In another realm, a demon lord named Satan wages a campaign to take over his world. While this doesn't seem to be the Satan of Christian lore (the backstory doesn't match and he has an underling named Lucifer) it's a moot point as it is close enough to get the idea while allowing the show to build its own mythos.
It's a pretty brutal war from what we see. It's bloody and the camera doesn't shy away from seeing creatures impaled with arrows. While we're only given a broad idea of what is happening, it does make for a solid action sequence. The whole thing is rather glossed over, but it is nice to see humanity fight back and start to turn the tide, courtesy of an armored hero who goes unnamed.
It gets to the point where the demon lord, as well as one of his generals named Alciel, is forced to retreat through a portal, ending up in modern day Tokyo. It leads to a bit of mood whiplash as the episode veers more towards comedy. This is a "fish out of water" plot hook that has been done before, but there is still potential to be tapped.
Luckily for the Earth, both demons come to discover that magic doesn't exist here, rendering Alciel powerless and Satan having only a finite amount at his disposal. It does lead to one of the stronger gags in the episode as Alciel repeatedly tries to conjure up magic, only for nothing to happen.
Oddly, the two manage to adapt rather well. They are able to set up bank accounts under new names and get an apartment rather easily. This is at least somewhat justified as we see that Satan is using magical influence to help move things along. As noted, though, his magic is finite and they have bills to pay. As such, the king of demons gets himself a job..at a fast food restaurant.
The contrast isn't played for laughs as much as you'd think it would be. There's one bit where Satan self aggrandizes to make his job sound more epic than it is, complete with dramatic poses, but by and large he seems to take to it. He takes the job seriously and commits in such a way that he gets raises and promotions rather quickly. You could argue that this sort of dedication and work ethic were why he thrived in his realm, but it doesn't make for the sort of comedy that this show would appear to try to utilize.
Episode 2: The Hero Stays at the Devil's Castle
With the premise set up out of the way, this episode is able to cut loose and actually have some fun with it. This is largely accomplished by bringing Emilia, the hero from the last episode who forced Satan to Earth in the first place, into the fold.
Where the demon duo have adjusted to life on Earth fairly easily, the transition isn't quite so smooth for the hero. It's played for laughs, which makes for great entertainment, but it also helps build up sympathy as she quickly falls into the role of "woobie". It gets to the point that even Satan starts to show her some sympathy later on in the episode.
The dynamic between the two also makes for great comedy. The enmity between sworn enemies, when transferred to Earth, becomes a lot more petty. True, Emilia does come at Satan/Sadao with a knife when the episode opens, but reality ensues and the police intervene and write it off as a lover's quarrel.
It only goes downhill from there as Emilia gloats that she destroyed and discarded the umbrella that he had given her last episode when he insists on getting it back. The favor is returned, though, when she appears at his apartment to kill him, only to find herself locked out, begging to be let in.
Her attempts at recon go about as well. The episode has quite a bit of fun with this, as she'll hear Sadao and Alciel/Shiro talk as if they're about to enact some nefarious scheme, only to reveal that they're doing something completely mundane.
It gets to the point where Emilia becomes convinced that Satan is content to live a quiet, peaceful life on Earth. She even offers to just let him be and return to Ente Isla, since there's no point in killing him like this. It's a pretty big character moment for her, all things considered.
As he had earlier in the episode, though, Satan declares that he is still a dark lord and intends to conquer both worlds. It's an odd play when you think about it. True, it maintains the status quo and reaffirms that Sadao is, in fact a villain, but from a tactical standpoint, wouldn't it have been better to lie and take her offer to live peacefully? She'd be gone, leaving him free to take over. From there, he'd have a much better stronghold to facilitate taking over Ente Isla. It's not a deal breaker, but it is a head scratcher.
While the episode certainly has a lot of fun showcasing the disparity between the two leads' epic fantasy struggle and the mundane day to day existence of life on Earth, the weight of the prior is never completely tossed aside.
On the contrary, it ends up being a prominent plot point as a mysterious assassin attacks the two with magic bullets, suggesting that someone else came through the portal. It adds a nice element of mystery and tension to the largely comedic proceedings.
All in all, this was a really fun episode. The writers were allowed to flex a bit more, leading to stronger interactions and better comedy. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Episode 3: The Devil Goes on a Date with his Junior in Shinjuku
While the attack on Satan/Sadao and Emi(lia) does make headlines, life mostly goes back to normal. There is the occasional hiccup, such as when the police bring Satan/Sadao and Alciel/Ashiya in for questioning when Sadao's bike is found at the scene. It amounts to little more than an inconvenience, but Emi is put off by the fact that she was called in to vouch for her sworn enemy.
