Nothing much of consequence happened during this episode (until the very end).  And with Mairimashita! Iruma-kun as with few other series, that’s a recipe for success.  Just crazy, stupid fun – no current anime can make more from less than this one.  It can succeed in so many ways but I think I like this, its simplest mode, the best.  Just Iruma, Azz, and Clara hanging out and being goofy – with Grandpa and Opera on the side for variety (and commentary).  Add Ali-san – definitely a new favorite for me – and you have a formula that really can’t miss.

The pretext for all this is that Sullivan just can’t stop throwing parties to welcome Iruma-kun home.  And let’s be honest, what parent – or grandparent – wouldn’t want to celebrate if their dependent was someone like Iruma?  For the latest after-party the chairman decides to have Iruma invite friends over.  This in itself is adorable, because Iruma has never done this before due to his horrendous upbringing in the human world.  He stresses over inviting Azz-Azz and Clara, wondering if they’ll show on such short notice – totally oblivious to the fact that they love him unconditionally and would do anything for him.

It must be said, this whole episode is gorgeously drawn and directed – so many beautiful and clever shots and flourishes.  After a massive dinner Opera invites everyone to play “Devil Dance Liberation” on the new gaming console and work up an appetite for dessert.  The game comes complete with a holographic emcee – ASSI, which is a reverse of ISSA (lead vocalist for Okinawan boy band Da Pump), who voices him with considerable panache (and an amusing mix of Japanese and English).  Opera wins, naturally.  And Sullivan’s sumo moves land him in last place by a hefty margin, which has him thoroughly stressed out about his reputation.

Desperate to save face he insists the gang play “Dark Parade“, something like a test of courage.  In this case it’s a long walk in the basement, which leads to a closet full of Sullivan’s baby pictures.  He’s arranged for his magical beast to show up and menace the group so he can be heroic but that backfires painfully thanks to Azz-kun and Clara cheerfully leaping to Iruma’s defense.  Ever more desperate, Gramps turns to Opera, who always has a solution – but even this ends up just making Opera look good.  Not that these sweet kids remotely care – only Sullivan does.

The real treasure here is seeing Iruma-kun playing with his friends, because it obviously gives him so much joy and honestly, how can you not love him for that?  The essence of what makes Mairmiashita! Iruma-kun work, as I’ve said before, is that it dares to show good things happening to a person who thoroughly deserves them – and there’s a real satisfaction in that.  There’s justice in this series’ universe, and in Clara and Azz Iruma has the soulmates a person like him should.  That’s why their scenes together are almost always among the series’ best.

Not to be forgotten, though, is Ali-san.  He’s both the comic and plot catalyst of this season so far, and he gives the story another nudge here by deciding to give Iru-bo a nudge.  There’s no malice in what Ali does – he’s genuinely trying to help the boy, it’s just that he’s totally convinced he knows the best way to do it and seems to have a healthy sense of mischief to go along with his arrogance.  Deciding to “help” Iruma figure out both Ameri’s personality change (Iruma is most clueless with anything that involves other people’s feelings for him) and the “evil cycle” which he as a human is theoretically excluded from.  Evil Iruma making his first appearance is a big enough deal that it’s obvious even to a non-manga reader like me, and I can’t wait to see what new treasures this development unlocks.