The Devil is a Part-Timer! Anime Review

THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER SCORE: 8.25

INTRODUCTION & SYNOPSIS

The Devil is a Part-Timer is a unique, fun anime that I really enjoyed watching. I would classify it as comedy, slice-of-life with a bit of action and small doses of romance. It had all of the elements necessary to make a great story; however, it was cut short a little soon. Rounding out at just 13 episodes in length, with no second season out yet, that was a bit of a let-down. All of that aside, I still think it’s worth a watch, especially if you consider yourself a casual anime watcher.

Satan, from the underworld, king of evil-doing, is sent through a gate warp from his kingdom of Ente Isla into modern day Tokyo with one of his faithful generals Alciel. The two wander about the streets of Tokyo in human form trying to make sense of their circumstances, when they get mistaken as rambunctious cos-players and get taken into custody by the cops. Through a turn of events, the duo decide to put down roots in Tokyo, as they will be here for the foreseeable future. Satan himself, going by Sadao Maou in this world, gets a part time job as “Lord of the Fries!” at Mc “Ronald’s.” Thus, the title, “The Devil is a Part-Timer.” If I had to compare the concept of the show to something else, it’s like the comedy “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy. People from a totally different world coming to the modern world and trying to get by. Heck, they even both get part-time jobs at McDonald’s!

PROS

The Devil is a Part-Timer made me laugh. It was a funny show and the characters were quite comical. Each character displays their own unique type of comedy whether it be dry humor, sarcasm, slap-stick, rude humor, dumb accident and even cutesy humor, which makes a well-rounded cast perfect for a comedic and casual show such as this. Additionally, most of the characters were very like-able, which makes you care enough about their plights to watch the show.

A lot of the humor also came from the circumstances the characters were put in. The situation of coming to modern day Tokyo, being Satan, being an angel, being a devil’s general, etc, humor comes from that. The setting and circumstance make for a unique show. Especially since things go in such a way that you don’t expect. The devil turning out to be a nice, happy-go-lucky guy who freaks out if he is even a little late to his part-time fast food job.

Lastly, I want to commend the animation and voice acting. I think it was superb. (I watched this in English Dub) Particularly, the language that they used for Ente Isla, while it was a fake language, it sounded extremely convincing!

CONS

As for cons of this series, I don’t have a lot really. Most tie in to the show’s length. I’m aware that the show is originally a light novel, so I know there is probably more content than what we were given. I am hoping that there is a season two! For example, the love triangle (ish) thing that forms between the Hero Emi, Satan, and one of his Mc Ronald’s employees Chiho was really interesting and I wanted to see how it all played out. That said, the show had a satisfying enough ending, but I wanted to see more.

Lastly for cons, the intro was super boring, and I skipped it every single time. It could have been better selected.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All and all, The Devil is a Part-Time is a solid comedy anime. All things considered, I have awarded it an 8.25 out of 10. If you are looking for a casual and fun show to watch by yourself or with friends, I highly recommend The Devil is a Part-Timer!

Dangan Ronpa: The Animation Anime Review

DANGAN RONPA: THE ANIMATION: SCORE 10.0

INTRODUCTION & SYNOPSIS

Yes, I know what your thinking, "Really?! A PERFECT Ten?!" Especially those of you who have played the visual novel; I'm sure you're really mad right now. But, it's true, I did not find flaws with this anime. I am judging it as a stand alone, and not comparing it to the game. I strongly believe that if you have not played the game and just watch the anime, you will love it. If you have played the game, I'm sure it's not as much to write home about considering it's basically the same story with less character development. Standing on its own though, it is really, really good. Dangan Ronpa is just an all around good story and franchise.

This is a mystery, horror (not "gore-or") anime with some psychological elements that will keep you glued to the screen episode after episode in suspense. We are introduced to a boy named Naegi who is excited to start his life in a new and prestigious school he worked quite hard to get in to. However, as he takes his very first step into the promise land, everything goes completely blank. He then wakes up in an iron clad classroom completely alone with no reach to the outside world. Over the intercom, he hears to meet in the gym. In the gym he convenes with 14 other young hopefuls who are just as confused and mystified as he. Then a creepy looking bear pops up.. to explain their fate. All 15 young captives are stuck in this school forever. Unless, they commit the perfect murder to one of their cohabitants. Once the corpse is found, the students have 24 hours to investigate, and then the trial begins. If the students can guess correctly who the murderer was, it is not the perfect crime, and so the murderer is executed in extravagant fashion in front of the jury. However, if they pin the murder on the wrong person, all of them die except the correct murder who walks away clean with their new-found freedom...

PROS

Dangan Ronpa has one of the best story lines I have ever scene, executed perfectly, keeping the truth behind the school a complete mystery until the very end. It has all of the elements needed for a great mystery. I can't give away too much more about the story line, as it would completely kill (no pun intended) the show for you. So let's jump into characters. Every character has something "super" about them that makes them special, such as being good at a sport, hobby, or way of life. There are only a few characters who get decent development along the way, but the ones who do are worth it. &While there isn't a ton of development for every character, it almost doesn't matter at all in this type of show. It's clear from the start that one character will be making it to the end - Naegi of course, our MC. The best thing about this though, is that we don't know who else is going to make it with him. We can't form any attachments to anyone, but that doesn't matter, because the audience has more fun figuring out who will be executed next. Which brings us to another pro, the trials.

Who will commit the next murder? What will their motives be? Who will they try to pin it on? All questions are raised when a new corpse is found. As the captives scrounge the scene for clues, the clock ticks until trial. Trials are the best part of this show, and if you aren't hooked by the first episode, you will be by the first trial. Every single time, I did not know who the murder was, and it was impossible to guess until the characters started bringing things to light and pin pointing evidence, which made it extremely interesting to hear, and in fact, even see. The visuals for the trial periods were insanely good, and made the atmosphere just right. Speaking of, all of the visuals were great in this anime. The art style was super unique and the horror style was too. Although the whole color pallet was turned dark for the animation, all blood was bright pink. I don't know what else to say about that, besides that it worked.

Lastly, the ending was gold. You will not see it coming, and it isn't disappointing in the least. The extravagance and trickery behind the school is shockingly satisfying to finally hear laid out after 10 or so episodes of wondering. Which brings us to the only (somewhat not really) flaw that I have tacked on at the end here: the show is short. If it were a full 24 episodes, I think it would have been even better.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I'm sure you may have guessed by the lack of cons and rest, Dangan Ronpa earned a perfect 10 out of 10! Mysterious, Enthralling, Can't Get Enough horror and adventure. A classic toil between hope and despair. A must watch.


Watched on: Dubs2go.net

NEW Let's Play: Amnesia Memories

Welcome to a world you know nothing about.. Waking up with Amnesia, you have no choice left to go along with whatever you see and take it for face value. Your spirit guide Orion will help you along the way as you enter the first world - Heart World. This Otome has an anime adaptation, which I have reviewed here.

Thank you for watching <3