Helck

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Helck the Hero

Japanese: Helck

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 12

Chapters: 111

Status: Finished

Published: May 5, 2014 to Dec 18, 2017

Genres: Action, Fantasy

Serialization: Ura Sunday

Authors: Nanao, Nanaki (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.20¹ (scored by 10,638 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #412²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #485

Members: 31,849

Favorites: 877

Resources

Wikipedia

8.20

Ranked #412Popularity #485Members 31,849

MangaUra SundayNanao, Nanaki (Story & Art)

Add to List

Volumes: /12

Chapters: /111

* Your list is public by default.

Edit
Synopsis

While humanity celebrates the defeat of the Demon King by the hands of a lone hero, the denizens of the demon world prepare for the contest of a lifetime—a tournament to decide who would inherit the title of Demon King.

Now, three months later, the tournament has been proceeding smoothly—well, other than the fact that the favorite to come out on top is the human hero Helck! With a smile and a wave, he easily bests his demonic competition, all while loudly proclaiming his hatred for humans. Though he calls for the destruction of humanity, the truth of what lies behind his cheery façade remains a mystery.

Doubtful of Helck's intentions, Red Vamirio—one of the "Four Heavenly Kings," who oversee the realm of the demons together—seeks to uncover what the hero is truly after. With the title of "Demon King" at stake, the fate of the demon world rests on her shoulders.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

In 2015, Helck ranked 8th in the "Tsugi Ni Kuru Manga Taishou" (次にくるマンガ大賞) in the Next Generation Manga Awards.

The series was published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Sunday imprint since January 10, 2023.

Edit
Related Manga

Spin-off:	Piwi: Fushigi na Ikimono
Alternative setting:	Iken Senki Völundio
Adaptation:	Helck

More characters
Characters

Vamirio

Main

Helck

Main

Piwi

Main

Azudora

Supporting

Alicia

Supporting

Asuta

Supporting

Hyura

Supporting

Rococo

Supporting

Isuta

Supporting

Moonmi

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Feb 19, 2018

Akodokuna

Recommended

(I should rewrite this review at some point)

Helck is literally the most fun I ever had with fiction.

It doesn't sound like anything particular innovative, and it isn't really, the Demon King was defeated and they're holding a tournament to choose the next one, does the twist that the guy who killed him is in the tournament and goes around with a funny face saying that he hates humans makes it more interesting? Of course it does.

Helck has a lot more comedy in the early part than the rest, i'm not going to pretend it's a series that "starts childish but get serious" or anything, it's ...

Open

Gift

May 17, 2020

hexashadow13

Recommended

tl;dr: A manga that uses a good balance of lighthearted and serious moments for a mostly well told plot with an especially well-done friendship between the two main characters.

The majority of the story was pretty well paced. After the introduction, it had a good dichotomy of the main characters Helck and Vamirio’s side going on a somewhat lighthearted and amusing journey, along with the other main characters Azudora and Asuta’s side having to take on a major foe and the large scale and overarching elements regarding that. Both sides were well balanced and that kept things interesting. This also resulted in slow and steady world ...

Open

Gift

Nov 27, 2018

TheHentaiKing

Recommended

*Disclaimer*
Just personal scratch.
Advised, possible spoilers.
Opinion & Informal

