© Osamu Nishi (Akita Publishing)／NHK・NEP
Whether you like reading/watching poly romances or not, can we all agree that, at this point, Asmodeus, Clara, and Iruma are basically in one? Clara’s the person who puts the label on it – she calls them the “Triple Love Squad.” Given that she’s the one who has basically admitted to having a crush on Iruma (she realized it back in the Walter Park storyline), it doesn’t feel like she’s just throwing this label out there without understanding what it means. Clara is goofy and comes across as immature, but she’s not oblivious. She knows her own heart, and she wants to make sure that Iruma and Azz-Azz know theirs too…and that she’s in both of them. Her declaration, as well as setting Iruma and Azz up for a date, is the natural progression of her conversation with Azz earlier this season, where they realized that liking Iruma is what they have in common. She’s going to work with that, because losing either of them isn’t something she wants to face.
Her “Triple Love Squad” declaration also sets the stage for Iruma’s “best friends” conversation with Asmodeus at the end of this episode. Look at the boys’ body language; I know that asking someone to be your best friend can be excruciatingly awful in middle school, but this still looks like more than that. The fact that Clara’s set them up on an outing with typical anime date activities emphasizes what’s going on – how many times have we seen the “shopping date fashion show” in shoujo anime and manga? And then the park bench confession scene seals the deal, complete with blushing cheeks and nervous glances before Azz erupts with joy. But even if you don’t read this as romantic, it’s still a great scene, because it shows how deeply these boys care about each other – and how Clara giving them space to express that shows how much she cares about both of them.
It’s even more striking since Azz spent the beginning of the episode overreacting to Kiriwo’s threats. (Or maybe he’s reacting the exact right amount, because that boy is a menace.) As of this moment, Asmodeus is the only one who knows that Kiriwo is back and plotting something awful, and he isn’t even aware that Poro-chan has defected to the dark side, an admittedly short trip for him. Asmodeus is isolated in a chamber of terror, desperately afraid of what Kiriwo will do to Iruma and unable to shake the implication that the bespectacled demon knows something about his beloved Iruma that he himself does not. Keeping Iruma locked in a shield of flames may be overkill, but it perfectly fits Asmodeus’ level of worry and his inner turmoil.
I admit that I half expected Azz’s consultation with Balam to result in the teacher letting it slip that Iruma is human, not because I think Balam would deliberately betray Iruma’s secret, but because he might do it if he thought Iruma was in enough danger in the name of protecting him. He doesn’t appear to have said anything, but Kiriwo’s reappearance means that Iruma’s going to have to tell Azz-Azz and Clara at some point in the not-too-distant future – and maybe the rest of the Misfit Class as well. I’m not sure how Sabro, for example, would react to it, but I think Lead and Purson would probably take it in relative stride, given what a good friend Iruma has been to them. It doesn’t look like something we have to worry about next week, at least, as the calm before the storm seems set to continue. I’m all right with that – these kids deserve some time to just be their silly selves (and to acclimate Purson to being seen), and I know that no matter what, Clara and Azz will always have Iruma’s back…even if they’re not always sure they want to have each other’s.
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Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun is currently streaming on
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