Sadao, for his part, is more focused on his upcoming meeting with his coworker, Chiho. She's convinced it's a big step in their relationship, but it seems more like a casual get together between friends. Sadao does agree that it's a date, but it does seem like the affection is largely one way.
Suffice it to say, Emi doesn't take kindly to this development when she happens to stumble upon it. She's not wrong. He is an evil demon and pursuing a romance with him is, at face value, a terrible idea. Unfortunately, she can't make her case without sounding like a jealous ex, despite her best efforts.
Emi really is the highlight of the episode. Her inability to mind her surroundings leads to a lot of the episode's comedic moments. She'll frequently get into shouting matches that make direct references to their home world with no mind for how she sounds to random passers by. Even Sadao, at one point, has to remind her that they're in public when she goes on one of her over the top rants.
She also plays a part in one of the episode's more dramatic developments. She gets a call at work from their attacker. It was a legitimately tense scene as said attacker taunts her, acknowledging their origin and saying that he is after both her and Satan for the good of Ente Isla.
Why someone would go after both is still left unclear. Perhaps the battles between the two cause too much collateral damage? Though that doesn't explain why the pair are being pursued across dimensional planes.
As creepy as the scene is, Emi shrugs it off rather easily. She doesn't even seem that concerned when she brings the phone call to Sadao's attention.
Emi also gets a nice moment where she is able to deduce Chiho's feelings just by looking at her hair and clothing; going in depth as to the logic in Chiho's choices. I'd go so far as to say that it would make Sherlock Holmes proud.
While the "date" could have easily just been humorous filler, it actually does move the story forward as Chiho reveals that she suffers from tinnitus and has heard voices that hinted at an upcoming earthquake, hence her worry.
Sadao quickly figures out what probably happened, though he naturally doesn't tell Chiho, instead telling her not to worry. It ties back into the conflict on his world, as well as possibly involving the party pursuing him. There's a lot of magical technobabble to explain the mechanics of what happened, but for all the detail, it might not amount to much in the grand scheme of things.
Sure enough, though, an earthquake does strike. It's a pretty severe one too as the mall appears to be in ruins, though the leads all survive, of course.
In a dramatic twist, Sadao starts to revert to his more demonic form, becoming much more muscular and getting his horns and a significant amount of his magic back. While Emi is sure that she has enough magic left to take Satan out, her effort is stayed when she sees her arch enemy working to get people out alive. It may not be a cliffhanger in the traditional sense, but it is a decent wham moment as the hero is caught off guard and utterly confused by the development that her demonic enemy is displaying something of a conscience.
Episode 4: The Hero Experiences Human Warmth
As shown last episode, Emi is utterly baffled by Sadao/Satan's heroism in the wake of the mysterious earthquake that leveled the building.
Truth be told, the first half of this episode is rather lackluster. It doesn't move the plot forward and it is surprisingly lacking in comedic moments. It's a pretty jarring shift tone, but it isn't without its merits.
Where the episode does succeed is in character development, mostly for Emi, but her coworker, Rika gets a bit as well. We're given a flashback to Emi's childhood back on Ente Isla. Oddly, she looks like a younger version of her current form, as opposed to how she actually looked when we saw her in that realm. I suppose it's to make it easier for the audience to identify her as we've seen her more with this appearance than the other, but no explanation is given as to why that would be the case.
For those who don't care for "chosen one" character backgrounds, Emi's origin, as it were, might vex you. We learn that Emi is half angel, allowing her to wield a weapon that can defeat the demons. As it turns out, she's the only one who can do so. As a result, her world's church takes her in so that she can train for the upcoming battle. In her absence, her home is attacked by Satan's forces and her father is killed. It does add a bit of depth to a character who is largely relegated to butt monkey, but it comes into play later on.
For Rika, she invites Emi to stay with her after the quake and the two bond. It turns out that Rika was in the middle of a major quake during her childhood. The quake itself was dramatic itself, but she also talks about how it brought out both the best and worst in people.
It's a nice character moment, though her "inner angel and devil" line might be a bit on the nose. It's justified by thematic relevance, but it could have been a bit more subtle. Also, we probably could have done without Emi's line where she expresses confusion about feeling what she refers to as the human heart.
If anything, this seems like a moment that Sadao should have had, maybe even earlier in the series. He's the demon who admits he's not good at understanding people. It could have given him a glimpse of a side of humanity that he had never seen and prompt some of his character growth.
