The Devil Is a Part-Timer! (Review)
The Devil Is a Part-Timer! Proves that Even the Devil has a Hard Time Getting a Full Time Job these Days.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had as much fun as I did
The series follows Lord Satan (Josh Grelle) who escapes from an epic battle with a hero ( Felecia Angelle) to our world in order to lay low. The thing is that while he’s in our world, he doesn’t have access to all of his magical abilities. So, he’s pretty much left as an ordinary college-aged kid. Luckily he’s got his faithful general to help him as he tries to make a living working at a fast food restaurant based off of McDonald’s.
What I love about The Devil Is a Part-Timer! is that is such an incredible fish out of water tale. Lord Satan has to learn about renting an apartment, working, living on a budget, all while maintaining the grandiose gestures and verbiage one would expect from such a character. The thing is that the series also focuses on the tremendous growth he undergoes while living with humans. This is partially because the hero he’s running from shows up in the world of man as well and the two actually start to become friends.
Honestly, I thought it was almost insightful how the series looked at the devil. Sure he’s a bad guy, but is that all a matter of perspective? I mean, initially, it’s explained that Satan wants to take over the world so demons can live in peace. Of course, his methods are rather unsound, but it’s slowly revealed that even the humans of his homeworld are as brutal and traitorous as the demons. When he’s able to leave his past behind, he actually proves to be a kind and benevolent person, working hard to be a model employee and work his way up in the company. Sure, the series doesn’t force these ideas, but they’re always there lurking between the jokes, which makes it a strangely profound series despite its absurd premise.
Director Naoto Hosoda does a tremendous job capturing the humor inherent in the subject matter. The cast does such a tremendous job bringing the characters to life and their sense of humor shines through. Whether you watch the dubbed or subbed version of this series you’ll find yourself in stitches, and it’s easily one of the funniest anime I’ve ever seen. Best of all, the entire series feels effortless when it comes to the comedy. Unlike other anime that inject it into sequences to momentarily relieve tension, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! Is a comedy that injects action in order to keep the jokes from getting old. This is especially evident in the beautiful animation from White Fox that knows just how to walk the line between the absurd and the badass as The Devil Is a Part-Timer! mixes fantasy with reality.
Really, the only thing that I can complain about is how short it is. I wanted The Devil Is a Part-Timer! to keep going as long as it possibly could. I became attached to the characters and I couldn’t press play fast enough. It’s terrible that the series only last thirteen episodes, especially because it feels like it was cut off before it’s time. There are only two major arch’s in the series, and none of them fully resolve the issues set up by the series. Honestly, if there was one series I’d want a second season for, it’s definitely The Devil Is a Part-Timer!.
Bottom line, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! is a lot of light-hearted fun. It’s easy to watch and distracting in the best possible way. It’s funny, smart and very well written (thanks to Masahiro Yokotani). The characters are all endearing and the animation is vivid and engrossing. Most importantly it’s a series the really understands how burdensome reality can be, which is why the magic and evil creatures that spring up are such a perfect metaphor for the desire to escape from it all. If you’re a fan of anime, you should give this series a shot, it’s going to be much more than you expected.
