It is said that this is only part 1. However, I doubt Maou Gakuen no Hangyakusha part 2 will ever come out due to sales. That is my suspicion.
One day, Morioka Yuuto awakes to find out he got chosen as the devil king candidate of Lovers for the upcoming war for the title of "Devil King". Yuuto is the first human to become a candidate. He has and uses an option to transfer to the Ginsei Academy. Ginsei Academy is a place where other candidates and average devils study and prepare for the upcoming war. On his first day, Yuuto meets a girl, Himekami Lizel. Lizel offers to assist Yuuto and becomes his first peerage member, his queen. Lizel brought her friends Yuugaoze Miyabi and Koiwai Reina as well to join. From there, Yuuto begins his journey for the throne as well journey to explore his new member's personalities, their past ( sometimes good, sometimes tragic). His first opponent, devil king candidate of World, Aspite is already plotting his fall. That is a sort of basic rundown of this series, now onto the review.
Story:
I'll be brief. Up until volume 5, the story is pretty decent. It is not anything groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it for what it is.
I like the "Tarot" card system of the devil king candidates. Every candidate has their own arcana.
I feel the pacing was a bit too much at times but okay overall.
For most of the volumes, we were focusing on the main character cast or the villain. There weren't many side stories of other devil king candidates doing stuff. The only time we got another perspective were the main villains plotting against others or attacking someone. While someone can complain it would be boring or distracting, many readers appreciate it when you do a quick side story on another less relevant, minor character or rival. Rival candidates should be shown often as they are Yuuto's primary adversaries for the throne, plus the audience would get to know them better. If I were to redo something, I would mostly avoid any major fight with the devil king candidates for the first two to four volumes and spend it on world-building, introducing some new candidates, students and characters' families. I feel Ginsei Academy was vastly undiscovered in terms of both facilities and average "random event" students.
Maou Gakuen no Hangyakusha is supposed to be about a war between twenty-two ( I think) mighty foes. That is unfulfilled, as Maou Gakuen follows a Dragon Ball pattern. A strong opponent appears, the main cast trains and get stronger, defeats the villain and repeat. I can forgive the training part, Yuuto is training nonstop because he is human. That makes perfect sense. What doesn't make sense are the devil king candidates. They are supposed to all be mighty, each with unique abilities, yet two or three main villains fall after Yuuto reaches a certain amount of mana. Yes, this can be excused as character development, but it is lazy writing. Yuuto defeats a villain after his mana reaches a certain number. From volume 4 forwards, the series really goes to being Yuuto team vs villain team vs unknown super-strong enemies. Candidates, who are introduced as massively individual characters who do not believe other people suddenly join a team in the brutal majority of cases.
Let's talk about the setting for a bit. Maou gakuen no Hangyakusha is yet another series set in school. While this doesn't have to be a problem, you cannot deny this setting is overused in the modern light novel and manga. twenty-two devil king candidates, what if all of the candidates inherited a unique base? That sounds cool. Sure, you can have them visit a school if you so much want to, but twenty-two original areas already give a massive boost to the world. In Maou Gakuen, every candidate gets a palace, but these palaces are on the school grounds, and nobody uses them because someone might spy on them, and the candidates are nobility anyways, so they don't need it.
Now, the infamous volume 5: It is a rushed volume. The author shouldn't even have made the volume in the first place. SIX devil king candidates fall within a single volume, including the main villain that was, in my opinion, a fascinating character worth watching. Volume 5 starts alright, but you can feel it when the pace goes off-limit, and we turn on the highway to hell. Even if the series comes back, I doubt it is going to repair the damage it did.
To give you a small rundown: My biggest issue lies with the lack of space for other "non-allied" candidates to get space to develop themselves, this leaves the Hangyakusha world vastly undiscovered as the main focus is centred around Yuuto's peerage, leaving side characters as disposable toys.