To wit, Emi arrives at the apartment, both to pay Sadao back and to further inquire about his newly found good nature. It's somewhat played for laughs, as she reminds him that he's a demon and that they're not supposed to be nice; but it results in a surprisingly poignant emotional breakdown, as Emi's aforementioned tragic back story comes into play full force. It really was the highlight of the episode. Even Sadao himself is left speechless, though his apology only infuriates her more.
The moment is, for better or worse, interrupted by both Chiho and Sadao's landlady, Miki Shiba. The prior, once again, misconstrues the pair's relationship as romantic in nature. The latter takes a bizarre turn as she starts talking about things that she has no business knowing. She seems to have knowledge of the group's relationship and even suggests that she knows more about their true origins, dropping lines about sonar and the power of ideas. It comes completely out of nowhere, but it makes for an both an intriguing character and seed for future plot progression.
The episode ends on a major wham moment as Chiho is accosted in the street by a mysterious woman who displays magical powers of her own and even sprouts black wings. This draws the attention of Sadao and Emi, who are both recognized by the girl. It isn't long before Sadao identifies the girl, and the one targeting the pair, as his old general, Lucifer.
Thankfully, the second half of this episode picked up. There was some character development, but it still fell flat until the latter portions. As noted, the episode is light on comedy. Alciel tries to add some levity by freaking out over his inability to protect his master, but really Emi falling down the stairs was the only laugh to be had, because again, butt monkey. Once things started happening, though, the episode became much more engaging. Given the confrontation that's about to occur, I don't think that the next episode will have that problem.
Episode 5: The Devil and the Hero Save Sasazuka
This episode gives us our first major action set piece as Satan confronts Lucifer. It's a scenario that you wouldn't expect for several reasons, but it works rather well.
While the fact that Lucifer is in this world at all is a shock in its own right, Emi is even more perplexed given that she killed him in battle back on Ente Isla.
It's revealed that Olba, a member of Emilia's own church made a deal with Lucifer to take her out as they feared the power that she possessed; in return, Lucifer would be allowed to return to Heaven.
Admittedly, the betrayal is somewhat undercut by the fact that we haven't seen these two characters all that much, but the episode still gives the scene the emotional weight it needs to grab the viewer's attention.
Between the incredibly effective score and the great line delivery, the scene does a great job building up tension.
Of course, this show is still a comedy, so there is quite a bit of humor peppered throughout the episode. The shift from serious to silly is quick, but somehow it just works. You'd expect mood whiplash or the presence of one to undermine the other, but neither proves to be the case.
It helps that the humor actually works, as opposed to being the clumsy, forced humor that can often occur when writers try to insert comic relief. Sadao shows a genre savvy side as he pokes fun at the villain monologue and both he and Alciel seem to put more priority on their mundane problems over the more epic struggle involving their home world. As packed as the episode is, it also manages to make time so that Sadao and Emi can bicker in between rounds in the fight.
The aforementioned pair start off on the losing end of said fight, and Sadao appears to get hurt pretty seriously, but the two do start to show shades of their former selves as the episode progresses. It was actually quite cool to see the two show just why they are the big deals that they are. Emilia gets to shine in battle and Satan gets to remind his underling why he's in charge.
It was a little unclear what the magic barrier was supposed to do. At first it seems like they are in a pocket dimension where they can fight without doing any real damage, but than Satan has to take time to undo the damage anyway. It may have kept the populace safe, though all we see is them going to sleep. Considering it's established that demons gain power from negative emotions, the plan could have backfired, but seeing as it all worked out in the end, it's probably a moot point.
All in all, this was a rather fun episode. It balanced the action, comedy, and drama surprisingly effectively. It also managed to work a lot into the seemingly brief 20 minute run time. While it's too early to deem it the best in the series, it is certainly one of the strongest episodes to date and sets a rather high bar for other episodes to reach.
Episode 6: The Devil Climbs the Stairway to School
After the last episode's action focus, this one takes a more low key approach. It gives the characters a chance to bounce banter off one another, though we also get some interesting plot developments along the way.
We see back in Ente Isla, that the church isn't too happy about the fact that both Emilia and Satan have survived. It's especially bad as they spread the word that both were dead, putting them in a bit of a quandary.
Back on Earth, it is revealed that Sadao/Satan took Lucifer in after his defeat in order to lay low and avoid the authorities for his involvement in various robberies. While he's initially portrayed as a mooch who spends all his time on the computer, buying things that they can't afford, he does find a way to contribute as he's able to discover possible locations where they can strengthen their magic.
One such location is a local school that happens to be the same one that Chiho attends. It turns out that the school is host to over half a dozen urban legends. You'd think that having one would have been sufficient, with the other "six wonders" being located at other schools, but this is a bit more convenient, plot wise.
