Story: 7/10
Surprisingly good, did not expect such an emotional plot from what was supposedly a comedy manga. Seriously, it gets dark! There is great threat escalation, there is a real tension throughout the manga. It builds up to the drama so it never feels like there huge mood whiplash between the levity of the earlier chapters compared to the harsher, more oppressive atmosphere of the later ones. I felt there was a lot of deus-ex-machina but it's always built up to so it feels justified within the story. There were some events that seems entirely random, which can kill the pacing.
There is some world-building, though somewhat shallow. I quite like the whole "new world" thing (it makes sense in context). It's an interesting concept and it's done well. However, there is way too much "human bad" compared to the basically morally perfect demons. Ironic I know but the actions humans are what initiates and drives the plot so making them into this sort of cartoonish caricature just takes you out of it. There are some humans who get the 'screen-time' (for lack of a better term) to be, well, humanised but I can count them on one hand.
Personally I have mixed feelings about the ending. It escalates too much, too quick and has too many ass pulls to be tense. The author tries to weave together previous events (the previously mentioned random tangents) but it feels like the author retconning gags into something important because he didn't know how to bring the story to a close with the threat escalation that had taken place rather than something planned. It just gets so complicated that it kills the pacing. On the other hand, it was really emotional, seeing the characters we've gotten to know be brought to the very edge in a way I've not seem in many manga. There was a great emotional payoff and it relies on the characters and the relationships they've built up over the course of the manga.
Art: 8/10
Pretty simple but characters are distinct and I really like there designs. Backgrounds and scenery is great, really sets the mood. The fight scenes are fun and are good at conveying the power of the fighters. There are also some real standouts in the more dramatic scenes, working to set the mood (a dark oppressive atmosphere) or get the character's emotions across.
Characters: 9/10
The best part! Now, the characters here aren't unique, not by any means. They're not the most subversive or philosophically interesting. The characters are beholden to tropes to a certain extent. In fact, Helck is the 'Hero', that's his archetype and he pretty much fits it to a T. So what do they have? They're simply the most endearing characters I've come across in a long time. The emotional beats hit simply because they're so likeable. Even the minor characters have little interactions with each other that makes them that much better, helped by the crazy amount of extras in this manga.
Despite the name of the manga, the view-point character is Vamirio. I think she is unfortunately overshadowed by Helck at the start but she eventually grows into her own.
Overall: 9/10
This is a real hidden gem, beneath the gag-manga exterior, is a dramatic adventure story with some of the most fun characters ever written. It's a shame the description undersells it so much. Despite my criticisms of the ending, the rest of the plot is solid and the character interactions carry you through the worst bits. All in all, this receives my unreserved recommendation.
Also, there is no romance between Helck and Vamirio. Holy crap a manga that acknowledges that men and women are capable of just being friends even after hanging out for more than five minutes!
