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The Demon Girl Next Door #1
The Demon Girl Next Door, Vol. 1
BEST FRENEMIES FOREVER
One morning, fifteen-year-old Yoshida Yuko wakes up to discover she has sprouted demon horns and a tail! Not only that, she learns from her mom that she has supernatural powers and an important mission—to restore her family’s glory by defeating the local magical girl. The magical girl in question is Chiyoda Momo, a student at Yuko’s school. With strength that is only mediocre at best, Yuko’s task to vanquish Momo will prove more challenging than she realizes in this topsy-turvy magical girl comedy.
One morning, fifteen-year-old Yoshida Yuko wakes up to discover she has sprouted demon horns and a tail! Not only that, she learns from her mom that she has supernatural powers and an important mission—to restore her family’s glory by defeating the local magical girl. The magical girl in question is Chiyoda Momo, a student at Yuko’s school. With strength that is only mediocre at best, Yuko’s task to vanquish Momo will prove more challenging than she realizes in this topsy-turvy magical girl comedy.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 31, 2021
Yuko awakens to her dark history as a demon and learns of her destiny to break the curse on her family by defeating Momo, the local magical girl. Yuko’s got a fresh set of horns and a tail and... not much else. Surely that’s enough to stand up to any old magical girl?
I never thought anything would beat Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun for me in terms of 4-koma, but this is, at the very least, every bit the equal of that series’ first book. Interestingly, both are so funny because they take a well-established genre and lampoon it mercilessly.
This series basically posits a scenario where the roadrunner and Wile E Coyote hang out during their downtime (or Sam & Ralph if you want to be super obscure) and it’s a delight. It doesn’t deliver endless belly laughs, but it is consistently doing hilarious work with what is on the page to an extent I’ve yet to see in other series.
Everything is utterly ridiculous - Yuko’s family labours under a curse that VERY specifically has her mom trying to feed a family of four on 40,000 yen a month. The evil statue of the family’s dark ancestor sees duty as a doorstop, a paperweight, and worse. Said ancestor is absolutely useless and clearly knows about as much as Yuko herself does.
Yuko quickly gets in way, way over her head, just assuming that she can do a lot more than she actually can because she should have powers beyond a couple croissants stuck to her head, but doesn’t. The way the book brings her back down to earth is often funny but a lot less mean than it could be. It’s terribly amusing how absolutely hopeless she is at being bad - though we clearly see she has hidden skills in sausage cooking.
Momo is equally interesting - a magical girl who’s really not up for her job any more (there’s a lot of implied backstory here that I’m dying to see at some point, but more comedy first) and only transforms at the most bizarre times. Her budding friendship with Yuko (and how conflicted it leaves Yuko) is a real hoot.
The way the two establish an oddly affectionate bond, probably because Momo could stomp Yuko flat, is incredibly sweet and it makes this whole endeavour feel a lot more than just a collection of jokes.
Speaking of transformations, Yuko’s full dark lord get-up is woefully inappropriate and the book has an absolute field day deriding some of the genres more dubious tropes. It calls out a lot of problematic stuff in very clever fashion (or lack of fashion).
I don’t often read a book that achieves everything it is trying to do, but this is certainly one of them. When I look back over it and envision what I’d change, the answer is very simple - nothing. The art is great, the jokes all land, the characters are wonderful, plus there’s so much left to cover with them.
5 stars. Within the genre of 4-koma manga this one is a belter. It’s word dense, but in this case that just means you got your money’s worth with fewer pages. It’s a brilliant take on the genre and there’s not a single page where I wasn’t grinning at something. Just that good.
I never thought anything would beat Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun for me in terms of 4-koma, but this is, at the very least, every bit the equal of that series’ first book. Interestingly, both are so funny because they take a well-established genre and lampoon it mercilessly.
This series basically posits a scenario where the roadrunner and Wile E Coyote hang out during their downtime (or Sam & Ralph if you want to be super obscure) and it’s a delight. It doesn’t deliver endless belly laughs, but it is consistently doing hilarious work with what is on the page to an extent I’ve yet to see in other series.
Everything is utterly ridiculous - Yuko’s family labours under a curse that VERY specifically has her mom trying to feed a family of four on 40,000 yen a month. The evil statue of the family’s dark ancestor sees duty as a doorstop, a paperweight, and worse. Said ancestor is absolutely useless and clearly knows about as much as Yuko herself does.
Yuko quickly gets in way, way over her head, just assuming that she can do a lot more than she actually can because she should have powers beyond a couple croissants stuck to her head, but doesn’t. The way the book brings her back down to earth is often funny but a lot less mean than it could be. It’s terribly amusing how absolutely hopeless she is at being bad - though we clearly see she has hidden skills in sausage cooking.
