You know, I think Iruma may be too good at some things. Specifically, I think he may be too skilled at being Irumi, or at least at playing that role and not thinking about the consequences, although in his defense, why would he think, “Oh, better not be too skilled with the bow during this competition I’m doing in drag, otherwise Bachiko’s boss will want me to marry Robin.” Of course, revealing his gender might just get the head of the family to want him to marry Bachiko instead, so either way someone’s going to have to intervene to keep him from having to wed one of his teachers. That’s a whole new way to make the student/teacher romance trope uncomfortable.

Fortunately, if there’s any one thing this season finale demonstrates, it’s that the Misfit Class will always have people to back them up. The open sequence of each of the Misfits being honored by their Harvest Festival teachers makes that abundantly clear, especially since at least three of them appear to have turned down offers to coach demon king candidates from other schools. (That doesn’t mean they’ll all back Iruma, though, even if Sabnock has already declined his uncle Baal’s offer.) Their arrival at school is another good indicator of their sway – kids are lined up ten deep in front of Royal One just to catch a glimpse of them. That’s heady stuff, even if a few are more annoyed than anything – although Clara is already an exemplary senpai and Purson seems impishly delighted to show off his disappearing trick for the new kids. You can see why Sullivan made Iruma wear the disguise glasses; the poor kid would’ve been swarmed otherwise, although in all fairness, Eito’s burgeoning Iruma obsession probably owes a lot to his big sister Eiko’s more than anything else.

The new school year comes with some updated character designs for most of the class, primarily in the form of jewelry from their mentors. It’s amazing how much that one earring changes Iruma’s look, although Goemon’s new headband is also very distinctive. (Agares’ just sort of looks silly, but that’s more due to his pointy hair [head?] than anything else.) Keroli pulls of the pince-nez look surprisingly well, though. And Elizabetta’s new dress? Gorgeous. I like it much better than her original design, but then the Music Festival also made me an Elizabetta fan, so perhaps I’m more inclined to be generous now.

As far as finale episodes go, this isn’t particularly final. It’s basically the introduction to a new arc, wherein the Six Fingers, aided and abetted by Baal, are poised to make their next entry and the main cast moves up a year in school. (At least the only new character introduced is Eito, who actually stands to be a good point of view character for the first years.) Mostly we’re meant to understand that a year has passed since season one, and Iruma’s comfort level shows that even better than the first day of school. Look at how his design has changed since then – the earring and painted nails make him look more like his demonic classmates and show him making an effort to fit in. When he pulls his hair back, he looks older. And he’s clearly very comfortable where he is, no longer afraid of being the only human at school. I’m worried that will come back to bite him later on, because revealing his true nature would absolutely feed the fires the Six Fingers are building and stoking. We’ll just have to hope that Azz and Clara will continue to have his back no matter what.

And so ends another season with the Misfit Class. It never managed to reach the highs of Lilith’s Carpet, but the mere existence of that episode elevates the entire show. I hope we don’t have to wait too long until the next arc is animated, but in the meantime, at least the English translation of the manga has basically caught up with the anime, so we won’t have to be on pins and needles waiting to find out what happens next.

Rating:

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

Chizu Kamikō‘s Seijo Mellia to Sennen Ōkoku no Kishi (Saint Melia and Knight of the Millennial Kingdom) manga ended on the KadoComi website on Friday.

The story follows Melia, a young girl unable to use magic who suffers at the hands of her new caretakers after being separated from her beloved grandmother. She has a fateful encounter with the princess’s knight Douglas, who is in search of a mysterious cure for the princess’s illness.

Kamikō launched the series on Kadokawa‘s Young Ace Up web platform in 2021. Kadokawa shipped the sixth compiled book volume in June 2025. 

Manga UP! publishes Kamikō’s manga adaptation of Shusui Hazuki‘s I’ll Become an Elegant Villainess! (Kareinaru Akujo ni Naritai wa! Aisare Tensei Shōjo wa, Tanoshii Nidome no Jinsei o Okurimasu) light novel in English. Kamikō launched the manga adaptation on Square Enix‘s Gangan Online web platform in March 2025. 

J-Novel Club publishes Kamikō’s My Death-Defying Dog: Man’s Best Friend, World’s Best Savior (Uchi no Inu ga Tsuyosugirun Desu ga!? Tensei Shitara Megami-sama no Shukufuku de Sekai o Sukū Koto ni Narimashita) manga in English.

Sources: KadoComi website, Young Ace Up‘s X/Twitter account

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

I couldn’t think of a better way for this show to end than such an intense match between Mio and Arisa. The time really down to the wire, both players on their last speck of health—it’s obvious, quintessential hype, and there’s just no beating that. Watching matches like this in real life gets the crowd going in ways that I really wish could be better communicated through an anime, but still, it’s not to say that it didn’t get the point across. Both girls were pushed to their mental and physical limits, lost in the absolute bliss of a thrilling competition with a skilled player. Moments like these are what fighting game players—or anyone who plays anything competitively—live for.

What I particularly enjoyed about the way this is portrayed in the anime is that you really got a sense that as far as Arisa and Mio were concerned, there was no one else around but them. When you get into intense matches like that, it really does feel like a dance of sorts, and that kind of feeling can absolutely watch over you. Moreover, Aya knew it, and wanted so badly to have that feeling between them.

Anime and the portrayal of jealousy can be a messy thing. There was a long stretch of time—in particular, I tend to associate this with the 90s/early 00s—where in romance anime, especially, a character being jealous was supposed to be sweet and a bit romantic; As though to say “Look, they care so much that they’re jealous when anyone else is around the target of their affection!” This has, thankfully, largely fallen out of fashion. But what we’re seeing between Aya and Mio shouldn’t be confused for that. Aya isn’t jealous of Arisa for getting to be around Mio—she’s jealous that Arisa gets to experience this sort of competitor’s high alongside Mio, for whom she considered herself to be The Rival. Not to say there’s not a romantic tension underpinning this—there is—just that it’s not quite the same thing we’re used to seeing.

The spirit and love of competition has been alive and well throughout this whole anime, and that’s been one of the things I’ve appreciated about it most of all throughout its airing. As for other overall thoughts? Not quite anime of the season material (especially in such a stacked season—if you haven’t read it yet, I implore you to look at ANN’s best of Summer 2026 anime list!), but certainly a weekly highlight all the same. Also, by far the best opening theme of the year as far as I’m concerned—I absolutely love the spicy queens of HANABIE. Frankly, it’s about time we had an FGC anime—that it’s a girls’ love series is just icing on the cake.

In fact, the characters were the biggest part of what made this series so fun to watch. In addition to loving their explosive chemistry, Mio and Aya are both just such powerhouses in their own right. It’s tricky to pick a favorite between the two of them, but I’m inclined toward Mio if I must, if only because I still love her overly optimistic, “But we’ll have to stay at EVO all day Sunday because I’ll be playing in grand finals!”-attitude. But that’s not to say the other girls were slouches in all this—while their storylines weren’t explored nearly as much, Tamaki and Yuu definitely seem like they got something going on, and if we’re fortunate enough to get a second season, I’d be really curious to see more from them. Hopefully we can get another season of this at some point. And double hopefully, they’ll get HANABIE back to do the opening theme again.

Rating:

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.