Devils and Realist, Vol. 1

Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist #1

by Madoka Takadono

William Twining is blessed with both brains and wealth. He attends a prestigious school and lives in a huge mansion with his uncle and butler. But when his uncle's business endeavours fail, the Twining family is left bankrupt.

While searching in a storeroom of his home for objects to put up for sale, William stumbles upon a secret room. This room contains a magical seal, with which he unintentionally summons a demon. This demon, Dantalion, tells William that he wields sole authority in selecting the "substitute ruler" of the demon world! So naturally, the candidates for the throne will pursue the bewildered and annoyed young man...

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Josei, Demons, Supernatural, Paranormal, Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2010

About the author

高殿円

Reviews

[Kyrstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the blurb of this manga, it rather made me think of Kuroshitsuji. Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) is my favorite anime/manga, so I thought I would give this a try. I was fascinated. The manga was incredibly interesting and gave me a new approach on how I view things. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Kuroshitsuji or possibly D-Gray Man. (I haven't read D-Gray Man, but my friend has, so I guess it may have similarities. *shrugs*)

[jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

is this kinda cringe? hell yes. but it has cute artwork, a completely whack plot, exactly the expected amount of queerbait, accidental demon summonings, a character named kevin, and occasionally it’s even funny. what else could you possibly want <3

[Noura Khalid (theperksofbeingnoura) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5

I was told that if I loved Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) I would love this one, and I was having the Black Butler feels so I decided to give this manga a try. I read this manga a while back so writing a review for each volume is nearly impossible since I can hardly remember. Overall, I really enjoyed this manga. The story was pretty good even though I found some chapters pretty slow.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the setting (late 1800s) and the main character's scientific mindset that completely clashes with the mythical elements of the story. I'm not sure about the plot yet though, so I'll be trying the next book.

[Pip (Bookish_Pip) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three cheers for Professor John Dalton!!

I watched the show when it was airing last year and really enjoyed it so seeing this on the shelves was so exciting! I was pleasantly surprised by the artwork here too by Utako Dukihiro and the colour pages at the front of the manga are gorgeous too.

If you enjoyed Black Butler, maybe especially the school arc, then you should definitely try this manga as it has the same time setting, beautiful artwork and those BL undertones we all love laughs

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertained well enough. Quick read. Not blown away yet, but willing to read volume two.

[Morgane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really quick reading, I found the story nice and the dialogs funny. I loved the drawings.

[Linda Jaejoong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zuerst war ich ja skeptisch was diesen Manga angeht, aber ich wurde positiv überrascht!! Die Story ist mal was anderes, alle Dämonen wollen gerne Regent im Dämonenreich werden und brauchen dafür Williams Stimme. Die Figuren sind einfach zu niedlich und erinnern nicht mehr an Dämonen aus anderen Geschichten!!

In Dantalion hab ich mich direkt verliebt, aber auch Gilles De Rais und Sitri sind nicht zu verachten, obwohl die Beiden ehr niedlich sind wo Dantalion attraktiv ist!! Was ich von William halten soll weiß ich noch nicht ganz genau, er kam in diesem Band sehr eingebildet rüber, naja ich bin mal gespannt was für Gesichter er noch hat!!

Die Zeichnungen sind super schön, aber ab und zu war ich verwirrt ob wir gerade wieder eine Rückblende erleben oder nicht!! Ich hoffe wir erfahren in Band 2 mehr über Salomo und ich bin schon gespannt auf welche Dämonen wir da treffen werden!! "Devils & Realist" hat mich ein wenig an "Black Butler" erinnert, aber trotzdem sind bei Manga Grund verschieden!!

Ihr müsst den Manga selbst lesen um zu wissen ob er euch gefallen wird!! Er war spannend, witzig und super niedlich!! Mir hat der Manga sehr gut gefallen, aber er war trotzdem nur 4 Sterne wert, mal sehen ob der 2 Band das ändern kann!!

[Mariana Farías · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my eye because of its wonderful art, and well, the artist does an excellent work with the character design. The story on the other hand is written at a slow pace, but it doesn't mean it's bad, I enjoyed it doesn't have a frantic rhythm and it's very polished. Also, it gets more interesting in the next volumes.

