The battle of good and evil continues, where people’s very souls are at stake! Well, with ditzy angel Eniale and easily distracted demon Dewiela gunning for souls of the recently deceased, perhaps these poor, unfortunate souls are safer than it first appears. All souls must pass on after death but, with the way these two work, it may be quite a while before some of them find their way to their eternal resting place.
In the first volume it seemed that, despite being on opposite ends of the morality spectrum, Eniale and Dewiela ended up working together more often than not but that’s not the case here, as this time they are (usually) diametrically opposed! This is most evident when it comes to convincing a priest not to turn to the dark side, although that story is memorable more for its take that even angels can become zombies than it is for its silly take on star-crossed lovers.
Speaking of things not commonly found in the Christian canon (ignoring Jesus’ quasi-zombie status in some circles), Kamome Shirahama seems to be taking the “all myths are true” route when it comes to religion which leads to quite a bit of hilarity when Eniale and Dewiela go to Japan in search of more souls to save/seduce. It is a bit funny that neither of them seemed to be aware of Japan’s status as the land of 8 million kami, I would expect that kind of airheaded-ness from Eniale but not Dewiela, but it certainly does make the gag funnier as the two are constantly surprised by the sheer number of gods possessing one unfortunate shrine maiden and telling them to take their religion and stuff it.
Eniale & Dewiela can swing a more serious story too, almost unsurprisingly focusing on Dewiela, when she’s waiting for an old woman slated to die but the old woman’s cat keeps getting in her way. It’s easy to figure out where the story is going but it’s still going to break your heart by the end, especially with the lovely art. I feel as if Shirahama’s art is a bit busier, a bit more dense, here than it is in Witch Hat Atelier but I do think it works equally well and some scenes, like a sunset in this chapter, benefit from heavier amounts of detailing to make up for the fact that the scene is in black and white.
Silly or serious, this story is still utterly charming, from its silly characters to the lovely artwork. There’s only one volume left to wrap up the story but that’s fine, Eniale & Dewiela has been so episodic anyway that the story really could be any length it wants to be and it’s always best for a story to avoid overstaying its welcome anyway.