Since the anime debuted in 2019, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun has gained a pretty devoted – albeit small – following among shounen fans. The series follows fourteen-year-old Iruma Suzuki, a human boy who is sold to a demon named Sullivan by his parents. He is taken to the underworld, where he finds out Sullivan doesn’t want to hurt him – he wants Iruma to be his grandson! When Iruma agrees, Sullivan enrolls him in Babyls, a school for demons, and warns him that no one can find out he’s a human. Through misunderstandings and accidents, Iruma quickly finds himself in the spotlight and in trouble, but he’s also making friends and climbing the ranks.

When the second season was released in April 2021, fans finally got to see a long-awaited plotline play out that was heavily teased at the end of season one. The series mentioned the evil cycles of demons multiple times throughout the first and second seasons; this cycle is based on a demon’s stress level, and when the level becomes critical, it can cause the demon to lash out and become violent. It also greatly increases their abilities and lowers their inhibitions.

In the second season, we get to see Iruma go through this cycle – despite being a human – due to the power of Arikured. The cycle causes Iruma to become what some colloquially refer to as “bad boy Iruma,” a version of the character that is far more assertive, confident, and rude. It’s this cycle that gives him the confidence to demand that the Misfit Class be able to use the Royal One’s classroom, which is where he first sits on the throne of the Demon King.

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Image via Bandai Namco Pictures

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Personality changes aren’t uncommon in media. In fact, there are whole tropes surrounding them. For example, a character becomes friends with a popular crowd and becomes conceited or selfish, forgetting who they are, à la Mean Girls. These changes don’t always work, sometimes feeling unnecessary or unrealistic. But, Iruma’s change in Mairimashita! Iruma-kun doesn’t run into these issues. There are quite a few reasons for this.

One major reason is that despite the personality change, Iruma didn’t change fundamentally. His morals and beliefs remained the same; he wants to help people, and he is still caring towards those around him, albeit in a different way than normal. Instead of losing sight of himself and deviating completely, Iruma is allowed to simply integrate his core values and use his new, more assertive personality to further those values. We see this in the way he works to obtain the classroom of the Royal One and still can’t refuse the cry of someone in need. In a lot of media, a personality change would signify that the person had forgotten who they are in their journey, whether that be because they’re around new people or wrapped up in achieving a goal; it’s presented as a negative thing. Mairimashita! Iruma-kun refuses to do this, and it’s refreshing.

The second reason the change works is because everyone around Iruma takes it in stride. When the initial change happens, of course, everyone is confused. Sullivan asks where his good boy has gone. Iruma’s classmates are surprised by his newfound resolve. But ultimately, they all come to understand that he’s going through his evil cycle, and it actually helps everyone grow closer to Iruma instead of more distant. They are proud to see him embracing his “demon heritage.” They are excited to see his ambition and power.

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Image via Bandai Namco Pictures

Just as important, though, is how everyone reacts when Iruma returns to his normal self. They aren’t disappointed, nor are they relieved; they simply accept it. Some characters do say they prefer Iruma as his kind, timid self, but it’s never mean-spirited and they never say Iruma was unlikable when he’s a “bad boy.” They recognize that both are fundamentally Iruma, and everyone continues to love him. In this way, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun manages to avoid a common trope: a character changes in personality and their friends and family leave them.

At this point, we have two tropes related to personality changes. The first is a personality change causing a character to lose sight of their values due to a number of circumstances, and the second is a character undergoing a personality change and losing their friends and family. These aren’t bad tropes. They serve their purpose in teaching lessons about keeping sight of what’s important and remembering the people you care about. But Mairimashita! Iruma-kun turns them on their head, and that’s one of the major reasons why the “bad boy Iruma” plotline works so well.

Instead of Iruma being further outcasted in the story due to his uncontrollable change, the people around him understand. They see that Iruma is still himself at his core and appreciate the change and how it positively impacts Iruma. It serves as an important reminder for Iruma and the audience that the characters love Iruma for who he is. They don’t always understand him, but they strive to, and they find joy in the things Iruma shows them. Instead of being a plot about Iruma finding himself through losing everything, it’s a plot about Iruma finding himself through the power he holds, the path the prophecy has set him on, and the way the people around him love and support him.

When it comes to stories of personality changes, it can be easy to make them muddy by presenting them unrealistically, making it feel like it’s out of place in the story, or even by not providing a new perspective on it. However, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun avoids every one of these issues with its “bad boy Iruma” plotline. It uses that plotline as a tool of foreshadowing in the story, but also by providing a specific reason for the change and subverting common tropes to present a narrative that isn’t about loss and questioning, but reward, solidarity, and discovery. The real reason “bad boy Iruma” works so well is because he’s not really a bad boy at all. He’s simply finding a place in his new home with the help of a little magic.