i love that j is not your typical shoujo manga’s demon who is a pretty boy looking like any other human and only shows his real face when the girl is in danger. j does look like a demon with his tail, horns and wings, but still is unbelievably beautiful. moreover he acts like a demon — makoto is and isn’t a toy for him at the same time. „how?” you may ask. j wants makoto to overstep his bounds, to surpass him, see how far can he get. and he does care about him in his own way, making sure that he’ll have good contacts with other demons and know what he needs to know. in the end, the words have the greatest power. but the moment makoto gave up, he’d toss him aside and search for someone else, just like he did before. just like a toy a child got bored with.
that’s why makoto’s a great character as well. the reader might forget that he’s literally a demon-in-training and feel pity for him. for example the scene with fjord. after it i myself thought that if i were him, i’d leave immediately and hate j from the bottom of my heart. but makoto? he’s cried for a minute and then everything went back to the way it was before the act. makoto is not some random human, but he’s just like a demon — messed up from the beginning. the first thing he does when he summons a demon is asking to let him eat his guts. that’s not what someone normal would ask for.
makoto and j’s relationship is well-thought-out and original. you might think that after he becomes the demon, they’ll live a peaceful, happy and long life, but not here. indeed they’re a perfect match — both of them love the other one and get motivated by each other. makoto’s motivation is not only surpass j, but ruin him. and j obviously only knows about it. he’s even looking forward to it. the truth is both of them are twisted and that’s what makes it more interesting.
the plot is great. the art itself is amazing. it’s giving these grotesque, yet aesthetic vibes. but one should be aware of the warnings, because the gore is not a joke and it can be disturbing. anyway — it’s great and i can’t wait for more.
