The Devil is a Part-Timer Season 3

Episode 16

So last week l lamented the fact that it feels as if Devil is a Part-Timer is devoid of tension since it's using relatively mundane responses to some serious situations. So would you be shocked to hear me say that this is probably my favorite episode of this season so far? I'm conflicted because, on the one hand, I feel like we got back to the roots of the appeal of the show; we are recontextualizing certain tropes in a cozy or comedic manner. When I heard the setup in the beginning, I thought this whole episode would be about Alas Ramus and Emi sleeping over at Maou's place. Instead, this episode was the buildup to that eventual sleepover with a lot of shopping and cute family moments sprinkled throughout. This did lead to one of my favorite ongoing gags so far where Emi just sort of has a mental breakdown every time someone views the three of them as a family unit. But on the other hand, I could totally understand people just calling this episode filler.

The thing is though, since the show wasn't trying to go for any overly dramatic conflict, I was able to just enjoy it for what it was. If I could describe this episode in one word, it would be cozy. The dialogue is cute and I like the chemistry that all the characters have. There was even a nice moment there where Emi and Maou kind of talk about how each of them have two distinct goals but whereas Emi's goals sort of clash with each other, Maou's goals in his mind are one of the same which is why certain things come across as so easy for him. In a lot of ways, being a father is no different than being a leader and you can argue that he wants a better life for Alas Ramus than what he had growing up. It's really cute and while this episode kind of fails as a follow-up to everything that we got before, on its own, this episode is just a nice breather after a long day of work. Now the question is, will next week be just about this aforementioned sleepover or will there be heavier things going on and this is just the calm before the storm?

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The Devil Is a Part-Timer! Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu