Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. I remember after my first year of starting Project Nitsuj, I made a list of animes I wanted to review for the next year and one of the animes on that list was The Devil is a Part-Timer. Looking back, it was one of my favorite animes from 2013. The story of a demon lord coming to our world and working part-time at McDonalds with the hero on his tail was funny and pretty creative. Apparently, a lot of people thought so as well as it received positive reviews from everyone who watched it. Yet, despite the positive feedback and good ratings, the anime was never greenlighted for a second season. It really did boggle the mind why White Fox didn’t capitalize on this success and make a second season when the first season was so popular. For whatever reason, White Fox didn’t want to do a second season and as the years went by it seemed like we would never get one. But everything changed in 2022 when the series finally came back. Now under the production of 3Hz (Dimension W and Princess Principal), fans were excited to finally see the return of this comedic series and I was excited as well. Still, the question remained, would this series still be welcomed in this new landscape of anime? Well let’s find out. This is The Devil is a Part-Timer S2.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening is “With” by Minami Kuribayashi. I enjoyed this song. Minami’s voice is very pleasant and the melody is good. Not a whole lot to say about this opening. It’s just a good song.
For the ending we have “Mizukagami no Sekai” by Marina Horiuchi. A very pleasant song just like the opening but it honestly feels a little out of place for this anime.
Episodes 1-4
So the season begins with a quick recap of the characters (it has been 9 years so the recap is warranted). They remind us that Maou was the demon lord set on destroying the world but he was defeated by the hero Emilia. Before the final blow could be struck, Maou escaped to our world along with one of his generals, Alciel (where they had all sorts of comedic adventures. Maou works at McDonalds and Emilia works at a call center. A teenage girl has a crush on Maou. They all befriended an Inqusitor and an angel (who looks like James from Pokémon and tried to kill them). With Maou gone the armies of the continent rallied together and eliminated the remnants of his army. Back in our world, Maou heads out to work where we see he got a new bike from Suzuno after she destroyed the first one (you witch). At work, we see Sarue keeps visiting to flirt with the manager and buy 10 super-size orders which have resulted in him getting fat (and by the grace of God not dying). In an effort to help with living expenses, Alciel decides to find a full-time job and teaches Lucifer how to handle the housekeeping. This leads to him and the others fighting a cockroach in their apartment. Once all that’s settled, they celebrate Odon a little early when a portal from Ente Isla opens and drops off a big golden apple. At first it just looks like a regular apple, but it transforms into a little girl named Alas Ramus who says that Maou and Emilia are her parents (scene here: https://youtu.be/LJaSNexuJ4A. Well we now know what the end game for the series is. Kind of saw it coming).
In episode 2 Maou and Emilia take in Alas with Maou and his generals taking her home. Chiho and Suzuno help out a bit with Alas calling them big sis and winning them over with her cuteness (scene here: https://youtu.be/g56gvsJx7Nw, she’s got this Anya from SpyxFamily cuteness going on). When they take her to visit Maou at work (scene here: https://youtu.be/XBJbJ5TiZ78), Maou and Chiho get a stern talking to from the manager. She knows it’s not their child but the fact that Chiho comes in and out of his apartment and left with a child does raise suspicion from outsiders and she warns them about this. Despite knowing this danger Maou still asks Chiho for help and she wants to keep helping (scene here: https://youtu.be/LKwVRgW-EeY). The manager then gives them tickets to a theme park and Emilia also got tickets as well. Alas refuses to go unless Maou and Emilia take her and they have no choice in the matter. On the day of the date (might as well call it was it is) Emilia surprisingly pulls out all the stops by getting her hair done and everything (she likes him).
We get the date in episode 3 where Alciel, Suzuki, and Chiho spy on them from the shadows. While watching a Sentai Rangers parody show a mark in the form of a crescent moon appears on Alas’s head (dah~, she’s a Sailor Scout. Hide her from Toei) and she passes out. While Maou goes to get water, a mysterious woman (who is obviously Alas’s real mother) approaches Emi and Alas. Using a ring she heals Alas and tells Emi that she’s on their side and warns them that Gabriel will be coming for them soon. The three of them then go on Ferris Wheel where Emi wants to know the truth (https://youtu.be/MMzd40i8TfA) as to why Maou took in Alas (he’s like the man who keeps adopting stray cats on a limited budget and housing. There’s only so many you can take in before it becomes too much for the budget, the house, and starts to get creepy). Maou comes clean and tells her the truth. Back before he became the demon lord, the demon realm was a hellish place to live (I know, shocking). It was survival of the fittest and Maou’s entire race was completely wiped out by a raging demon. Just when he was about to be killed he got saved by an angel. Why? Because he was the first demon she ever saw cry. She healed him, took care of him, and even gave him the idea to invade the human realm. Alas’s moon crest is the same as that of the angel that saved Maou in the past and before the angel disappeared she gave him a seed in the shape of the crest which he planted. Maou believes that the seed he planted was Alas which is why he accepted the role of her father (as for why she choose Emi, I assume she sensed the sexual tension between them). After hearing all of this Emi tells him about the woman from before who called Alas the seed of Yesod and Maou finally knows what’s going on. Alas is the reincarnation of Yesod which is one of the four sephiroths to the Tree of Life. After getting off the Ferris Wheel Maou and Emi receive a call from Lucifer and Suzuno telling them to come back immediately. They return to Maou’s place to find the two being held at sword point by angels being led by Gabriel who just so happens to be Yesod guardian (well he’s done a terrible job). As you would expect he’s come for Alas as well as Emi’s sacred sword. Maou has no intention of giving her to him. Just when he’s about to use force, Chiho steps in begging him not to take Alas away. Not wanting to be seen as the bad guy, Gabriel takes his leave but vows to come back and take Alas away tomorrow morning (scene here: https://youtu.be/qsN7ftPKaaQ). With only a night to prepare, Maou forces Emi to stay over (scene here: https://youtu.be/1A0GNBKEhYk).