Momo is equally interesting - a magical girl who’s really not up for her job any more (there’s a lot of implied backstory here that I’m dying to see at some point, but more comedy first) and only transforms at the most bizarre times. Her budding friendship with Yuko (and how conflicted it leaves Yuko) is a real hoot.
The way the two establish an oddly affectionate bond, probably because Momo could stomp Yuko flat, is incredibly sweet and it makes this whole endeavour feel a lot more than just a collection of jokes.
Speaking of transformations, Yuko’s full dark lord get-up is woefully inappropriate and the book has an absolute field day deriding some of the genres more dubious tropes. It calls out a lot of problematic stuff in very clever fashion (or lack of fashion).
I don’t often read a book that achieves everything it is trying to do, but this is certainly one of them. When I look back over it and envision what I’d change, the answer is very simple - nothing. The art is great, the jokes all land, the characters are wonderful, plus there’s so much left to cover with them.
5 stars. Within the genre of 4-koma manga this one is a belter. It’s word dense, but in this case that just means you got your money’s worth with fewer pages. It’s a brilliant take on the genre and there’s not a single page where I wasn’t grinning at something. Just that good.
January 3, 2022
I think because I saw the anime version first, the way the jokes were presented in that just flowed better.
May 16, 2024
Cute and fun. But a drag in the middle. Overall I did like it tho.
Read
May 7, 2022DNF
I couldn't do it I thought it was going to be interesting but I couldn't do it. I have no interest in the story plot.
I couldn't do it I thought it was going to be interesting but I couldn't do it. I have no interest in the story plot.
June 28, 2021
Just a fun 4-koma manga with a unique concept. It's mainly just comedy and watching our loveable looser protagonist engaging in hijinks.
Art: The cute style's alright, but every character has the same face pretty much. The character designs are unique though as they have different hair and accesories. The panel composition is nice: its 4-koma and the panels tend to be different each time, not many talking heads. t's also easy to make out everything. I also like how Yuko emotes with her tail.
Characters: The characters aren't too special. The supporting cast is pretty lack luster, personality wise. Lilith however is an exception, the comedy that involves her is probably my favorite part of the volume. But the two leads are the focus and have the most spotlight. Yuko is the main character, and she's like I said a loveable looser. You can't help by root for her. I like how the manga strays away from tropes. She's not a gifted prodigy that seeks, but instead a weakling who's pretty dumb. Momo is the second lead, a retired magical girl. I guess you could say she's the straightman to Yuko's antics. She also is pretty shrouded in mystery, hinting at some development for her down the line. However in this volume there is rarely if any character developement for them to go through, it's basically just these two messing around.
Story: It's a simple but fun story. It's not to in depth with it as, everyone just accepts this crazy turn of events. Yuko accepts her mission super quickly and never questions it. So if you're looking for drama or tension that won't be found in this volume at least. The story is pretty slow, nothing big really happens, besides Yuko training, going into debt, hanging with Momo, etc. It never gets boring however as everything is just so stupid but in a good way. It's comedy based, so it's just supposed to be a fun read. I wouldn't say nothing happens, stuff does happen, especially towards the end. I also appreciate the trope subversions, mentioned previously. Since the story isn't too fleshed out I do rate this lower, if the story had more development I'd enjoy it more.
If you're looking for a laid back read, give this a go.
Art: The cute style's alright, but every character has the same face pretty much. The character designs are unique though as they have different hair and accesories. The panel composition is nice: its 4-koma and the panels tend to be different each time, not many talking heads. t's also easy to make out everything. I also like how Yuko emotes with her tail.
Characters: The characters aren't too special. The supporting cast is pretty lack luster, personality wise. Lilith however is an exception, the comedy that involves her is probably my favorite part of the volume. But the two leads are the focus and have the most spotlight. Yuko is the main character, and she's like I said a loveable looser. You can't help by root for her. I like how the manga strays away from tropes. She's not a gifted prodigy that seeks, but instead a weakling who's pretty dumb. Momo is the second lead, a retired magical girl. I guess you could say she's the straightman to Yuko's antics. She also is pretty shrouded in mystery, hinting at some development for her down the line. However in this volume there is rarely if any character developement for them to go through, it's basically just these two messing around.
Story: It's a simple but fun story. It's not to in depth with it as, everyone just accepts this crazy turn of events. Yuko accepts her mission super quickly and never questions it. So if you're looking for drama or tension that won't be found in this volume at least. The story is pretty slow, nothing big really happens, besides Yuko training, going into debt, hanging with Momo, etc. It never gets boring however as everything is just so stupid but in a good way. It's comedy based, so it's just supposed to be a fun read. I wouldn't say nothing happens, stuff does happen, especially towards the end. I also appreciate the trope subversions, mentioned previously. Since the story isn't too fleshed out I do rate this lower, if the story had more development I'd enjoy it more.
