Bloody hell, that title's a mouthful. BACKGROUND:
I'm fairly confident I'd remember something with as ridiculous a title as this. SUMMARY: Akari is your typical video game-enjoying teenager who's still reeling from the loss of her mother (with whom she shared a wonderful relationship with). After a year living alone, she finds herself longing for a family of her own. Somehow, this desire is heard a whole world over, as she is summoned to a place where demons and humans are at war. Suddenly, Akari has now become the demon's High Priestess, which means she now must bear the Demon King Gran's children. Just reading the title, I knew this was going to be absurd, and wouldn't you know it, the premise is real fucking weird. Not only is Akari stuck in a world where nothing makes sense, she now has to be the mother to a demon king's child as well. And if you think it ends there, think again, as the reason the king wants children is to have a powerful soldier to fight against the humans. For what it's worth, there is heart somewhere in this bizarro-land scenario. Akari is understandably alarmed by her new situation (what kind of animal treats childbirth as a process to churn out soldiers?), but after gaining a deeper understanding of the demons' plight in the war, she becomes willing to have the king's child. Her desire to have a family of her own is rooted in her personal tragedy as well, as she looks back fondly on her time with her mother. The rest of the volume continues with Akari raising her firstborn An, who grows at a rapid rate. Akari's struggles with raising An cause her to empathize with her late mother, but her determination to be as loving as her own mother carries her through. It seems like the persistence is worth the trouble for her, too, as she finds fulfillment in witnessing An's early childhood milestones. Demon customs being weird in their own right add a strange wrinkle to Akari's journey to motherhood, because simple acts like nursing a demon child involve some extra steps, and a demon's idea of age-appropriate clothing is... questionable. King Gran is set up at the start as the no-fucks-given all-business demon king one would reasonably expect from the premise, but they show that there's more beneath the surface of this edgy-looking bastard. His reasons for fighting the war aren't as bloodthirsty and cruel as one may assume from a full-on Demon King, he acts selflessly for his subjects, and despite his standoffish demeanor, he shows genuine care for both Akari and An, being present for them in his own way. He's still a long way from embracing Akari's more compassionate world view, but her kindness appears to be resonating with him nonetheless. The demon world has plenty of quirks, from their very limited diet, their lack of bathrooms, and their strange property of transferring life force to wounded demons. It's a lot for Akari (and perhaps the reader) to wrap around, but she's made her way around her new status quo so far. A few less prominent demons are also introduced, but other than the weirdo slime fellow who becomes An's "nanny", I didn't really feel like I got to know them. It is amusing to see them regard Akari's human sensibilities as strange, though. You're probably thinking about how I've only talked about one of Akari's supposed ten children, and the answer to that is An's siblings aren't around yet. The end of the volume sets that future up nicely, as the war has escalated such that the demons feel like they need the might of ten demon scions to deal with the human armies. Just as Akari seems to be settling in and enjoying being a mother despite all the weirdness, it's clear that later volumes are not going to let her settle for a long while. I wonder how the dynamic changes as the story adds more and more kids. Another interesting wrinkle the volume's end introduces is a fateful encounter with a notable figure on the human side. So far, the war has only been presented from the side of the demons, and while it's not like the demons are lying about their grievances, it's still only one side of the story. I'm curious to hear the human's side, because it's possible that there are other nuances to consider. Where the manga loses me is the sexual stuff that surrounds Akari throughout the volume. It's already one can of worms to have characters insist that Akari have sex with some demon she doesn't know, but it becomes another worse thing entirely when the book explicitly establishes that she is 16 years old and she flat out says that she doesn't know anything about sex. And then there are the occasional panels that imply bare breasts or have upskirt shots, which I wouldn't have minded if the main character weren't literally underage. Granted, some of the more risqué bits are uncommon, but I feel like this stuff really undercuts both the humor surrounding the absurdity of the situation and the surprisingly thoughtful themes the book is trying to tackle. The art overall is solid, with variances in the level of detail (faces tend to look simpler, but you get more intricately-drawn backgrounds and there are small details present in elements like clothing) and the shading. Design-wise, most character faces feel very "anime", if that makes sense (large eyes, animated expressions), and you get several flavors when it comes to specific demon designs (a cutesy, chibi look for An, a sex god look for King Gran, and a few weird-looking motherfuckers like the pig chef). VERDICT: When I read the title of this manga, some expectations were set on the absurdity of it alone. Now, those expectations of mine were met in kind, and to a point, I was amused by how completely ridiculous Akari's circumstances are. That said, I was pleasantly surprised that the manga is more than just the silliness, between Akari's journey to honor her late mother's legacy by becoming a mother herself (and the struggles that come with it along with the fulfillment it can bring), Gran showing a kinder side that belies his exterior, and the possibility that the human-demon war isn't as cut and dry as it looks. As much as the above elements sound like a fun read that may be interesting to explore, I can't really get past the fact that Akari is a teenager thrown into sexual situations. I typically don't know what I'm getting into for these manga reads, and I'm not a fan of reading something only to find shit like this waiting for me. - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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