Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on The Demon Girl Next Door, which at long last is demonstrating some genuine honesty in titling. With both Momo and Mikan taking up residence in Banda Terrace, Shamiko is now literally next-door neighbors with her local magical girls, a development that is sure to accelerate her and Momo’s blooming relationship. With a full summer break ahead of them, our leads are certain to at least enjoy a bounty of shared home meals, if not necessarily make any progress on their larger quest.

And to be honest, I’d be totally fine with that. Between the first season’s last episode and this season’s premiere, Demon Girl has stuffed in more plot development in two episodes than the rest of the first season combined. With both their larger goals (the hunt for Sakura Chiyoda) and personal shifts in circumstance having been sorted out, I’d be happy to see an episode or two spent exploring this new normal, now that Shamiko and Momo are only separated by a thin apartment wall. With a bright summer stretching before our heroes, let’s see what awaits in The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a new leg in a familiar journey, as we check out the second season premiere of The Demon Girl Next Door. Though it was billed as an irreverent genre-savvy comedy, Demon Girl’s first season proved to be far more than that, exploring and critiquing the assumptions of its demon/magical girl dichotomy with uncommon acuity. Though they couldn’t be further apart tonally, Demon Girl actually ended up echoing many of Madoka Magica’s thoughts regarding how magical and demon girls map to society’s compartmentalization of women into either “spotlessly righteous” or “irredeemably fallen” categories, each a cage with its own attendant injustices.

In spite of dabbling in such pointed social commentary, Demon Girl has maintained an irrepressibly positive tone throughout, echoing the indefatigable spirit of its anti-heroine Shamiko. Condemned as a demon girl to be perpetually vilified and defeated, Shamiko has turned lemons into lemonade at every turn, and ultimately become close friends with her “nemesis” Momo. The lessons of a lifetime of vilification – learning to forgive and find pride in yourself, accepting failure as a necessary precursor to success, and so on – have actually equipped her with the ideal tools to mentor her self-hating counterpart, whose own upbringing taught her that if she is less than perfect, she is nothing. Together, the two of them seek a future where magical and demon girls can coexist happily, if only to lessen the complications of their own eventual marriage. Let’s see what madness they get up to in season two!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seemed like the right time to check back in on The Demon Girl Next Door, and see how our luckless shadow mistress is faring. Last episode offered an unexpected deluge of backstory revelations, raining bombshell after bombshell on Shamiko’s tiny, horn-laden head. As it turns out, it was actually Momo’s sister who helped save Shamiko from the family curse, during the course of her attempts to protect all of this city’s luckless demons. Unfortunately, whatever threats she faced ultimately ended up sealing away Shamiko’s father, reducing him to an orange box the family uses as a makeshift table.

That’s a lot to take in at once! Frankly, it’s also a lot for us in the audience to take in at once, more than doubling our data points regarding this larger magical/demon girl paradigm. It seems that Momo is far from the first magical girl to doubt her mission; in fact, we appear to be living in an overall era of lost faith, with demon-slaying magical girls now more the exception than the rule. Instead, magical girls seem to have collectively acknowledged the inherent injustice of this whole Calvinist paradigm, and more recently have been working to offer the equivalent of social services and reparations to their arbitrarily condemned counterpoints.

All that serves as a humorous continuation of this show’s general themes, as well as an expression of its overall optimism regarding human nature. Rather than letting themselves be controlled by a process that seeks to dehumanize them, the magical girls of this world essentially unionized and rebelled, realizing they had far more in common with their alleged enemies than their overseers. A solution like this is what I’d expect this show to imagine as its potential endgame, so I’m quite interested to see how the drama develops now that we know a post-demon hunting paradigm has already been established. Let’s get to it!

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Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seems just about time to return to The Demon Girl Next Door, wherein Ogura most recently made a play to join the cast as their resident mad scientist, intent on divining the secrets of Shamiko’s magical energy. Considering it was her first appearance as more than a bit character, I’d say she did a marvelous job; it only took five minutes or so for her to make that awful water-strider Ancestor creature, and I still often find that thing haunting my nightmares. A great victory for the “what has science wrought” demographic.

