Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun Season 4 ‒ Episode 5

Does anyone else have a bad feeling about Poro as a judge? Or keep wanting to call him Amadeus to the point of not remembering his actual family name? Because both are happening to me; I've looked up his name something like four times and my brain insists on only remembering him as Amadeus. Damn you, Falco.

Poro's personality is more troubling than his name, however, because he's got a serious grudge against Sullivan. This stems from jealousy: both Poro and Sullivan worked for Derkila, the last demon king, and Poro felt that Sullivan undercut him all the time. Part of that may be true, but it also could have simply been the difference between how much time an advisor spends with a ruler versus how much time a musician does. Add in the fact that Poro's crush on Derkila makes Eiko's crush on Iruma look like indifference, and you've got a recipe for a judge absolutely ready to hate the Misfit Class' performance based on the fact that Iruma is Sullivan's grandson alone. That's not great, and it becomes even more of a probability when you factor in that Poro is livid that someone is using the Royal One classroom. Even if the other two judges are fair, Poro could jeopardize the entire thing.

While I may have an overdeveloped sense of fairness, it really would be awful for the Misfit Class not to be judged impartially. I'm sure that all of the classes have been working hard (despite Ronové's “help”), and there are definitely worse things than losing a cushy classroom. But other classes don't have Purson. This competition is more than just a school event for him; it's a chance for him to feel like he belongs and to show that he's more than just his father's dictates and his bloodline ability. This is Purson's chance to be a person, and since he's spent three seasons hiding in plain sight, that's major.

It's impressive how well the start of this season has shown Purson coming out of the shadows. Yes, Iruma uses that against him by reading off a list of embarrassing things others have noticed about him, but look at how many things people have learned about their phantom classmate! They know he doesn't like black coffee, that he struggles to interact with girls, that he baby-talks to kitty cats. They know how talented a musician he is, that he struggles with his family's expectations, and that once he feels comfortable talking, he's a real motormouth. In the space of five episodes, he's gone from being a joke character to a fully-realized person whose issues aren't all that funny. It's excellent writing, and it reminds all of us that Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun isn't just a humor series – it's a series that's funny because it captures a lot of human (demon) foibles really well and knows how to use those observations.

Iruma and Purson's all-night gab fest is the perfect distillation of this. Purson's speedy delivery of his worries and wants is framed humorously with Iruma falling on his nose as the speech goes on and on, but it touches on real issues that Iruma can relate to. You can see him struggle not to tell Purson that he understands his issues with his parents because of his own parental experiences. When Purson talks about not being able to say no to his dad, Iruma clearly remembers times he had the same problem. Their situations may be different – Purson's parents aren't selling him – but they know the same emotional battle. Their friendships with their classmates mean the same thing to them. Purson just hasn't reached the point where he can admit it because going against his parents is a more fraught issue due to mutual love, whereas Iruma has only just learned what it's like to have a loving family.

Although after Opera fetched him from school, he may be rethinking the benefits of that. It's a good thing he doesn't get motion sick.

The music festival has become more than just the Misfit Class' last chance to hold onto Royal One. It's their chance to let Purson shine in his own way and for Purson to stand up for who he wants to be. I wish he'd been part of the compliment festival at the beginning of the episode, because if anyone needs to know that people like him for who he is, it's Soi Purson.

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