Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun Season 4

Episode 7

Let me say this right now: if Poro does not acknowledge how spectacular the Misfit Class' performance was, I will climb into this screen and hurt him. This episode is a complete triumph, and that's coming from someone who isn't even really into musical theater. (Thanks, mandatory eighth-grade musical.) From Elizabetta's breathtaking performance to each demon having a role that considers their personalities, Keroli really outdid herself in choreographing the whole thing. And as is proper for this group of kids, it only works because Keroli considered who everyone is and because Iruma has brought them all together as a class. While it's probably not fair to compare their performance to the other classes' because we didn't get to see their entire shows, it's still striking to see each Misfit get to strut their stuff and pull together because of it. This is truly a whole-class show, and that's perhaps the Misfits' greatest strength.

It's also their unwavering belief that Purson would, in fact, show up despite being MIA for the entire day and a bit before that. We have Iruma to thank for that – when the rest of the class saw that he firmly believed that Purson would show, they also put their faith in their reclusive classmate. It's not because they want to keep the Royal One, nice as that is. It's because they've accepted Purson as part of their class. He's one of them, a friend they've designed their performance around so that he could participate in a way that's not totally uncomfortable while showing off what he's capable of. They care about his success just as much as they care about Elizabetta's. Only Iruma may truly understand what Purson's struggling with, but the rest of the class takes it as read that if Iruma says it's important to him and he'll be there, he will.

Obviously, their faith is rewarded. I'm not sure what my favorite part of the episode is – Purson slowly fading into view, the class embracing him after the performance, the huge, happy grin on his face, or the crowd going wild when they realize that this mysterious bat demon is their beloved Pixie. (Or Clara breaking character to glomp onto Azz-Azz. Nothing can stop Clara from being Clara.) The entire performance is wonderful, but Purson is the crowning glory. I have to think that the camera pans over a blank wall in the back of the auditorium, where either his father or his brother is invisibly watching him stand in the light, proud despite themselves.

Devoting the entire episode to the Misfit Class' performance was a good choice. It's immersive, and only the audience's reaction to Purson's playing shook me out of the belief that I was just watching an honest-to-goodness musical. By forcing viewers to truly be part of the Babylis audience, the show asks us to eliminate the distance between watching an episode of anime and our regular lives – we're not watching the characters of Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun, we're watching a school performance put on by students we know. Seeing them sing and dance their hearts out is both a proud anime parent moment and a genuinely good musical. Also, can we take a minute to appreciate Kaede Hondo's performance as Elizabetta? While the animators deserve the credit for the dancing (even if it had a CG component), Hondo's singing is what really sells the whole thing. She's been great as Mikuru Kobayashi/Cure Mystique in Star Detective Precure!, but she absolutely kills it as Elizabetta, especially this week. Unfortunately, if you watch this episode dubbed in English, you miss out on a lot. Yes, you get to hear Hondo's singing (and everyone else's), but the songs lack subtitles, rendering the whole thing nearly impossible to enjoy as a stage show. It's the sort of oversight that can wreck an episode, because it completely undercuts the point of designing the episode this way.

It's appropriate that Iruma is largely in the background of this episode. It's his series, but this arc is less about Iruma being amazing and more about Iruma being the glue that holds everything, and everyone, together. He keeps the class calm, he reaches out to Purson in friendship, he stays in the back so his friends can shine. It's less about him not needing to go up a rank and more about what a genuinely good person he is and how that makes everyone around him want to be better, too. He's truly their accompanist for this storyline, supporting everyone. That feels like the culmination of the Misfit Class' personal arc. It's probably still going to take Purson some time to feel fully comfortable, and everyone will still have their issues, but now they truly know that they can do anything if they work together.

And I hope that includes ganging up on Poro if that jerk dares not to score them fairly.

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Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.