Hataraku Maou-sama! - Episode 7

Thanks to the world's most dangerous flight of stairs, Maou seems to have made himself another acquaintance - what's more, she's also Maou and Ashiya's new neighbour.  But who is this polite, attractive girl who brings gifts consisting of copious amounts of noodles?

Well, we learn this girl's name for ourselves soon enough, but beyond that little is known about Suzuno Kamazuki aside from a recommendation from the landlady to get any help that she needs from Maou after moving in from "somewhere far away".  With Emi continuing to stalk.. sorry, "stakeout"... Maou's every move, she too is curious as to this newcomer to the neighbourhood and her exact intentions, before deciding that she seems to be nothing more than yet another innocent girl who has mistakenly fallen in love with our demonic protagonist.

With that issue put to bed in Emi's mind, both herself and Maou find themselves with new rivals to contend with.  In Maou's case this takes the form of the opening of a new fast food restaurant across the street (Sentucky Fried Chicken - come on guys, you aren't even trying here) which coincides with his first shift in a management role, while for Emi her staking out of McDonalds sees her caught up in an attack which initially seems to be a robbery but soon turns out to be something entirely more personal.  While Maou and Chiho have matters of the heart to contend with, it seems that Emilia is the target of some nefarious characters this time around.

Once again, the disparate elements of this series come together magnificently to create a hugely enjoyable whole, with frequent laugh out loud moments and a great cast of characters that bounce off one another beautifully with the kind of dynamic that is usually the reserve of a top-notch sitcom.  There really isn't much more to say beyond that - the storylines which keep the series moving are almost secondary to the sheer joy of seeing the cast interact and go about their business, while still holding enough to keep things interesting in their own right.  I keep expecting this series to go off the boil, but every week Hatarku Maou-sama continues to defy me - at this point in the season, I really hope it never stops.