I’m willing to bet that most people within the anime community haven’t heard of Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-kun. The show doesn’t get talked about often enough, and those who do watch occasionally dislike the art style and silliness. But those who pass its trials and become fans love it dearly. I’m one of those fans. It’s been my favorite anime of all time for the past three years, and an amazing Isekai.
Iruma Suzuki is sold off by his scumbag parents to a demon named Sullivan. He’s forced to live in the underworld and attend a demon school. But he has to keep his identity hidden because the demons will eat him if they find out that he’s human. I know, it sounds like I’m describing the start of a horror movie. But it’s the silliest and most wholesome show you’ll watch.
Despite the art style and humor, the show is just as serious as it is silly. That’s one of the reasons why I like it so much. In the first season, there’s a moment where the core group of friends are doing random bullshit. Then suddenly someone is trying to blow up the school. Then things go back to silky bullshit in the blink of an eye.
70% of the show is Iruma, Clara, Az, Ameri, and Sullivan being goofy. The other 30% is actually really good story development, character growth, and even occasional suspense. There’s so many characters that I love throughout the show, and the way the show balances all of its themes while giving everyone their time to shine is great.
Take Lied for example. He’s one of the supporting characters and one of Iruma’s classmates. He isn’t exactly high up because there’s many other characters that have bigger roles than him. But then comes the main arc of the third season and for half the season he basically becomes the second protagonist alongside Iruma. A lot more importance was placed on him during this arc and he became one of my favorite characters because of this.
Then there’s characters like Ameri, Az, and Kalego. The three of them are all such cool characters who have a bunch of humourous moments. I love them all, and of course, Iruma himself is such a great protagonist. He’s just trying to exist in a new world but keeps getting thrown into a bunch of oddball situations surrounding his new friends, the school, and just the underworld in general.
The show is just fantastic because it makes me laugh a lot while having a lot of great characters that I love investing time in, and occasionally great storylines. If I had to compare it to something else, I’d say it’s like My Hero Academia but with less action and way more silliness. Everyone should at least give the first few episodes a try.
10/10