The Devil is a Part-Timer is an anime about King Satan, the King of Demons. The first episode begins with the Hero Emilia and her team on a mission to kill King Satan, and save Ente Isla. However, King Satan escapes into the human world with his servant, Alciel. Unknown to them, the Hero Emilia is not far behind them. When they arrive in the human world, they lose their demon bodies, due to a lack of magic to keep them in their true forms. In other words, the Devil, his servant, and the Hero are stuck in human bodies, and in the human realm.
I had recently watched this anime this past weekend, due to its short length at only 13 episodes. The anime is light-hearted, funny, and ambitious. Also, when there are fight scenes, in which the negative emotions of humans around the Devil empower him, and he can enter his final form. These moments leave the viewer with a sense of awe at the power of an evil being, with pure intentions. That’s one of the best things about this anime, it demonstrates how even the most evil of all beings can be the most helpful one.
King Satan adopts the name Sadao Maou, Alciel takes on the name Shiro Ashiya, and Emilia picks the name Emi Yusa. Sadao and Ashiya realize that if they are going to pay their rent, they need jobs. Sadao begins work at a MgRonald’s, and soon becomes the most hardworking employee there. Ashiya takes on small temporary jobs, and Emilia becomes a Tech Support operator.
This causes many comedic situations. Sadao takes his job too seriously, as he believes that if he is promoted enough, he will soon rule over the human world. Ashiya becomes a parental figure, much to Sadao’s appreciation for it. Emilia figures out that Sadao is King Satan, but also doesn’t have the magic to kill him, so instead, she decides to simply keep tabs on him.
One of the many great things about this anime is that it makes the viewer want Sadao to get his magic restored, just to see his final form. He only uses it to save his friends’ and the humans’ lives. As the series progresses, you can see that he is no longer concerned with ruling the human realm, he only wants to protect it. However, his friends, and enemies, are confused, for they have only known the King Satan who nearly destroyed all of Ente Isla, and not Sadao, who uses his powers to save people’s lives.
This anime also has a few flaws. The BIGGEST problem this series has is its length. Only 13 episodes?! I loved this anime, and I felt like it could have a lot more done with it. To see it be cut so short is disappointing, considering how great it actually is. Some characters had no significance whatsoever. There were two characters who said their names once, and I forgot about them, because they almost have no role in the story.
With all of these elements, and wonderful voice acting, both the Japanese and English dub, with the loveable characters, and quite simply an outrageous idea, I want to give this anime a high score. However, the shortness of it, and the unnecessary characters, it holds the anime back a bit. So, I give The Devil is a Part-Timer 3/5 Lukes.
Thanks for reading!
