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The Devil is a Part-Timer, currently streaming on Crunchyroll, reverses the common trait of an isekai anime by throwing extraordinary characters into an ordinary world. The King of the Demons Maou is a shift manager at a popular fast-food chain in an attempt to rise through the ranks and conquer this new realm. The Devil is a Part-Timer season 2, episode 17 is caled “The Hero Says Good-Bye for a Time.” Emi takes a trip to Ente Isla to retrace her mother Lailah’s footsteps and discover the secrets of Lailah’s Sacred Sword, Yesod Fragments, and the connection between Heaven and demons.
Editor’s Note: Spoilers follow for The Devil is a Part-Timer season 2, episode 17?
Image via Crunchyroll
Episode 17 of The Devil is a Part-Timer season 2 begins with Maou, Emi, Chiho, Hanzo, Shiro, Suzuno, and Alas enjoying a home-cooked meal at Maou’s apartment. They argue that the ginger atop their tofu dishes in inappropriate for Alas, but Shiro protests, saying that Alas will grow up to be a picky eater. One by one, the others agree that there’s too much ginger on the tofu, leading Shiro to defend his cooking.
While walking through the streets of Japan, Emi breaks the news that she’s returning to Ente Isla to visit her parents. She reflects on her goal to defeat the Devil, which became all the more complicated once Alas Ramus came into the picture. She recalls how numerous Angels and Demons are coming after them, and she no longer wishes to live a life on the run.
Emi hopes that in tracing her mother’s footsteps back to Ente Isla, she might figure things out for herself. She wishes to uncover the secrets of Lailah’s Sacred Sword, Yesod Fragments, and the connection between Heaven and Demons. Emi promises the other that she’ll be back on September 12th, just in time for hers and Chiho’s shared birthday celebration. She reassures them that she’s history’s strongest hero and would never put herself in harm’s way with Alas Ramus there. At the train station, Chiho tells Emi that she’ll practice “kid’s curry,” so that it’s a more kid-friendly dish for Alas.
Back at Maou’s apartment, Shrio and Hanzo express relief that Emi is gone, acting like fools around Maou, who disapproves and scolds them. Shiro invites Maou to eat grilled meat with a coupon he’d been saving. Maou snaps at them, reminding them that Emi trusts them as Demon Generals to protect Tokyo and stay on the look-out for any trouble.
Chiho’s fragment of the Sephirot tree, which she turned into a ring bearing a purple gem, begins to glow once Emi passes through the gate into Ente Isla. She says aloud that she hopes Ente Isla is peaceful when Emi arrives.
We skip forward to September 11th, the day before Emi was due to return.
Maou is studying for his moped licence exam. Shiro questions him about why he chose to take the test. Maou tells him that it’s essential for his job at MgRonald’s, should he need to cover any shift absences. Shiro admires his dedication to the human life he’s built for himself. Maou and Shiro note how Emi hasn’t returned yet, beginning to grow concerned for her safety.
They begin to list off theories as to what could have happened, many of which include some catastrophic event and hostages. Just then, Chiho and Suzuno arrive and all present parties suggest that Maou allow himself to be overloaded with celestial force again to regain his powers and open a gate to find Emi. Suzuno notes a fault in the plan, saying that she doesn’t possess even half of Emi’s power and connect help Maou reach full strength alone.
Image via Crunchyroll
Maou chimes in to say that he doesn’t care what the humans are doing. In fact, if they kill each other, that works to his advantage. Assuming the joint birthday party is canceled, Maou plans to take his moped license exam the next day. Suzuno asks if he would respond the same way if Chiho were in danger. Maou says he would be gentler about it, but his conclusion would remain the same. Just then, Chiho arrives and admits she asked Suzuno to quiz Maou on her behalf.
Chiho believes Maou is lying and does care about Emi. She mentions how Maou made Chiho, Suzuno, and Emi his generals and promised to show them the new world. If Alas Ramus is still with Emi, Chiho doesn’t believe Maou would let anything bad happen to them.
When they leave, Maou and Shiro alone, the latter tells Maou that they have graver matters to attend to. Any devils wishing to take on Emi in a fair fight wouldn’t win, but humans versus humans in Ente Isla would mean that anyone posing a threat to Emi isn’t fighting fair. Malebranche and Heaven itself are her enemies, so she’s likely in serious danger. There’s the likelihood that hostages were taken to gain the upper hand over Emi, whom the humans believe to have betrayed them along with Suzuno.
Hanzo feels optimistic that Emi is merely running late, since Japanese trains usually run behind schedule. He believes Emi will show up any day now. Maou, dismissing Shiro’s concerns, takes Hanzo’s side. He tells Hanzo that when Emi returns, he’ll mock her for being late and rub his moped licence in her face. The next day, Maou goes for his moped exam.
The date on Maou’s phone reads September 27th. He’s confronted on the train by a girl resembling Alas Ramus, who sniffs his hand and tells her father that Maou has a familiar smell that reminds her of someplace warm she visited a long time ago. The dad warns her to not do anything that would make her stand out.
Suzuki arrives at Maou’s apartment complaining to Shiro and Hanzo that she can’t get through to Emi. Suzuki says it’s been a week since her lost contact with Emi. The call from Emi turns out to be from an unknown caller. Suzuki recalls how she sounded far away, breathy, and talked much faster than normal. Suzuno barges in at that moment, saying that she’s received an SOS from Chiho.
Hanzo and Suzuno use Boots of Light to fly out of the apartment and presumably towards the gate to Ente Isla. Meanwhile, Suzuki and Shiro look on, flabbergasted.
The first season of The Devil is a Part-Timer! is available on DVD and Blu-ray. The first and second season are streaming on Crunchyroll.
