The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!

Episode 15

Right from the start, episode 15, “The Boss Cannot Decide!” starts off on the right foot, especially since best child character Kokoro is featured heavily upfront, providing some immediate comedy as Jahy vies for attention. Too bad Jingu, her very present, incredibly misfortunate friend is there, because all of the attention Jahy vies for immediately gets stolen away from her. Bad enough that the Dark Lord is taking Jingu's attention away: now Kokoro's pure heart has been captured by Jingu's haphazardly kind nature.

So, what'a demoness to do? Well… she kind of has to be a good person, which sweet, sweet Kokoro – the best kid in 2021 anime – hammers home.

Still, Jahy has to be kind all while dealing with Jingu constantly being around her, including at her job, where said magical girl becomes the second employee at the izakaya. And while it looks like a lot of this is going to be more painful comedy spurned from the dissonance of Jingu and Jahy… it actually leads to a couple of really sweet moments where we realize that the true comedy is the Dark Lord eating Jingu out of house and home, a situation that Jahy – a constantly yen-less demoness – can understand down to her bones.

That's really a lot of the comedy as we continue to see the ensemble cast come together. Jingu continues to be the literal most misfortunate person in existence, causing no end to the suffering Jahy endures now that she's got a coworker. Through this, Jahy and Jingu continue to bond, especially as Jahy digs her heels in and tries to figure out her brand new life with Jingu hot-glued to her side.

Episode 15 is a somewhat middling episode: not bad, but not necessarily “wow” levels of fun, though the gags are still good and feel fresh. There's lots of hilarious moments, lots of relatable moments, and lots of intensely “it me” kind of moments where you really connect with Jahy. I suppose what makes this kind of middling is that it just feels like a funny episode with no overarching goal, which… okay, while you could say, “Well Mercedez, that's what every episode is,” I'd argue that most episodes of The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! have a plot of sorts. Episode 15 just feels like, “Let's get Jingu into the ensemble cast a bit further”, which is funny, but… doesn't hit like Jahy finding the Dark Lord or trying to grow a tomato plant.

Then again, episode 14 really packed a huge, plotty punch: I think it's fair to have a bit of a breather this week. That said, there's a lot to like in episode 15, especially if you like physical comedy and sight gags. Plus, Jahy's rotten girl personality is on full display, though she continues to get softened as the series grows and develops. Perhaps I'm being a bit too hard on this week's episode: then again, comedy is subjective. Not every episode is going to be a hit, and that's okay. Still, if this is Jahy's weakest episode in recent weeks, I'll take it. Even when the comedy isn't exactly what I've come to expect, it's still solid enough to make me smile and chuckle. I definitely take that as a mark of how solid the show is, at base.

Overall, episode 15 is good, but I'm definitely looking forward to episode 16. It'll be hard to wait until next week, but… well, Jahy's definitely worth the wait, especially since I don't want it to end anytime soon. Also: shoutout to the term “JABLEEP” which is definitely used to censor the word “jackass” because cursing in front of kiddos just ain't cool y'all. Definitely one of the many highlights of this pretty funny episode.

Rating:

The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Mercedez is a JP-EN translation and localization Editor & Proofreader/QA, pop culture critic, and a journalist who, when not writing for ANN, writes for Anime Feminist, where she's a staff editor, and for But Why Tho?. She's also a frequent cohost on the Anime Feminist Podcast, Chatty AF. This season, she's devouring Restaurant to Another World bite by delicious bite. When she's not writing and reviewing, you can find her on her Twitter or on her Instagram where she's always up to something.