Ranked #131

The World God Only Knows (Manga)

What happens when you unwittingly sign a contract to help someone claiming that they are a demon from the underworld?

Do you collect spirits? Yes, of course! But, the originally is the way you do it...by stealing a girl's heart!

Story (9/10)
- "The World Only God Knows" is quite original, as stated above. The plot is basic and dull sounding at first, but then you question what the heck is going on when you continue reading this manga. Why was a CLEANING demon sent after a 17 year old boy that can only woo girls in video games? Why is the demon calling him "God"? The storyline is great and very humorous because of this, but since some parts are repetitive, I can't give full credit.

Art (8/10)
- The art is simple, but that's what makes it beautiful. Many of the characters are very cutely drawn, bringing out their personality. I've seen in some manga that the hair is drawn with multiple lines/layers. To me, this style is better. The colors are richer and makes reading more enjoyable. The hair, outfits, etc. are very clear and the faces are well drawn. The only problem is when the characters are supposed to be serious, the "cute" effect hinders the "serious" effect. Also, the characters are supposed to be in their late teens, but the look like young 12-13 year old kids.

Character (8/10)
- When you think of demons, you don't except cute young girls that are skilled in the arts of...cleaning and cooking. And when you think of video game otakus, you don't except them to be "god-like" creatures that can make any woman fall in love with them. These two, Elsee and Keima, are the main characters of this story, and make one heck of a team. The other characters, sadly, are stereotypical and mostly girls. Not much background information is given about the characters, either.

Enjoyment (9/10)
- When you're bored or have nothing you want to do, this manga is a great read for lots of laughs. Though at times you feel like something is missing, another chapter or two will make up for it. But, beware, the first couple of chapters repeat events. Later on, the story gets better.


Overall, I averaged the ratings and gave this manga a 8/10 because I know it's a manga I won't drop anytime soon, and maybe re-read a couple of times for laughs. read more

Before reading any of my reviews, please keep in mind that I am a VERY harsh critic. I do not hand out 10's easily and anything I rate 7 or higher I consider recommendation worthy.

Story: 9/10
Humor level is VERY high for anyone who (like me) is familiar with the visual novel genre. I've often joked around saying stuff like "Real girls are overrated, the only girl I'd ever want is an animé/manga/visual novel girl!" because I get attached to them rather easily (<3 Akane from ONE ~to the radiant season~, Mahoro from Mahoromatic and Hisui from Tsukihime). So after reading a couple chapters the only thing I was thinking was; "Why has nobody thought of doing this before?" and "Wow. This guy is me, only TO THE EXTREME!" I never thought that a series parodying the entire visual novel genre could rip off just about EVERYTHING I've ever watched and read and still prove to be a very unique and refreshing reading experience. I really like how Keima takes a complete visual novel approach to winning the girls (and everything really). When he continuously throws in visual novel terms like "route", "event", "encounter", etc. it really makes me chuckle. And his "I can already see the ending!" is classic. The fact that the girls all forget afterwards is a little convenient, but it's not really any different from starting a new route in a visual novel now is it? So it's acceptable simply because it hammers home the visual novel feel it's trying to give off. Just like how calling the chapters "flags" also helps. The only real problem I have with the story is that in trying to compress an entire visual novel route in 1-3 chapters a lot of stuff naturally has to be left out relation development wise. We get to see all of the event encounters, but are missing most of the backstory and character development scenes. Leaving the reader to fill in the blanks by themselves which may be a little difficult for those not familiar with the visual novel clichés and stereotypes. Overall though I have to give the story a 9/10 for originality and potential. I'm hoping it only gets better from here.

Art: 7/10
Okay. I admit it. Erushi is cute. DAMN cute. But other than that the art is pretty good but really isn't anything to special. The switching between simplicity and complexity stands out at times, but for the most part is rather pleasing to the eye (especially Erushi!) and doesn't take away from the story. The character design is rather cute, which is a really good thing (for me anyway) and their expressions are pretty good (especially Erushi!). Passing grade, 7/10.

Character: 8/10
8/10 is as high as I can possibly go on this. . . Erushi and Keima are a 10/10 and 11/10 respectively, but everyone else so far are waaaaaay too flat. Like I said, compressing a visual novel route into 1-3 chapters removes most of the character development. Also, I find Kanon to be rather annoying. Love the stun guns (yes gunS, plural), but she's easily the worst character I've seen so far. 12 chapters in and I'm hoping they soon add another recurring character. This story is great, but they're going to need more than Erushi and Keima if they want to keep this story going for any length of time.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Enjoyment level is high simply because Erushi is extremely cute, Keima is absolutely hilarious and the story is unique, funny and has a lot of potential. I am a huge fan of romance series and the visual novel genre and I can kind of relate to Keima (which is kind of scary o.o;) and that really helps me to enjoy this series. Certain things (characters like Kanon. . . and the holes in character development) take away from the enjoyment of the series and prevents full marks. But overall this series is worth reading and I am anxiously awaiting the next translation release. 9/10 and hoping they keep up the good work!

Overall: 8/10
As much as I'd LIKE to give this a 9, the nearly non-existent support cast, combined with the holes in character development is forcing me to rate it an 8/10 overall. I wish there were decimals here, because I feel it's an 8.5 honestly. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is familiar with the visual novel genre. Anyone can read this series and enjoy it, but to those who are familiar with the genre it would probably be all the more enjoyable. I know this series has a long way to go. I'm only 12 "flags" in and it's still possible that the series may end badly. But I'll keep reading every "flag" hoping that Keima keeps building up Erushi's "event flags" and unlocks her "good end". Sans the H-scene of course. :) read more