[Amanda Setasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young descendant of Solomon lives with his uncle. HIS UNCLE is bankrupt and the bank takes everything in the house and his uncle disappears.

William spills some blood on the basement door and summon's a Demon Duke that's trying to win his favor. He has the Demon Duke arrested shortly before ending up in the demon world himself.

WHY IS THIS SO GOOD?

[Anna C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bishounen everywhere!!! >_< Well, as expected from Yukihiro Utako. :)

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super funny!

[Garden of Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when a non believer encounter the actual thing? He keeps on rejecting all those supernatural things happening surround him. What is it? Atoms? Hahaha... It's a nice manga though.

[Vendea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jak anime, tak mangu jsem si zamilovala. Protože Sytry! Vtipné a zajímavé. Pokud máte rádi démony a anděly, pak doporučuju.

4/5*

[Rin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐ rounded down arbitrarily

I think I'll read the next one before I decide if this series is worth it. It was in a library list for historical fantasy manga along with black butler and I love black butler so it's worth giving it a real try

[Wiktoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inteligentna sierota z XIX albo XVIII w. w Anglii przez przypadek przyzwał demona i mu demony żyć nie dają. Skojarzyło mi się z kuroshitsuji, ale ten typo jest biedny, bo komornik mu zajebał wszystko

10/10

Edit:O kurwa to ma anime xDD

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot - 5 ⭐
Character - 5 ⭐
Writing Style - 4 ⭐
World Building - 5 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐

Overall - 4.8 ⭐ / 5 ⭐

[sitting pretty on the throne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Idee mit den Dämonen, Fürsten und dem Kaiser finde ich interessant. Ich bin gespannt in welche Richtungen der Manga noch gehen wird. Der Zeichenstil sieht sehr schick aus, wobei ich finde das die Nasen manchmal etwas lang sind xD Die Figuren finde ich auch toll! Besonders Gilles de Rais xDD und natürlich Sitri. Insgesamt ein guter Start für eine Serie :)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very faithful with the anime (I know the manga came first but I saw the anime first) and it's great to get back to these characters and see it in it's glory again! Very funny, very interesting! Characters are slowly being introduced <3

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting start to a decent manga series. Reminds me of Black Butler. Love the sexy art. Dantalion is so hot. I have no shame.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
William Twining ist ein junger Mann aus noblem Hause - gebildet und gut betucht. Natürlich liegt da die Erwartung nicht fern, dass er eines Tages eine glänzende Karriere machen wird... So lebt er mit seinen Wünschen und Träumen, bis er erfährt, dass sein Onkel und Vormund das Familienvermögen durchgebracht hat! William hat jetzt nur noch eines in dieser Welt: eine alte, marode Villa und ein Butler, der sich weigert, ihn allein zu lassen. Der finanziell angeschlagene William nimmt die Sache aber sportlich und durchsucht das Familienheim nach Schätzen, die er veräußern kann. Dabei findet er ein geheimes Zimmer und aktiviert ein magisches Siegel, welches einen Dämonen beschwört... Ein magisches Abenteuer beginnt für William, der solchem Humbug höchst skeptisch gegenübersteht!

Cover:
Das Cover hat mich persönlich nicht wirklich angesprochen, obwohl es wirklich hübsch anzusehen ist. Es hatte für mich aber keine wirkliche Aussagekraft über den Inhalt der Geschichte und im Allgemeinen konnte ich auch nicht ausmachen, ob uns das Cover nun etwas sagen soll oder nicht. Zu sehen ist hier der Hauptprotagonist William, welcher scheinbar auf dem Boden liegt. Wieso? Warum? Man kann es nur erahnen.

