If you're watching Season 1 of the comedy anime for the first time, the first few minutes can be a bit disorienting as they don't sound like anything we've heard in anime. So, what language do the characters speak in The Devil Is a Part-Timer?
The Devil Is a Part-Timer: What Is It About?
In The Devil Is a Part-Timer, the Demon Lord Satan seeks to conquer the world of Ente Isla but he's stopped by the forces of the hero Emilia, who kills most of his companions.
Satan and his surviving subordinate Alciel manage to escape but they find themselves stranded in modern-day Japan, having lost most of their magic.
The two assume new identities. Satan is now known as Sadao Maō, and spends his days working part-time in a fast-food chain.
The Demon Lord proves to be surprisingly good at customer service, and an unexpected promotion gives him the idea of conquering the human world, much like what he attempted with Ente Isla.
But what will he do when he finds out that Emilia - now Emi Yusa - is also stranded in the very same world?
What Language Do the Characters Speak in The Devil Is a Part-Timer?
If you watch The Devil Is a Part-Timer for the first time, you will notice that the language Satan and Alciel speak before arriving on earth and for a short time afterward sounds both familiar and oddly unsettling.
This is because the characters speak Entean, the language of Ente Isla, which was based on English but substitutes some letters for others.
In this anime-only language, vowels retain their original positions. On Crunchyroll, the substitution happens as follows:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
↓
AZYXEWVTISRLPNOMQKJHUGFDCB
Thus, "Human" becomes "Tupan," "World" becomes "Foklx," and so on.
Other locations in the anime have their own languages, but this type of worldbuilding is better explored in the manga.
Whether or not you like linguistics and made-up languages, this is an interesting technique resulting in a language that sounds a bit odd and creepy, without being completely alienating.
Related: What to Expect From The Devil Is a Part-Timer Season 2
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