Meanwhile, though Shamiko’s physical training isn’t reaping any clear dividends, it’s clear that Momo has things beyond training on her mind. Momo’s assessment of Shamiko has shifted from “you’re so pitiful I simply have to train you” to “you’re the one I trust to help me support this town” to “fine, I’ll be your subordinate as long as you keep feeding me.” Shamiko has essentially domesticated her by accident, and though Shamiko’s fragile self-worth keeps her from realizing how much Momo relies on her, it’s clear to anyone watching that Momo has Got It Bad.

As always, it’s the restrictive magical girl paradigm that is ultimately to blame for their unhappiness. As an avatar of justice, Momo is duty-sworn not to admit to her fragility; as a hated demon girl, Shamiko couldn’t possibly impose her feelings on her “societal betters.” Each of them are bound by conventions they don’t really believe in, forced to play roles they are fundamentally ill-suited to, destined for a battle that neither of them actually wants. It’s all a mixed-up, muddled-up, agonizing mess, but personally, I think that makes their efforts to break this cycle and truly connect all the more endearing. Let’s see what nonsense they get up to next!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seemed like just the right time to check back in on The Demon Girl Next Door, and see how our strange assortment of demons and magical girls are fairing. Last episode offered up some charming bonding moments between Shamiko, Mikan, and Ancestor, as the three of them checked out a zombie movie and worked on mitigating Mikan’s curse. We also got to see some delightful pettiness out of Momo, as she pouted in the most deadpan way possible upon learning that Mikan was hanging out with her friend without her.

Momo’s increasing sense of jealousy over Shamiko is delightful, a soothing tonic for my romance-hungry heart. It’s also nice to see both Ancestor and Shamiko establishing themselves in the overall group dynamic, which has in turn served to further underline the oppressive nature of this whole magical paradigm. Ancestor has clearly been traumatized by centuries of perpetual failure, while Mikan’s curse serves as a tidy metaphor for the demands put upon even the theoretically favored individuals in this system. An “ideal girl” is quiet, demure, and spotless, in contrast with the loud and agency-demanding women who are condemned as demons. For Mikan, even a hint of dramatic emotions is immediately punished with disaster, turning the patriarchal demand that women be quiet and well-behaved into a literal curse upon her. Demon Girl is clearly not finished articulating its grand magical girl metaphor, and I can’t wait to see what insights and goofiness are up next. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be checking back in on The Demon Girl Next Door, where we most recently met an old friend of Momo’s, the luckless Mikan. Though Mikan is also a magical girl, she suffers from some sort of curse that brings calamity whenever she’s in emotional distress. And given the actual nature of a magical girl’s day-to-day activities, that presumably means she’s more or less constantly showering her companions in garbage and other variable debris.

In terms of the overall comedy dynamic, Mikan has already proven herself a welcome addition to the cast, and gotten in some truly ferocious dunks at Shamiko’s expense. Additionally, her prior relationship with Momo is serving to clarify our understanding of Momo’s own character. Rather than just feeling sorry for Shamiko in particular, it’s clear that Momo is someone who strives to judge others by their intentions – Mikan’s curse might create complications, but Momo would never condemn her for something outside her control. And with Momo’s weakened condition revealing her own vulnerability, we are now seeing Shamiko motivated by something much more meaningful than her arbitrary assignment as a demon girl, as she seeks to become the kind of person Momo can rely on. Let’s see how that journey fares as we return to The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be winding our way back to The Demon Girl Next Door, wherein our two leads have been busy balancing out their lopsided relationship. Though Momo appeared all confidence at the start, it’s clear now that she’s maintaining a stiff poise to mask her internal sea of fears and regrets. Momo believed anything short of perfection would be failure – but with Shamiko at her side, she’s at last willing to acknowledge her insecurities, and maybe even share some of her emotional load.

