These past couple of weeks I have been telling myself that I just need go out to my local Hastings, pick up an anime, and marathon the whole thing regardless of time. Well, I got to do that, and let me just say that I wish it didn’t ever end. Today I will review The Devil is a Part-Timer!, a light-hearted comedy-adventure of the Devil and the Hero struggling in modern-day Japan.

Years of war have resulted in bloodthirsty demons conquering about ¾ of Ente Isla, the foreign medieval world. When the Devil’s palace is stormed by armies of rebelling humans led by Emilia the Hero, Satan, lord of all demons, and his general, Alciel, flee through a portal to the human realm with the Hero tagging along. They find themselves in present day Tokyo, a world deprived of magic and mana. Without his demonic force slaving away for him, Satan adopts the name of Sadao Maou, rents a cheap apartment shack, and gets hired as the “perfect employee” at the local MgRonald’s. Alciel, now Shirou Ashiya, remains as a “stay at home mom” for Maou, tending to all of the basic needs of the household, cooking included. With this new unexpectedly mundane lifestyle Emilia, now just Emi Yusa, finds employment as a call center agent all the while keeping a watchful eye on the humble demon king.

One of this anime’s best features is its fresh plot. The top moments, in fact, are merely watching the Devil and the Hero struggle with the basic troubles of our own lives – missing a wallet, paying for rent, acquiring a job, and even getting a tummy ache.

What the story also wants us to notice are the setting/character/stereotype relationships. The Devil is supposed to be evil. The hero is good. The Devil is a Part-Timer! puts Satan in a position where he can’t necessarily commit evil, so why should he? And with the Devil just trying to earn enough money to feed himself, does the Hero really need to step in? No. And that’s why this anime is so good at deconstructing the “good guy” and “bad guy” roles – heck, Satan even saves some humans in later episodes, so I guess you can’t judge based on appearance alone! The characters are fun and bring out their true selves when they are simply around each other, eating plentiful quantities of udon.

While the animation by White Fox is nothing fancy, it gets the job done. The show uses bright colors on in-anime advertisements to support itself. Great dynamic moments include the many expressions of the show – Emi in particular has many rage faces that are just awesome.

There are few notable tracks, such as “The Strength of the Hero and the Devil” and “Give Up on Ente Isla,” which are both stand-out pieces. Otherwise, the OST is plain silly, complimenting the tone of the anime quite nicely. The opening, “ZERO!!” by Minami Kuribayashi, though nothing special at first, really grew on me after a while. It’s catchy, upbeat, and has decent animation sequences to go along with it.

The only problem I had with this near-perfect anime was, well, it ended. Maou and Emi never completely sort things out and the *spoiler* main antagonist is technically still around. I hope a second season is produced, otherwise this first season of great material kinda goes to waste.

The Devil is a Part-Timer! is a wonderful yet short anime. The English dub is also really good! I recommend this anime to anyone simply because it’s a light-hearted comedy show, but specifically because of the interesting characters getting worked up over simple things like cash and noodles. Comedy shows depend on your tolerance of humor alone. But if you’re like me, it’ll make you laugh a genuine laugh, and you’ll want to find a job at a fast food restaurant, trust me. The show is a juicy hamburger complete with crunchy lettuce and melted cheese that will inevitably be eaten up by your eyes – but “would you like some black pepper fries with that, sir or madam?” – Maou

I believe you can watch the whole series subbed on FUNimation.com, or you can support the official release like I did! A copy of The Devil is a Part-Timer! rests on my shelf awaiting the next hungry customer. This is one anime that you won’t fully appreciate until it’s over! Agh:)

Thanks for reading! Hit the like button if you enjoyed this review or if it inspired you to check it out. Same with the follow button – stay up to date with me and read other material I’ve written. Till next time! ~

– Takuto, your host