In episode 4 the next day comes and Gabriel has come to retrieve Alas and the sword. However, he’s willing to compromise and just take one for now. We find out that Emi’s sword is actually a shard of Yesod. Not willing to part with either of them Gabriel uses the force choke on Maou (he’s a sith) and Alas steps in to protect her papa (scene here: https://youtu.be/VAcqiSqbI-g). Alas, Emi, and Gabriel fight up in the skies (it’s too early for this shit. Wait until 8am) where Maou tries to join only to get saved by Alas who vanishes after for now. Emi is able to force Gabriel to retreat, but he vows to return and collect the shards (scene here: https://youtu.be/hiTZ_adGxrM). Later on, we find out that Alas never left, she fused with the shard in Emi’s sword and has now become her holy weapon and armor (it’s basically Shaman King).
Episodes 5-8
The times are a changing in episode 5. Maou finds out his McDonald’s will be temporarily shut down for renovations which means he’s out of the job (there’s always Pizza Hut). As if that wasn’t bad, he finds out that his apartment complex is getting renovated as well which means he has to leave temporarily and has no place to stay (scene here: https://youtu.be/25rf_ZORC6g). Luckily, their landlord left them a videotape (in this day and age?) and has talked with her niece who runs a beach shack in Choshi who offers to take them in if they work at the shack (well this handles all of their current problems. Also, Chiho’s mom approves of Maou). The boys head down to Choshi with the girls joining them on a trip of their own. We get to meet Amane (you sure you’re related to Mitty? You’re too pretty and normal). We get to see the hut which is in complete shambles so they get to work fixing it up (make it shine). At night, they play with some sparklers, and then watch the sunrise the next morning where a mysterious fog has set in and seems to be spooking Alas.
In episode 6 the fog brings over monsters from Ente Isla who pop up randomly on the beach injured. Before Maou and the others can question them, they get swept away by a cyclone. One of the monsters they manage to save is a tengu named Camio. In the past, Maou left him in charge of the demon realm while he invaded Ente Isla with the main force. Camio informs Maou that the demon realm has once again fallen into chaos (this is not surprising) before passing out and changing into a baby crow. The next morning, Maou lets him rest while he and the others go to work at the beach shack. After surviving the rush, Maou shows Camio to Emi, Chiho, and Alas. Before Maou can ask him what’s going on they get interrupted by Amane who says it’s time to clean up. Once she’s gone, Camio says that the person who beat him and his soldiers was Amane.
The beachside arc continues in episode 7. Maou and the others meet Emi by the lighthouse at night with Camio who tells them about a mysterious human who spoke to them. He said that whoever obtained the sacred sword would rule the demon realm, Ente lsla, and Heaven. Camio didn’t believe this but a lot of hardliners did and set out to avenge Maou. The demon realm soon became split between hardliners and pacifists with the pacifist leaving with Olba the mage (him again? I knew we should have taken him out when we had the chance). Camio and the hardliners came to Japan to retrieve the sword which is in the area which Maou theorizes is a shard of Yesod. Camio says a large demon army will be arriving at midnight and with the way they are now, Maou and the others won’t stand a chance. Luckily, Amane shows up and hands Maou a sword which is a piece of his horn that Emi chopped off in their battle. This restores his powers and he heads out to fight. Using his demon king form he quells the demon invasion and sends them back to Ente Isla to let everyone know that he lives and he will return (unless he is unable to or he forgets). They then seal the portal to fix everything. Once they return to shore we find out that Amane is the daughter of Earth’s Binah a guardian of the area who helps cleanse the souls of the dead in the area. Thanks to their meddling they’ve disturbed the balance of the place and thus have to leave (we still get paid right?). Using her powers, Amane disappears with the shack, pays them (woohoo), and gives them a guidebook to see the sights (scene here: https://youtu.be/r-lU6frKNqo).
Episode 8 sees Maou and his generals go to Nagano to help Chiho’s family with the harvest for a festival. We get to meet Chiho’s cousins and grandma as well as Emi, Suzuno, and Alas showing up to help out because Emi has mixed feelings about Maou helping out on a farm seeing as how it was his army that destroyed her family’s fields in the past (quite the ironic twist). Not much happens in the episode as the farm is pretty tedious (scene here: https://youtu.be/AI0adWSOXBU), but we do end on a cliffhanger with a bear invading the farm.
