Warning: This book review contains spoilers for “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Volume 15” by Satoshi Wagahara. Do not read this review if you want to avoid the spoilers!
Cover of “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Volume 15” by Satoshi Wagahara.I’m back with another book review, and this time I’m reviewing “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Volume 15” by Satoshi Wagahara! It’s been a while since I reviewed the previous book in this series, and I figured it was about time I reviewed the next one. Here’s a summary so we know what it’s about:
“It’s the middle of winter, and the Devil King is training in the hopes of transitioning from part-timer to full-timer. However, his plan hits a road block when Emi’s mother, Laila, informs Maou and the whole group about a crisis affecting all of Ente Isla. And his full-time job isn’t the only thing that might be put on hold-Emeralda and Chiho are planning to throw a Christmas party for Alas Ramus’s first winter holiday experience! On top of that, Rika’s feelings for Ashiya remain, giving him pause about leaving Japan, and Urushihara couldn’t care less about the past of the angels and the tragedy of the heavens. Are the visitors from another world really going to leave Japan for good?!”
Worldbuilding Development: 4 out of 5 stars
Plot Development: 3.5 out of 5 stars
In terms of advancing the general plotline so far, there is a lot more that happens in the previous book. There’s a lot of shenanigans going on with the angels, more development on how the initial conflict between Maou and Emi, given that they started as enemies due to being the literal Devil and the Hero meant to fight him at the beginning of the series, might end. And…it turns out that they really might just have to work together, as there are larger forces at play (and not just Olba from several volumes ago) that are threatening to destroy the Earth as they know it. And the only way to save the Earth: Defeat the real big bad behind the scenes. The twists included in this plotline are certainly interesting to read, overall, and create some buildup for the next volume or two.
It should be noted that there is a massive amount of lore and backstory that the book has to go through, in order to bring up this reveal. The lore and backstory given is interesting (and sadly, I can’t tell you much else about it due to revealing some major spoilers in the plotline). This new worldbuilding is that it does make sense to read, but I kind-of wish they started the foreshadowing a book or two earlier, to create more build-up leading up to these twists, because packing all of it in one book was a bit much. Hopefully the pacing of the overall plot will be better in the next volume and will focus less on exposition.
Character Development: 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading the character development in this book. Sariel is back and pining over Kisaki, but his motivations for how he feels about her and why he’s trying to win her heart are finally explained in this volume, giving him a more-redeeming side in the process. Ashiya’s interactions with Chiho were endearing, and Urushihara was just plain amusing to read, throughout the story. I also enjoyed reading how Rika got increasingly involved in the main party’s shenanigans while bonding further with Emi and Chiho along the way.
Surprisingly, Maou doesn’t have as big of a spotlight in this book and therefore doesn’t have as much time for development as the other characters this time around. I think that’ll be resolved by the next volume, given what everyone is about to go off and do by the end of this volume/beginning of the next volume.
Overall, I’m rating this book out 4 of 5 stars!
This is still a strong entry in the series so far, with some interesting plot twists and reveals, but be prepared to absorb a lot of lore if you plan to pick this up. I look forward to reading the next volume!
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