While the episode does have its fair share of humor, I think that the real strength of the episode is the creepy atmosphere that permeates the characters' trek through the school's hallways. It's especially impressive because 1. nothing supernatural actually happens and 2. two of the four characters are demons and a third is an epic hero, yet that doesn't stop them from getting startled by various circumstances. It's played for laughs, to be sure, but still, startling demons isn't an easy feat, no matter how you slice it.
The reveal that Lucifer was sending them to retrieve his video game system was funny, but I'm glad that there was some actual magical energy that could be tapped later. It allowed the good laugh without making it feel like the viewer wasted their time watching this particular fetch quest.
Also, the poor landlady gets a lot of grief this episode. It's odd as she doesn't even appear, but apparently a photo of her in a swimsuit is enough to send Sadao and Ashiya into a psychological tailspin. Again, these are two ruthless demons from another dimension. If the people of Ente Isla knew that all it took was an overweight woman in a swimsuit to scare them off, the conflict could have been avoided and countless lives would have been saved.
While this won't go down as one of the show's more memorable episodes, it passed the time well enough. There was enough humor and the atmosphere of the school was strong enough to keep your interest, even if it does come rather close to qualifying as "filler".
Episode 7: The Devil's Budget is Saved by Neighborliness
Sadly, this episode doesn't bring much to the table, which is ironic considering what a prominent role food played.
Both Sadao and Emi receive ingestible gifts. The prior gets food courtesy of Suzuno Kamazuki, a young girl that Sadao had met in a brief scene last episode. She introduces herself as their neighbor and offers a box of noodles as a gesture of good will. She's rather pleasant and manages to become friendly with all three men living in the apartment.
This, not surprisingly sets off red flags for Emi, who is still tailing Sadao, thinking that he's up to something.
Even she notes that the fact that Sadao just seems to be living peacefully is a good thing, but she doesn't want to drop her guard. In either case, if something should happen, she is sent a gift of her own. Emeralda sends Emi a box of drinks that boost her divine abilities. Emeralda also warns that people from her church are still looking for Olba and may also seek her out as well.
Really, though, the focus of the episode is more mundane. It turns out that Suzano has feelings for Sadao, though she also comes to the conclusion that Sadao and Emi are a couple. When Emi warns her away, she seems to take it in fairly good stride, though she also prepares a rather luxurious lunch box for him as another gift.
This sets Chiho off when she sees the box during a shared shift at work. The contents in the top layer of the box seem harmless enough, but the heart shaped cake in the bottom layer really sets her off, prompting her to call Emi.
Emi has her own issues as she is attacked while patronizing a convenience store. Ever the hero, she pushes the clerk out of the way to ensure his safety and draws the attacker outside. While she has access to her abilities, she finds that this attacker is capable of negating them. It's a problem, though she still holds her own fairly well. Still, it was nice to see the clerk come back and offer what little assistance he could by pelting the attacker with fruit.
As noted, this episode falls flat. It doesn't drive the plot forward all that much, though the scenes that do are genuinely intriguing. Even the humor was missing. There were some good bits here and there, but nothing too memorable. It looks like Emi falling down the stairs is going to become a running gag. It's an odd contrast to her capabilities in combat, though that is likely the joke.
Being the official halfway point of the show, it was a letdown, but on the other side, you could argue that this will be the point where things will really start to pick up, so we'll just have to see.
Episode 8: The Hero Enters the Fray
The first half of the episode places quite a bit of focus on romantic woes, as everyone gathers at Satan/Sadao's for a meal. Much to Chiho's chagrin, Suzuno is the one preparing the meal. While Chiho is obviously jealous, she also notes that there's a possibility that Suzuno is an assassin from Ente Isla. Suzuno, for her part, notes that she is really just using the "good neighbor" idea as a pretext to dump off some excess food that she had stored up due to pulling a Kramer: over-buying in bulk and not knowing what to do with all of what she had.
The real highlight of the scene, however, is Lucifer/Urushihara, who provides color commentary as he notes Chiho's subtle reactions to things like Sadao offering Suzuno a job at the fast food restaurant. It makes sense that Urushihara is somewhat genre savvy, but his astute observations are especially impressive considering he's looking in the exact opposite direction of what's happening. It does, admittedly, make it that much funnier.
While the whole thing is fairly harmless, it does motivate Chiho to finally admit her feelings about Sadao and notes that his status as demon is concerning, but also brings up the fact that she had these feelings for him before she found out. In traditional rom-com fashion, the sweet moment is ruined by Suzuno, who makes her presence known, scaring off Chiho in the process.