Eigener Eindruck:
An einem Eliteinternat lebt der zielstrebige Jugendliche William Twining, welcher bereits seine Eltern verloren, aber deren ganzes Erbe bekommen hat. Er weiß was er will und kommt oft hochnäsig daher. Besonders gegenüber seinem Schulkameraden und Freund Isaac, welcher sich für Geisterbeschwörungen und Aberglauben interessiert. Völliger Humbug, findet William, der nur an das glaubt, was wissenschaftlich erklärbar ist. Als William in den Ferien nach Hause zu seinem Anwesen zurück kehrt, welches sein Onkel für ihn verwalten sollte, muss er feststellen, dass sein Onkel das komplette Vermögen verloren hat und sogar seine Schulzahlung nicht geleistet werden kann. William ist zutiefst entsetzt und mit seinem Diener die Bezahlung durch versteckte Wertgegenstände aufzubessern. Als er bei der Suche auf ein Pentagramm in seinem Keller stößt und dieses berührt, taucht der Dämon Dantalion bei ihm auf und eröffnet William, dass er der Auserwählte ist, um den nächsten König der Hölle für die nächsten 100 Jahre zu bestimmen. Doch William glaubt nicht an diesen Humbug, schon gar nicht, weil er ein Realist ist. Doch nach einem Ausflug in die Dämonenwelt und durch das Interesse anderer Dämonenfürsten an ihm sollte er seine Meinung langsam ändern, oder?

Mir persönlich hat der Manga ganz gut gefallen, auch wenn manche Szenen sehr sprunghaft sind. Die Mangaka hat sich mit den Zeichnungen sehr viel Mühe gegeben und auch ihr Stil gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut. Die Idee zu der Geschichte finde ich sehr gut umgesetzt. Wir erleben hier die Welt des Umbruchs in der Zeit der industriellen Revolution. Aberglauben wird durch Wissenschaft abgelöst. Immer mehr unerklärliche Dinge können erklärt werden und so lebt William in der festen Überzeugung, dass alles erklärt werden kann. Selbst die kuriosesten Dinge will er einfach nicht als Übernatürlich anerkennen und schreckt nie davor zurück alles wissenschaftlich erklären zu wollen. Zu Beginn kommt William sehr arrogant daher, sodass man sich nicht wirklich entscheiden kann, ob man ihn nun mögen soll oder nicht. Das Ganze ändert sich im Laufe der Geschichte, denn so hochnäsig wie er zu Beginn daher kommt, ist er nicht. Eigentlich ist William ein sehr guter Junge. Der Dämon Dantalion hingegen kommt eigentlich sehr sympathisch daher, aber bei ihm bin ich mir noch ein bisschen unschlüssig. Ich denke von seiner Seite her, haben wir noch viele Überraschungen zu erwarten.

Fazit:
Absolut lesenswert mit einer wirklich guten Story und atemberaubenden Zeichnungen. Ich kann es nur empfehlen.

Idee: 5/5
Logik: 4/5
Details: 4/5
Charaktere: 4/5
Spannung: 4/5

Gesamt: 4/5

Daten:
Taschenbuch: 194 Seiten
Verlag: Carlsen (29. Januar 2013)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3551761221
ISBN-13: 978-3551761224
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: Ab 14 Jahren
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 11,3 x 1,7 x 17,5 cm

[Alejandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to another installment of "Ale Reviews Manga"! (Y'all might be asking right now "What? Another review so soon?" And my answer is "Hell yes!" Ohohoho, see what I did there?)

So the people of the internet have been declaring that "Devils and Realist reminds me soooo much of Black Butler!" and "If you love Black Butler, you will love this manga!" So while I am currently on a hiatus from Black Butler, I thought to myself, "Eh, why not?"

So I must admit, there are certainly a few commonalities between the two series. Do they both have a young, orphaned, and conceited aristocrat as the main protagonist? Yes. Do they both have a demon/devil character? Yes (Devils and Realist has quite a lot of them). Do they both take place in the nineteenth century? Yes. But that's where the similarities end. Unlike Black Butler, the focus isn't necessarily on the relationship between the "master" and the "contractor" (as no such deal has been made yet between the main two characters in this manga) and their adventures, but rather the politics of hell. Yeah, you read that right, politics.

