The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!

Episode 16

Episode 16, “The Dark Lord Doesn't Hold Back!” starts with looping Druj in on the fact that the Dark Lord has been revived and things are back on track for demonic glory. Only… Druj isn't quite pleased to see that Jahy has A) a new friend and that B) said new friend is the magical girl that kind of wrecked everyone's day in the first place. Naturally, that's much more important than talking about some ol' fuddy-duddy Dark Lord, right?

And post-OP, that's exactly what's up: Druj, better known as the demoness formerly known as Jahy's footstool, is pissed, because how could some lowly peon of a human become The Great Jahy's friend? Well, Jingu sets up the question, and Druj answers by throwing down the gauntlet and declaring herself the resident Jahy Expert.

That's a lot of what this episode is about: a competition to become Jahy's underling and decide once and for all who knows the cat-like demoness best. It's pretty funny, largely because Jahy just sees this as a chance to get boatloads of crystals while Jingu and Druj wreck havoc. It's a real win-win for The Great Jahy… until she gets stuck with the bill for their meal and has to scrub dishes in the back to cover the bill.

However, Jahy, Druj, and Jingu aren't the only sources of comedy because best girl Saurva is back and I love her so much. Bonus: she's got a new invention called Chompy-kun, which is… a glorified bear trap that she plans to capture Jahy in, only Saurva is hella unlucky, and also secretly a very good person. However, this butts up against Jingu's desire for Jahy to notice her, which is a funny juxtaposition as Saurva tries to, once again, defeat the Dark Realm's second most powerful demon. All of this sets up the dynamic for the first half, though the back half of the episode dives into Jingu and the Dark Lord's relationship, which shifts us back into “Dark Lord is essentially a NEET” territory.

A lot of the comedy this episode treads familiar territory: Jahy gets kicked in the non-existent pants by life, Druj simps for Jahy, Jingu continues to try to be her best friend, Saurva's bad luck lands her in painful situations, and the Dark Lord eats a lot of food, though she does mix things up by sneaking into Jingu's school bag and causing trouble. Familiar territory isn't bad though, and the jokes still manage to wrangle chuckles out of me. However, it also means that Episode 16 as a whole is just kind of okay despite getting a lot more of the cast together, which does feel like a bit of a lost opportunity.

The one major net positive of this episode is getting some details about the Dark Lord and her previous, more powerful existence, which stands in stark contrast to the Dark Lord who lounges around Jingu's home. It also hooks us into something of a cliffhanger and hints at episode 17 being a bit more action-oriented, at least in the front half of the episode.

Ultimately, if this is The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!'s weakest back-to-back week, then I'll take it. The show is still funny, though this week is a reminder that comedy is ultimately subjective: what's funny one week can feel stale the next. What's tried and true can still ring true. This is a case where the series wasn't doing it for me, though I'm still staunchly a Jahy Stan, and find this one of the funniest series of this year. Come for the plot, stay for the community and struggling demoness: it's a solid show, even with a few slow, middling episodes, and is guaranteed to give you all the good reverse-isekai vibes you've been yearning for.

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The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Mercedez is a JP-EN translation and localization Editor & Proofreader/QA, pop culture critic, and a journalist who, when not writing for ANN, writes for Anime Feminist, where she's a staff editor, and for But Why Tho?. She's also a frequent cohost on the Anime Feminist Podcast, Chatty AF. This season, she's devouring Restaurant to Another World bite by delicious bite. When she's not writing and reviewing, you can find her on her Twitter or on her Instagram where she's always up to something.