Devils and Realist (Complete Series)
Woo-hoo, I completed another manga series. One down and a lot more to go. Here are my thoughts on the entire series.
Six years ago, my first exposure to this series was the anime adaptation. I enjoyed it in a guilty pleasure way. The anime wasn't mind-blowing, but it was enjoyable despite the average animation and artwork. Then, when the manga is going to get an official English translation, I decided to check it out because I wanted more of the story and I thought the manga artwork looked better than the anime adaptation from what I saw.
Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed the original manga than its anime. The artwork was gorgeous, especially if it's in color. I loved how Utako Yukihiro colors her drawings. It's hard to believe she gets it down around two weeks even when she is busy with other projects (Source: I attended the talk show featuring her at Anime Expo 2019). Though, Yukihiro needs improvement on is the male characters' facial design. Sometimes, I had a difficult time telling which character is which during some of the fight scenes. The clothing the characters wear makes it less hard to guess, but when you don't see the clothes, it becomes a challenge.
The story is similar to other fantasy stories, like Black Butler, with the mix of supernatural stuff with some slice of life stuff in the middle. But unlike Black Butler, which includes darker subject matter like serial killers, cults, pedophilia, and slavery, Devils and Realist's tone is a lot lighter. While the series was mostly light and fluffy, it does get serious when it needs to. The series becomes a lot darker during the second half around the time a specific character shows up. I'm not saying who it is due to spoilers, but it was a subtle surprise. Even during the second half, there are a few times dedicated to some silliness.
If you're looking something to read this summer, I highly recommend this title.