English Dub Review: Kemono Michi-Rise Up “Demon Girl × Part-Time Job”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

While Princess Altena recovers from the humiliation of summoning Genzo, he and the rest of his group are barely getting by. Hanako is eating everything in sight, Carmilla only lazes around and drinks, and Genzo keeps bringing in more animals that get increasingly difficult to feed. Shigure is the only one bringing in money and complains to her bartender as if Genzo is cheating on her. Things get worse when the deadline on the bank loan comes in, and doing regular jobs gets them no luck, leaving them with the only option of taking another big quest.

This time, they’re going after a giant griffin, but Genzo ends up trying to steal a baby right in front the parents. It’s only thanks to Hanako that they’re able to get out alive, but the baby grows up super fast, only making their money troubles even worse.

Elsewhere, a demonic girl named Joanna plots her next move.

OUR TAKE
Now that the main cast has assembled, this episode helps straighten out the dynamics between each of the four. Hanako likes eating and helping Genzo, but is also stronger than him. Carmilla will only do work if Hanako says so, but otherwise just likes to be lazy, and while she’s plenty strong, it’s not as strong as Genzo. Genzo is plenty strong enough to fight off just about any beast, but is often done in by his weakness towards protecting them. And Shigure hates them all for making things worse for her, but genuinely believes in Genzo’s dreams of helping animals, though not enough to not tell him off whenever he’s being really thick headed. It’s important to have these sorts of relationships worked out, especially in a more humorous show like this one. If we know how each character reacts towards each of the other ones, it makes it easier to get invested in how those interactions will go.

Though it’s good to see that there’s still a story developing too, as they still need to figure out how to properly pay for this house of fantastic beasts. In addition to meeting more animals, adventurers, and quests, I’m also genuinely interested in seeing how their business can manage to grow. We’re already a third through the season (or at least that’s how it seems to be, at the moment) and we don’t seem to have much progress on that front. These first few episodes have done a fine job of establishing the core cast and the situation they’re facing, especially in spite of their own flaws and foibles. As much as I’m enjoying watching that grow and seeing these characters get to know each other, along with the fun comedy and fantasy elements, I still find myself wanting for more growth from the world and characters.

That might be asking too much at this early stage for all I know, but I guess it just comes down to me wanting more of this show because I’ve come to enjoy it. That’s probably a good sign if I ever saw one. And with at least eight more episodes to further enjoy, I don’t expect myself to suddenly start disliking it if it can continue at this pace and tempo. Next week looks like another powerful duo to get turned into a joke, but stranger things have happened. Maybe it’s time to get serious!