Pochi Kuro

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YALL. This manga. Oh my gosh. I've been swapping through a bunch trying to find a good one and stopping a few chapters in every time, but DANG I JUST READ THIS WHOLE THING IN ONE SITTING.

Bruh, the comedy??? How the heck did they get the comedic timing so good with PANELS?? I got yelled at for laughing too loud more than a few times tonight.

And the freaking romance, dude, they don't even speak the same language but it was so cute my GOSH.

I actually teared up a few times during the story, one when the airship takes off for the first time (love ... the mama cat) and ofc at the ending! Mostly though I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading this. The fights literally gave me shivers (best when you make sound effects in your brain ofc, but even then the art and BAM punches and stuff was awesome).

And wow... the whole story and most of the comedy gold is carried by a piece of fruit. What a great manga.

But really, even the world-building and the side characters (like the youngest prince) were so well fleshed out, this manga seemed so much more substantial than just 4 volumes! No loose ends, amazing ending, I feel so full and satisfied. It's almost 6am... time to sleep.

If there is one manga I think epitomizes the phrase "hidden gem", Pochi Kuro would be it. I had a vague memory of reading one of the volumes when I was very young, so I looked for it years later to read the story in proper, and I am so glad I did, because it's easily become one of my favourite manga series of all time.

Pochi Kuro revolves around a world of demons. According to legend, humans are a rare delicacy, and eating one can make a demon become powerful enough to rule the world. So naturally, the story starts with a human girl finding ... herself thrown in the demon world. Kuro plans to eat her, but quickly becomes fond of her instead, and vows to return her to her home.

The characters are all really fun. Kuro and his friend Leo are punkish characters, and Kuro's solution to anything is basically "let's beat it up!", but he's given a chance to show that his heart is actually quite big and he does really care for Pochi. What makes this a pretty interesting story is that despite Pochi not being able to communicate with our main characters, she is not a flat character at all. She gets into a lot of trouble due to demons wanting to hunt her down, but she's bold enough that she will fight back. Even so, she's very kindhearted, and will try to include everyone and is determined to "kill em with kindness". Prince Ishizu is another character I enjoyed a lot, since he starts off as some typical edgelord villain, but actually turns out to be a surprisingly sympathetic character.

Pochi and Kuro constantly break the boundaries of reality itself out of love for each other, and I find that awesome. It ties the action and adventure in with the romance in a way that fits perfectly, so nothing feels "forced". And the ending...I won't spoil it, but let's just say it left me in tears!! So good!

If there is one thing I didn't like about this series, it was that two chapters have cliche and unfunny sexual humour. If some of the most legendary anime series like Dragon Ball are widely criticized for their use of the "creepy old man" trope, you can bet that it doesn't work here either.

All in all, Pochi Kuro is a great manga, and I am sad it's not remembered more. If you are tired of cliche, shallow, looks-based romances and want something that feels more genuine, or if you just love demons, give Pochi Kuro a chance.

Is this a good manga? No. No, it is not. While not terrible, it offers NOTHING that you haven't seen somewhere else. If you've read enough manga, you know what I'm talking about when I say Shounen copy & paste. Or maybe that's just me, I dunno. If there was a Shounen manga formula, I wouldn't be surprised. So much Shounen manga is so unoriginal and boring and lacks any form of originality. It's like the author comes up with an interesting idea, then puts the idea into the most boring and unoriginal template and bam, shitty shounen manga. Pochi Kuro is included in this. ... While I did mildly enjoy the story at the beginning, it eventually devolved into nothing more but boring mush. If you love shounen and isekai garbage, this will appeal to you. Otherwise, don't bother.