Apparently the main character, William Twining (who for some reason reminds me of the tea company) is supposedly an "elector" who can chose which demon can fill in as "emperor of hell" while Lucifer, the actual emperor of hell, takes a hella long nap. Because of this, he keeps getting nagged lobbied by a bunch of aristocratic demons who want to sit on that throne. Yet William wants nothing to do with these demons because he's a "realist" who only believes in a scientific explanation for everything. Like dude, after every you have been put through this volume, how can you keep denying that demons exist? I mean who else who have someone with a goat head for their secretary?

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. Not that the first volume was terrible, but I just needed a better hook to pull me into reading the next volume. Yes, I will concede I do have the tendency to write off a lot of series after reading the first volume, and perhaps Devils and Realist does get better over time, but as of this moment I do not have the time to dedicate myself to another series. But you never know, I may change my mind in the future.

With that, this officially concludes this installment of "Ale Reviews Manga"!

My official rating: /5

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Devils and Realist series. Right now there are fifteen volumes released in this series. This was a decent manga that was a fun and light-hearted read. It’s set in Victorian England and has some supernatural elements to it.

William Twining is the perfect young man; incredibly smart, incredibly good-looking, and incredibly good at everything...and he’s not afraid to brag about it. However, when he finds out his uncle has gone bankrupt and left William with absolutely nothing, things take a turn for the worse. As Willian desperately searches his estate for the money to continue his education he insead finds a secret basement room.

In this basement William accidently summons the demon Dantalion...but of course William only believes in facts and science, not the supernatural, so he doesn’t take the demon’s appearance seriously at all. What follows is a hilarious caper in which multiple demons try to win William’s favor in order to get his vote to elevate each respective demon to the position of Lord of Hell.

This manga is beautifully drawn and was a fun and light-hearted read. I enjoyed a lot of the characters but thought the different demons petitioning William got a bit repetitive towards the end. I enjoyed this volume but I am not sure I could read 14 more volumes of this…

Overall this was a fun and well done manga. I liked it but didn’t love it. This is a series that I would have to buy (library doesn’t have it), so I am not planning on continuing it right now. However, I think fans of Black Butler would enjoy this one (although IMHO it’s not quite as good as that series).

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I have known of this series for some time now, I never sat down and read the entire first volume until yesterday and today. But even then, it's only after watching the entire anime in like a week last month. It has a lot of potential but it's slow to actually get interesting. It's something that has to gradually grow on you, and you have to keep giving it more and more chances. At least, that's how the anime was with me, and being that so far the first volume and first two or so episodes of the anime are 80% the same, I feel no different about the manga. As a matter of fact, the sole reason I picked up the manga after finishing the anime is because the ending made me SO angry, and I'm hoping and expecting a different ending (because I know that we will never, ever get a season two). This is good, enjoyable, and all, but... Eh. So far, aside from the fun manga exclusive shorts, I prefer the anime over the manga already. And that's a rarity for me. It's just, the voices and the colors and the fluid movements add so much that the manga lacks. Both are good though, I somewhat recommend either. But yeah... It's new that I see a take on Solomon and all that, though I am skeptical... Honestly, all of the anime for the most part was just sliiiiightly, kinda like a less good Angel Sanctuary. But I loved Angel Sanctuary tremendously so I'm definitely going to eat up anything that is reminiscent of it at all. Oh, and I should mention that the anime (and thereby, probably the manga too) is categorized under josei. Meaning... it's all just one big tease, kinda like Black Butler.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devils and Realist is one of those series that has an unusually good premise, and great art, but sadly fails in its execution. William Twining is a young elite with ambition. He goes to a prestigious school, and is working his way up in the world, however, due to family misfortune, he is near broke. That's when he starts to meet demons from hell. As he learns, apparently he is the reincarnated soul of Solomon, a great king who ruled a vast kingdom and was beloved by the denizens of both heaven and hell. Dantalion, who has an especially mysterious past, is the first to arrive, and the most determined to keep William safe while earning his nomination to become the next in line after Lucifer. The political underpinnings of all three realms is particularly interesting, and does get explained as the series progresses. Fights are sharp, but often so rushed that the action can be confusing. Some very light boys love is there to bait you, but whether anything becomes of this isn't clear as of volume 12. The characters, and their backstories are also something to look forward to, but it is a large cast, and without better execution their impact isn't ever fully realized. If you have extra time, borrow this one, otherwise there are much better out there.