It isn't until Suzuno meets up with Emi later that the episode really kicks into high gear as she nonchalantly reveals that she too is from Ente Isla. Her demeanor belies the ramifications, as she was under the impression that Emi already knew.
I have to hand it to the writers, this was handled in a very clever fashion. Suzuno goes back over her past interactions with Emi. Suzuno notes that she was warned not to get too close and that Emi asked if Suzuno was "after" Sadao. While Emi meant this in regards to pursuing a romantic relationship, Suzuno thought it was in reference to Satan's status as a literal threat and Suzuno's status as fellow hero with the intent to stop him.
The level of signal crossing is legitimately funny, but it also shows you why Suzuno came to the conclusions that she did. Emi's language could be interpreted that way, even if the more mundane context was the obvious take on it. Like I said, very clever and it was a great reveal.
For all of her deception, Suzuno does present herself as a legitimate hero. She apologizes to Emi for Olba's attack and notes that he doesn't represent the organization as a whole. She also offers to help Emi defeat the demon lord, but isn't met with much in the way of enthusiasm. In the meantime, though, Emi does try to do what she can to coach Suzuno in the ways of life on this world.
Sadao has his own problems as a new fast food restaurant has opened in the area and is taking away all of their business. It's enough that both Sadao and his manager are freaking out about what it means. She tasks him with beating their competitors at any cost. Given that he's a magical demon, the possibilities are endless. For now, though, he sends Alciel in to "spy" on the organization so that they can come up with a more effective strategy.
While Sadao's manager leaves, the manager of the competing restaurant stops by for a visit. This show is really good at introducing strange characters. Right off the bat, he knows who Sadao is and seems intent on bringing him over to work for him. Given this show's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if he was also from Ente Isla and that the company rivalry ended up becoming a front for two enemies from another world to engage in combat.
He also shows himself to be a bit of a "creeper", noting that the area is full of attractive girls and even starts trying to put the moves on Chiho. Her reaction is, admittedly, hard to put into words, but it is rather hilarious.
Overall, the episode really works because of what transpires in the second half. The reveal of Suzuno's origin was handled and executed well. It is surprising that this show has only 13 episodes, though. It seems like the plot is still in the "setting things up" phase and we're down to a handful of episodes. Still, this was a fun watch and I'm curious to see where the show goes with the time that it has left.
Episode 9: The Hero Experiences a Fray
This might stand as my favorite episode to date. It really embraces the plot hook as characters from other worlds describe their mundane activities with the sort of rhetoric that you would expect from legendary heroes and villains. It makes for one of the funnier episodes overall.
On one hand, you have Sadao, who is struggling to come up with a way to draw in customers in the wake of the nearby chicken restaurant's opening. While he's led armies, he doesn't really know how to handle marketing. Naturally, he handles this crisis the way you'd expect anime characters to handle a dilemma: with teeth gritting, fist clenching, and twitching. The fact that he follows this sort of build up by dramatically making trivial suggestions like washing the windows makes for a perfect punchline.
Similarly, Ashiya is willing to follow his leader's strategy about going under cover as a customer to gain intel, but notes that their budget doesn't really allow for him to stay in a restaurant all day and eat chicken. Ashiya agrees that the restaurant poses a threat, but voices concern that this might not be the best plan.
On another front, you have Emi, who is meeting with her co-worker, Rika at the aforementioned chicken joint to discuss the "lover's quarrel". With Suzano tagging along, the risk of blowing their cover is apparent, but Suzano holds her own, simply saying that she is Sadao's neighbor and that he's fine on that front.
Amusingly, Emi doesn't fare so well. Talking about her sworn nemesis is a bit of a berserk button and leads to a seething rant from her. I did like how she blends adjectives that describe the original Satan (ruthless, savage etc.) with criticisms of Sadao's current persona (poor, thinks Emi owes him due to the borrowed umbrella). It's a small thing, but I got a kick out of it.
As it was already established that Ashiya was "doing recon", having him overhear the conversation was a nice way to tie the two plots together. While he and Emi butt heads, he actually ends up doing her a favor as he lays out a whole story about how Sadao once ran a business and that Emi was the head of a rival company.
Again, this rather brilliantly re-frames their enmity and puts it in a more mundane context. All of the major beats are there, giving it a degree of truth, but it puts their backstory into a more real world perspective.
While it is, of course, a thick slice of bull, Rika buys it, despite the lampshade hanging about how young they are. In any event, the story puts to bed any ideas about romance, but Rika's interest is piqued as it seems like she wants to bring them together in order to start some sort of business venture.
