Alternative title: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun
Manga Adaptation by Bandai Namco Pictures
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Iruma has awful parents. They make him work to support the family while they laze about, despite him being 14, just because he can’t say no to anyone. They eventually sell him to a demon named Sullivan, who cares for him as if if he were his own grandson. Now attending demon school, Iruma must conceal his true identity as a human, or risk being eaten.

Euri’s verdict: Hayate the Demon Butler

As someone who has watched and read a lot of Hayate the Combat Butler over the years, it’s very hard not to compare it to Iruma-kun. The general premise is very similar – two young boys with shit parents end up in bad circumstances – Hayate was shouldered with a huge monetary debt, and Iruma was outright sold to a demon (somehow). From there, they see their old lives come to an end as they deal with light-hearted shenanigans while slowly coming to realise they’re in a better place. Obviously I’m reading into Iruma-kun a little as episode one doesn’t go that far, but it sure looks to be headed that way.

And you know? I’m okay with this. It’s absolutely nothing special so far, but when we’re otherwise getting peppered with isekai shows left and right, I’ll take something a little more 2004. The opening animation also makes it look like it’s going all in on that time period, feeling far more like a distant cousin of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo than something from 2019.

Episode one does have its moments – Iruma’s opening speech at demon school and German suplexing the top student were enough to get a chuckle out of me. It was a little hampered somewhat by having to set the scene, but contrary to the opening showing off about 30 different, important-looking characters, the episode itself was sensible in how much it was throwing at us.

While I do appreciate what this show is going for, it’s not likely to be something I end up continuing with. That said, I’ll be keeping a close eye on what people make of it, as while it’s never going to be the next out-of-nowhere anime success, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see a dedicated fan following due to how nostalgic it feels. As an aside, Iruma’s new demon granddad is voiced Takaya Kuroda, aka Kazuma Kiryu, and that’s great.