Art: 8/10
I've got quite a few things to talk about in the art area so I'll go through the general stuff first. The anatomy and proportions, for what they're worth, in this manga I suppose are alright. A lot of the characters and beings in this manga were really odd in terms of anatomy and proportions. I'm not saying that the art is bad because of the odd anatomy and proportions, I'm just saying how it is. The odd shapes and sizes of the beings in this manga actually added a lot of diversity and depth to the ... story's universe. I think that the unexpectedness and diversity of the people and races in this manga are a good thing; it kept the even the minor characters interesting and created a lot of possibility for the story. There were A LOT of impact shots, particularly towards the end of the manga. There were a good mix of types of impact shots too, but I did feel that there were a lot used for plot twists. I'll explain. Some impact shots to me can be directed differently. For example, some impact shots are directed at the reader or another character and showcases the speaker: the MC may or may not be talking to someone but there will be an impact shot showcasing some sort of emotion or resolution by showing their detailed face/expression & maybe walking away cool-like from something or have a nice-looking background; and example of this is in the chapter where Anne tells Helck something along the lines of, "Come to the Empire, everyone will welcome you." with the sunrise in the background. There was a fine amount in this manga that I felt did their jobs in creating awe and emotion. Another impact shot type I like to think about (by the way, all of this mumbo jumbo is just me) are ones that are reaction based. For example, in Chapter 89.2, Helck makes a verbal resolution and the impact shot in this case is Anne being surprised by those words. I feel like these types that were used in the manga were the best at the character building in the manga. The last type I want to bring up are the plot-twist types. There were, in my opinion, way too many of these. These ones are kind of just there; not usually including a great art scene...usually just "important words." Basically, I thought there were a bit too many plot-twist-like moments in this manga. The plot got very complicated in the span of maybe 30 chapters. Moving onto other bits...There were many showcases of artistic skill in the manga. Frankly, by the end of the manga, was great. However, the art was a journey. The art in the beginning of the manga was pretty basic and honestly about average. The importance of the art journey is that the mangaka clearly shows artistic improvement in the manga. It's wonderful to watch the mangaka settle into their own style and improve their skill when going through a manga from start to finish. What I want to say here is that the art in the beginning was maybe a 6, but because of the gradual improvement, settling with a style, and end-product...the art by the end was great and overall really good. There were a very good amount of nice-looking environmental and scenery shots/showcases. There was also a healthy amount of tones used to keep the panels interesting. Phew...

Panel Progression: 7/10
The panel progression was good. There was thought put behind the panel layout during fights so that things looked nice. There was a good amount of flair in the form of panel-cutting, but that's really the only above-average part about the panel progression. The dialogue and layout conveyed things clearly. I didn't have to do any back-tracking or spend time on thinking about what was going on. There aren't much negatives I can recall from the panel progression, but at the same time there aren't too many things I can praise about it either. All I can say are that the layouts were dynamic, the progression was clear in conveying the story, and there was a pretty nice amount of nice-looking panel-cuts.

Characters: 7/10
The characters were surprisingly all interesting. The major supporting characters were all pretty compelling. The minor supporting characters were kinda nice and mostly just "there" to me. I really liked how much, but not too much to make it bad, detail the mangaka went into building the supporting characters. The supporting characters felt like that had a good amount of depth for what they did in the story and I personally liked quite a few of them. Rococo was a joy and Kenros was amusing. The minor supporting characters all had this sort of comedy to them that made them tolerable and a bit funny to watch. The character designs for the main, major and minor supporting, and some of the antagonists were good to me. The character designs were all interesting and did well to differentiate the individual cast members. The only designs I didn't like were Mikaros and Rafaed. They looked lame for the main bad guys. The winged soldiers is such an interesting design choice for the bad guys. The character growth was good to me in only the middle section. I felt the relationship growth between Helck and Anne as friends was a wonderful thing to watch. Their transition from unquestionable enemies to best friends is something that I'll remember. Anne's personal growth in this regard is astounding. Helck's personal growth in regards to his past and resolve to keep his promise was nice, but I'm really appreciating Anne's and the overall dynamics between the two. Piwi's cool.

Plot: 7/10
The initial plot setup was pretty weak, but what the plot eventually settles into is interesting and unique. It's a different take on the humans vs. demons + demon king trope. The execution of the plot as a whole was good to me and I appreciate that this manga exists for that reason.