My 2nd issue is that the series devolves into a team deathmatch. While I enjoyed the concept of the alliance when it got introduced, the lack of treachery ruined this group. In the end, not even one member betrayed and there were like 7 devil king candidates at the same time.
3rd issue is the length of the series. 5 Light Novel volumes won't create a compelling story.
4th issue is volume 5. A mishandled mess. I understand the author didn't want to volume 4 be the final volume. Unfortunately, volume 5 didn't work out at all.
Characters:
I enjoyed the majority of the cast.
Morioka Yuuto is one of the better ecchi main characters. A good personality evolves through the series.
Himekami Lizel is a good heroine, a mature, level-headed, mentor figure for Yuuto with an intriguing backstory.
Yuugaoze Miyabi is a provocative heroine. Her daring persona was enjoyable.
Koiwai Reina is a cute heroine and a katana user. She is an alright character that should bring wholesome factors.
other notable characters:
Carnac Neith is the shy heroine. Eventually, she overcomes her shyness.
Hoshigaoka Stella is the "idol" of Maou Gakuen. She is one of the characters that got hit by the sudden conclusion.
Aspite, the villain, later he takes the role of an antihero (if you know Highschool DxD, it is Rizer Phoenix's redemption moment)
Joudougahama Lost, best Maou Gakuen villain. A fascinating character and a clever schemer. Volume 5 did him dirty.
Art:
Every volume has around fifteen illustrations, five of which are coloured. You'll get some spicy stuff, no nudity. I'd say the artist needs to work on the faces of the characters. They often look very similar. If you want boobs, then you won't be disappointed at all.
Last, but not least, villains:
Since Maou Gakuen is short, I will rate all the villains or hostile devil king candidates to be precise.
Aspite, World, 7/10: A pretty decent introductory villain with a cool unique ability.
Mitsuishi Ibiza, Devil, 7/10: Again, interesting unique ability with mind control, playful yet psychopathic personality. I enjoyed this villain.
Takakuzure Marios, Tower, 5/10: He didn't do anything significant. He unknowingly became a puppet and realized too late his "ally" Lost was weakening him.
Kitakami Lunatic, Moon, 2/10: He was a devil king candidate of the moon that got one-shotted by Stella, yeah...
Sansa Summers, Sun, 3/10: She was a devil king candidate of the sun and did basically nothing. Why 3 and not 2? Well, she at least lasted three volumes.
Joudougahama Lost, Death, 8/10: Great character design joined by an intriguing personality and powers. Shame, volume 5 did him so dirty.
Shimokadzuma Rinne, Wheel of Fortune, 8/10: She has the ability to rewind time. Rinne lacks the strength to utilize this advantage on her own, so she spends most of her time with Lost to get herself through this war. She influences numerous of Yuuto's confrontations. I like this little partnership for what it is.
Sannou Rikimaru, Strength, 6/10: She punches really hard :) The reason I give her a 6/10 and not 5 is because she has a secret plan going on with her sister Seigi that makes her a bit more interesting villain.
Sannou Seigi, Justice 6/10: Justiiiiice! She becomes a maniac after her sister died.
Hayachine Yotaka, Hanged Man, 4/10: Sadistic personality, whip user, sort of thot. Her other major characteristic is hating on Lizel.
Mizusawa Balance, Temperance, 2/10: Well, he likes his things "balanced". He appears in volume 5, dies in volume 5.
My main issue with villains was the author following the "new volume, new villain to defeat" pattern. Villains weren't bad. They didn't have enough time to become "something".
Ultimately, Maou Gakuen no Hangyakusha is a series with a great idea of a war between twenty-two devil king candidates, a series with the vast potential to create a magnificent world filled with memorable characters. Sadly, it falls short and Maou Gakuen is nowhere near the things that I just said.
Before, I rated Maou Gakuen no Hangyakusha Light Novel 8/10. Because of the early conclusion and horrendous volume 5, I have to award this series a 6/10. I was thinking about going even lower, but I enjoyed the series, so I think the average mark is enough.
