Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun Season 3

Episode 4

Before we get to talking about this week's episode, allow me to get something off my chest: I cannot stand this season's ending theme. The song itself would be fine, but the warbles and the random noises like a broken electronic toy just drive me right up a wall. I know I'm sound sensitive, but I have to think that any song that makes my dog leave the room is taking things too far.

That out of the way, it's time to get to what the previous three episodes were building towards: the Harvest Festival! Well, sort of. This actually feels like another building block episode, which is a little disappointing, although I have every confidence that it will pay off. The plot here is to more fully explain the rank-up exam and to introduce the new characters who will be competing with our favorite group of misfits. While I'm intrigued by the silent stinky one (there's got to be something more going on there), the first competitors to make the scene are the Dorodoro Brothers, Ichiro and Niro. Apart from the question of what exactly they've been getting up to while skipping class – the blink-and-you'll-miss-it image at about the seven-minute mark had better be deliberately misleading – the brothers have the added advantage of being second years. Speculation as to why they're competing is rife, ranging from them being held back to just needing an extra credit or two, but the advantage of this being their second time participating is almost immediately obvious: they already know where the ingredients are likely to hang out. Since the competition is point-based, with each harvestable item counting for a different number of ingredients points based on difficulty of capture, this really puts the brothers ahead of the game, and they've quickly zeroed in on the two people who stand the best chance of beating them, Asmodeus and Sabnock.

Or perhaps that should be “the two people who look like they stand the best chance of beating them,” because while Asmodeus and Sabnock are the obvious favorites, underestimating the Misfit Class rarely pays off for anyone. It's clear that everyone's gone through some grueling training (let's not think too much about Alocer's muzzle), so while Azz-Azz may be the obvious favorite, counting the rest of them out isn't the sound plan the brothers seem to think it is. Admittedly, I'm not sure how being sexy would help you to catch a candy-whisker tiger, but I'm willing to learn.

Learning will have to wait a few episodes, though, judging by the pacing here. That's not necessarily a bad thing, although it is a bit disappointing to see that the three misfiteers won't be getting back together immediately, something Asmodeus definitely agrees with. Sabnock and Azz-Azz are the two members of the Misfit Class who had the least work to do in terms of powering up, which subsequently makes them the least interesting in terms of how they've improved, at least based solely on assumptions, so seeing what Keroli and Camui can do next week may be a bit more of a thrill. Though those brothers could really throw a wrench in the works, so this may simply be a victim of being a set-up episode rather than Balam's boys not having anything to prove. (And Sabnock always believes he has something to prove, doesn't he?) And it certainly isn't bad – seeing Asmodeus reunite with Iruma and immediately turn into a sparkly mess is wonderful, and so is Ameri staring intently at the broadcast of the Harvest Festival while methodically stamping paperwork. Things should be kicking off with more flair soon, and the anticipation just may make it even better when Iruma struts his stuff.

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Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.