365 Days of Manga, Day 279: Kyo Kara Maoh!

KYO KARA MAOH! • Tokyopop • Tomo Takabayashi (original story), Temari Matsumoto (manga) • 13+
Pint-sized teenager Yuri Shibara has his head pushed in the toilet by bullies and falls through an interdimensional portal into another world, a RPG-type land ruled by the “mazoku” (demons), who look just like people in Late-Medieval costumes. Turns out that Yuri is the half-human son of the previous “maoh” (demon king–you’re apparently supposed to know this, because it’s not translated), and the heir to the kingdom. Unfortunately for Yuri, his ignorance of mazoku customs gets him in trouble with his jealous mazoku rivals, and even if he does become king, the mazoku want him to lead them to victory against their enemies…the humans! Based on a light novel series, this is a very silly manga with lots of borderline yaoi humor. Boy’s Love artist Temari Matsumoto draws slick art with lots of attractive guys, as the script acknowledges (”For some reason, everyone I’ve met since I got here is either handsome or incredibly beautiful!”). But the art is the best thing about the series. In the early chapters some of the humor is a little forced (men wearing bikinis, etc.), but in the later chapters, when things get “serious,” I found myself missing the funny bits. The guys are cute and some of the jokes are funny, but it can’t sustain this tissue of a plot. (Review by Jason Thompson – originally printed in Otaku USA magazine.)
** (two stars)
Today’s winner is Angelica G. of Texas! Congratulations, Angelica!