The devil is a part-timer! is a unique blend of a slice of life and shonen anime, where Sadao Mao himself is the devil and yet just trying to live a human life as a fast food worker. Of course, even such a simple concept needs some kind of foil for the main character: this is Emi Yusa.
Back in their home world she was a hero who defeated the devil, here on earth she is a call center worker with conflicting emotions. In the anime’s two seasons that have aired so far, fans have already noticed a plethora of changes from Emi’s initial introduction to her current character.
Personality
In Season 1, Emi was introduced as a savior figure, extremely powerful and completely devoted to good. Her whole purpose in life was to defeat the devil. She even chased him through a portal in this attempt, knowing that she would probably give up a chance to return to her homeworld for good. This purposeful pursuit was still noticeable on Earth, though perhaps toned down to a more domestic scale. She attacked him in the street, but soon withdrew to look at him suspiciously from a distance. Seeing him repair the damage from an alien battle made her wonder if he was really as bad as she’d previously thought.
In season two, Emi’s feelings really start to grow and change. This is largely due to Alas Ramus and the positions she places the two in as her chosen parents. Emi starts dating Sadao, and she also starts working with him to protect Alas and Chi, even going so far as to challenge the angels she used to work with. Of course she did work against Sariel in season 1, but that was only under extreme pressure. Her response to Gabriel is much more direct and less motivated. Her conversations with Sadao also cause her to question everything she thought she knew. For example, when they are at the fair, he forces her to realize that demons have a society, with families, children and culture. She had previously believed that every demon in existence was in the military.
visual
Fans also noticed a big visual change in Emi from season one to two. Her face seems to have lost some of its intensity and her clothes have changed drastically too. These changes could simply be because the animation style of the series has changed slightly, or they could be a reflection of the internal changes Emi is facing.
She no longer has such a strict outlook on life and is starting to become more flexible in her views. While the personality changes seem to be appreciated by fans, the visual changes are generally less well received.
What caused these changes?
Events at the end of season one were really where these ideological changes started happening. Olba’s radicalism she could write off as the ravings of a single man, she didn’t like it, but she didn’t believe it pointed to anything deeper. Sariel’s betrayal, however, forced her to wonder who she had connected with. He attacked her without provocation and was more concerned with forcibly stealing her divine knife from her body than with the devil. This caused the first ruptures in her idealism.
In season two, unfortunately, Ramus and Gabriel do nothing to encourage her to come back into the light. Unfortunately for her, it acts as a way to connect with and understand the devil even more, while Gabriel sheds more light on the darkness within the church. The more she learns about the devil, the more she realizes that he is just a person, that the things that drive him basically may be the same things that drive someone.
As more and more corruption is discovered in the island’s church, Emi is driven further and further into a moral no-man’s land. She obviously has feelings for the devil and in episode four she acts more than season one Emi would have ever considered, but she can’t quite convince herself to join him all the way just yet.
Emi Yusa went through some minor visual changes and some major personality changes in season two compared to the first season. While the differences in her personality are a stark contrast, they can still be traced in a smooth, well-executed arc. She has grown as a person and has learned that there is often not one right answer. Every person has a story and a reason for acting the way he does.
No action is all good or all bad. Yes, the devil tried to conquer Ente Isla, but the church also slaughtered every demon they could: war and death are not something that can only be attributed to demons. She’s still clearly the same person and her story is easy to follow, but the growth she’s shown is a wonderful addition to an already entertaining show.
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