I think one can look at the anime version of Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid in two different ways.  It’s the classic glass half-full/half-empty scenario.  Sure, this series deserved a better adaptation than this – a conventionally-animated one that does justice to the art in the source material. On the other hand at least it got an adaptation, and a complete one at that.  And how often do we see really good manga that can never say that?  That’s the flipside of the CGI tax – it usually looks crappy, but it’s so cheap to produce at this level that even a modestly popular series like this one can get a full telling.

Yes, we got a confirmation of Season 3 (in 2024).  It’s odd, in fact, that a third season was such a given with The Duke of Death and His Black Maid.  We’re not talking about a mega-hit like Spy x Family or Boku no Hero Academia here, but I was never in real doubt that it would happen.  This adaptation never acted like it was planning to do anything but adapt everything, and it’s been very faithful to the manga right from the beginning (including the pacing).  I guess that would be another point in favor of the “half-full” argument.

As we begin, the gang is settling into this strange almost-parody of Japanese school life.  For Caph, that means one-on-one training with Ichi (this has her asleep through the first day of actual classes).  Ichi is of the opinion that Caph is too nice for her own good and in contrast to her persona, thinks too much.  Meanwhile Viola isn’t even putting up a pretense of caring about anything but the uniforms, and Walter is proving himself to be somewhat adept at wizardry.  Daleth and Keto have managed to get through the barrier and into the school, which gives Nico quite a turn when he mistakes her for Sade – a misapprehension she’s happy to nurture as she tries to get more info out of him.

Once Daleth realizes that Nico is the one who killed Sade, she drops the pretense.  Not only that, she asks to join the class – and she could obviously be a valuable asset, so I kind of get why he said yes.  Walter is harboring an interest in Zain’s ability, wondering if it can heal scars (theoretically yes, if the cause never takes place).  He plays the gentleman and loans Daleth his jacket to help allay her dismay at the shortness of the uniform skirt, making it clear that he too is being drawn into this romantic entanglement.

The crux of the matter, though, is that Zain is taking Bocchan, Alice, and Daleth back to the past on what amounts to a reconnaissance mission.  Risky, but it shows how serious he is about breaking the curse(s).  The four of them are split up on arrival, with Zain winding up alongside Sade and Alice and Bocchan running into Victor – his grandfather.  It’s not clear exactly how the time paradox and butterfly effect are treated in this mythology, but clearly the notion of changing the future is one everyone is at least aware of and concerned about.

Sade comes off as pretty unhinged.  And she can, as Bocchan suspected, read minds.  Thus she knows Zain is from the future, and seems to have some knowledge of her impending fate (presumably also from his mind).  What we can deduce from their conversation is that she’s in love with somebody for the first time – with whom is never specified, but there is an obvious Occam’s Razor answer to that question.  We can deduce from her own words that she hates Alice, though again the reason is not made clear.  It does seem that cursing the two people closest to Alice can’t be a coincidence in the face of that, but more details are not yet forthcoming.

Once the quartet escapes back into the present by the skin of their teeth, Daleth seems pretty convinced that the future hasn’t been changed (for her, at least).  But there is one big reveal here – Sharon has woken from her long slumber.  A game-changing event – is it connected to the meeting in the past?  It would be asking a lot of coincidence if not, but there’s no direct evidence linking it to any actions the group took while they were in the past.  Who can measure the impact of a butterfly’s wings in flight, however?

It’s fitting that Shinigami Bocchan made no pretense at turning this episode into an real finale, apart from that cliffhanger with Sharon.  Effectively this has been one extended season with a couple of long breaks in it – a three-level split cour of sorts.  For all my frustrations with the visuals (and some of the casting), in the end I think you really have to take the positive view with this adaptation.  It actually has its lovely moments with the art design, the music is wonderful, and most importantly, in narrative terms at least it’s very true to the manga.  Offer me that with something like Kemono Jihen and I’d damn well take it.  I’m looking forward to the conclusion next year.