Episodes 9-12
Episode 9 picks up where we left off. Maou and Emi offer to act as decoys while everyone else escapes. However, a SUV comes speeding by blowing its horn and setting the bear off. This forces Emi to fight the bear and take it down with a judo toss (scene here: https://youtu.be/mUpFmHeWFf4, holy shit that was badass). Emi makes the local news, but thankfully nobody got a picture so they don’t know what she looks like (however, her nickname will live on in infamy. Scene here: https://youtu.be/ydXB9-ESxAI). Later on, the group helps stop a series of thefts being done by college students. It’s a pretty funny story as they scare the hell out of the college students (Emi scares them so much that one of them literally peed his pants. Scene here: https://youtu.be/B0zuTuyqYf0). This episode ends the farm arc and everyone returns home with Maou receiving pay and fresh produce for all his hard work.
In episode 10 Maou wants to buy a TV so he can watch it with Alas. Alciel gives in to his demand and sets aside a day to go TV shopping (get a smart TV). Suzuno decides to go with them as she too is interested in buying a TV and Alciel invites Suzuki to join them (I ship it) much to Emi’s dismay (scene here: https://youtu.be/ae41AFdIcRI. Your friend and co-worker falling in love with your worst enemy’s general. What will she do if they get married?). Gabriel also makes a return this episode where we find out he’s been taken off the Yesod case after his failure and has been spending his time in a manga café (sounds lovely). He pays Lucifer a visit and asks him about Satan which really doesn’t go anywhere. It also gets hinted that the white-haired woman we saw in episode 3 might be Emi’s mom instead of Alas’s mom.
Not a whole lot happens in episode 11. The shopping trip gets cut short when all the TVs just spontaneously exploded (the darkest day in Akihabara). They then call Emi who tells them that Chiho is in the hospital unconscious due to magic poisoning (is that like food poisoning?). Her life isn’t in any danger and she’ll eventually wake up but the question remains, what happened? After touching her body, Suzune says Chiho was hit by a celestial force-based sonar attack (well that explains why all the TVs exploded). If celestial magic is involved that means an angel is responsible for the attack. Lucifer shows up and says there’s a new angel in town working on behalf of Gabriel. Suzune believes it’s Raguel the Watcher. He’s the one who monitors the angels and punishes them if they do something wrong. Raguel usually works with Lailah who just happens to be Emi’s mom, so chances are he’s looking for her. They all decide to put a stop to him.
In the final episode while the group searches for Raguel, Emi gets approached by Gabriel who tells her some beneficial information. First off, angels are really humans (with special powers). Second, her dad is alive and on Earth too. This information causes Emi’s resolve to waver as she doesn’t know what to fight for anymore. Meanwhile, Chiho wakes up thanks to Lailah who gave her a ring and uses it to help Maou and the others. Maou and Alciel find Raguel with Gabriel arriving to tell them that Heaven is in the middle of splitting into two groups because of Lailah. Raguel gets ready to take his leave but Maou wants to teach him a lesson for messing with others. This leads to a fight between the demons and angels where Emi arrives having found her resolve thanks to Alas and they make the angels retreat. Emi tries to speak to her mom, but there’s no time and Chiho passes out. The next day Maou goes to visit Chiho in the hospital where Lailah speaks to him through the ring. It turns out she was the one who saved Maou all those years ago and now she wants to restore Ente Isla. They end the season with Maou returning home and pondering what Lailah is planning.
Final Thoughts
So that was the second season of The Devil is a Part-Timer. This season had some good points and low points. Let’s start with the good points. Seeing Maou and the others on a more friendly basis is nice. The addition of Alas to the cast was nice. Learning more about the past of Maou, why he did what he did, and his connection to Heaven was good as well. I also like how he’s more open with Chiho and Emi. Sadly, the low points are pretty big for me. This season had way too much talking and not enough comedy or action. I wouldn’t mind if the talking was interesting but it’s told in such a bland and uninteresting way. They really did nerf Maou this season as he comes across as weak and unimposing a majority of the time. This season also isn’t as funny as the first season. I really can’t think of a moment that had me laughing as much as the first season did, which is a shame because I know how funny this series is and I just don’t see it this season. Finally, the animation. While the music is good the animation takes a downgrade this season. I know it’s a new studio and all and it’s not awful, but yeah, this animation pales in comparison to season 1’s animation. While the first season had its fair share of shortcomings in the animation, they at least had better camera shots, angles, and shadows. They had more fun with the animation which led to better comedic moments. Season 2 plays it safe and doesn’t try to do anything unique with the animation which is shocking because this studio usually does great work with their animation.
Final Score
The final score for The Devil is a Part-Timer S2 is a 5.5/10. Didn’t really feel this season as much as the first. I am glad to see it back again and hopefully, in the next season, they can make it more comedic and tell the story in a fun and entertaining way. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.