We seem to be getting a few demon king versus hero shows of late. At least this one got a dub. A very good dub.
About the Show:
The Devil is a Part-Timer! 13 Episodes
Directed by Christopher Bevins. Head Writer: John Burgmeier. Script by Jamie Marchi with Samuel Wooley (eps. 3, 5, 8, 10, 12). Translation by Sarah Alys Lindholm with assistance from Masako Olliverier (eps. 8, 9).
With the voices of Josh Grelle (Sadao Maou/The Devil/Demon King Satan), Felecia Angelle (Emi Yusa/The Hero Emilia), Anthony Bowling (Shiro Ashiya/Demon General Alciel), Tia Ballard (Chiho Sasaki), Aaron Dismuke (Hanzo Urushihara/Demon General Lucifer), Alex Moore (Suzuno Kamazuki/Crestia Bel), Alexis Tipton (Rika Suzuki), Mark Stoddard (Olba Mayer), Scott Freeman (Mitsuki Sarue/The Archangel Sariel), Caitlin Glass (Mayumi Kisaki), Monica Rial (Emerada), Christopher R. Sabat (Albert).
Produced by Funimation.
The Review: (Please be aware of plot spoilers in this review)
Funimation has recently released the 2013 anime series The Devil is a Part-Timer! (Hataraku maou-sama!) on DVD and bluray, based on the light novel series by Satoshi Wagahara and animated by White Fox. If you’re interested in the show, both content and technical presentation, please see Chris Beveridge’s review here.
This review will focus solely on the dub which Funimation has produced for this show, which is in my opinion one of the best comedies to come out of Japan in the last three or so years. Under the usually reliable direction of Chris Bevins, we have another winner from Flower Mound.
Those from another world
As just a very short summary of the plot, in a parallel universe, the forces of Light and Darkness battle for control of Ente Isla. When The Hero of the humans leads an army to destroy Satan, the Devil, king of the demons, the demons are defeated, but the Demon King, along with his lieutenant Alciel, escape through a gate to another world…ours. The problem that the Devil and his general face when they find themselves in modern day Japan is that the magic which is plentiful in the world of Ente Isla is absent from Earth. Thus, they have no way of going back home until they can discover a source of magic. One of the side effects of the magic drain is that the demons lose their demonic appearance and look like normal humans. As they have no material wealth or magic to call upon, the pair are forced to assimilate to our world. Satan, who takes the name Sadao Maou, gets a part-time job at MgRonald’s, a name which probably requires little explanation.
While the demons try to live quietly, they cannot escape the forces of Light, as The Hero has followed them to Earth…but also has lost all her power. Yes, her. The Hero Emilia, now going by the name Emi Yusa, takes a job in a call center (her company’s name is again a parody name of a very large and well-known Japanese mobile phone company) to make ends meet while she too tries to discover a power source in our world. Over time, others come from Ente Isla, intent on killing both Sadao and Emi.
Now, that summary makes it seem like a potentially serious show on some levels, with the whole big battle between Good and Evil (with capital letters) playing out, but at heart, this is a light-hearted comedy that pokes gentle fun at modern life. Especially the lives of people who have not managed to get full-time employment in Japan, which includes a sizable number of young people who came into the workforce after the “golden age” of Japan’s economy, when full-time jobs with almost guaranteed lifetime employment were much more available. It’s also a classic fish-out-of-water comedy, as these beings from a high fantasy medieval-kind of world are now having to adjust to modern Tokyo.
Our titular “hero,” the Devil, Satan, now Sadao Maou, part-time employee of a fast food chain restaurant, is played by Josh Grelle. An actor with an expansive resume at this point, Mr. Grelle provides the necessary underpinning that helps keep things on the right emotional and tonal level. Sadao is not exactly a genius (he would have managed to get a better job if he were, wouldn’t he?), but for someone so villainous and cruel, Sadao in this world could not be nicer and more upright. A stand up kind of guy for his friends and co-workers. All of this comes through in Mr. Grelle’s performance, which switches from delusions of grandeur (on several occasions, he enters mock villain mode as Sadao boldly states his goal of conquering this world in addition to Ente Isla) to genuine, aww shucks sincerity without any feeling of displacement. One moment, he can be (quite seriously) savoring the devouring of entrails (beef intestine at a restaurant where you BBQ it yourself at the table), with hammily over-the-top narration. The next, he can be doting on his younger co-worker Chiho (we’ll get to her in a bit) with the tone of concern appropriate to an elder brother looking out for his younger sister. At work, he is all business, matching the character’s sincerity with a tone and cadence that says “I am a professional.”
Accompanying the Devil-in-exile is the Demon General Alciel, now called Ashiya most of the time. Anthony Bowling tackles the character’s somewhat difficult transition from proud leader of evil legions to Japanese “housewife” quite deftly. The strong tones give way to a plaintive lament, a bit of whine at times, that perfectly matches the diminished status and role of Alciel. On occasion, the character engages in full-force snark and Bowling delivers those lines at just the right level, with just enough disguised venom. One of the highlights of this dub is the series of Odd Couple bickering matches between Sadao and Ashiya over household finances (which are always strained) and the predicament they find themselves in.
Trailing after the demonic pair is The Hero, Emilia. A powerful servant of Good with the ability to wield Celestial Force and special weapons against the Devil’s magic, she suddenly finds herself alone in a strange world, having to search and destroy the Devil by herself. Emi Yusa, as she becomes, is a difficult role because of the wide range of emotion she needs to show. Felecia Angelle is a relative newcomer, but gives a performance that reaches the required emotional notes. Early on, Emi is all heroic and larger than life, calling out the Devil and announcing that she shall visit punishment upon him for his many crimes (both against all of Ente Isla and against her personally). But when she begins to stalk…ahem…closely monitor Sadao and Ashiya’s activities, she begins to realize that these two hapless losers pose no real threat to Ente Isla any longer and she begins to focus more on her own plight.
G.B. Smith
Greg Smith has been writing anime reviews and a review column on anime dubbed into English for several years, first at AnimeOnDVD and now for The Fandom Post. His occasional column on English anime dubs, Press Audio, appears whenever he comes across a dub worthy of a closer look. He is also the deputy editor for our seasonal and year end retrospectives.