Welcome to Iruma-kun's longest arc thus far – the Harvest Festival. Unlike the Battler arc and the upcoming Music Festival arc, this one doesn't really have an analogous real-world school event, although I suppose you could make an argument for a school camping trip/hike being the inspiration for Babylis' four-day extravaganza. That's because all of the first years are sent out into the forest to search for comestibles, to accumulate enough points to secure a rank up. And there's more danger than a few off mushrooms lurking in these woods…

The Harvest Festival takes up most of these volumes. Volumes eleven and sixteen do have a few stories, with the former stealing the show between Iruma and Ameri's aquarium/waterpark date, Asmodeus' command performance at a salon, and the boys spending the night at Clara's house. All three of these shorter storylines are absolutely delightful, and if you're sailing the Iruma/Ameri ship, their date is a major highlight, as it allows Ameri to act like her unadulterated self without any self-imposed student council president elements. Meanwhile, Azz and Iruma spending the night at the Valacs' does a beautiful job of reinforcing how strong the bond between these three truly is. Yes, Clara has a crush on Iruma, but it's more important to her that she, Iruma, and Asmodeus get to spend time together. She truly cares about them both, and they return the sentiment, even if Azz can be prickly about it. In all honesty, I'd be happy just having these three end up together, with or without a romantic subplot.

It's a good thing that both volume eleven and volume sixteen have these pre- and post-festival moments, because the festival itself drags a bit. In part, this is simply because Nishi wants to give space to all of the members of the Misfit Class. Now that we know more about them, seeing how they develop their powers and interact is more important than it has been. While Keroli has had some time to shine in the dem-dol storyline, other characters, like Allocer and Camui, have just sort of been there, with only their most basic traits developed. That's still true to a degree; Allocer, Jazz, Camui, and Elizabetta don't get nearly as much page time as the rest of the group, and what they do get is just reinforcing the baseline information we already know about them, i.e., that Allocer is very smart and Camui is a would-be womanizer. Lied does the best out of the class in terms of getting more development, and that's largely because he's paired with Iruma for the festival, even though they spend much of it apart.

Technically speaking, the Harvest Festival is supposed to be an everyone for themselves situation, with stealing other demons' points expected and encouraged. But the Misfit Class always marches to their own drumbeat, and this is no exception. Interestingly enough, it's Kalego who sets this up: he calls in special instructors to help (or is that “help”) his students with their powers, and each instructor is assigned to two students. The exception is Iruma and Lied, who end up splitting from each other so that Iruma can train with Bachiko, whose methods don't agree with Lied. But for the most part, these teams endure, highlighting yet another way the Misfits are different from other demons and play with the idea that demons are inherently evil.

As always, this is best shown by those directly in Iruma's orbit. This set of volumes introduces Naphula, a noisome student who speaks their own language and who others avoid because of their distinctive aroma. Iruma, despite being grossed out by the smell, befriends them, which in turn prompts Naphula to help Iruma when he falls prey to the bloodline ability of Coco Orobas, which forces people to hallucinate their greatest fears in volume fourteen. This book is the strongest of the arc, because it shows us a side of Iruma we rarely, if ever, see: Iruma the child. It's easy to forget that he's only fourteen and that he's in the Netherworld because his rotten parents sold him to a literal demon for a quick buck. After all, that's worked out so well for him. Sullivan and Opera are better parents than his biological ones by a mile, and Iruma's easygoing personality allows him to live in the moment rather than dwelling on the unpleasant past.

But that past did happen, and it was traumatic. He spent most of his life afraid and alone, waiting for his parents to turn up and subject him to something even worse. It makes sense that his persistent fear would be rooted in that. When Orobas hits him with his illusion spell, Iruma sees his nightmares play out in front of him: his parents come back to take him away, and Asmodeus and Clara reject him for being human. He loses everything, leaving him back in the cold, dark place where he spent most of his life. Nishi handles these scenes incredibly well, reminding us of what Iruma's been through and how a piece of him worries every day that he'll end up back in his old life again. He's happy, but his trauma is still there, lurking in his mind's dark corners.

Clara's traumas must be similar to his. When Orobas hits her with his spell, she's taken back to a time when people used her for her bloodline ability rather than liked her for herself. She and Iruma share a nightmare of being alone and unwanted, used rather than loved. Iruma, as the hero of the story, can pull himself out of his trauma because that's what he's always done. Clara's pain requires that someone else cut through the darkness to demonstrate that she's not alone. And when Azz shows up to save both of them after Iruma has helped Clara, it's the confirmation that both of them need: there's always going to be someone there for them. They don't have to go it alone anymore.

Thematically, that's the most important piece of this arc. Orobas is taken advantage of by Ochi for reasons that are currently unclear, and he needs to realize that there's a difference between those who would help for their own selfishness and those who would just because he deserves it. Kalego's guidance of his students by getting them special instructors is his prickly way of showing that there are adults who will help. The Misfit Class' teamwork inspires other students to build community (somewhat to Picero's dismay, since they build it out of his castle), and the key to winning the entire festival is designed to be a series of small teamwork tests. Whether Iruma's changing the Netherworld or the Netherworld was always more “human” than ours, the root of the story is the same: you don't need to go it alone.

How that will tie into the overarching arc of the villainous Amy Kiriwo remains to be seen. He's now fully aware of Iruma's actions and identity, which can't be good. What he and his cronies will do next is a shadow over Iruma's joy, but I daresay he can rise to the occasion. After all, he's not alone anymore.