The Misfit of Demon King Academy (2018)

[魔王学院の不適合者]

Volume 1

Author: Shu
Artist: Kayaharuka
Other: Yoshinori Shizuma (Character Design)
Publisher: Gangan Comics Up!

Synopsis:
Tired of the war between humans and demons, the Demon King of Tyranny Anos Voldigoad gives up his life for the sake of peace, reincarnating 2000 years later.

Story/Characters:
I really had a lot of fun with the TV adaptation of this series, so when I saw the manga version in the Book Off, I was quick to pick it up. Unfortunately, due to the untimely passing of the mangaka, this won't go past the fourth volume. Still, I'll go ahead and review what we have. If you saw the TV version, not much has changed here. For those who haven't, let me give you a quick rundown. So we start off with the typical Hero versus Demon King scenario, but in this case the Demon King doesn't want the war to go on and comes to an agreement with the Hero to sacrifice his own life in order to buy peace. We skip ahead 2000 years to a young couple celebrating the birth of their firstborn. While wondering what name to give, the baby declares that he's Anos Voldigoad and promptly ages up about ten years, then spends the next couple months researching the present day before aging up again. As I commented in my review of the TV series, I think one of the things that caused me to fall in love with this series is how much Anos' parents love him, unconditionally accepting him, while he in turn holds them in warm regard. It may seem like something simple, but it's one of the things that makes Anos stand out from so many other overpowered light novel protagonists. Besides the warm domestic situation, his confident bearing just works somehow while so many other leads have that adolescent tryhard feel to them. The way he casually undercuts the pride of the arrogant never gets old, but I also like that, true to his royal nature, he's more interested in teaching his "children" than simply flaunting his power for its own sake. It also helps that the supporting cast is good. We start with dandere Misha Necron, who initially bonds with Anos over the fact that they both have embarrassing parents cheering them on as they go to enroll in the academy. We'll later introduce Misha's tsundere twin sister Sasha, but before that, we've got our first lesson as a fellow enrollee of noble stock duels with Anos. Amusingly, Anos is more concerned about the offense of accidentally breaking his opponent's treasured sword than any actual danger to his person. We learn a bit more about current demon society with its strict divide between the purebloods and mixbloods and because Anos' current incarnation was born of mixblood parents, the purebloods grossly underestimate him even as he demonstrates his power. His declarations of being their honored ancestor don't help to calm them down either. When the first lesson is rendered, a second one is needed as the enrollee's brother shows up to avenge the humiliation to his family name. Anos puts brotherly bonds to the test and though they're found wanting, maybe, just maybe the lessons will stick. It just took a number of messy deaths to get the point across.

We then go through the next stage of the entry exam, in which various questions are asked to gauge the individual's aptitude for being the reincarnation of the Demon King. We get a brief glimpse of Anos' backstory as the questions get him thinking. Afterward, Misha is waiting up for him and he invites her to join him for supper back home. His parents, being the very silly people they are, think their one-month-old boy has already brought home a bride and immediately accept her. We find out that the parents who saw Misha off in the morning were her adoptive parents. The two share a nice moment and then it's time to eat. Tied to Anos' warm regard for his parents is his love of his mother's cooking. Also, for someone who deals death and resurrection like beads at Mardi Gras, the fact that dear ol' mum is the one person who can put cracks in his otherwise unflappable confident front is adorable.

The next morning is the first day of school and Anos' attempt at making a joke during his self-introduction fell as flat as his Three-Second Rule crack during the duel with Zepes. We then learn the meaning of the series' title as Anos was deemed to have no potential whatsoever as the Demon King. We then learn that in this era, the name of the Demon King is believed to be Avos Dilhevia and is deemed ineffable (with Anos having to learn it via mind-reading Misha). So now we've got the big mystery to solve. Who is this Avos Dilhevia and how was Anos' legacy twisted into this current broken system?

We're then introduced to the homeroom teacher Emilia, who seeks out team leader candidates but rejects Anos when he volunteers because he's a mixblood. However, a little showing off after binding her via a magic pact forces her to let him go forward. When it comes time to divvy up the class into teams, it's Misha's sister Sasha, the star pupil, who takes the lead. As you would imagine, only Misha sticks with Anos, which prompts Sasha to come over to gloat, taunting Anos over being stuck with a failure of a doll that's neither demon nor human. We're left to wonder what exactly she means as the cliffhanger.

Art:
The art is really good. If you compare to the illustrations of the original light novels, it's a bit more on the moe side, especially with the Necron Sisters, which may or may not be a good thing in your view. The actions scenes are suitably flashy and we get some nice reaction shots. Anything involving Anos' folks is particularly nice.

Other:
We close with a little short story about Misha coming over to visit Anos while he's watching the house.

Conclusion:
I roll it around in my head and I think about how so many other stories take the same elements and produce something so unappealing, yet there's some kind of magic here. I don't think it's just me either. Anyway, besides outright lampooning the idea of an overpowered protagonist in the vein of One Punch Man, this is a rare example of doing the idea right. I don't know if everyone will enjoy it as much as me, but I'm going to recommend adding it to the collection all the same.

Rating:
Own It