The episode starts a running gag about how adorable Chiho is. It seems like the sort of thing that probably should have started earlier in the series, but even putting that aside, she was kind of upstaged by Rika. Her reassuring speech to Ashiya about how his household tasks help keep Sadao afloat was really quite heartwarming. Even though this is a character who hasn't gotten as much screen time as others, it did a great job of establishing what sort of person she is and making you like her.
Sadly, Sadao doesn't get that impression, as the two butt heads almost immediately. Her quasi-passive-aggressive comments were funny, but seemed a bit harsh all things considered. It isn't like Emi was being an ideal customer and Sadao only started acting out of line when they started insulting him to his face. Fortunately, Chiho was there to mellow things out.
The chicken manager makes another appearance in this episode. Again, he's rather on the creepy side, but his conversation with Emi set off more mental alarms and hinted that he's really from Ente Isla. His dialogue is just the sort of cryptic ambiguity that you would expect from someone trying to use doublespeak.
It's possible that he's a red herring, but between the way he carries himself and his position as a rival for Sadao's business, I'd be surprised if that turned out to be the case.
This episode was a blast. The dialogue was spot on and it really put the otherworldly characters and their day to day dilemmas to good use. You could argue that this doesn't move the overall story forward all that much. Aside from the strange glow seen at the end and the rival manager, there isn't. Given that there's only a handful of episodes left, you might see it as a detriment, but as it is, this still stands as an enjoyable entry that is chock full of humor and character moments. It really does make it worth the watch, even if you do want to categorize it as "filler".
Episode 10: The Devil and the Hero Take a Break from the Daily Routine
As the show moves ever closer to its conclusion, it uses this episode as a bit of filler. While it isn't as funny as the episode that came before it, it isn't completely without merit.
Sadao is sent to work at another restaurant to help as they are overworked due to a nearby festival. Urushihara notes that there is a rather famous haunted house, meaning that they could use it to gather up some magic.
Suzuno overhears this and warns Emi that their nemesis could be up to something. As such, they decide to attend the festival. As it happens, Chiho wants to go too, though mostly so that she could spend time with the coworker she's crushing on.
It's a shame that Sadao and the girls are the only ones who end up making it. I rather liked that everyone had their own reasons for going, but alas Ashiya gets a stomach virus and Urushihara would prefer to stay home and buy things online.
This does mean that the girls take center stage, but the episode also puts a lot of emphasis on fan service. It doesn't quite hit the same levels as 'High School of the Dead' but it isn't for lack of trying. Chiho's bust seems to be of central interest, which is admittedly uncomfortable as she is the youngest of the bunch. Emi feels jealous due to the size difference, Chiho rather blatantly tries to use them to entice Sadao (amusingly to no avail), and a monkey nuzzles up to them near the end of the episode...it makes sense in context.
The episode does feature an interesting counter-balance as Suzuno remains conservatively dressed throughout, much to the surprise of her two friends. While she's been the stoic since her arrival, this episode takes it to new heights as she remains completely deadpan in circumstances where she should be cutting loose and reveling in good fun. It's played for laughs, of course, but it was also nicely in character.
The haunted house scene was a notable highlight. Much like the school, it was legitimately creepy, even if nothing legitimately supernatural goes down. It was a really well done haunted house and you can't fault the two heroes for freaking out at what they went through in its halls.
The bit where they approach what they think is a scared child was oddly heartwarming. You could argue that they did what most people would do, and their efforts do backfire to a degree, but it does play into the fact that Emi and Suzuno are heroes at heart.
While neither ghosts or demons become the threats du jour, some loose alligators present something of a threat as their presence causes a panic.
As he did in the mall cave in, Sadao steps forward and uses the crowd's fear to power his magic in such a way that the gators are able to be calmed and recaptured. This time, it's Suzuno who sees this bizarre instance of heroism from a demonic overlord and wonders what the hell is going on.
You could argue that it was anti-climactic, but the scene was still pretty epic. It was, doubtlessly, in large part due to the rousing music that started playing as Sadao made his approach. Either way, it was a great moment.
There isn't much in the way of overall arc advancement. The closest we get is a closing scene where Suzuno sees a mysterious figure (who looks a lot like the SFC manager) sprout angel wings and disappear.
This episode is filler, but even the title lets you know that ahead of time. Not as many of the jokes land as some of the earlier episodes, but there are some good exchanges. The bond between the three girls is well displayed. If you're a fan of fan service, other attributes are also displayed. Were this a longer series, it would be easier to let an episode like this slide, but with only a handful remaining, this was an odd way to use up a chunk of the remaining run time.
Episode 11: The Hero Stays True to Her Convictions
After a light, fan service heavy episode, the show decides to get serious. You'd think that, given the show's general light and goofy tone that mood whiplash would be a problem, but the mood shift is handled well and makes for a surprisingly strong episode.
