Devilish anime serves up plenty of laughs

devilisaparttimerJames Walls
Campus News Editor

The Devil is a part-timer is an enjoyable comedy/fantasy anime series with lots of humor. Recently released in the United States by Funimation in July, this complete collection features a wonderful English dub by a cast that fit the characters nicely.

The series begins with a war between Satan (voiced by Josh Grelle) and his four demon generals versus the hero Emilia (voiced by Felicia Angelle) and the church.

Here, we learn of how the hero defeated three of the demon generals and almost vanquished Satan himself, but was unable to due to him and the last remaining general, Alciel (voiced by Anthony Bowling), escaping through the gate to another world, which in turn brought them to modern day Tokyo. And that’s all in the first few minutes of episode one.

While the first episode moved rather fast, bringing Satan and Alciel into a contemporary world with almost none of their previous powers, it was necessary to speed things along. After all, the first episode introduces the main characters in their now mortal forms as they start to experience human life, which includes having to eat and sleep, and thus get a job and a place to live. Through these menial tasks, we soon see who this new Satan, now going by Sadao Mao, will become.

The show revolves a lot around Satan’s, or should we say Mao’s, part-time job at MgRonald’s, where he works with Chiho Sasaki (voiced by Tia Ballard), a human girl who has a huge crush on him. But Chiho is not the only girl who is there to complicate his life. The hero, Emilia, has also made it through the gate, and thus takes it upon herself to ensure that Satan does not cause any more evil.

With a storyline containing rival food chains, a somewhat motherly demon general and a sort of love/hate relationship between the seemingly reformed Satan and the almost stalker-like hero, the show offers plenty of comedy. However, there is also a good deal of action to be had, with demons, priests and even angels battling it out in the series. And while it is uncertain if there will be a second season as of yet, the show does seem to leave it open at the end for more.

The series is rated 14+ and is not for children, but it’s also not overly graphic, either. So for those who enjoy a fun anime series without a lot of blood or nudity, this 13 episode collection is one that can’t be missed.