Mairimashita Iruma Kun

Clara For The Win

It’s a very rare thing when the goof-ball comic-relief character is one I actually like, rather than simply tolerate in a show. Rarer still when I acknowledge that the comic-relief character is a necessity to the overall enjoyment of an anime. Yet Clara manages admirably to make her presence a necessity to Mairimashita! Iruma-Kun as the over the top tone of the anime falls pretty flat when she’s sidelined. Not to mention, she brings out the best in the other characters. Actually, let’s be honest, she’s just fun.

Asmodeus may have been Iruma’s first follower, and is a fairly solid necessity as Iruma needs a friend to talk to and discuss things like subject choices with, but by himself he’s a pretty ordinary character. It is only when you pair him with Clara, and essentially make him responsible for keeping her craziness under-control, something he took upon himself to ‘help’ Iruma, that you get to see him at his finest. The dynamic between the two really sells the early phase of this episode.

Though nothing is going to beat meeting the Clara-clan and listening to them sing about kisses. Sorry, that cracked me up and that doesn’t happen all that often.

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However, the episode does have a slightly more serious side with Clara taking seduction lessons and making the decision to ‘win’ Iruma’s attention back from the student council president. She’s kind of miss-reading the whole situation there, but her attempts at seduction are pretty laughable even if they have fairly predictable results and Iruma’s nice-guy attitude means the conclusion is more or less inevitable. That said, you have to give credit to the teacher for one of the best reaction shots in an episode full of over the top reactions.

As for Iruma, he also makes an important decision this episode. It will be interesting to see what happens next as it feels like episode 8 breathed some much needed energy back into the mix.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

The Power of Shoujo Manga

I will admit that after 6 episodes of Mairimahita Iruma-Kun that have left me smiling, episode 7 just felt kind of bland. Directly picking up from the previous episode, the student council president determines that Iruma is human, because he apparently acts the way she feels humans do from her manga reading, and she also determines he can read the manga she’s been carrying around. Rather than reporting him she drags him off to read her the story. Turns out the power of shoujo manga is strong even in the netherworld.

Though, much like the previous reaction when Iruma used the word friend, the word ‘date’ apparently doesn’t exist. So I wonder what two demons call it when they are falling in love and hanging out together? These omissions from the language, while they lead to some amusing ‘kind-of’ definitions and understandings, seem a little odd.

However, with the story spending so much time with the reading and not so crash hot interactions between Iruma and the student council president, there’s not a lot of time left for the usual over-the-top antics. We do get a few Clara moments in the classroom but the basic feel of this episode is just kind of flat.

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Hopefully we are building up to something because overall this episode just didn’t do much. However, there were two conversations that do suggest this is going somewhere. The first was when Iruma was going to school and was asked whether he actually wanted to go back to the human world. The second came when he was asked his ambition by the student council president. On both occasions, Iruma stumbled without really finding an answer and it will be interesting to see as he turns this over in his head what conclusion he draws.

A much more low key affair all around but overall still perfectly watchable. Hopefully we’ll pick up again next week.

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

All The Pretty Flowers

This week Iruma’s getting a carriage ride to school, the red-carpet treatment (whether he wants it or not), and his class are learning how to make flowers bloom with magic. Meanwhile the student council are starting to keep an eye on him with Ameri, the student council president, putting together an interesting theory about Iruma that he’s probably not going to want to hear. All and all, just another fun and silly episode from Mairimashita Iruma Kun.

I will admit, the more we see of the school, the other students, the teachers and the classes, the more of a Harry Potter vibe I’m getting from this. Only instead of Harry, raised as a muggle, marvelling over all the things magic can do, here we have Iruma, the definite human, being terrified of giving himself away and really just wanting to disappear into the crowd. However, anything but is going to happen as he continues to navigate his way through his school life.

The chairman, Iruma’s adopted grandfather, certainly doesn’t help things. I’m still wondering just how much of what he does is planned manipulation given he seems to turn up at just the right time, or in this instance call at just the right time, and how much is genuinely him being an airhead. It really wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’s got everything all planned out and has just perfected the art of acting completely oblivious. Still, at some point it would be nice if Iruma and he sat down and actually had a talk about some of this. For instance, forgetting to tell Iruma about what would happen with the ring until after he was in class could have been a serious problem.

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However, while Iruma-Kun most definitely gives off a Harry Potter vibe, it has also been filtered through the standard Japanese school life story as well and this comes through loud and clear when Iruma pictures a flower he’d like to grow. It also coincides with the manga, or forbidden text, that the student council president just happens to have stashed away and is reading.

