Book Review: “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Book 2” by Satoshi Wagahara

Warning: If you have not read the book “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Book 2” by Satoshi Wagahara, avoid reading this review if you want to avoid spoilers. If you have already read the book or don’t mind spoilers, feel free to read it!

I’m back with a review of the light novel “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Book 2” by Satoshi Wagahara. I already reviewed the first book, and I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to continue reading the series. Here’s a summary of this book so we know what it’s about:

“Sadao Maou, the Devil King, has finally been promoted to store manager! And who should move in next door to his fortress (actually a tiny studio apartment in a dingy walk-up) but a lovely kimono-wearing lass. But the former devil-crushing hero Emi Yusa is none too pleased with this turn of events, to say nothing of high schooler Chiho Sasaki, who’s still nursing a terrible crush on the Devil King. Meanwhile a Sentucky Fried Chicken has opened up right across the street from Maou’s beloved MgRonald! It’s the first real test of his managerial prowess, and he’s facing a pay cut unless he can top Sentucky’s sales! Between the two new neighbors, the Devil King’s troubles are anything but part-time!”

What I really liked was that the book focused at least a bit more on the day-to-day life that Maou has to endure, trying to have a decent everyday life and trying not to go broke. Lucifer from the last book (who formerly allied with Olba last time and caused havoc upon our protagonists) has moved in with Maou and Shiro, but unfortunately the guy just doesn’t want to really work and contribute to their apartment living, much to Maou and Shiro’s disappointment and my amusement. The three of them having scenes together was really funny to read.

What I also liked was that Chiho has returned, and she got some more development in her character! It’s thankful that she can still be okay with Maou despite now knowing that he’s the Devil King, and even Emi is at least starting to warm up to him. Granted, the three of them seem to have some tension at times, and poor Maou keeps getting stuck with trying to break it up, but it was interesting to read such a dynamic developing between them.

I like how there were scenes that took place in the land where Emi and Maou came from, and picking up where they left off after Olba was defeated. It’s interesting to see how some people begin to realize how corrupted Olba and his associates really were, while some still are in some denial about it all. It was interesting to read those views clash, and see how much people really believed the truth of the entire situation. I hope to see more of those scenes in future books to continue viewing the events in the world Emi, Maou and Shiro came from.

I thought having Suzuno in the book was interesting, though it did seem rather suspicious right off the bat to describe herself as a someone who came from an old farming family and had yet to learn about city life, trying to use the whole “country bumpkin” trope to her advantage while in reality she was actually working with the main antagonist of this book, who I won’t reveal because otherwise I’m spoiling the whole plot. I kind of hoped that she would be able to bring up a more convincing sort of disguise that would be able to fool not just the rest of the characters but also myself as a reader a bit more, but I liked how this disguise was somewhat played for laughs in the book as well.

Overall, I would give this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. I think some plot twists like the one with Suzuno was a bit too obvious, but otherwise this book was pretty good on the whole, with nothing majorly horrible about it.