Beware the almighty tofu and ginger!
For those who don’t know what that means, well, that’s what Emi and Ashiya are banking on.
Olba, on behalf of the angels, continues to force Emi to march forward in a grand gesture to defeat the revived Devil King’s army. Meanwhile, everyone else also tries to mess with this plan: Suzuno and Albert try to find the emperor, Maou tries to fuse with Acieth for more than a few seconds while secretly trying to rendezvous with Ashiya and Emi, and Ashiya prepares to turn the tables on the angels.
The Devil is a Part-Timer! volume 18 is mostly a preparatory volume, and each hero is trying to play their part to rescue Emi and Alas Ramus and thwart the angels. This ends up not being the most engaging entry in the series. However, it still is rather enjoyable because of the balance between the groups — and fantasy vs. characterization. Suzuno, for instance, uses both her magic skills and church knowledge to lead Albert to the emperor, but, well, she ends up cursing a certain someone as their plans go awry. Emi goes from despair to determined when she realizes Maou is on his way, and he shares a bit about his relationship with her with Acieth. And eventually, Emi and Ashiya end up facing off, and they certainly make sure that others are in awe of their display of powers.
However, readers are going to either celebrate or feel a bit jaded about events here — either now or in the future, depending on whether they’ve finished the light novel or not. Emi and Maou both examine their relationship, and their respective Yesod fragments have some investment in it to. Alas Ramus of course just loves her Mommy and Daddy, but Acieth is confused by Maou insisting he doesn’t really care about Emi but has come to save her anyway (and buy a birthday present to boot). But whether they would be loathe to admit it or not, both Maou and Emi are different from their original meeting in Japan — let alone in Ente Isla.
But that’s why the aforementioned tofu and ginger is so important — the dish not only reminds her of the people she has spent her days with in Japan, but it provides an excuse for some trickery. It is quite funny to see Emi warning Olba and the troops of the power of tofu and ginger and Ashiya declaring it’s his secret weapon, and it’s this blend of comedy, action-adventure, and characterization that makes these chapters fun.
Still, Maou and Acieth’s part of the tale is the only one lacking some action and feels a bit slow in comparison to the others’. But most of all, readers can sense bigger moments are on the horizon, and I’m sure everyone is ready for the big fireworks to start.