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| Title | Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Season Three |
| Produced By | NHK, Bandai Namco Pictures |
| Original Air Date | October, 2022 |
| Genre | Isekai, Slice of Life, School Life |
It honestly doesn’t feel that long since the debut of the manga, and yet here we are, about to discuss the already wrapped up Season Three of the anime adaptation of Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. As an avid reader of the manga, I’ve had opportunity to experience the ongoing journey and growth of Iruma, a once fearful fourteen year old Japanese boy who is transported to the Netherworld, and is now discovering friendship and personal ambitions as he continues to forge a path forward in his new life. In the manga, Iruma had already overcome many trials; physical, mental, and emotional; and continues to set and achieve personal goals all the while keeping in mind his friends and loved ones when doing so. He has grown much and matured, though, unimaginable silliness, pure chaos, and unsought attention still follow him close by. As for Season Three, we rewind a bit in Iruma’s story, privy to the animated telling of the second to last event in Iruma’s first year at the demon school Bablys; the Harvest Festival. I came into this season with expectations of action, energy and tension, as I prepared to once again experience Iruma’s endeavors through what is arguably still one of his greatest trials in the demon world.
Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Season Three covers the Harvest Festival arc, which begins with the announcement that Iruma and his misfit classmates must all raise themselves to daleth, rank four, before the end of the year or face eviction from their prestigious classroom: Royal One. An impossible task on their own, they are then informed they will be assigned elite, renowned demons as tutors to refine their particular skills and traits. While the others are broken into groups of two, Iruma finds himself on the receiving end of individual attention by his tutor Bachiko, a magenta clad archer with attitude. Iruma and his classmates endure grueling training throughout the weeks before the Harvest Festival, and once the fated day arrives, they emerge pensive from their hellish training and ready to put to use those personal hells in full force.
This is certainly one of the most exciting story arcs in the series and there’s plenty to love here. In the manga, scenes are full of emotion, energy, and pressure conveying the stresses of combat-filled battles and internal struggles, as well as the joys and reliefs of reunions and successes. Regarding Iruma specifically, this is a transitional moment for him, as we see him dialed into his desires for, and truly working towards, a life in the Netherworld. Training under Bachiko and the twists and turns of Iruma’s individual route through the Harvest Festival allow for his personality to shine, and nurture his ongoing emotional growth. We get to see his selflessness towards others, and his drive to succeed and make proud those who have helped him get this far. We also get to see his genuine fears. Not the joke-like spooks he used to face at the start of his story, Iruma will realize and must endure the true depths of his fears regarding identity and place among those he has now come to love. Thus, through his desires for acceptance, wanting to remain close with his friends, and wanting to see them grow alongside him, Iruma’s character will ultimately receive praiseworthy advancement.
The other classmates have their moments too, as throughout the arc, when they encounter each other, all of their particular peculiarities come out in full, as they argue, fight, or scheme for themselves. There’s also a subplot, in which the misfits find themselves with an additional rival, Coco Orobas, adding even more tension, as Coco’s, and a mysterious companion’s, intentions go damningly beyond the scope of the Festival. It all comes together for a nice bit of storytelling and character development for several of the classmates. And with all that happens within the arc, in its entirety, the results are an appreciably immersive and satisfying experience.
As for this arc’s anime adaptation, overall, I am pleased with the outcome. I think the production does a noteworthy job of capturing similar moods and tones to character specific scenes like discussions, planning, arguments, and similar, as well as capturing all of the particulars regarding the misfits’ personalities. The raucousness of arguments, the silliness of over-the-top schemes and demands, and the heartfelt actions by friends stepping up, these are what keep the manga charming, and I believe the distinct moods and tones of those key moments are markedly recaptured here. Indeed, I think these communicative types of scenes are Season Three’s greatest strengths, as they best recapture the original natures and intentions of these scenes from the manga.
Regarding the more energetic scenes, such as battles, these have far more intensity to them compared to the manga, as expected, yet also compared to similar scenes from Seasons One and Two. I’m pleased to say that this intensity works incredibly well throughout given the nature of this story arc, delivering satisfying levels of zeal and force when called for. This is especially true for nearly all of Asmodeus’s scenes, as most of his scenes are action oriented this season. While this story arc provides growth for Iruma, it does so for Asmodeus as well with him tapping into the higher gears of resolve, power, and passion that he’s unlocked. And so, his scenes are intense, yet the purpose for said aggressiveness and emotions are not lost, keeping with his character depth from the manga. In these and similar action sequences, the higher levels of intensity work incredibly well.
