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The Devil Is a Part-Timer Episode 13 Review: O Ye, of Little Faith

Quick Summary of The Devil Is a Part-Timer Episode 13

In The Devil is a Part-Timer episode 13, “The Devil and the Hero Do Some Honest Hard Work,” both Chiho Sasaki and Emi Yusa have dreams about Sadao Maou, but that’s about where the similarities end. Shirou Ashiya makes an unexpected request for leave and accidentally inflames Emi’s suspicions. Has Sadao decided to take over the world after all, and Shirou is preparing the way? Is Emi just imagining things? And what was Mitsuki Sarue doing in the McRonald’s freezer?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.  

What’s in This Post

3 Favorite Moments in The Devil Is a Part-Timer Episode 13

Moment 1: Mayumi Takes Care of Business

The show continues its tradition of great expressions! And I’m still wondering how Sariel can be called an “angel…” Capture from the Hulu stream.

Near the beginning of this episode, we see Sadao complaining about how tired he was, mostly because he had to use all of his magic to repair the damage that Mitsuki had done — plus throwing Mitsuki himself into the gate to get rid of him (1:45).

Turns out Sadao’s power was waning even then, because they discover Mitsuki in the McRonald’s freezer (3:02). The manager, Mayumi Kisaki (who I would liked to have seen more of!), is planning to call an ambulance when he regains consciousness. “You okay? Not dead or anything?” she asks (3:19). She was probably worried about the restaurant’s liability insurance rates!

When he looks at her, he becomes immediately infatuated and tries to seduce her. He tried to go all classical, saying that since she’s from McRonalds and he’s from Sentucky’s, they’re like Romero and Juliette! Of course, being a rational woman, she’s freaked out and says he must have injured his brain. He didn’t take the hint and lunged at her, at which point she shows why she’s one of my favorite secondary characters: she dumps him on the ground and grinds her heel in the back of his head (4:09).

I’m going to miss this show!

Moment 2: Emi and Chiho Go Sleuthing

Not exactly subtle, are they? Capture from the Hulu stream.

Emi’s really worried. First, Shirou asks for time off from the Devil’s Castle, and he’s very solemn and secretive as he does it. Second, Sadao asks for a few days off, and that worries not only Emi, but Chiho as well!

So they tail Sadao (while they’re wearing really obvious disguises!) until they find him working at a construction site. At first, Emi wonders if he’s manufactured some way to build a bigger Devil’s Castle (12:59), but no, he’s just a “lowly” hourly worker. A lowly hourly worker who sees them peeking into through the gate!

So he decided to tell them why he and Shirou had to take time off from their regular schedule: they needed to pay for the tracking devices that Hanzou Urushihara had purchased, and the bill was going to hit their account before the McRonald’s paycheck would. So, both of them needed to find hourly jobs that paid daily. This is the kind of humor the shows excels at: Emi thinks Sadao and his crew are going to take over the world, but they’re just trying to pay the bills.

Moment 3: The Ever Diligent Shirou

Shirou is so earnest about not doing evil — but wasn’t he a demon general? How’s that work? Capture from the Hulu stream.

I wonder if coming to Earth changed Sadao and Shirou (and even Hanzou)?

A slick salesperson from Deluxe Life International Holdings (a name even Sadao ridiculed) had tricked Hanzou into buying 128,000 yen (about $1,200 US) worth of water purifiers, fire extinguishers, and feather beds. With Emi’s help, Sadao tried to call to return the items, but the contact on the other end of the phone patiently explained why nothing could be returned. So, Emi and Sadao visited the company in person.

They were astonished when Shirou answered the door (17:20). The temp agency he and Sadao had signed up for sent Shirou to the crooked company. Sadao and Emi explained the situation to him until he finally understood that he was perpetuating a scam.

His reaction (17:52)? “Then I’ve been sent here to practice fraudulent business dealings, and I’ve unwittingly acted as an agent of evil?” Emi’s dry observation that he was a demon general was funny, but this still begs the question: Was Shirou’s emphasis on “agent of evil” or “unwitting?” And if the former, why was he worried about being evil? Why was Sadao being a good citizen? I really wish we would have gotten more seasons, because the show had so many interesting concepts like this that I would have liked to see explored!

Thoughts about The Devil Is a Part-Timer Episode 13

Emi The Hero — On Behalf of Sadao!

Am I the only one who thought Kuryuu (the sleazy salesman) seemed more like a devil than Sadao? Come to think of it, I wonder if there’s more than one world that has gates to Earth. Maybe Kuryuu is actually a demon from another world? He sure seemed the part!

I thought it was hilarious how Emi the Hero figured out how to use the Cooling Off period to force Kuryuu to take back the merchandise. 

Emi didn’t seem to know how to feel when she gave Sadao and Shirou an out. Capture from the Hulu stream.

This episode was like a microcosm of the entire series. It started out with both the desires of both Chiho and Emi being expressed in their dreams. Chiho wanted Sadao to stay (and giving her a kiss on the forehead was just adorable!), whereas Emi saw Sadao claiming dominion over their city on one hand, and declaring Greenland was his next target of conquest on the other. Emi’s dream in particular, along with her general distrust of Sadao and Shirou, led her to make all kinds of assumptions about Shirou’s request for leave, leading to Chiho and Emi following Sadao.

The Characters Have Grown

But there were subtle differences that I thought were interesting. Did you notice that in Emi’s dream, she was incredulous that Sadao was going on the rampage — or maybe she was just reacting to him saying his next target for conquest was Greenland (6:25)? In either event, his declaration seemed almost comically over the top to the extent that even her dream self seemed to doubt it.

Shortly after that, Emi was walking along the street arguing with herself about how she sees Sadao (7:20). She’s adamant that she can’t forgive him for the destruction of her village — or the death of her father. Then she falters, on the edge of actually considering just that!

When she and Chiho get caught in the rain (9:47), Emi, a melancholy expression on her face, looks off into the distance and remembers when Sadao first handed her an umbrella. She almost seemed wistful and longing. 

Emi seemed wistful as she recalled Sadao handing her an umbrella. Character-based comedies demand strong characters, and this series absolutely delivered. Capture from the Hulu stream.

Ending on a Sweet Note

Finally, we come to one of the last scenes. Sadao’s standing in the rain waiting for the light to change in the same intersection from episode 1 where he’d handed Emi his umbrella. After hassling him for standing in the rain, she hands him a new umbrella (23:10). He’s hesitant to take it, and I don’t blame him — he might have been worried that she rigged it to explode! But he finally relents and takes it. After a moment, he stumbles over a “Thank you.”

She responds with this amazing little smile (23:44). 

We never got a second season, so I’ll never know how their relationship developed. Well, maybe I will: I’ve started reading the manga. Still, I’m going to miss these characters, with their wonderful expressions and natural, nuanced relationships. I’m grateful to my Twitter mutuals who voted for me to review this series. 

What a great way to end the season — with Emi’s smile! Capture from the Hulu stream.

I hope all of you enjoyed reading these reviews as much as I enjoyed writing them!

What did you think of Sadao and Emi’s relationship? What were your favorite moments? Let me know in the comments!

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