This anime continues to be an undemanding watch but remains visually interesting and the interactions between the characters are amusing enough. There’s also a number of potential issues that might be dealt with in future episodes which gives enough of a forward moving plot to keep me wondering about where it is going. Overall, six episodes in, Mairimashita Iruma Kun continues to be a pleasant viewing experience.

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

Bow Down To The Great
And Not-So-Powerful Iruma

Well Sabnock definitely bit off more than he could chew taking on the guardian of the valley. Still, he did at least not fall into a mess but continued to struggle on even though he was really outclassed. Not to mention, his power to create weapons is pretty cool even if it is super weird that he needs to be biting the same metal to do it.

Fortunately Iruma is in the neighbourhood courtesy of the bird he healed last week who turns out to be the Guardian’s child. Iruma and the baby bird show up and with a little coxing from Iruma, Sabnock drops his weapon. The threat removed, the guardian calms down and then we get the weirdest bow ever from the birds to Iruma. Though given we got told the prophecy of the demon king like a million times this episode with an emphasis on the fact that pretty much everyone is going to bow down to him, this is probably going to be a recurring theme with Iruma.

Despite all of that, or probably because of all of that, Iruma and Sabnock are indeed the last two in the class to reach the finish line of the race. Yeah, we nearly forgot they were racing. Then we have a session of drawing ranks from a pouch on an owl that just seems really weird and naturally, once Iruma finally draws it gets even weirder.

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I really do want to know what Iruma’s grandfather is planning. He’s brought a human into the demon realm, he’s clearly protecting him, and all around Iruma weird things are happening. It is difficult to know whether some of these are just because he is human or whether it is because there’s something specifically special about him, but it is fun watching him hope to blend in and be ordinary when everyone is talking about him (okay, this is kind of reminding me of that other isekai this season with a girl trying and failing to be average – also good fun).

Anyway, five episodes in and we have a grandfather who is super powerful, two friends who clash personalities, a teacher who hates Iruma but is also his familiar, a rival who is clearly going to end up bowing down to him, and a magic ring… not to mention possibly a prophecy sitting behind the whole thing. This one isn’t taking itself seriously but there’s enough going on to keep it fun and the cast keeps getting better at bouncing off one another.

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

The Mis-Fits Have a Race

A race as a means of introducing characters and their traits makes sense when you have a largish cast mostly because you can have them all involved, they don’t actually have to be confrontational so only those who have that as a core part of their personality will go for it, and there’s a clear goal so you don’t have to worry too much about motivation. As we get a very brief introduction to Iruma-kun’s new class we swiftly move to a race to determine their ranking (I’m wondering how many days of school these kids have had before they’ve even gone to an actual class).

Anyway, this is all pretty straight forward. The three new friends walk to school, and for once they actually asked Iruma why he keeps walking but quickly came up with their own answer, and then they go looking for their new class. Much like with every anime mis-fit class it isn’t part of the main building and they end up following a blinking arrow down and past a collection of garbage before entering a shabby room. I just wonder why this became an ongoing thing in anime because it just seems so weird for the school to deliberately not maintain a building or to have an isolated classroom in such a location.

Naturally there’s one muscle head in the classroom and while there are some other characters who might become more interesting later, other than a roll call, we really don’t see much of them in this episode. Muscle head on the other hand gets himself into trouble fairly quickly in the race and I’m pretty certain Iruma is going to end up inadvertently saving him next week.

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Asmodeus and Clara are growing well in their role as the odd-couple companions and they bounce off of each other nicely. One by themselves would be a little annoying but the two together are a decent combination. That plus breaks in their screen time because of the expanding cast have made them fairly endearing this week. I wonder what Asmodeus’ reaction is going to be when he figures out Iruma is human?

The race doesn’t finish this week though we see that Iruma seems to be tripping and falling his way into good luck again. After being nearly eaten by a bird and helping another bird with an injured leg he’s now got a ride. Maybe that will take away questions about his lack of flight though it is still fairly suspicious. This one continues to be relatively light entertainment and it works well enough even if it is a little predictable.

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

A Newb At Making Friends

Clearly Iruma-Kun is not asking us to take it seriously and that’s just fine. This is very much morning cartoon style silliness with some bright visuals and charmingly over-the-top but not quite obnoxiously-so characters (though that last point is fairly subjective and maybe you will find Clara too much to deal with). Basically it is entertainment for the sake of it and there’s not a lot more to it.

This week Iruma and Asmodeus get roped (almost literally) into playing with Clara who on top of having an excessively energetic personality can apparently recreate anything she’s seen before. That gift, plus her feeling isolated and desperate for anyone to play with, has made her a target for those who want to use her and simply get free drinks and snacks.