Development: 7/10
The overall pacing was a bit slow at the first and final quarters. The middle section of the manga had the best flow and presentation to me. The first quarter was a lot of the tournament, character and world introduction, and plot setup. This part felt pretty slow and is a pretty hard startup I feel for people picking this manga up out of the blue. The tournament felt pretty extended and didn't really hook me which can be a problem for some people...basically I thought the initial chapters and hook for this manga were a bit on the weak side. I felt like the story wasn't really taking off and kind of just loitering around. The plot picks up with a pretty interesting development going into the second quarter. I liked this development. The second and third quarters are probably my favorite part about this manga. The pacing was just right. The atmosphere of the middle section of this manga is something like Kino's Journey. I really wished this part of the manga was a bit longer. The final quarter of the manga felt a bit drawn out to me. There were constant plot twists and an ABSURD amount of deus ex machinas. The first half of the final quarter felt way too slow while second half of the final quarter felt way too rushed. I just didn't like the pacing at all in the final quarter of the manga. Going back to the deus ex machinas...it's crazy. It's crazy how literally everyone but the villains died. They were somehow able to rescue everyone with these crazy, unbelievable and out-of-nowhere reasons. I didn't really like the constant yelling of resolution or reminders of staying hopeful in the final quarter of the manga.

Conclusion: 6/10
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but a nice culmination. It's the end of Helck's story so it was appropriate to leave the plot-holes standing regarding the demons. The final panel sequence between Anne and Helck is what this manga really is to me. I REALLY REALLY wish this was executed slightly differently. What I mean is that this manga wasn't about Helck's past, saving his friends, or defeating the big bad boss. This manga to me was the journey between "enemies." This manga to me was an exercise in discovering what the other person is really like. One may hear all kinds of things about a person or group, but one really has to see for themselves. That is what Anne and Helck's journey is and that is what I felt like the conclusion was trying to get across. Anne started out as saying, "Unquestionably, he is the enemy!" By the end, Anne is wishing "One day, let us meet again my friend." This culmination of their journey and relationship is truly something I wish this manga focused on a bit more; the whole saving the world bit was a bit too drawn out for me.

Overall: 7/10
I didn't rate this higher because I really wanted it focus on what the plot initially setup up even before the winged soldiers, how Anne distrusted Helck no matter what. I wanted this manga to spend a bit more time on Anne and Helck's journey and flesh out their personalities and dynamics. If I were to separate the plots: Helck's plot which is mostly the winged soldiers and saving the world is around a 6/10. Anne's and Helck's journey is a solid 8/10 to me and could maybe be a 9/10 if it was developed more. Overall, the good things about this manga are the art, the art journey, and the middle section of the story. The parts I did not like were the plot setup, the pacing in the first and final quarters, and the execution of certain parts of the development. Anne and Helck's journey as a whole, their transition from enemies to best friends, is really beautiful and is definitely a reason to pick this manga up.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Magic

by Nightmare_Eyes

50 Entries · 69 Restacks

Underrated Manga/Hidden gems that deserve more attention

by Bryan7034

50 Entries · 431 Restacks

Manga to read in 2023

by JPedroM98

14 Entries · 12 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for March

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for March. Week 1: March 7 - 13 Anime Releases Koi to Uso (Love and Lies) Complete Collection Blu-...read more

Mar 10, 12:40 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (1 comment)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for January

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for January. Week 1: January 3 - 9 Anime Releases Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (incl. Koi Imouto!) (...read more

Jan 10, 8:51 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (4 comments)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Helck Chapter 69 Discussion Stark700 - May 1, 2016	8 replies	by NoLuckBuck »» Mar 6, 2:21 AM
Poll: Helck Chapter 10 Discussion not_in_use417 - Aug 8, 2014	4 replies	by E_Creator »» Feb 5, 4:44 PM
Poll: Helck Chapter 106 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 8, 2017	22 replies	by Kokoro_135 »» Jul 10, 2022 5:04 AM
Poll: Helck Chapter 64 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 14, 2016	5 replies	by Rexnihilo »» Jul 1, 2022 6:18 PM
Helck anime adaptation announced AngeloMC21 - Feb 13, 2022	9 replies	by AngeloMC21 »» Feb 14, 2022 3:32 AM

Helck
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Edit
Related Manga

More characters
Characters

More reviewsReviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Helck Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

EditRelated Manga

More charactersCharacters

More reviewsReviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Helck
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Edit
Related Manga

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion