Akuma de Sourou by Mitsuba Takanashi
Genre: Shojo (12 and up, it’s pretty tame)
Series Length: 11 Volumes – 42 Chapters
I really like the art of this mangaka, it’s spunky, it’s cute, and it’s quite unique with its punk style. It is the type to have large 'blush' lines across people's faces and that can be distracting. It’s not my first run with a manga like that, though it still annoys me a little, but the lines do lighten after a few volumes. It’s funny, and adorable, but once in a while the big eyes look a little cross-eyed. The clothes look dated from time to time but just in a general manga sort of way, and there are a lot of nice backgrounds, usually there is more backgrounds than blank backgrounds, too. Also is it is licensed by CMX, and it’s printed, too, so if you like it you can buy it which is always a plus in my book.
Kayano Saitou is, for the first time, confessing to a boy she likes. Due to nerves, and being comically dumb, she confesses to the wrong boy! Even worse, the boy she accidently confesses to is the meanest boy in school, Takeru Edogawa. Even worse worse, he now has her confession letter and is using it to blackmail her into being his slave. Even worse worse worse is the fact that her mother has decided to remarry and her new brother is going to be Takeru Edogawa himself! Kayano just can't catch a break. It seems like her life is going downhill so fast, she's already found herself in hell. Like the title says, The Devil Does Exist.
As previously stated, I love the art, but as for the rest of Akuma de Sourou, the story felt a little dragged out to me. The fact that they will soon be brother and sister, but *spoiler alert* love each other as a couple but can’t really be one due to their parent’s impeding marriage is so heavily pressed on you that it starts to feel really depressing. Kayano cries a lot about it, and keeps crying about it, to the point of where I was not sympathetic. And then it is resolved so quickly that it felt like it was a waste of my time to read eight volumes to see it. Still, the two make a good pair, the parents are funny, and there is an ‘awwww’ inducing after story, too. There are also other plot lines against their love, besides the main one, so it might feel a little repetitive that it takes eleven volumes for them to actually be happy and for past loves to stop showing up. Takeru is a bit of a jerk, and, generally, I don't like the jerk-y types when I'm reading a manga, (I like the prince-y types myself) but he's still really cute so you can't be too mad at him. Overall, the series a nice, good sized manga that only drags a little when a previously mentioned fiancée unexpectedly shows up. With an incest that’s not really incest plot line, if you're into that sort of thing, that has more sad times than happy ones, this can be a heavy read but it is also a rather quick one for its size.
3.5/5 Recommended but just barely, it’s worth a read but I don't see much here that makes me want to come back.
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| Story and art (c) Mitsuba Takanashi |
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