News: Satoshi Wagahara, Author of The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Unveils Exciting New Title

The official Twitter account for Kadokawa‘s Dengeki Bunko light novel label announced on Sunday that author Satoshi Wagahara is preparing a new light novel series titled Shokurakuen -Meshitopia- Hōshoku Society. Tо̄chi will provide illustrations. The first volume will ship on September 8.

The novel is set in the near future, in the year 2075 in Japan. In this future, Japan has taken health and life expectancy measures to the extreme, fostering a society that shuns the consumption of all but the healthiest of foods. It also marginalizes those who eat unhealthy foods, labeling them as “Addictors,” who become isolated and erased from society.

The story centers on two protagonists: Niijima (Name romanization not confirmed), an Addictor whose chef father passed away; and Mito, an overly serious member of the government’s “Food Protection Unit,” who are responsible for cleaning up undesirable Addictors. While evading Food Protection Unit patrols, the two find themselves trapped and alone in an abandoned building’s basement. To survive, they eat illegal cup noodles, which Mito finds to be an exquisite and unforgettable experience. They swear to keep it their own little secret, with Mito using the handy excuse of an “investigation” to regularly meet up with Niijima to eat junk food together.

Wagahara launched the The Devil Is a Part-Timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!) light novels with illustrations by 029 in 2011. Hiiragi’s manga adaptation launched in Kadokawa‘s Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh magazine in December 2011. Yen Press publishes both the original light novels and Akio Hiiragi‘s manga adaptation Kurone Mishima drew another manga spinoff called Hataraku Maou-sama! High School! in Kadokawa‘s Dengeki Maoh magazine from 2012 to 2015. Yen Press also published all five volumes of the manga.

The first television anime adaptation premiered in 2013. Funimation streamed the anime as it aired, and released the anime on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in 2014. The Devil Is a Part-Timer! (with two exclamation points), the second anime season, premiered in July 2022. That season’s sequel then premiered on July 13. Crunchyroll streamed the previous season, and is streaming the current season as it airs.

Source: Dengeki Bunko‘s Twitter account

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