(L) Hataraku Maou-sama!

[Okashira]

Originally Posted by takai

Nothing really happened but it was definitely an enjoyable episode to watch.

I feel that this is the core identity of the series, the series goes out of it's way to purposely tone down everything to "regular" levels and still make it work with it's quirks, as someone said before this episode keeps that charm that made the first couple of episodes so enjoyable.

Ashiya & the Corporate soldiers, huh?

[Kanon]

Pretty uneventful episode but still quite enjoyable nonetheless. The highlight was Ashiya's cover story. He did a terrific job transposing Maou and Emi's story to the modern world. Of course, he is completely biased toward his lord so it may not have been 100% accurate. This still enabled Rika to get the gist of it. It looks like she may have fallen hard for Ashiya in the process. I doubt this will lead anywhere though. Ashiya's body and soul belong to Maou.

We learned this week that Maou volunteers to clean-up his neighborhood. How much more of a nice guy can he be?!

Swimsuit episode next week! Told you there would be one.

Originally Posted by thundrakkon

It looks like in the end of the episode, some sort of magic or spell was used. It was a purple haze that suddenly caused a lot of people to come to McDonald's. It looks like Emi and Suzuno suspects Maou of foul play; however, considering how normal Maou looks, he probably did not do it.

If I had to guess, the fact that the magic was purple suggests that it was the same person Emi fought with outside the convenience store. That person had purple magic as well. Which then strongly suggests that the manager of SFC was behind it. My guess on the purpose? To get Emi and Suzuno suspicious of Maou, which looks like it succeeded.

Maou was definitely not the one who did this. James is indeed the prime suspect, and I think your theory makes sense. That's a pretty roundabout way of doing things though.

[takai]

Originally Posted by Okashira

I feel that this is the core identity of the series, the series goes out of it's way to purposely tone down everything to "regular" levels and still make it work with it's quirks, as someone said before this episode keeps that charm that made the first couple of episodes so enjoyable.

Yea, you have a point there. The normality of it all is one of the bigger parts of its charm. And showing what was a maniacal and evil Demon Lord turning into a hard working, every day McDonald's worker also adds to its humor.

[Dark Faith]

Ashiya's tale moved me to tears. Well, not really, but it was pretty fun to watch, especially with the music that played throughout the scene.

Like others already said, this was a pretty uneventful episode but still fun to watch.

[rladls716]

That James-look alike, what is the deal with his female-fetishness? Like he intentionally likes to touch Chiho's and Rika's hands.

[HandofFate]

I think this anime series comes the closest to what I feel is American Sitcom style episodes.

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by rladls716

That James-look alike, what is the deal with his female-fetishness? Like he intentionally likes to touch Chiho's and Rika's hands.

However, notice that he didn't touch Emi's hands, as if he didn't want to come in contact with her or she would realize something about him. I'm certain he was behind the convenience store attack. Also, the theory about how he was behind the tree and the purple magic someone made on the previous page makes total sense.

I loved the face Chiho made as Rika was hugging her.

Endless "Uses motivational speeches to get the crew to clean the windows" Soul

[ChampDream]

this episode was great
everybody want a piece of Chiho for being to cute
Ashiya was awesome, he cleared a misunderstanding and got himself a girl while being sick
that guy that look like James sure feel a little like Brock when it come to woman

[rladls716]

Yes, Emi the knight is the exception and probably Suzuno.

But then, James look alike is no different than Urushihara that likes cause chaos for females this time? I assume.

[DuelGundam2099]

Well this episode was quite amusing, Rika actually gets screen time and Maou's antics at advertisement were nice.

Spoiler for Next ep preview:

Not looking forward to a swim suit episode, especially since they kept the fan service so low so far.

Edit: Oh yeah, it seems like Emi's hair has it's own series of nerve cells with the reactions she had, heh. That made up back story was also over the top and kind of entertaining.

[D-KLAC]

ep.9

emi, suzuno, & emi's call worker go take a eat & check sfc give blue shades being sleeze to emi's call worker give then the 3 talking about maou give til his loyal sidekick appear give mention story of "maou inc" company til emi got them jobless.

then finally arrive at mcronald give being under quiet go trying from flyers, tuna burgers chiho (give crowd want chiho), etc til maou got a gift of bamboo tree from old guy he helped from doing cleaning the neighborhood.

so combine bamboo tree, flyers, chiho, etc everyone now coming to mcronald with got emi & co-worker bit huh/wow while suzuno bit "HMM".

[Guardian Enzo]

I can only describe Ashiya's background story as brilliant - both in conception as an in-context device, and in the way its telling was executed. I like Ono Yuuki well enough but honestly, I've never heard him be anywhere near as good as he is as Ashiya - he's brilliant both at the comedy and portraying Ashiya's genuinely touching devotion to Maou. Seriously, wouldn't any of us kill to have someone so supportive and diligent supporting us in our travails?

The point here is, I think, that Ashiya truly believes that the spirit of the story he tells is the essence of the real struggle. It's not so much that their experience has changed Sadao and Ashiya - in his view, they were doing the work of the just all along, and their conflict with Emi wasn't a case of good vs. evil but a simple matter of people devoted to a cause fighting each other to the end in true shounen spirit. It's a revealing and rather brilliant way of character development, and a pretty important one in framing the central conflict in the series.

The thing is, there is a certain sinister quality to the notion of Maou inspiring a fanatical army of followers and winning the hearts and minds of the peasant masses - that is, if you believe the first part of the story played out as Emi and the Church say it did. But how can one not root for Maou and Ashiya just the same, given how sincere and dedicated they seem to be? This entire series is subtler and more insidiously clever that it appears on the surface, entertaining as that surface is. The more you consider the premise and characters the more nuance is revealed, but you're never hit over the head with it - it's just there, waiting to be discovered if one is inclined to look for it. Once again I'm struck by how easy Hataraku Maou-sama makes being this good look, and how hard it is to make it look this easy.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by thundrakkon

It looks like in the end of the episode, some sort of magic or spell was used. It was a purple haze that suddenly caused a lot of people to come to McDonald's. It looks like Emi and Suzuno suspects Maou of foul play; however, considering how normal Maou looks, he probably did not do it.

