What They Say:
Emi and Suzuno have some truly epic miscommunications, but when they finally get those straightened out, they’re even less on the same page than before. Meanwhile, Maou’s got bigger (?) problems: there’s a new fast-food restaurant in town!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Although it was still just as good, the previous episode got less done than I expected. This one makes up for any disappointment that may have resulted from that, while keeping that same level of quality I’ve been enjoying.
The first major thing that this episode does is having Chiho be very open about her feelings to Maou. This is pretty surprising considering what kind of character Chiho has been all this time, all to fantastic comedic effect of course, but hearing her let it out without tripping over herself in embarrassment is really nice to see. The accompaniment of a beautiful instrumental version of the ending theme works very well, especially since the ending sequence is focused on Chiho, and therefore hearing a more subtle version of it really accentuates her emotions at the moment. This is ultimately interrupted by Suzuno and Chiho goes back to being a bit more typical of her character, but the timing is so perfect and Maou’s response is just as open and honest as Chiho’s confession that the mood isn’t ruined at all, and Maou’s character becomes much more real and less of a potentially annoying cliché as a result.
We then follow Suzuno as she meets up with Emi, and it’s finally time to learn her whole story. Most of this is expected, but the fact that Suzuno is just as “human” as the rest of the cast, and was misunderstanding just as much as everyone else, was a bit of a surprise, and getting to watch her be so much less reserved and blown away by modern Earth technology is a really nice addition to the cast. The fact that every major character except Chiho came from the same world and ended up in Japan around the same time, but that Suzuno happened to interpret modern Japanese life very incorrectly, and doesn’t seem capable of adjusting as soon as the others, doesn’t seem quite right, but after accepting how quickly everyone is able to adjust anyway, I guess this isn’t too far off, and having such a different kind of character in that way really makes her addition worthwhile and fresh in a story and cast that really needs that.
Finally, we end up on Maou’s main plot thread which, in the standard and lovable fashion for this show, is far less serious than everything that preceded it. He has to deal with the new “Sentucky Fried Chicken” (of course this show would go there), or “SFC”, that’s come to town and pulled all the customers from MgRonald’s. The appearance of the sketchy SFC manager works for further quality sitcom material, but it also feels like he may be from Enta Isla as well. Emi’s attacker from the last episode is still a mystery, and this feels like a good way to connect the dots without ever forgetting to be as fun as always. The only thing that feels a bit sudden is the same as with the previous episode: the ending of the episode itself. Still, it feels very fitting for this show’s style.
In Summary:
Another episode goes by and I love this show more than ever. The constant onslaught of comedy gold is combined very well with some major developments in the plot and character revelations and relationships, none of which ever feels too unbalanced or unnatural.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.
