Anime Impressions! (Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun)

I used to be a pretty avid watcher of anime back in the day, but after a while I just felt there wasn't too much out there that interested me, or I felt I couldn't keep up with everything that was coming out. But for whatever reason, it's like a switch was flipped in my brain a month or so ago, and now I've been watching a lot of anime again. No idea why, but all of the sudden I seem to be back into it, so I figured I would write my impressions, thoughts, etc on what I've been watching. You might notice I use 'impressions' a lot. For some reason I always shy away from writing 'reviews'. Just impressions. Don't ask me.

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun
I watched the first three or four episodes back when season two had just come out, and really liked it. Now I"m completely caught up, and am waiting each week for the simulcast as we near the end of season 3. Iruma-kun is the story of a human boy, born to very selfish and greedy parents, who is extremely nice and never can refuse a request. His parents took full advantage of this and usually had him working dangerous jobs while they lived off his earnings. Then a demon comes along and offers to by their kid, and they happily agree. This is where the anime picks up, with Iruma being transported to the demon world.

I think the big aspect of this anime that keeps me coming back to it is Iruma's relentless optimism. This is a character who is always helpful, always trying to see the good in people, and completely selfless. It really makes it a joy to watch each episode, as Iruma-kun kind of pulls in all the people around him and makes them better, more caring people as a result. By the third season, his class, dubbed the misfit class, is now looking like they'll be the top students in their grade!

If I had to make one complaint, and it's kind of a small one, but I'm not sure about the pacing they've chosen for the third season. It looks like the season will be dedicated almost entirely to two large events at the school. The first one, the Harvest Festival, started with episode 4 and as of episode 16 it's almost done (if I had to guess episode 17 will be the end of the Harvest Festival). That's a huge chunk of the season dedicated to one 4-day event! That being said, we're learning about each of the students in his class in ways we really hadn't before, so...I find it hard to complain TOO much. But I'd say season 3 is not where you'd recommend someone new to the show try to watch, as everything's so established at this point and they're really hyper-focusing on side characters with the Harvest Festival. Heck, Iruma, Clara and Asmodeus, who are usually never apart, are hardly ever seen together for the entire event! I can't wait until they're reunited!.

It turns out the demon that purchased him just wants a grandchild to spoil and dote on. Seriously, I love how adorable Lord Sullivan, Iruma's new grandfather, is. While he's an extremely strong demon, and many think he should be the new demon king, he's often shown in a chibi style as he happily waits on Iruma.

The first season is mostly about Iruma going to demon school, scared to death of every demon student at every turn, afraid that they'll find he's human and try to eat him (which they sing about doing every day, as it's part of their school anthem). But through hilarious circumstances, not only does he constantly do a good job blending in, but he usually excels at whatever the impossible task was. Soon he's got the whole attention of his class, and a new group of friends (his first ever friends, in fact).

The show is usually comedic, although they occasionally add some drama or a nice bit of action into the mix. I love the character designs in this show, everyone looks very unique and interesting, and over the seasons you'll get to know everyone in his class, as well as a few people outside of it like the student council president and some of the teachers. And all of them are fleshed out, enjoyable people. I was pretty impressed with that. Also I've got to say that the first thing that drew me to the show, in addition to the character designs, was probably the color palette. Every shot of this show looks very striking in its color design, from the very blue suit Iruma wears, to the greens and purples of the demon world, and the pink and green of his two best friends, Asmodeus and Clara. All the colors really pop all throughout this show.

Wow, okay I thought this one post would be a quick impression of all the anime I've watched recently? But maybe I'll do a post for each, or put two in a post in the future. I had more to say about Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun than I had thought!