“This is a world where things like killing and torture have been legalized,” announces the opening title, following a pretty mid OP. In this world, the employees of independent torture contractor, Spirytus Co., banter, chain smoke, and chug cans of black coffee with abandon in the break room in between sessions of torture. Their “appointments” are of course only ever with evil villains and guilty people, even when the crimes haven’t been solved yet. Somehow, they only get the guilty ones. Funny, that. Sero really loves the job. He’s had so many part-time jobs that he can only remember the last fifty, but they were always too boring because he was just so good at everything he did. Yawn! He likes Spirytus Co., though, because the senpais are harsh, the “clients” never obey him, and the work is a real pain. Such fun! (Blushes.) Anyhow, Siu and Sero chitchat about torture implements, go on an excursion to the torture device shop to top up their gear, and then welcome two new recruits, one after the other: the pocket-sized, cutesy Miké with the gargantuan personality gap (he relishes breaking people); and shy ikemen Hugh, who faints at the sight of blood, but with the help of his kind senpais, learns methods of torture that don’t break the skin. What a jolly workplace! Isn’t torture fun?
Lampshading, much?
Ugh. What did I just watch?! Setting aside the fact that torture has been proven to provide highly unreliable information, this is an inane episode with lame “humor,” built on a paper-thin premise that can only go down from here. It’s meant to be a comedy, but the humor relies on one lone element: the juxtaposition between “nice guys” and the horrible things they do. Let me save you some time: It doesn’t work. It just isn’t funny. Now, there is of course a second level of “humor” at work here too, though for now at least it’s implicit rather than explicit, and that is the parallels with BDSM. Sero is clearly a masochist, and Miké a sadist, while Siu’s embarrassment at having a loyalty card to the torture device shop may hint at a parallel with adult stores. It feels like the episode is always on the verge of a wink-nod, all the while feigning innocence. The potential for this becoming a stronger undercurrent as the series progresses puts the final nail in the coffin for me for this one. Save yourself some time (and brain cells) and give this one a miss.
The Daily Life of a Part-Time Torturer is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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Yeah, I didn’t have high hopes for this one. Good to know I should just skip it. Thanks for the heads up.
Happy to be of service!🫡