Iruma however didn’t exactly have a childhood where he had time to play and so while he finds Clara exhausting he genuinely enjoys the time being silly with friends and ultimately asks Clara if she’ll keep playing with him. And so friendship formed with a weird dynamic between Azz and Clara as the two compete for Iruma’s attention and generally butt heads at every turn. Of course, they don’t actually acknowledge friendship until the second half and then Iruma learns that apparently these demons don’t even know the meaning of the word (which just kind of seems weird given all the clear friendship groups we’ve seen form in the school).

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Perhaps the highlight comes in the second half though when Clara is being chased out of the school shop (understandably given her ability). Kalego shows up to find out what the fuss is and Clara gets Iruma to ‘summon’ his familiar turning the teacher back into a small bird. It’s pretty funny in a ridiculous kind of way.

They are heavily playing on the standard tropes though with Iruma devouring food enough for multiple people and the fact that these three are all going to end up in a class for mis-fits is more or less a standard in anime. Still, if you are just after something fun that demands no brain power from you, Iruma-kun is working well enough and honestly those bright visuals are really kind of working for me.

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

The Best Laid Plans

Iruma may very well be the only Japanese protagonist ever who actually thought his teacher expelling him on day one was a good idea. After he was unable to tell his new ‘grandfather’ that he didn’t want to go to school for fear of being eaten, expulsion seemed like the next best option for getting out of the whole situation his parents put him in. Unfortunately, things don’t exactly work out that way because that would make for a pretty short anime.

This second episode very much makes it clear that the tone established in the first is going to be the status quo. This is fine as it is all fun enough, nothing to be taken overly seriously, and while Iruma might freak out a little too often, it isn’t as though his reactions aren’t warranted, plus there’s still a chance he’ll settle. Still, regardless of whether it is the headmaster, a stern teacher, the student council or other students, there’s a lot riding on exaggeration or deliberate misunderstandings in order to make the dialogue hit is mark in terms of humour and tone. For the most part it succeeds but it also means it is very easy to no pay all that much attention to as dialogue regularly states the obvious.

As for the familiar summoning it actually goes relatively quickly. The stern teacher is just over the top enough and there’s a lot of similarities between him an Snape from Harry Potter. Throw in the fact that he’s voice by Daisuke Ono, one of my favourite VA’s ever, and he was a fairly delightful addition this week even if his character has all the subtlety of a battering ram.

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Visually this one kind of feels like it has a very old school style, or at least it reminds me of a lot of shows I watched when I was younger, but it is nicely polished and has a very clean look. I paid a bit more attention to the music this week and it definitely has its own feel as well. Basically, Mairimashita Iruma-Kun is entertaining but it isn’t exactly trying to be the anime of the year or anything like that. It’s just doing its thing and if you want something that is not asking for a large mental commitment from you that is a bit of silly fun, then this anime seems like it will hit the spot this season.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.

Fourteen Year Old For Sale –
Sold!

I’m not hugely into comedy anime but every now and then something catches my attention. It seldom becomes one of my favourites but sometimes it is fine just to make me smile in the moment. I went into this anime not expecting much given it was firmly tagged as a comedy but the supernatural side of it kind of got my attention. After watching the episode I’m kind of getting budget Hayate Combat Butler vibes and given that is one of the few other comedy anime I watched a significant portion of (way too many episodes actually) I don’t actually see that as a bad thing.

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun centres around fourteen year old Iruma who has useless parents that don’t work forcing him to take on dangerous jobs and their most recent stunt has included selling him to a demon. Fortunately for Iruma, said demon has decided he wants a grandchild and is now playing the doting, and completely over the top, grandfather.

We then get a basic fish out of water experience with plenty of loud exclamations and internal freaking out as Iruma is enrolled in a demon school, warned that if anyone finds out he’s human he’ll get eaten, and is then attacked by another student after his grandfather, who also seems to run the school, decides Iruma should do the opening address. It all works well enough and the going to the demon school kind of reminded me of Rosario + Vampire.

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This one has no subtlety whatsoever, relies on character over-reactions to keep up the energy, and feels like it is borrowing heavily from several other anime (no problem there as long as it does it well). Despite that, I enjoyed this first episode well enough. Unless it steps up a lot it won’t become one of my favourite anime any time soon, but sometimes this kind of silliness is what the doctor ordered and so far they haven’t gone so far with a joke as to set my teeth on edge, which is usually what puts me off comedy in the first place. That isn’t to say the next couple of episodes won’t make me walk away but at the moment I found this pleasant enough.

If nothing else, this first episode is worth watching so that you can see the opening ceremony for the school and listen to the school song. As I said, no subtlety whatsoever but as far as school songs go for demons, this one was definitely on point.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. Dir. M Moriwaki. Bandai Namco Pictures. 2019.