If I had to guess, the fact that the magic was purple suggests that it was the same person Emi fought with outside the convenience store. That person had purple magic as well. Which then strongly suggests that the manager of SFC was behind it. My guess on the purpose? To get Emi and Suzuno suspicious of Maou, which looks like it succeeded.

There is still one problem with this speculation. Why Maou didn't sense the magic the same way Emi and Suzuno did? Is it the type of magic only human can sense?

However, I don't feel like Maou and Ashiya are behind this as well. It's just doesn't add up to their character, or at least how I feel about them personally.

[SQA]

While on the topic of the Magic at the end, is it possible the Tanabata tree killed the negative enchantment that was obviously cast upon the MgRonald's? Consider only a few people would come in, it strikes me that James-look-alike used or cast something that made people not notice the store. It's also possible that Maou only figured out what the charm was after Ashiya came back and was trying to figure out how to break it, without using his own magic. He's shown to be very mindful of playing his information close to his chest. (Which makes sense as the Maou)

Oh, and there's no question on James being the attacker. Sunglasses + heavy cologne to cover up being sprayed with the Orange Ball is a complete give away. Aside from the Light Novel Gear Change issue that says he has to be the villain.

Ashiya's story, and impression on Rika, was awesomely done. Way to wonderfully cast Emi as the villain.

[ZeroIchiNi]

Love this episode. I was chuckling during Ashiya's adaptation.

Thoughts about the whole magic thing. I think Maou did use magic. Just unintentionally.

Remember that there are 2 types of Magic on Earth.
Positive and Negative emotions.

Maou created positive emotions with that tree and can't detect it since he's a demon.

[thundrakkon]

Originally Posted by teja208

There is still one problem with this speculation. Why Maou didn't sense the magic the same way Emi and Suzuno did? Is it the type of magic only human can sense?

Maou does not always react to things unless it poses a danger. I'm guessing that he also sensed it, but did not do anything since he was in the middle of managing the crowd and it did not appear dangerous.

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

However, notice that he didn't touch Emi's hands, as if he didn't want to come in contact with her or she would realize something about him.

It's possible that he is touching people's hands to gain magic. Like how Emi gains magic through hope and positive emotions, maybe he gains magic through irking girls out (negative emotions).

Originally Posted by SQA

While on the topic of the Magic at the end, is it possible the Tanabata tree killed the negative enchantment that was obviously cast upon the MgRonald's? Consider only a few people would come in, it strikes me that James-look-alike used or cast something that made people not notice the store. It's also possible that Maou only figured out what the charm was after Ashiya came back and was trying to figure out how to break it, without using his own magic. He's shown to be very mindful of playing his information close to his chest. (Which makes sense as the Maou)

That's also a very good and plausible theory. However, why was Rika able to see the MgRonald's restaurant?

Btw, Mitsuki Sarue (SFC manager) has a name that is interesting. Sarue is monkey. I'm wondering if the story will bring in references such as the Monkey King (a deity). Japan has a lot of gods that they prey to. It makes me wonder if Miki T is one of those deities.

[leokiko]

Originally Posted by thundrakkon

It looks like in the end of the episode, some sort of magic or spell was used. It was a purple haze that suddenly caused a lot of people to come to McDonald's. It looks like Emi and Suzuno suspects Maou of foul play; however, considering how normal Maou looks, he probably did not do it.

If I had to guess, the fact that the magic was purple suggests that it was the same person Emi fought with outside the convenience store. That person had purple magic as well. Which then strongly suggests that the manager of SFC was behind it. My guess on the purpose? To get Emi and Suzuno suspicious of Maou, which looks like it succeeded.

Nice catch, didn't think of that.

[Sixth]

Originally Posted by SQA

While on the topic of the Magic at the end, is it possible the Tanabata tree killed the negative enchantment that was obviously cast upon the MgRonald's? Consider only a few people would come in, it strikes me that James-look-alike used or cast something that made people not notice the store. It's also possible that Maou only figured out what the charm was after Ashiya came back and was trying to figure out how to break it, without using his own magic. He's shown to be very mindful of playing his information close to his chest. (Which makes sense as the Maou)

Oh, and there's no question on James being the attacker. Sunglasses + heavy cologne to cover up being sprayed with the Orange Ball is a complete give away. Aside from the Light Novel Gear Change issue that says he has to be the villain.

Ashiya's story, and impression on Rika, was awesomely done. Way to wonderfully cast Emi as the villain.

Yeah, I have the same thought too about the tree. It seems that tree somewhat dispelled a "spell" with positive emotion...or it was a sign of a positive emotion that gathered at that place...by a demon lord, which it kinda ironic. Maybe this is the reason why Suzuno felt angry and confused.

I doubt that it was Maou's magic as he is not the type will abuses his magic for own personal gain or else, he wouldn't live in a poor apartment if he was that kind of person.

[Bombo]

Ashiya is the best ...! in the restaurant and his story <3.
Ashiya & rika.

[Puu]

I loved this episode ♥ ... I was just wondering about something though:

Spoiler for Episode 9 Spoiler::

I wonder if it's just me, but Maou just seemed a bit... off this episode? I mean, usually, even though he doesn't like Emi much, he's very tolerant and cool about it. Just dropping snide comments instead of straight out antagonizing her. Usually it was Ashiya who openly antagonizes Emi, but this time around...