Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to hop back into The Demon Girl Next Door, and join our heroes in exploring Mikan’s tempestuous mindscape! With the instigator of her curse having been identified as the demon Ugallu, Shamiko and Momo hope to negotiate with the creature, and perhaps come to some sort of compromise that will allow Mikan to enjoy her daily school life. Well, that’s Shamiko’s hope, at least; I imagine Momo thinks that goal is very cute, but she’ll probably have to end up cracking some skulls nonetheless.

All of this serves as a commendable and perfectly normal final goal for a season that has committed itself to a variety of perfectly normal milestones. And I don’t mean that as a jab at all; I was genuinely curious where the show would go after its apparent half-season climax, and have been delighted to learn the answer is “illustrating commitment to the everyday practice of self-improvement and bonding with the people you love.” So many shows end at the moment when some pair of characters commit to a life together, but I personally find the perpetual compromises, commitments, and personal reorientations of life as a couple even more interesting than the breathless courtship. Beyond its layer of magical girl as metaphor, The Demon Girl Next Door is simply a thoughtful, earnest human story, and it’s been a privilege to watch these characters grow together. Let’s send them off right!

Episode 12

They recap the previous episode in two sentences, one of which is just the announcement of “a recap for last episode.” Efficient!

I suppose this is the rare anime recap that’s actually just trying to catch audiences up on the story, rather than fill time

Shamiko immediately uses the poor visibility as an excuse to squeeze Momo’s arm. Feels like they’re getting more physically intimate by the episode, just always sort of hanging off each other

She proceeds directly to rubbing Momo’s tummy, to which Momo offers no complaints

Shamiko has learned to turn her Watchamacallit Rod into a divining rod! Well, mostly just a stick that falls over in a certain direction, but that seems like a perfectly Shamiko interpretation of the concept

She follows this up with her Snack Summoning Rod, which Momo seems to want to complain about, but cannot help but stash a bunch of Shamiko’s snacks in her bag for later. Her clear enjoyment of Shamiko’s food and physical affection are really undercutting her ability to be the strong, stoic member of their party

“I taught you that the other day, right? Observation is key.” In spite of that, she is still doing her best to train Shamiko into a reliable partner for these fantasy adventures. Both of them are charmed by the other’s weaknesses, but not to the point where they’d actively encourage their continuation – while they enjoy being relied on, they also each want the other to grow strong enough to stand on their own. A sign of genuine, positive love, rather than a desire to maintain codependency

“What do you think when you look at that?” “That Mikan is adorable.” “Wrong. And now you’re dead.”

Shamiko naturally assumes that Mesopotamian deities speak English

“I’ll keep holding it off while you try to convince it!” Momo really trusting in Shamiko’s negotiation plan here. Nice to see her accepting Shamiko as someone she can lean on, even in these fantasy escapades that are normally her specialty. Though I suppose at this point, Shamiko has already more than proven her worth and competency through her utilization of dream powers

Some nice effects animation for the illustration of this dark cloud surrounding Mikan’s core. A good combination of fluidity in spite of its jagged edges that really evokes that “malicious miasma” look

Shamiko attempts to summon Amenonuhoko, a legendary spear capable of drawing order out of chaos. She ends up with a mega-sized whisk, but I mean, what’s the difference really?

I very much appreciate how Shamiko’s practical nature and mastery of domestic life hacks bleeds into her magical abilities, with her Watchamacallit Rod generally transforming into extremely mundane (if oversized) household tools that are nonetheless perfectly appropriate for whatever magical task they’re assigned. You don’t need an ancient king’s spear when a good ol’ whisk will do

“Now it’s stirring time!” “Whatever. I don’t care.” Shamiko really cramping Momo’s style

Shamiko manages to restore the miasma into a tanuki-tailed girl, but the effort exhausts her, leaving Momo to handle the negotiations. So they’re each being asked to take care of the other’s standard role here: Shamiko handling their magical advance, Momo handling the talking

“If things don’t work out, can I communicate with punches instead?”

