Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Volumes 17-20 Manga Review – Review

Sharp-eyed readers (and anime viewers) already knew that there was a thirteenth student in the Misfit Class. It makes sense even if you didn’t spot the sleepy-eyed, bob-haired demon in the background: everything important in this series plays with the numbers thirteen or 666, so why would the most significant class at school have only an even twelve students? But most of the misfits themselves never even considered that there’d be a thirteenth member of the class, and that’s just how Soi Purson wants it. Or at least, that’s how his parents want it and how he’s been used to it being for most of his life.

Creator Osamu Nishi is practically giddy when she discusses Purson in her afterwords, and I have to admit that that’s half the fun of his inclusion. She’s clearly been planning for this for a long time, and seeing it finally come to fruition nearly twenty volumes in has to be exciting. But even without Nishi’s delight, Purson is a great addition to the cast. Now that we know that neither Allocer nor Keroli are actually shy and retiring, that is a slot that’s been empty amongst the many personalities hanging out in Royal One. But more importantly than checking that off the list, Purson’s a remarkably relatable character in a few different ways.

The one that speaks to me personally is that he’s the kid everyone forgets is part of the class. While the Purson family wants it that way – they’re masters of invisibility and detection evasion – Soi himself is less happy with it. If you’ve ever been the person someone suddenly turns to and asks, “How long have you been in this class?” when the answer is “since the beginning,” you’ll understand Purson’s feelings. On the one hand, being invisible is safe. But on the other, it’s very isolating, and even if you have some social anxiety, which Purson appears to at first, it can be incredibly lonely…but also scary when the spotlight suddenly shifts to you. Purson genuinely does want to be part of the group, at least in a way that’s comfortable for him, but he can’t handle everyone’s focus on him, and not just because it goes against everything his parents have ever taught him about being a Purson.

That internal conflict is another piece of what makes Soi Purson such a good character. He wants to be himself, which in large part means pursuing music, something he’s good at and enjoys. But musicians are performers, and performing means stepping out of the shadows, which he’s been told is the one thing he cannot aspire to. While the Music Festival itself is a major piece of the storyline here, for Purson it’s the backdrop for his argument with his father, who would rather see him drop out of school than participate. Once again, it’s something very relatable for many people: the first moment you realize that who you want to be and who your parents want you to be isn’t the same person.

The class’ performance of demonic standby “Lilith’s Carpet” is a major piece of this. (If any manga-onlies are reading, do yourself a favor and watch season four, episode seven to see the musical come to life.) Yes, in part that’s because Purson is one of the centerpieces as the lead musician, but it’s also in the way the misfits choose to interpret the story. According to Kalego, “Lilith’s Carpet” is about a beautiful she-demon who delights in seducing all the men who pursue her, reveling in her power. But Iruma and Purson read the tale differently. They choose to view Lilith not through Kalego’s male gaze, but as her own person. Lilith isn’t enjoying her power over men; she’s trying to cope with attention that she never asked for. Not only does this reading of the character empower Elizabetta-as-Lilith, firmly establishing her as Elizabetta rather than “a succubus” or “the sexy one,” it also allows Purson to express himself through his trumpet. Just as Lilith wants to take charge of her own life, Purson wants to find a way to be a musician and a member of his family. It’s not about how other people see him. It’s about finding a way to see himself.

Although Elizabetta doesn’t get nearly as much development as most of the other misfits, it’s important that her Lilith isn’t just an object of desire. Yes, the boys in class are attracted to her because of her physical beauty, but if you look back through the books, it’s her kindness and gentle heart that they’re really drawn to. Iruma’s greatest influence on his classmates is to see them as more than the sum of their parts – Asmodeus isn’t just powerful and snooty; he’s awkward and caring; Clara’s not just bouncy; she’s a full person with feelings – feelings that Azz inadvertently hurts, and it’s thanks to their friendship with Iruma that they can work that out. Iruma’s steadfast belief in his friends may not always look like the typical shounen “friendship is power” dynamic, but it’s central to the series nonetheless.

While the Music Festival takes up the bulk of these volumes, Nishi still takes the time to set up for what’s to come. Asmodeus, fresh off his lessons with Balam, sees Kiriwo with new, more penetrating eyes, and Poro-chan is almost certainly going to be a more serious problem than being a campy gay stereotype. For as silly as this series can get, it has a core that’s not goofy at all, and the more people who learn that Iruma isn’t a demon at all, the more dangerous the netherworld risks becoming for him.