Despite the overall impressive efforts, I do have some issues with Season Three. My main issue regards the action, in that several situations tote the line between authentic and cliché. As I said above, I’m mostly pleased with the action sequences however, some do drag on longer than necessary. Also some have terribly flashy moments that feel exaggerated, as if I’m watching other shounen series that also overuse these stylizings. And I get it, this production is meant to attract a wider audience who may prefer the over-the-top demonstrations of power. Yet, I cannot help but feel these instances take away from the charms of the original work and intentions of the author in favor of forced attempts at reaching more potential viewers. Personally, they broke immersion, taking me out of the experience for moments at a time. Although not an often occurrence, it’s a repeated issue that sticks out for me.
Another issue, though more a comment on my part, is that I would have liked to have seen more of the training before the Harvest Festival. In the manga, the training is not much of a focus, as we are introduced to each group’s hardships and see small snippets of their ongoing training. So I had hoped we would see more of that training here in the anime, yet this training component is treated the same way. This is one instance I wished the producers had added extra. Lastly, those musical scenes, which have become an anime staple, yet which I still do no care for in the slightest. Like with Season 2, since I knew they were inevitable, I was somewhat prepared. Personally, I can still do without. My personal feelings aside, from a professional standpoint, I will say they are fun additions for viewers that appreciate them, and they add mood and energy to the scenes in which they are featured. Perhaps it’s because they seem shorter than in previous seasons, so they add without fully taking over scenes or drastically altering tone. And, even with my biases, I can see that they are more a help than a hindrance in context. As a whole, the smaller issues will be negligible to most, and if you don’t mind the over-the-top moments of pure shounen marketing, then Season Three’s flaws are easily departed from.
Moving on to its aesthetics, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Season Three looks as great as previous seasons. The artistic reproduction is once again remarkably accurate, capturing the styles and uniqueness of the manga. Backgrounds and environments, character designs, and character expressions all possess the unique styles, personalities, and charms of their manga counterparts. Animations are smooth and detailed, bringing new, and appreciated, vividness to interactions, struggles, and triumphs. And again, the action is mostly appropriate for this story arc, bringing expected intensity. Visually, Season Three keeps with what was done right in the first two seasons, continuing a trend of solid, expressive animation and authentic adaptation.
As for the audio, this is also a mostly strong effort. Starting with the voicing, I previously felt several of the classmates’ voices were too deep. Now that I’ve become more accustomed to this cast, I don’t find them as much of a distraction as I used to. The distractedly deep voice of newcomer Coco however, is enough for me to comment on it. Other new characters such as the tutors, have serviceable voicing that fit their personalities and never detract from the experience. I am especially impressed with popular voice actress Junko Takeuchi as she lends her talents for Bachiko’s voice, which I felt perfectly fit the character’s personality. The pink-clad, rambunctious, blunt badass that is Bachiko sounds great, with a voice amiably fitting her brand of crassness.
As for music, ignoring the main theme, which is just more shounen pandering, the soundtrack is fairly strong, with its mix of old, new, and remixed music. The tracks from previous seasons are never overused and are always fitting to the scenes in which they’re used as are the new tracks, though they are noticeably less of them in comparison. The remixes are most impressive, especially Asmodeus’s remixed theme, which perfectly matches his raging intensity in one of his particular scenes early in the Harvest Festival. This specific moment stands out as one of the best this season, made satisfyingly dynamic by the music and voicing. Voicing and music together make for a solid audio effort which mostly helps, and rarely hinders, the overall presentation. And so, the visual and audio aesthetic efforts of Season Three are thoroughly noteworthy for their abilities to capture the style and magic of the manga’s scenes while also enhancing and bringing new atmosphere to them.
Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Season Three does well by its source material, faithfully adapting one of the most exciting story arcs from the manga. The story, with all of its twists, action, interactions, and unique tones and moods, is satisfyingly portrayed throughout. Iruma and his classmates are also conscientiously adapted, accurately depicting their individual thoughts and emotions, as well as their growth through their personal trials. Add in the advantages of strong animation, authentic artistic recreation, and satisfactory sound work, and you have a viewing experience that is energetic and engaging. An easy recommendation given its equally imaginative, immersive, and entertaining as its source, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Season Three is an absolute blast to watch.
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Mairimashita! Iruma-kun season two is available on Crunchyroll
