Anime Hajime Review: Hataraku Maou-sama

Series Synopsis

Once on the verge of conquering the world of Ente Isla, Demon King Satan (voiced by Ryota Osaka) is defeated by the Hero Emilia Justina (voiced by Yoko Hikasa). After escaping through a dimensional gate, the Demon King and his best general, Alciel (voiced by Yuuki Ono), end up in modern day Tokyo.

Without the presence of magic, the Demon King and Alciel take on human forms and must find a living in their new surroundings. To make ends meet, the king, taking on the name Sadao Mao, gets a job at a local fast food chain. Alciel, now Shiro Ashiya, stays at the two’s apartment and serves as housekeeper.

One day Sadao runs into a pretty redheaded woman who turns out to be none other than the Hero Emilia who followed the king in order to defeat him for good. However, like Sadao and Alciel, she has lost most of her mystical powers. Going by the name Emi Yusa, she works for a call center agency.

These bitter enemies must now work together in order to find a way back to their world, while at the same time having to occasionally save their new home. Along the way they are aided by Chiho Sasaki (voiced by Nao Toyama), Hanzo Urushihara (voiced by Hiro Shimono), and Suzuno Kamazuki (voiced by Nao Toyama).

Series Positives

Here is another example of a show relying on humor to carry the day. For the most part it works.

Extraordinary Normal Life

Demon King Satan a.k.a. Sadao Mao

Hataraku Maou-sama’s life blood is its humor. That would make sense for a comedy and many series do this so why is this one different?

Shows will draw their jokes from relationships, misunderstandings, normal daily life, etc.; all of which is present here. However, it's then taken up a notch when you have highly eccentric people suddenly living mundane lives.

The Hero Emilia Justina a.k.a. Emi Yusa

Think about it. Many of these characters were powerful beings in their home world where magic and sorcery is normal. Now they are in a place where their very existences are concepts of fiction. It's not the kind of change that happens overnight and often former tendencies rear up.

Never Too Serious

Chiho Sasaki

The most annoying thing I find in anime is when shows insist on being funny when there is no need for it. This usually comes during moments that, in terms of story, need to be taken seriously.

Hataraku Maou-sama does an amazing job at avoiding this by never taking itself seriously. Yes, there are moments where important events are happening that will eventually lead to a big conflict, but any tension that builds doesn’t last long. Never does a joke feel unwanted or out of place.

Demon General Alciel a.k.a. Shiro Shiya

This series is able to get away with this because of the nature of its characters. For example, you have Sadao who is an extremely powerful demon lord. While his power is limited most of the time, there are incidences where he is able to tap into it. Thus any threat is instantly and laughably outmatched making any sarcasm justifiable. Because of this, normal tension killers now feel natural and not forced.

Demon General Lucifer a.k.a. Hanzo Urushihara

Series Negatives

I want to be able to give this show a much stronger recommendation. There are so many hilarious moments that other anime lack. Sadly, there are also elements in this series that are frankly, inexcusable.

Rampant Inconsistencies

Grand Inquisitor Crestia Bell a.k.a. Suzuno Kamazuki

The story is fun. However, there are some glaring plot holes. The first, and the most annoying, appears in episode one and just continues to dig itself deeper.

In Ente Isla, the people know nothing of Japanese culture. Other shows do this as well despite everyone being able to speak Japanese. We see this all the time with English shows having everyone speak English, so this is nothing new. Hataraku Maou-sama goes beyond this and establishes that it’s fictions world has its own language. So when Sadao and Alceil arrive in Tokyo, they cannot understand what people are saying. At this point there is nothing wrong with this set up.

Then all of a sudden they are fluent in Japanese. Literately within one scene they are on par with native speakers. No magic, no tricks, they just are. The worst part is, it’s not only them; Emi, Hanzon, Suzuno all speak a language that they never knew existed.

This is almost forgivable, but then it goes from annoying to utterly absurd. There are flashback moments going back to Ente Isla were everyone can now speak Japanese. And then they alternate. Sometimes they go from their native language to a language that to them might as well not even exist.

You are left wondering why the show even introduced a made up language when it's not going to commit to it.

A Moral Dilemma

What makes this show funny are the interactions between the characters. It's like watching bickering children. It gives you a sense that everyone is friends.

But they're not friends. They have no reason to be friends.

While in Japan, Sadao is shown to be a really good guy who cares about the safety and well-being of others. A true hero. But he’s not.

Until recently he was a full-fledged demon lord who led a war of conquest against his home world. He is responsible for the burning of villages, destruction of farms, and the death of thousands. A true monster.

No matter what he might do now, it can’t excuse what he has done.

This is not something that you need to realize on your own; the series goes into it. But this concept is never explored. Instead it serves as a reminder with no purpose. It's always on the back of your mind and you can't help but see it when everyone is acting so friendly with one another.

Final Thoughts

A very funny anime with lots of fun to be had. It's a show that is able to avoid the mistakes of others, allowing it stand well on its own. Never taking itself too seriously and always remaining amusing and quirky. All the characters play off each other beautifully and the premise of the series adds well to the chemistry.

That being said, Hataraku Maou-sama makes its own blunders that bring it down. With many plot holes that are impossible to ignore and frustratingly obvious oversights that kill the immersion.

Still it's something that is worth looking at and taking the time to enjoy.

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