Devils’ Crest Episode 3 Review: Something’s Strange with Sawa

Things are not all what they seem in Altea…

(warning…the following contains spoilers for Devils’ Crest anime)

Before diving into the heat of the action that takes up the main part of Devils’ Crest’s third episode, we’re given a brief glimpse of events that presumably took place in the past.

*© Reki Kawahara / Straight Edge / Demon's Crest Project*

The scene occurs at what looks like Yuuma and Sawa’s home, with Sawa asleep on her bed. Yuuma approaches her and attempts to put a blanket over her – something which Sawa protests. The twin seems to want greater independence from her brother as she says they promised to give each other space as they head into the sixth grade.

Yet, for some reason she already has the little pointy devil horns, so is this a real event that happened, or is Yuuma simply imagining it?

Yuuma conquers the Conehead Bruiser

We don’t stay in the safety of the twins’ shared bedroom for long, but instead right back to where we left off in the second episode, with the Conehead Bruiser monster attempting to attack a group of students behind a barricade.

Yuuma, Sawa and Konken engage the monster in a battle, and Yuuma comes up with an ingenious plan to defeat the Conehead. However, the monster is not so easily defeated, and snatches Yuuma up before dying, attempting to chomp him into bits.

It’s at this moment, while Yuuma’s life is hanging by a thread, that perhaps the strangest event of the show so far occurs: we’re teleported for a moment to what appears to be another world. This world isn’t Actual Magic, and it’s not the new reality within Altea, either. Instead, it’s somewhere else, and clearly apocalyptic.

This beach setting is massively reminiscent of the scene in Evangelion where Shinji sits after destroying the world, and it’s here that we hear a prophecy of doom that the world is going to face – one that “no angel or demon” can stop from coming to pass.

It’s likely this scene that the episode draws its title “Awakening” from. Something strange then occurs – this shadowy figure that resembles Yuuma but appears to know too much about the future tells Yuuma exactly what he must do to survive the Conehead. Yuuma does what he’s told, and appears to be able to be at two places at once – you can see it in his eyes, as though he is seeing two different realities and controlling two selves at the same time.

He uses his summoning magic to bring out his friend-turned-demon, Sumika, from the previous episode and uses her to attack the Conehead, thereby saving his life.

Something’s up with Sawa

Speaking of Sawa – what is going on with her? She’s growing wings, and is wearing a strange outfit when compared to the rest of the group. In fact, she even points this out and says she needs to find something to wear.

Yuuma is noticing the strangeness, too. Apart from her outfit and strange appearance, something flashes around her name as he looks at her via the virtual interface.

Yuuma confronts Sawa about it and he asks her “are you the same Sawa?” He also says that she knows more about what’s really going on with Actual Magic and the reality distortion that is occurring between the Actual Magic virtual world and that of the real world within Altea.

Sawa, now clothed in a jacket that covers her changing appearance, embraces her brother and tells him that she will indeed tell him everything soon, while also pointing out his own transformation: his hair has begun to turn blue.

Not only is Sawa paying close attention to what’s going on within the new merged reality, she begs Yuuma to do the same. She’s even prepping for the worst case scenario, grabbing up medicine, food, and supplies in order to better survive whatever is to come within the confined and seemingly inescapable world of Altea.

The episode ends with Konken being confronted by a potential rival party accusing him of being a monster – alluding to Sawa likely being right to stock up on supplies ahead of everyone else. As if fighting monsters wasn’t bad enough, Yuuma and friends will have to outwit their own fellow humans for survival in this new grim reality.

Those are the events of what happened in episode 3, but as for the review, the anime continues to deliver on its promise of an engaging premise. We now know that the majority of the events of the Devils’ Crest story will take place within the confined and suffocating world of Altea (and likely Actual Magic, as well). The plot is thickening, and we know that not all is as it seems with Sawa, with the chance to have more questions answer about the strange New World in the coming episodes.

Meanwhile, the bit with the apocalyptic vision on the beach adds a sense of grandeur to the otherwise small and enclosed story. Somehow, the events that are occurring within Altea will likely impact the rest of the world, and Yuuma and his friends will also potentially play a role in whether or not humanity goes extinct.

What worked and didn’t work in Devils’ Crest episode 3 “Awakening”

My favorite part of the episode was getting to experience more of the relationship between Sawa and Yuuma. Yuuma is clearly the “older” of the two twins. She’s competent, thinks ahead, and possesses incredible agency, while Yuuma is more reactive than strategic.

Perhaps the bedroom scene at the beginning with the two curtains separating the twins was more of an initiative started by Sawa than Yuuma. Given how the two act, I could totally see Yuuma being the overly attached younger sibling type that Sawa wanted to gain independence from. It could be the distance between the two is born in part by their two distinct natures, despite sharing a birthday.

Meanwhile, the mystery being created in this small, enclosed world is incredibly exciting, making me want to learn more. It reminds me a bit of what it felt like to watch Attack on Titan during its first season, when the world within the walls seemed so small, and the world without so large.

My fear from my initial review, that the slow revelation and world building would hamper the storytelling, has proven to be relieved: we are quickly gaining insights into what’s really going on in Yuuma and Sawa’s world. Meanwhile, the contrast between the way the characters are animated and the obviously CGI monsters is a little jarring. Is this an animation choice or something that’s supposed to contrast the virtual-based monsters with the real life characters? I’m not sure but I feel like as of right now, having such a stark discrepancy between the two isn’t doing the storytelling any favors.

With the revelation that the Devils’ Crest anime will tell the complete story ahead of where the light novel source material is at with two consecutive cours, fans won’t have to wait long to have their questions answered. The next episode will be releasing on November 20, 2026.