I love anime studios, really I do. They make fantastic anime for us to watch and enjoy, all while earning a salary that’s lower than what most of us would agree work for. They’ve made anime incredibly famous worldwide, and anime creators are generally the most famous Japanese names worldwide. And now there’s (finally) a new season for Hataraku Maou-sama!, aka The Devil is a Part-Timer!, after nearly a decade. Why did they make us wait so long to continue the story?
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Anime Fans Literally Only Want One Thing: A New Season
Anime fans all know the drill. No matter how good the ending was, no matter how perfectly it tied up the various plot points in question, we want another season as anime fans. And when the show leaves us hanging with a cliffhanger, we assume the story will be continued, right? But nothing causes more stress in the time-space continuum when a story that should get a continuation doesn’t get it.
This is what happened with the highly well-received The Devil is a Part-Timer!, a hilarious reverse-isekai anime about a demon lord who is about to be defeated in battle, so he teleports himself to another world to escape. He comes to our world, where he’s forced to work at McDonald’s MgRonald’s, which sets up some of the most hilarious situations you can imagine. But while fans assumed the story would be continued, it languished for nine years without getting a second season. Until now, that is!
The Return of The Devil is a Part-Timer!
What were you doing in 2013? I was right where I am now, blogging about anime in between selling hentai products on the Internet. The iPhone 5s had just come out, and gas was $3.49 a gallon. That’s what the world was like when The Devil is a Part-Timer! season 1 hit.
I’m super happy with the return of this beloved series, even if it took them nine years. Once again, we follow the demon lord Maou-san, cute tsundere Hero Emilia who’s always ready to kill him, demon general Shirou Ashiya, busty MgRonald’s co-worker Chiho, and all the rest.
Why is the show so good? It’s hard to say, but I love the extreme irony of the Demon Lord and his underlings living in poverty while working at a fast food restaurant, seeing the mundane world of serving fast food through the eyes of demons from another world. The number of times I found myself laughing out loud at the original season a decade ago and the new episodes are very high.
We also get a new character in the form of the “daughter” of Maou and Emilia, who will undoubtedly provide plenty of amusing plot points.
Why Do Anime Studios Give Us New Seasons After Fans Have Moved On?
What does it mean to be a “fan” of something? Being an enthusiastic fan means I’m actively interested in finding and collecting figures and products related to that show or sharing memes about it to bring more fans on board with a show I love and respect. I’m a “fan” of Star Wars, and spent a couple of hours today combing through the booths at the convention looking for Star Wars products to add to my collection.
In the past, I’ve really enjoyed the Code Geass anime, one of the best-executed shows by Sunrise that I can think of. It had a great plot, outstanding writing, and characters, and I loved everything about the series. But when the studio resurrected Code Geass after 12 years, I was perplexed. I couldn’t consider myself an active fan of the show anymore, as I couldn’t even recall the names of most of the characters. I didn’t bother seeing the new Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection film and know nothing about it. Does that make me a bad fan? Why did they wait so long to continue this story without, um, giving us the Highschool of the Dead second season we’ve been waiting on forever?
Thanks for reading this post about the new season of The Devil is a Part-Timer! What show would you like additional seasons of? Post it below, or on Twitter!
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