Hataraku Maou-sama! Ep 9
Impression:
It has been a stressful episode for Maou, but I’m glad that things worked out in the end. It looks like he may have used his magic to enchant the bamboo tree to encourage/brainwash people into going into their shop. That would be cheating, but it still amuses me greatly if he really did that- which would also explain why Suzuno had that unamused/killer look on her face.
Alsiel’s made-up on-the-spot back-story about their relationship with Emilia was absolutely flawless. I couldn’t contain my laughter because it is such an exaggerated sob story that smoothly cleared up the misunderstanding of Emilia’s relationship with Maou and her ‘supposedly’ romantic feelings towards him. I must say though, the moment when Alsiel was touched by what Rika had said to him, I became a Rika x Alsiel shipper. Oh goodie, how I would love to see those two end up together, Alsiel needs some love in his life- well he already loves Maou and is his wife but that’s not the point.
Finally last but not least, lets talk about the Sentucky manager. He is so shady and creepy- seriously he is so touchy with the girls and those shades doesn’t make the situation any better. I have my suspicions that he might have been the one with the scythe that attacked Emilia, or perhaps one of the other assassins waiting for their moment to strike. His ominous warning definitely raise some flags. It will be interesting how things unfold, especially now that it appears Maou is using magic to draw in the customers that they have been lacking ever since Sentucky opened up.
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Hataraku Maou-sama! Ep 10
Impression:
Another mild episode with not too much plot development, but at least compared to last week we had gotten some tidbits to press it forward.
I was not expecting the manager from Sentucky manager to be an Angel, that completely caught me offguard. It makes me wonder where do the Angels stand in Ente Isla, and why they are keeping their eyes on Emilia. Having seen the way the feather acting as a sign of their presence near-by, it seems likely that Emilia was being watched back then. Another thing that perks my interest is that Suzuno had sensed it and saw the feather, where as Emilia didn’t when it did back in episode 4. So it makes me wonder if perhaps Emilia isn’t able to sense/see them yet despite being partially an Angel herself.
I wasn’t surprised to see that Suzuno had the same reaction as Emilia initially did after seeing Maou having used the magic he had harvested to use to help others than for his own personal gain (it was expected). With that in mind, since she will be speaking with the Sentucky manager who is an Angel, it will be interesting to see whether will showcase the potential dark side of an Angel. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, one being perhaps a role reversal – Angels being the bad guys, and the Demons being the good guys – or they both are parties like humans that have their shades of grey. It feels like there are still unspoken details regarding the war in Ente Isla, in particular Maou’s side of the story about why that war was taking place in the first place (besides the ‘Conquest’ idea). With that said, I am questioning who was it that really had initiated the war in the first place. Was there a bait, someone provoking them to start a war? Were the Demons perhaps even framed? I wonder all of this because of Maou’s personality. We don’t know too much about his past or what his personality was like back in Ente Isla, we are left to assume that perhaps he either always cared about Humans to begin with, or it’s something that grew on him as he was forced to adapt and live in the Human World.
I do hope that next week, we don’t have to experience watching Maou do the work he always done, showing off how good he is at it. They really don’t need to showcase that so much, it’s making me bored. All I would like to see is some action again, in particular with dealing with the enemies. Although it’s has only been two episodes ago, it feels like it’s been a while since Emilia was last attacked. I await for the next one- perhaps this time would be more dramatic.
As for the ‘fun’ bits of the episode, I did enjoy it. I found the burger = chest size symbolism was absolutely hilarious. Poor Emilia feels really self-conscious about not having a blooming chest like Chiho’s. And then poor Chiho who was trying her hardest to appeal to Maou and ask him about her how she looks in her bikini only to get a response that is work related thanks to his obliviousness. (Man it’s astounding how easily these things fly over Maou’s head.) The girls in general had it rough this episode with their experiences from the Haunted House to the Reptitle Exhibits. Neither Chiho or Emilia like reptiles (but their reasoning for feeling that way is quite different in scale), and surprisingly Suzuno actually eats them. Finally last but not least of our favorite characters experiencing woes, is Alsiel who had eaten too much Udon in hopes to not waste it only to end up sick to his stomach and suck in the bathroom all day… Poor guy…
