Kanan Zebul, daughter of Beelzebub, has grown tired of the food of Hell and goes to the human world with the goal of devouring some delicious human souls. She infiltrates Tama Municipal Votive Academy, sets her sights on the perfect target, a boy named Yoji Kyogi, and goes for the kill...only to somehow end up in a relationship with him instead. Kanan's never been in love before, and this oddly innocent demon creates absolute chaos as the two venture into romance.

You only have to take one look at the title of Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy and the curvaceous design of its titular lead to figure out what this anime is about. Kanan is a demon who's out to devour the souls of the hapless humans on Earth, but she's completely caught off guard when she runs into a boy who doesn't even need to be hypnotized to be lured into her trap. Yoji is an avatar for this show's target demographic, after all, which means he'll gladly let himself be consumed by a mega-busty demon schoolgirl.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much I enjoyed the central joke of this series. Kanan literally wants to eat Yoji down to the very soul. However, her statement is so outlandish that Yoji takes it in the metaphorical sense, that she wants to have sex with him, and he reacts accordingly, dropping to his knees in a deep bow, thanking her profusely, eagerly tearing his shirt off and suggesting they get right to it. He even goes as far as assuming her demonic traits are props she put on for, as he says in glorious Engrish, "KOSUPURAY SEKUSU". However, that's not the series' actual core joke. Rather, it's that now, after that misunderstanding, Kanan assumes that Yoji is always talking about sex--that everything he says is either directly about the subject or a euphemism. Of course, while Yoji is 100% down to fuck at the drop of a hat, he's never talking about that initially outside of the inciting incident. He's legitimately trying to be a good boyfriend to Kanan, to do the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. Her misunderstandings and overreactions make HER look like the sex-obsessed weirdo as a result, which she might actually be when it comes down to it, and that is the framework for the series' humor.

In short, this is a slightly more salacious spin on the usual romcom setup, with the elevator pitch being "What if the sexy succubus was even more of a hopeless virgin than her human boyfriend?" The jokes remain squarely within this wheelhouse for most of the premiere. Kanan is supposed to be a sultry dominatrix, but she gets all squealy and embarrassed when she thinks about...holding hands! How lewd! Kanan is supposed to be an assertive demon from the pits of Hell, but she gets terribly flustered...when she tries to address Yoji by his first name. Get it? The show is running with a premise that's inherently perverted but this time it's wholesome.

That's right, while incredibly predictable in the humor department, the romance story itself comes off as rather heartfelt very quickly. Kanan is a selfish glutton, seeing humans as livestock and thinking only about cultivating her next meal, but being with Yoji shows her there's more to life than can be found through interpersonal connection. I think this show really has its heart in the right place. When Kanan goes to Beelzebub's throne room and asks for permission to visit Earth because Hell's food is no longer satisfying her, he asks if she's been eating with anyone. She brushes his question off, but by the end of the episode, Yoji buys her a croquette and insists they eat together, and it's the best thing she's tasted in a long time. It's often who you're with rather than what you eat that makes a dining experience enjoyable, which is exactly the lesson her dad hoped for her to learn. Even a subpar meal can be more memorable than a lavish banquet when enjoyed with someone you love. Kanan isn't hungering for human souls after all--she's yearning for companionship, and that's really quite sweet.

I also want to point out my favourite joke of the episode: Unable to get over the embarrassment of holding hands with Yoji, Kanan instead ties a leash around them. The joke ends with her running off in embarrassment as usual. However, just because we cut to the next scene doesn't mean he isn't still literally tied to her, and I won't lie, the reveal that she'd been dragging him along on the ground the entire time got an actual laugh out of me.

Another plus is that some thought clearly went into the visuals (adapted beautifully and colourfully by Studio Kai, who you may recall is also behind this season's The Ramparts of Ice), with her pigtails shown turning into her horns when she resumes her true appearance and then back again, which almost offsets the fact that her boobs are distractingly enormous.

Despite all of this, however, I can't help but fear this show could end up being one destined to be forgotten by the end of the season unless you really have a thing for giant-tittied bimbo demonesses. For the length of an episode, the jokes work fine. For an entire season based on this premise? That has yet to be seen. It's worth another couple episodes at least, and I hope for the best, but I don't exactly expect anything groundbreaking.