Suzuno takes center stage here, as more of her back story comes to light. What she said before was partially true, she does work for the church and aims to defeat Satan, but where Emilia is a knight of the more noble and idealistic sort, Suzuno is revealed to be more of an anti-hero who works as an assassin for the church. In this case, she's been tasked with killing Sadao, and her superiors are wondering what the hold up is.
I'm not sure why Suzuno so openly voiced her intent to kill Sadao in front of Chiho. I suppose since Chiho knew of Ente Isla, Suzuno figured that Chiho would be willing to go along with it. Suffice it to say, she doesn't. It leads to a rather tense stand off between the two as they both make the case for sparing or killing Sadao.
The beautiful thing here is that both sides have very valid points. Chiho notes that Sadao has been nothing but kind, and has even gone out of his way to help people when he didn't have to. On the other hand, Suzuno is right to remind Chiho what Sadao did back on their world when he was the ruler of demons. They have no idea what his true goals are; he's using magic; and, even if he's being good now, his immortality means that he could grow his power and become a more serious threat some time down the line.
The fact that we've seen these three become rather close friends gives the scene some emotional weight as the two start to seriously (though not literally) butt heads.
Credit to Emi, she does try to find a reasonable middle ground, but Suzuno won't have any of it. Again, this doesn't come off as unnecessarily obstinate, her chiding of the suggested "forgive and forget" plan is justified given what Satan had put their world through, but she also seems to ignore the changes that Sadao has undergone since first coming to this world.
The episode's emotional conflict eventually gives way to a more physical one, not between the girls, but between Emi and the mysterious figure who had attacked her at the convenience store a few episodes back. After some taunts, the man removes his mask and reveals that he is the SFC manager, who has taken the guise of a manager so that he can kill Emi and take her power for himself.
On the one hand, you more or less knew what was up. Some details are new, but despite the telegraphing, the reveal was well handled here. Even if we knew that he was from Ente Isla, we now know what he's capable of (he's able to fairly easily best Emi in combat) and we see that he's not really right in the head. It's augmented by the discovery being made on Urushihara's end that the manager persona was a ruse and tipping Sadao off that Emi is being taken to City Hall for reasons unknown.
It is kind of disappointing to see Emi get captured. I'd say that Chiho should have been the one, as she's not an experienced fighter (despite the opening credits showing her able to wield a bow and arrow,) but she really makes no sense as a target for the parties involved. It does make for some great build up to the final confrontation as we hit the penultimate episode, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all gets resolved.
All in all, this was a strong episode. It was light on laughs, which is normally a criticism, but the more serious tone worked in this instance as the more dramatic elements of the show's plot are coming to the forefront.
Episode 12: The Devil Carries Out His Duties
The show hits its penultimate episode and, once again, we have another highlight. Almost every character gets a chance to shine and the episode even manages to effectively balance dramatic tension with comedic dialogue.
You'd think that mood whiplash would be a problem as the episode opens with Emi being tortured by the arch-angel Sariel. The fact that he is an actual angel does explain why Emi's weapons don't work and why he was so easily able to take her as a hostage. He even takes Chiho captive, even though she really has nothing to do with it. He does note, though, that she has had an effect on Satan that warrants exploration. He also voices more personal interests in her that don't really befit a holy servant of God, though it is consistent with his characterization up to this point.
Sadao does continue his efforts to rescue Chiho, though his role as her supervisor seems to be his driving motivation as opposed to friendship or the fate of the world. It leads to some of the episode's aforementioned humorous moments as he removes his work uniform to ensure that they don't get damaged when he is confronted by Suzuno. He also seems to show more concern with his bike than Emi and the others, asserting that Suzuno will have to pay him back for it given the expenses involved after it is wrecked in one of her attacks.
As he doesn't have much in the way of magic, Sadao doesn't prove to be much of a challenge to the angel initially. Luckily, though, the ordeal causes enough of a panic that the populace's fear is able to give Sadao a power boost to level the odds. It was a rather glorious turning of the tables and it's incredibly fun to watch.
There is some action on the sidelines as we see Suzuno realize the error of her ways and rebukes Sariel's agenda. Even though she doesn't get in on the fight per se, it was still good to see that character growth still had a place in the more climactic confrontation oriented episode.
Lucifer gets a chance to shine as he is approached by the newly awakened Olba, who offers to let him back into Heaven. It seems like he's going to turn on his friends, but we see him dupe his former ally in order to help his current roommates.
Heck, even Chiho manages to land some hits on Sariel when the angel tries to use her as a human shield to fend off Sadao's assault. It was satisfying to watch and it, admittedly, disproves my earlier assertion that Chiho wasn't much of a fighter.