Unfortunately, it appears our heroes have run out of time to sort out their emotional issues. A new magical girl has just arrived in town, and given everything Momo has told us about their usual disposition, I expect some fireworks are shortly in order. To be honest, this new girl’s prominence in all of the season two material people are sharing means I already know our leads will befriend the shit out of this newbie, but I imagine the path there will be as messy as it is hilarious. Let’s return to The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to The Demon Girl Next Door, where Shamiko most recently staged a daring counterattack against her magical girl nemesis. Seeing her opponent in a moment of weakness, Shamiko first pillaged her blood to feed her ancestors, before commencing an outright invasion of Momo’s secret base. For once, victory was claimed by the forces of evil, and it was Momo who was left to mutter a defeated “I’ll get you next time.”

At least, that’s what I assume Shamiko’s ancestor will write for her status report. In truth, although Momo did indeed show some weakness last episode, Shamiko responded to it with all the kindness we’ve come to expect from our demon girl. After frequently coming across as impossibly perfect throughout the first several episodes, the struts propping up Momo’s poise came tumbling down, revealing the mess of a person behind them. Through the exploration of Momo’s dreamspace, we learned she is haunted by nightmares of her past life, and convinced of her own unsuitability as a magical girl. Through the visit to her house, we further learned she lives a life of isolation, and struggles with even the basic demands of independent life. And through her simultaneously tragic and hilarious familiar, we learned she sees herself as over the hill, a relic who’s already lost her magic spark.

That’s a lot of stress for such a young person! Given the lofty expectations placed upon her, it’s no wonder that Momo has retreated into this distant, seemingly “perfect” affectation, and also no surprise that her image is starting to crack. Just as the world expected Shamiko to fail due to her status as a “fallen girl,” so has it expected Momo to shine unerringly, embodying an ideal of femininity that no human being could hope to match.

Through the reveal of Momo’s circumstances, last episode demonstrated how this Madonna/whore binary punishes even those it’s ostensibly celebrating, forcing them to deny their preferences or imperfections in order to please society’s arbitrary strictures. And through that revelation, it became clearer than ever that Shamiko is precisely the person Momo needs: someone who accepts her failings, and who understands that “if you always live in fear of other people seeing your weaknesses, you’ll never make any progress in life.” As a person composed almost entirely of weaknesses, Shamiko has had to embrace that philosophy from the start; if she can get her friend to share it, they might just escape from this prison of society altogether. But I’ve rambled for more than long enough, so let’s dive back into The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to The Demon Girl Next Door, where we last left off with Shamiko wishing for a donut pillow, so her horns won’t hurt so much when she sleeps. I feel like that wish basically sums up the Shamiko existence: even lying down to sleep is a painful and difficult task, replete with dangerous hurdles to traverse. But at the same time, that wish also illustrates her humility and indefatigable spirit. Life being tough is just how it goes for Shamiko, and though she could really use a donut pillow, she’ll surely muddle through regardless.

A girl like Shamiko could really use a friend to spoil her, and we may have found one in the reluctant Magical Girl Momo. While Momo seems to be well-off and competent in most things, she lives alone, and appears to have no friends beyond her incompetent nemesis. Her life as a magical girl has been one of austerity, loneliness, and obligation, and it seems like Shamiko might be the first good thing that’s happened to her in a long time. The two of them clearly need each other, so let’s not keep them apart any longer, as we dive back into The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seems past time that we check back in on The Demon Girl Next Door, and make sure Shamiko hasn’t fallen into a pit or been cornered by a scary dog or something. It really doesn’t take much to best our local demon girl; really, if you leave her to her own devices for a few days, she’s liable to best herself somehow.

Fortunately, Shamiko now has Momo to protect her, and the two have been getting along better than ever. In spite of being allegedly destined foes, their burgeoning friendship seems to be the most rewarding element of either of their lives at the moment. That’s not too surprising; with each of them feeling poorly represented by their assigned identities, the only person they can actually relate to is their equally miscast counterpart. The very system that’s supposed to build them into rivals is instead forcing them to find common solidarity, making for a natural commentary on the inherent injustice of this system (and through their class disparity, further tethering that commentary to the caste systems of the real world). But beyond that themey-wemey stuff, the two are also just ridiculously charming together, so I’m eager to get back to their nonsense. Let’s return to The Demon Girl Next Door!

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