“What would Shamiko do here?” Flipping their roles is a great way to illustrate how closely they’ve been observing each other, and how much they’ve learned over that time

Meanwhile, Anri has discovered the team’s apparent corpses

In spite of her promise of diplomacy, Momo can’t help but analyze the situation as a combat scenario. This would basically be the exact role she’d play if Shamiko hadn’t passed out – letting Shamiko have her fun with an attempted negotiation, but all the while waiting for the moment when she’d leap in front of Shamiko for the fight

In spite of her misgivings, Momo manages to convey her request to Ugallu, who responds that she can’t leave because she was created to protect Mikan, and it is the only reason she has a form at all

“I no see outside! If Mikan heart feel bad, I attack all!” Well, that explains a few things

Ugallu is very proud of her work. Seems like we’re going to be adopting another demonic entity after all

“I no good familiar?” Momo is trying her best, but she’s still too blunt to be a particularly good negotiator, particularly with this earnest, childlike familiar

Momo manages to negotiate things to the point where Ugallu will accept vanishing from the earth in order to protect Mikan. Better than I expected, honestly, but still a pretty bummer solution

Ugallu fits neatly within this show’s collection of “demons” who have nothing but good intentions, but because their powers cause friction with the human world, they are persecuted regardless

“You just said you like being praised, so don’t try to tell us you have no heart!” Shamiko to the rescue as usual

Momo admits that Shamiko is more or less her boss, in spite of her “skinny and weak tail”

“Want you tell Mikan that I grateful. Sad I no see her. Want hear Mikan praise me for work hard.” My god, this is the saddest creature in the universe. Girls, you are not allowed to let this familiar fade away

Having heard enough, Mikan herself enters the dream in a half-awake daze, and attempts to talk some sense into Ugallu

They decide to resummon Ugallu into the real world, and then find her some kind of job

We learn that Ugallu’s previous summoning ritual failed for, among other things, the most obvious of reasons: Mikan’s father soaked the offering of fried chicken in lemon, absolutely ruining its flavor. Bless this family’s consistency of theming and atrocious tastebuds

“I really want to save her. I was under the impression my father summoned a malicious devil this whole time, since my daddy said that he’d summoned the wrong thing. But that wasn’t the case. She tried hard to fulfill her duty, despite being born in a strange way due to my family.” Mikan reiterating one of this series’ most essential points, that the people or creatures we might naturally see as malicious are often simply outside of our understanding, and that the friction caused by interaction between different worldviews is often unintentional on both sides. We are always stronger together, and achieving that often requires discarding our preconceptions about our “enemies,” and accepting that we all can cause pain without intending to, and thus we should learn to be accommodating and forgiving

Shamiko calls on Ogura, who apparently now just lives in the crawlspace above Banda Terrace

The ingredients required for Ugallu’s magical meal offer a tidy excuse to rope Lico and Manager back in for the finale

Very appropriate for The Demon Girl Next Door that its “final battle” would be the preparation of a meal worthy of welcoming their newest demonic friend into town

Even the Sports Committee members stop by to help with the magical circle, further emphasizing Mikan’s integration into school life

Ugallu is summoned! Mikan congratulates her, and immediately tells her to get a job, you layabout

“Mikan tell me, you are boss! Without you, many things not happen!” Of all people, it’s Ugallu who demands Shamiko recognize her own worth, and how much of a positive impact she has brought to the people around her

Momo then also refers to Shamiko as “boss,” which Shamiko takes as mockery. Momo claims this isn’t true, and given she’s doing her usual nervous hair tug, she actually means it

And Done

Ah, what a delightful production this has been! In spite of theoretically concluding its big dramatic arc halfway through the season, The Demon Girl Next Door went on to prove it’s perhaps even more engaging without some grand narrative task. Instead, this second half reveled in the countless tiny hardships and emotional victories of everyday living with a person you love, as you attempt to grow as a person and become worthy of the trust they’ve placed in you. Shamiko and Momo have proven themselves one of the most endearing and fully realized couples in anime, and their journey has quietly, confidently illustrated endless lessons about trust, social preconceptions, and personal growth. Also, Ugallu is adorable, so we better be getting a third season!

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