Poor Alciel, though. The episode teases that he's going to get a moment of glory as we see his powers awaken, along with Sadao's. Alas, he arrives too late, and gets called on it by Sadao.
Even though this wasn't the show's finale, it was a very effective climax. It was gripping, the villain was unnerving, the soundtrack continues to be a highlight, and the whole thing was just fun to watch. The action and humor were balanced nicely and, as noted, it gave every one a moment.
I'm guessing that the final episode will act as something of a denouement. After the high octane action, a more low key episode is a good way to get a breather. Hopefully, though, it's able to keep the quality momentum going as the show has really hit its stride lately. Even if the final episode isn't action heavy, I do hope that it allows the series to end on a high note.
Episode 13: The Devil and the Hero Do Some Honest Hard Work
With the climactic battle with Sariel all wrapped up, the question arises of just what Sadao plans to do now. Chiho is concerned that he'll return to Ente Isla, a concept that causes her some distress given her feelings for him. Even Sadao openly saying that the power needed to undo the damage from the aforementioned fight and to open a gate to send Sariel back to their world used up all of his magic doesn't do much to calm her fears. On the flip side, Emi is still unsure if he plans to resume his malevolent plans of conquest.
The matter is compounded when Emi notes that a lot of boxes are suddenly being delivered to their apartment and Sadao asks his manager for a shift change. Ashiya doesn't help matters either as he asks Sadao for a "leave of absence" of his own.
It all turns out to be fairly harmless, Sadao got a second job working construction to help cover the cost of the trackers that Urushihara had planted on Emi and Suzuno. Emi is naturally outraged, but Sadao does note that they helped him find them when Sariel took them hostage and technically, she and Suzuno are still enemies.
As to the boxes, they are the doing of Urushihara. You'd think that this would be another instance where he overbought online, but it turns out that he is something of the victim here as he succumbs to the cunning machinations of a scam artist, who dupes him into buying a lot of things that they don't need and have no chance of paying for.
The attempts to arrange a return over the phone fail, so Sadao and the others take it upon themselves to visit the organization in person. It is here where they discover that Ashiya had gotten a job of his own. He notes that the voice sounds familiar over the phone, but is under the impression that it is a legitimate company.
Actually, he's rather distraught to find that the organization is a rip off joint. The fact that he's working for what he deems an evil organization causes him no small amount of guilt.
For those curious, yes the fact that he is a demon is brought up and makes for a nice punch line to the whole sequence.
Being the hero that she is, Emi steps up and notes a clause in consumer rights laws that would allow them to return the items despite the contract that Urushihara had signed. The fact that Urushihara is said to be 18 is a tad strange. He doesn't look 18 and the fact that he still constitutes being a minor was also a surprise. I guess that's a difference between US and Japanese laws.
For a one-off filler villain, the scam artist was rather effective. He was just the right kind of smug and slimy to make you hate him, despite his brief screen time. The fact that he seems to get one up on a group of demons is also pretty impressive in its own right.
On its own, this was a fun episode, but I'm not sure how well it works as a finale. It's implied that Sadao is content to live a peaceful life, but it isn't directly stated. Emi's doubts about his long term plans are never addressed in any real capacity. For that matter, there are quite a few loose ends regarding Ente Isla. Sariel may have failed, but it doesn't seem like there's anything stopping them from making further attempts to wreck our world in order to take them out.
Even the episode itself seems to randomly jump to the end credits after Sadao and Ashiya order some food. It's pretty jarring, in all honesty. I did like the post credits epilogue scene where Emi gives Sadao a new umbrella. It was a nice bookend and it was a way to show that the two former enemies had started to make amends.
All in all, this was a fun series. The short episode run can work against it, but at the same time, some episodes seemed like they could have been cut. Either way, the 13 episode run is quick and perfectly manageable for people who have a ton of things that they want to watch.
Still, when the show worked, it was a blast to watch. The characters were all likable and the dialogue was really spot on. It is streaming on Hulu for free so if you're in the mood for something more light-hearted, I'd recommend giving this a watch
Pros
- Fun, likable cast of characters
- It's a familiar plot hook, but the show has fun with it.
- Really strong writing throughout
Cons
- Despite the short length, there are some pacing issues
- While the 13 episode run time is a draw due to not requiring a major time investment, it seems like there was more that could be explored and other loose ends that could have more effectively been tied up.
Overall
This show was quite a bit of fun. Not every episode was a gem, but when the show was on, it was delightful. It's probably one of the stronger written anime series that I've gone through over the years.
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