Warning: If you have not read “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Volume 3” by Satoshi Wagahara, do not read this review if you want to avoid spoilers. If you don’t mind spoilers or already read the book, feel free to read it!
I’m back with another book review, and this time it’s “The Devil is a Part-Timer! Volume 3” by Satoshi Wagahara. I’ve already read the first two books in this series, and it’s about time I continue this series since I finished the “Book Girl” series by Mizuki Nomura. Here’s a summary so we know what it’s about:
“Do you want fries with your hellfire?
A portal opens in the courtyard of the Devil’s Castle (a tiny walk-up). From it emerges a little girl who calls the Devil King “papa” and the Hero “mama.” Ashiya and Chiho are shocked to discover that Maou and Emi had that kind of relationship, but nobody’s more surprised than the two new “parents.” Will Maou the breadwinner be able to make the grade when it comes to child rearing? And will this spell the end of the starry-eyed Emi’s romantic ambitions?”
This was, undoubtedly, one of the best books in the series so far. Let me elaborate as of why.
Character development occurred for our main characters (Maou, Emi and Chiho) as well as our more minor ones (Ashiya, Urushihara and Suzuno), given that all of them had to work together to raise the child that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Alas Ramus! As everyone learns to at least somewhat put aside their differences to raise Alas Ramus properly, all of them get to spend some bonding time with each other in a sense and become less like enemies and more like friends—with the exception of Emi giving Maou a few death threats given their past as enemies of course, but that can’t be helped much.
Also, despite what the summary may imply about Maou and Emi being together and conceiving Alas Ramus, it turns out this is not the case (much to the relief of Chiho and the supporting characters). Alas Ramus’ origins are connected to both the main villain of the book (none other than the angel Gabriel) as well as Maou himself, as more of his origin story is revealed in this book! I’d elaborate on how it works, but then I’d spoil a major part of this book and that wouldn’t be good. However, I just thought this was rather cleverly written in the book.
The pacing of the book felt a bit more balanced this time. The usually drawn-out “boss battle” scenes with the main villain(s) of the series only lasted about three chapters this time, rather than five or more like the past two books felt like. This provided a lot more time for the main characters to develop both individually and in their relationships with one another. We also get a lot more world-building regarding the land where Emi, Maou, Suzuno, Urushihara, Alas Ramus and Ashiya all come from, as well as how certain things work in that world compared to Japan where everyone is.
Some of the best moments, however, were simply when everyone was taking care of Alas Ramus. Despite Alas Ramus probably being only a few years old at oldest, she’s actually a very thoughtful child and wants to do the right thing, going as far as interfering in the big battle versus Gabriel so her “mommy” Emi and “daddy” Maou would be okay. I nearly cried when Maou was moping over her absence post-boss fight, but I’m overjoyed that Alas Ramus is quite literally with Emi and Maou now, as she’s one with Emi’s magical sword by the end of the book. Not only does this offer opportunities to see more cute family moments of a sort, but also to see how the group will continue adapting to Alas Ramus being around as well as Alas Ramus herself adapting to her new form.
Overall, I’d give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars for the cute family/bonding moments among the characters, the development said characters also had individually, the better pacing of the book overall, and the worldbuilding.