episodes as the continuation of season 2. Without further ado, here are my recaps and responses for episodes 13, 14, and 15.

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Episode 13: The Devil Returns to the Workplace

Emi, Chi, and Suzuna are acting strangely. They keep having mysterious “girl talks.” Mao and Ashiya get suspicious, especially after the girls lie about going to a restaurant. They also give the slip to Ashiya after he tried to follow them. Eventually, the boys figure out the girls are going to the bathhouse for some reason. Finally, Mao, Ashiya, and Urushihara find an excuse accompany the girls to the bathhouse. The baths are separated by gender, but the walls are thin, and sound carries very easily. It sounds like the girls are doing some kind of training.

Mao finally just asks Emilia what’s going on when they meet in the lobby. Emilia explains that she and Suzuna are training Chiho to use celestial energy. It’s not for fighting, but for contacting allies when in trouble. Mao has mixed feelings about it, but reluctantly agreed to respect Chi’s feelings. On the way home that night, Chi tells Emilia that she retains a few memories of the person who possessed her. She has a memory of seeing Emilia’s father in the wheat fields. That makes Emilia realize that the person who possessed Chiho was her mother, the Angel.

This was a fairly interesting episode considering I was expecting it to be boring and stupid. In case you can’t tell, I am not optimistic about this anime. It’s not that I disliked season 2 part 1. In fact, I thought it was a lot better than it was given credit for on most rating websites. However, I’m not hyped for it, either. And considering how many anime series I am covering this season, I’m reluctant to do weekly watches of something I’m not definitely excited about. For now, though, I’ll continue.

To my surprise, I enjoyed this episode. I didn’t feel bored. To me, the art style of this anime is extremely pleasant to look at. I was also pleased that there was just as much “fan-service” of the male characters as there was for the girls. It’s refreshing when it’s not one-sided. Anyway, I’m proud of Chiho for trying to do what she can to be capable and not a burden. I don’t think any of the others ever saw her as burdensome, but it’s still great that she’s doing her best to learn new abilities. Good job, Chi!

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Episode 2: The Devil and the Hero Question Their Daily Routine

Work is going well at MgRonald’s, especially since the new renovations added a second floor MgCafe. Mao and Chi want to be promoted to the second floor, but their coffee-making skills are subpar. So the manager, Kisaki, offers to let them take a company barista course and waive the fee. Chi and Mao both want to take the course.

After work one night, Chi stays over with Suzuno and makes progress in channeling celestial energy. Chi tells Suzuno that she wishes everyone could just get along and forget what happened in Enta Isla. However, she also understands that Emi is going through something intense. Emi is struggling because the Devil isn’t nearly as evil as she thought he was. He also wasn’t the one who killed her father. Her father isn’t even dead. With her motivations of duty and vengeance suddenly taken away, Emi has no idea what to do.

The hero’s confusion and desperation soon becomes obvious, as she picks a fight with Mao when they meet in the streets after work. Emi’s eyes are full of angry tears. Mao suggests he will get back to taking over the world as a bloodthristy demon lord, thus giving Emi purpose again. But Emi now knows that Mao won’t do that and isn’t capable of true cruelty. She shouts at Mao that he never actually wanted to rule the world – he just craved recognition and praise from others.

Before Mao can answer, a demon sets up a barrier and pulls him into it. The demon’s name is Farfarello, and is accompanied by a child dressed in samurai armor. Farfarello asks Mao to return to Enta Isla and help take over the Eastern Continent. When Mao refuses, the demon gives him a ball of concentrated dark magic. If he consumes it, he will become a savage Devil once again. Mao doesn’t eat the ball right away, but holds onto it.

Suddenly, Emi and Suzuno break through the barrier. Emi easily defeats Farfarello and sends him running. However, when she tries to strike the child in armor, Alas Ramus tells her to stop. The child (whose name is Erone) escapes, and Emi realizes that he must be the same kind of being as Alas Ramus. To be continued.

This was an awesome episode. It was nice to have some action sequences and a new turn of events. I wonder what the new demon’s schemes will be, and how he will try to use Enore. Mao will probably consume the concentrated dark magic at some point to make the story more dramatic. Although I still don’t understand everything about Alas Ramus and her kind, I’m interested in figuring it out. As a long-time fan of Emi, I thought this was a very important episode. It was significant both for her and for Mao in terms of character development. On a final note, I love this art style so much, and Emi looks so damn cool!

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Episode 15: The Devil and the Hero Take the First Steps toward a New Dream

After their encounter with Farfarello and Erone, Mao and company conclude that Chiho might be in danger. Farfarello might kidnap her and use her to try to control Mao. Thus, Chiho trains hard to learn idea-linking, a form of magical telepathy she can use to call for help. She picks up the ability very quickly. After practice one day, the group runs into Miss Kisaki, who gives them some advice about dreaming big. She also tells Sariel that he is allowed to come back to McRonald’s. The petite angel boy is delighted.

During the training video for the barista class, Erone appears. Mao tells the child that he’s studying to be a better leader, and Erone vanishes without hostility. But later, Farfarello and Erone isolate and confront Chiho. Farfarello wants to ask some questions about Mao. Rather than freaking out, Chiho calmly goes with them so she can ask her own questions. She unconsciously uses idea-linking to share her words with Mao, Emi, and Suzuno. Sariel helps locate Chiho, bringing Mao and company to the right place: a high building rooftop.

Once he arrives at the rooftop, Mao chastises both Farfarello and Chiho for not asking him their questions directly. Then Emi and Suzuno channel a lot of magic into him so Mao can take a stronger, more “Satanic” form. At that point, he announces that he has a new dream: a “conquest” that will bring peace and prosperity to both demons and humans.

Mao explains to Farfarello that he is learning about this new dream in the world of Earth, so he can’t come back to Ente Island right now. Additionally, Mao asserts that he has five amazing generals: Alciel and Lucifer of the demons, Suzuno and Emi of the humans, and Chiho, who brought everyone together.

Emi and Suzuno are not exactly happy at being called generals of the Devil. But Farfarello is now convinced that the Devil has not given up. Thus, he returns to the demon world with Erone. Emi is still not sold on working with Mao, so he asks her to start over and observe him to determine if he is an enemy. Emi reluctantly agrees. The episode ends soon after.

I am very pleased that Mao is finally starting his new dream: one that will not bring war and death to humans. He’s quite the visionary. This bold move of his also has major implications for Emi. With the task of determining if Mao is evil or not, she has purpose again. She might end up on the Devil’s side. I loved the moment when Mao named his “generals,” since I feel like I’ve been waiting 10 years to see these characters start to get along. It’s exciting. Also, Chiho is truly a remarkable girl for bringing these enemies together.

Emi had an amusing tsundere moment when she reacted to Mao’s declaration. He said, “Follow me, Emilia the Hero. On this conquest, I will show you a whole new world” – or something along those lines. Chiho and Emi both got angry because it sounded like a romantic speech. And of course, Emi blushed and shouted, “Baka!” Classic. The last note I will add for today is that I still like Sariel, despite him being kind of an annoying guy and largely used for comic relief. But I love his character design. So cute!

Thanks for reading~

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