In today's media, comedies are a dime a dozen. This is probably because viewers like episodic light-hearted shows rather than gritty dramas. They are certainly easier to absorb, and will do a better job of holding the attention of more impatient viewers. Unfortunately, this generally leads to a high degree of predictability. While Hataraku Maou-sama doesn't escape this pitfall entirely, it does its best to stay fresh and entertaining. The story centers around the demon king of the underworld, Maou, who is transported from his own world to modern day Japan. Several other characters are transported here as well, and most have trouble adjusting to living in such a contrasting society. The bulk of the comedy relates to each character's struggles with fitting in to their new environment. This aspect of the show is its strongest element, and the comedy is usually quite good. Where the show loses some steam is with the action element that the writers inexplicably threw in. The tone of the show will often change in an instant from slapstick humor to gritty action with little transition to speak of. As a result, these scenes are very unengaging, and add little to the already thinly developed plot. Fortunately, the show is more heavily centered on comedy, and these scenes are not played out. Another issue I had was with several side characters who were thrown into the mix, only to be discarded for the rest of the series. Considering how unnecessary they were to begin with, it would have been better to just omit them entirely. Despite this, there are a few minor characters who play a meaningful role and they fit well within the structure of the plot.
The animation was mediocre, and although I wasn't overly impressed by the quality, it remained consistently competent, and provided some nice character designs. The soundtrack was pretty forgettable, and the opening theme was pretty bad, and didn't fit the mood of the show whatsoever.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed at the execution of a show that had quite a bit of potential. Had the writers stuck to their comedic strengths, this anime would have been quite good, but with some fairly obvious flaws and plotholes, I found it only mildly enjoyable. If you are looking for some good comedy give this show a shot. Just don't expect anything groundbreaking.
6/10
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