Mairimashita! Iruma-kun is a fantasy(?) isekai(?) shounen-like series that takes place on the demon world. The main character, Iruma, was sacrificed by his parents to a demon, and somehow through some absurd circumstances he became a demon(principal) grandson and goes to his demon school with unique powers and yada yada yada he gets some demon acquaintances and friends through encounters, fights, fate and yada fucking yada. Usual premises that you've heard before, sounds boring, and you're probably not interested.
The earlier chapters deal mainly with Iruma connecting with everyone on the demon world with his likeable and straight personality, while the later chapter (right now around 320) is surprisingly the same, with a sprinkle of power-levels and battle arcs!
Now stop. Listen to me. I'm going to explain why does people love this series so much, and the charm of this series lies on the depth and relationship between each character. I've said that Iruma has a likeable and straight personality, but that doesn't apply only to Iruma. How Nishi-Sensei is able to introduce a wide range of characters with ACTUAL personality without fear of doing nothing with them in the future is beyond me. That teacher in the background without any real use? Let's make her the theme of this chapter while developing the other characters, which are not even the main protagonist! With countless of well-designed characters and loveable personalities interacting with each other, it naturally builds the foundation to a great series.
By all means you can still see some of the usual anime-tropes like harem or power of friendship there (which I assume some people don't enjoy), but the actual depth or bond made it so, that it's absolutely tolerable and entertaining to read. My favorite theme from the whole manga would be the term "ambition" and how each demon see them differently, with the main character Iruma fully misunderstanding the term before his encounter with one of his romantic interest, Amelie. Occurring themes like this happens slowly throughout the manga and it makes you understand more how does the demon side feel about these emotions. Family, demon friendship, teaching, greed, you name it. Sometimes it's comedic, sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's very much absurd. I really enjoyed every chapter, even the long battle/character arcs, which bring me to the next point: Story.
Basically, it goes like this. You get filler chapters, then long battle chapters or characters arc, more fillers, short arcs and repeat in random. Even though the first few battle arcs felt out of place, it never really gets to the point where it gets illogical and weird. The story felt planed and smooth, while the filler part does it part best by focusing on side characters. I get how people would be turned down because of the battle arcs being quite long, and could devolve into feeling that the whole series is a bit inconsistent. Depiste those feeling, it pays off with the development of a character and satisfying ending, I have emphasized many times already: The characters are the charm, the story is fun as it is; but it is by all means not perfect.
As for art, I can only say that the wide panels and full panels are breathtaking. May it be cliché transformations or battle roars, Nishi-sensei sure understands what make those things invigorating and create goosebumps.
I don't know where will this series go, how will the series end, and what are Nishi-sensei plans for the upcoming years, but that was an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to everyone who craves fantasy shounen alike. Don't mind the rough start, it will get better for you. Hopefully.
Heartbreaker arc was amazing and I require more Gaap chapters.
