Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun Season 4 ‒ Episode 9

© Osamu Nishi (Akita Publishing)／NHK・NEP

Although not fully a clip show, this episode of Iruma-kun's purpose is to remind us of events and characters' pasts. Not that we need much reminding of who Kiriwo is – despite Kalego's often antagonistic behavior, Kiriwo's the real villain of this story. He started as just Iruma's upperclassman in his school battler (club), but over the course of the Battler Arc, he was revealed to be something much more sinister than that: he's a primal demon, a demon who has shed all trappings of civilization and, for lack of a better word, humanity. As Asmodeus puts it, he's basically in a constant evil cycle. Despite being imprisoned at the end of the Battler Arc, he was freed from jail during the Walter Park Arc, and now he and his cronies are back at Babylis looking for something…or someone.

Reminding viewers of all of this takes up about half of the episode, and while it has been a while since Walter Park, it still feels a touch excessive, although it's still handled much better than virtually any other clip show adjacent episode I can remember from other series. And it does work with the rest of the plot, which is setting up what Kiriwo's return means for Iruma. Most notably, it confirms the idea that Poro is absolutely no good – while he at first is ready to take Kiriwo's minion Toto out, the minute the mauve-haired demon mentions seeing Derkila again, Poro changes his tune. He may have other things going for him, and he did finally admit that the Misfit Class deserved to win, but at the end of the day, his only loyalty is to Derkila…and maybe not even to Derkila himself, but to his ideal of him. He knows that Toto is up to no good and that he's a member of a dangerous criminal organization. But when the younger demon offers him the chance to see his idol again, Poro chucks everything he knows and his integrity out the window. Derkila is All.

That's almost certainly bad news for Iruma and his pals, because Poro is a formidable foe. But Azz-Azz is also quickly realizing that there's more to Kiriwo than he thought, which can only be a good thing. The longer he talks with his senpai in the clubroom, the more he sees that's just slightly off about him – his eyes are exactly like those Balam told him demons who have been consumed by their evil cycles have. This not only cements Balam as one of (if not the) best teachers at Babylis, but it also reminds us that Asmodeus is more than just Iruma's devoted knight: he's a very smart, talented young man as well. While he's more typically relegated to playing the straight man to Clara's insanity, his immediate recognition of Kiriwo's true nature and his move to do something about it speak to what it was easy to forget after episode one: that before Iruma showed up, Azz was the top first-year student.

Of course, Asmodeus recognizing Kiriwo's truth and thinking back on Iruma very much not telling him about it could have some implications down the line. I don't doubt that Azz-Azz knows that Iruma wasn't being mean by not telling him and Clara what was actually going on. But Iruma still didn't tell him, and that has to sting. He's clearly still trying to work out his thoughts and feelings on the subject at the end of this episode, because he's also quite shaken by his encounter with a primal demon. At best, he believes Iruma kept this a secret because there simply wasn't a good time to reveal it. At worst? He may worry that Iruma doesn't trust Azz and Clara to be able to help or thinks that he needs to protect them. That would sting, and I don't imagine Clara will be any happier when she finds out what Iruma hasn't said.

Kiriwo's return doesn't mean anything good for our heroes, and Poro's defection might be even worse news, although he was hardly on the Misfits' side. It might be a good sign that another of the Six Fingers, Shiida (I think), takes a moment to pause and look back at Babylis as the rest of the group walks away; she may be having second thoughts. But it's a good thing Alikred seems to have powered up, because I suspect Iruma and his friends are going to need all the help they can get.

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P.S. I love the confirmation that Opera is some sort of cat demon, from their tail twitching madly while playing to the “Su-Ki-Ma” where they want Iruma to treat them like a kitty.

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.