It is the year 2050, and there is world peace. But is it peace? Many whisper of the terrible being that controls the world in secret. The black magician who creates storms, disasters and deaths with his army raised from the legions of Hell. The Demon King.

Aya Chihiko is a normal, 16 year old high school student transferring from the city of Kyoto to the small town of Daijin. She’s heard the rumors of the Demon King. And she doesn’t care much. But that changes when she meets the school outcast Toru Akujin. Intrigued by the stories about his family, Aya follows him home, and learns that this strange young man might know a thing or two about the Demon King. And, maybe, how to stop him.

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The Demon King by Maelstrom51210 has a plotline that is not very original. The main characters are high school students, they met because one of them is new to the area. One main character is a demon hunter, and the other decides to help him. We have probably all heard of or read about a plot similar to this. That doesn’t stop it from being interesting, however.

There are some unique aspects to the story that make it different from other similar stories. These aspects (which are obvious, but I won’t state here) offer an interesting twist to an otherwise familiar plot.

That being said, the plot would be much more effective if the writing wasn’t so… scripted. The conversations between characters feel forced, stale or awkward.

Maelstrom51210 does manage to throw in some humour, however, that does lighten the stiffness of the writing. Some of the humour makes the characters seem creepy, but I like to think of it as “quirky” characteristics.

There was one scene in particular that I thought created a nice example of the passage of time. It was a nice transition from the everyday tasks to the buildup of the main plot again.

As for the art, I’m going to start off with what I though was done well, and then move on to areas of improvement.

First, I enjoyed the chapter cover pages. I’m not entirely sure what they have to do with the actual story, but I found them intriguing.

Besides the covers, there were a few panels in with Maelstrom51210 managed to capture some intense emotions. Facial expressions capture more than words can sometimes, and this is a very important skill to be able to have in order to get a story to come across the way you want it to.

Now on to some areas of improvement. I need to first point out that I am an amateur artist (if that) and so this opinion is mainly based on reader preferences and personal opinion.

The first area I wanted to focus on is body proportions. There are instances in Demon King in which the proportions are slightly off. I’m assuming that Toru’s body proportions are on purpose, though. This is an area that most artists struggle with, and over time and with practice it will get better. This is true for most (if not all) of the areas that could use improvement.

One of those areas that could improve over time is detailing and overall art appearance. Scenery is an area that may need a bit of time to create, but the extra labour pays off in the end to create a world that is stunning.

In some areas there is a bit of shading, but it may be beneficial to include more throughout the entire comic. Shading can add a lot to each panel and can be a way to create definition and depth to both the characters and the background.

Overall, I think the plot has a lot of potential, and that overtime the artwork can improve greatly. I look forward to seeing Maelstrom51210’s growth as an artist and where she takes the plot of Demon King.

 Those arms though 😉

 

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