If you're looking for a laid back read, give this a go.
September 9, 2024
Not lot of action as I expected, but The Demon Girl Next Door delivered a well-paced tale of a villainess' journey with extremely appealing bishoujo artwork and lots of dialogue to drive the plot too, and I just only finished reading the first tankoubon. A mix of a growing friendship (that between an aspiring villainess and a magical girl) and a promise to family (the villainess defeating the magical girl to erase a spell) could easily be seen at odds with each other as more plot points come into the picture, including financial debt issues (LOL). While it's normal for the reader to not want to root for a baddie, the funny thing is in some way, the villainess proved to be a mirror of every one of us human beings; one has things he/she seeks to accomplish in mind, but is never without moments where an intended plan gets threatened by circumstances least expected. It'll be interesting to see what obstacles arrive to further push the villainess' dilemma and what new magical beings will arrive at the scene as I look to reading the second tankoubon.
October 26, 2024
My partner got me to watch the The Demon Girl Next Door anime recently, and it somehow managed to pull me in enough to want to read the manga, especially since the fifth and sixth volumes of the manga haven't come out as anime yet. So far, I'm one volume in, and I'm sort of impressed at how closely the anime seems to match the manga, down to the scene. I've only caught a few bits of information not in the anime, but those have been cool...not certain if I should read the whole manga or just skip to the stuff I haven't seen yet in the anime, since the match seems so close. We will see.
December 25, 2021
Gonna start off by saying: I don’t usually read comedies. This is my first manga I’ve read with the 4 panel system etc. I am a HUGE magical girl lover and my brother got this for me as a gift because it’s a demon who has to fight a magical girl and SAPPHIC!? So although this genre took me a little branching out and it felt a lot like filler until the end, I still enjoyed it. Again, not used to comedies so the comedic stuff feels like filler to me. I’m learning to read and enjoy it. Would read #2. GIVE ME A DEMON AND MAGICAL GIRL IN LOVE
January 27, 2021
It’s a fun and fluffy read about a pair of girls that shouldn’t be friends, but are. The Main character is klutzy but in a cute way. More so than a certain Usa-chan.
That said, I didn’t realize it was a 4-Koma series. Which is hard to get used to if you don’t read it often enough.
That said, I didn’t realize it was a 4-Koma series. Which is hard to get used to if you don’t read it often enough.
February 10, 2022
I find Yoshida Yuko (also known as Shamiko) a little bit too weak/ditzy/dumb. She's adorable but her character frustrates me non stop.
The manga was okay, nothing really stood out to me. I do have the 2nd manga so I will give that a go before deciding if I want to drop the series or not.
The manga was okay, nothing really stood out to me. I do have the 2nd manga so I will give that a go before deciding if I want to drop the series or not.
Read
June 6, 2023pretty standard four panel joke comic; i liked that the magical girl was really tall and apparently very physically strong, but the main villain girl was not interesting and their lack of relationship or chemistry even as friends over time did not make me want to keep reading.
February 13, 2025
A cute, slight comedy about a pathetic girl coming to grips with being an equally pathetic demon and her supposedly destined mortal enemy taking pity on her, forming an odd friendship of sorts. It's nothing deep but it's good for what it is.
passed
June 19, 20214-Panel
May 10, 2022
Awesome manga, love the plot!
Would recommend if you like magical girls/ slice of life genre.
Hoping to read more of the series! :)
Would recommend if you like magical girls/ slice of life genre.
Hoping to read more of the series! :)
August 15, 2022
The concept was good, but I didn't feel the dialog flowed and I found myself getting frustrated at the main character.
August 19, 2022
Kore de katta to omou na yo!!!!
May 21, 2023
This was just adorable. Demon girl needs to defeat a magic girl who seems set on becoming her friend and helping her train to defeat her.
December 11, 2024
I HEART MOMOS CAT (I forgot his names 🥲)
April 23, 2025
this was not very good in my opinion. there was no hook to even begin with and the story was not even a story it was more of a summary of what was supposed to be going on.
February 17, 2021
Warning! Total cuteness overload ahead!
OMG, this is fantastic! Yuko and Momo are ADORABLE!!! Oh my, so cute. This story is just all warm and fuzzy feelings. This story reminds me of Gabriel Dropout, except it's nowhere near as offensive and overtly anti-Christian as GabOut is. This story is just pure cotton candy. Sugary-sweet and cloyingly addictive. I am really looking forward to the next volume of this series.
OMG, this is fantastic! Yuko and Momo are ADORABLE!!! Oh my, so cute. This story is just all warm and fuzzy feelings. This story reminds me of Gabriel Dropout, except it's nowhere near as offensive and overtly anti-Christian as GabOut is. This story is just pure cotton candy. Sugary-sweet and cloyingly addictive. I am really looking forward to the next volume of this series.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews