The Devil Is a Part-Timer!! Season 2

Episode 12

So we finally reached the end of this highly-anticipated sequel and my final thoughts are…it was OK. This is probably the strongest episode of the season, and there's already been an announcement for season three so it's good to know that there's some momentum going forward. Some parts of this finale are a bit confusing due to the sheer amount of information being doled out here, and some of its emotional beats don't hit as strongly as they should have. The animation quality and action choreography also left a lot to be desired, but in spite of all that, this episode continues to carry on the spirit of the series to new heights.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer!! is one of the few shows that I think properly balances world-building with subversive parody. The idea of mythological beings descending upon our world only to end up humbled and grounded by human sensibilities is one full of potential for both comedy and pathos. Season one definitely had stronger comedy overall, but I commend this season for attempting (and mostly succeeding) in tackling that concept in a more grounded and thoughtful way. In this episode, Gabriel explains what is at stake when it comes to what the angels want to accomplish and how they really feel about the system that was put in place. Deep down, demons, humans, and angels are not much different from one another after all, and it's almost like they're forced by the tropes of the genre they're in to keep things a certain way.

Angels are supposed to be these holy divine beings and demons are supposed to be inherently evil while humans are supposed to be ignorant of everything that goes on around them. Yet throughout this whole show we've learned that the demon king at his core is a relatively straightforward and honest hard worker who just took on the role of the villain because it was the only way that his people would be able to survive. Emi, being born from the union between a human and an angel, was practically raised with the idea that she needed to be a hero, and she only ended up having a personal stake in the matter when she thought that her father died in the war. Here, not only do we find out that both of her parents are very much alive, but her very existence is seemingly despised by the same entities that she was supposed to worship. Then finally there are the angels, who carry themselves with this sense of self-importance if Gabriel is anything to go by, but then again he's kind of just a lazy bum that doesn't know how to read the room. He doesn't deny that angels are no different than humans, but if humans found that out then angels would lose their heavenly presence and authority.

In other words, it's all bullshit at the end of the day, with people being divided by their place in the system rather than by who they are as individuals. I genuinely didn't think the show would explore these themes, but I'm happy that it's at least setting the groundwork for that larger discussion because there is definitely a lot to chew on here. It's not the most satisfying way to end the season, and a lot of what came before could have been compressed to allow the revelations we get here more space to breathe, not to mention some burning questions left unanswered. When Maou was saved that day by Emi's mother, what larger plan did she have for him and what does she mean by trying to restore everything to how it was supposed to be? Is she some kind of devious mastermind that's moving everybody like pawns, or is this series going to attempt a sort of wide-scale "ends justify the means" sort of situation? It's hard to say for now and, my thoughts on this season notwithstanding, I'm glad that I only have to wait a couple of months to potentially see where we go from here.

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The Devil Is a Part-Timer!! Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.