[Liberty Ero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very unusual story so far, but I’m actually really liking it. It was a bit difficult to grasp with just this volume... The hierarchy was super confusing to me and with the illustrations, there was just a lot going on. I’m sure we’ll get more insight about everything later on in the series, though.
William’s indifference with the situation he’s been thrust into was enjoyable to read and I want to know more about him. He reminds me of someone I know in real life who is a very strict nonbeliever in all things supernatural, so it was funny to see that personality on the pages. I also liked the banter between him and Dantalion, another character that interested me.
Dantalion reminds me of a character from a visual novel I once played; the character in that game was a sort-of-looked-down-upon nephilim too. I’m excited to see more of the rivalry between him and Sytry... There seems to be more than just a battle of ranks there.
Gilles de Rais was a character I wasn’t expecting to like, but he was actually pretty funny at some points.
Overall, this manga has a super cool concept and I’m curious to see how the story will continue because I genuinely have no idea what’s going to happen! If you enjoyed Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), consider giving this a try!

[Astre Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I would like to clear up some misconceptions you might get from other reviews.
This is not a yaoi or even bl. There is undertones of a m/m relationship but it is never shown outright or explicitly stated. Do not go into this thinking it’s a bl. Not sure why it’s commonly classified as one. Anyway, moving onto the actual review for volume one…

This volume one is extraordinary, it grabs you with its interesting premise of the biblical figure Solomon being reincarnated as a boy in 19th century England, who has the ability to elect a representative to rule hell because Lucifer must sleep. It does not let go the entire time, every page is constantly adding more information to the story and not one panel feels like it’s there to fill the page. Every character in this volume is incredibly enduring, everyone is likable and as you read you will grow increasingly attached to everyone. All the characters in this series have secrets and things they’re hiding, intrigue and mystery abound. There’s information you are given in the beginning of the volume that breadcrumbs to later scenes…and it’s just…Why do people sleep on this series? Everything is incredibly well paced and a delight to read. Amazing to come back and reread again and again.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Another manga series where the art style spoke to my soul. To say I'm absolutely in love with Takadona-Senpai's character design would be an understatement.

Overall, this story centers around a student, William, who has to choose the next representative to be King of Hell since Lucifer is slumbering away. I love how William, our main protagonist, is drawn and his personality. Even with demon's battling in front of him, William still refuses to believe that such things as demons and angels exist. Rather he adheres to his "realist" thinking, that everything can be explained by science. Dantalion, a Grand Duke of Hell, is a persistent fellow in making sure that William chooses him for the position. I can already anticipate how his relationship with William will develop in future volumes.

Overall, humor is on point and characters aren't bland. I will definitely be continuing with this series.

[L. Luck · Rating 4 out of 5]

William is an ambitious student from a wealthy family, whose goals include graduating at the top of his class at his prestigious school. That is put on hold by a surprise that leads William to stumble into a political conflict in Hell. His ancestor, Solomon, was chosen as an elector of Hell's leadership, and, as his descendant, William is the new elector. But William is a man of realism and science and wants nothing to do with the feuds and supernatural battles. Not that Hell's top candidates plan to leave him alone until he plays his role as elector.

Impressively has characters' really stick to their guns and personalities/morals/beliefs. The art is also nice, and there's a nice dose of mystery (but quite a bit of it because they are trying to finish introducing characters and finishing the major expositions still).

Trying to finish this series this time around (I didn't DNF; I ran out of volumes), so wish me luck!

4☆ Recommended

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic outline of the story was interesting: a boy finds a secret room in his mansion that happens to be a portal to a world full of devils. This kid gets pulled into the politics of this other world and is considered to be in the running for the throne. Pretty cool in general, even with the isekai genre over-saturating the market right now. However, the info-dumps were strong with this one. Not only was it a lot of information all at once, it was done quickly. The transitions between panels felt a little choppy to me because of this. I think this could've used a little more editing. This would've been so much better/easier to digest if the overall flow of the story was adjusted a bit.