Hataraku Maou-sama! - 9

"The Hero Learns the True Meaning of 'Lover's Quarrel'"

Oh no, Maou! You’ve got competition; save your wonderful waifu while you can!

It seems our demonic plot (and mysterious assassin) have been pushed back yet another week, but Hataraku is so consistently great that it’s never boring to watch episodes that aren’t rolling in Ente Isla magic. In fact, I’d argue that there’s plenty of action to be had in this Sentucky-MgRonald’s feud; at least, Maou and Ashiya certainly seem to think so, and they’re treating their opponent every bit as seriously as if they were really at war. In fact, it’s the first time in ages that I’ve seen Sadao this riled up, and it seems he’s bothered enough that his usual patience with Emi and her antics is only fleeting this time around. But really, who can blame him when all his ideas fall on empty customer booths and sad burger patties uncooked and without buns?

Hoping to be helpful, Ashiya takes to staking out Sentucky (a bit reluctantly; after all, who wants to pay the very enemy one is trying to defeat?) and delivers some great character interactions while talking with Emi, Suzuno, and Rika about his Lord. This whole scene is rich in dramatic and verbal irony; Rika is under the false impression that Emi and Suzuno are competing over Maou, which in turn highlights the irony of Emi’s burgeoning feelings for her mortal enemy (suuuuure, you can kill him anytime, huh). Ashiya then spins quite the tale of Emi being a temp and Maou and himself being heads of a self-made construction company, but if you pay close attention, this is pretty much a romanticized allusion to the whole Ente Isla affair. You have the small company that has to do all the physical work themselves (Maou and his generals), the opposing company with a much larger force backing Emi up (the Hero and her supports in the Church and other human strongholds) and the eventual defeat of the construction company, where the workers find themselves wandering around lost and without much sustenance (ring a bell?). It’s a pretty witty little insert (one I really enjoyed, considering how easily Ashiya lies his arse off and how easily Rika drinks it all in), and it certainly fools Rika enough that she even looks like she may have fallen for this worn-out warrior/housewife (we’re missing fisherman though).

Regardless, it doesn’t really seem like Sentucky is doing anything out of the ordinary to steal all of MgRonald’s customers, but after seeing the effect of Maou’s thoughtful bamboo idea, Suzuno and I have other ideas. Though she clearly notices that something is wrong and probably suspects Maou of using magic to bring customers over, I have to wonder if our playboy James-lookalike isn’t up to something similar across the way. Though we haven’t seen much of Miki-T lately, I haven’t forgotten that she’s more than meets the eye, so who knows if the Sentucky manager isn’t cut from the same block?