A lonely devil living in the human world.
Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Se-Young Kim
Translated by:Hyung Joo Kim
Adapted by:Lorelei Laird
What They Say
After many years of living alone in a deep forest, the devil has gotten lonely and decides to build himself a bride! Slowly he builds his ideal mate from the wishes he's granted to humans - a body, heart, words, feelings - but when he's finished, he ends up with a man - and a finicky man at that!
The Review
If the devil looked as good as this guy we’d all be taking the first bus ticket to hell. But this devil isn’t like the badasses we’re use to, this one is a very lonely soul who is tired of behaving like a god. This devil actually lives alone in the human world and is looking for a human bride to calm his lonely heart. His... friend? Lover? Fellow inhuman companion? ... they never quite explain who Jya is in relation to the devil, but he’s definitely not happy about his decision to live like a human. To him, humans are weak and should be only used for sustenance, and the fact that the devil -- who they never name for some reason -- is only living off of plant energy is making him weaker.
Eventually, the devil has someone answer his ad for a bride, only the person is much younger than he would’ve wanted. The young girl is desperate to get money for her family and insists that she will make a good bride, leading to a small dip into the loli-con pool with lines like, “Perhaps you prefer younger bodies.” The devil doesn’t take her up on her sexual offer, but he does let her stay with him and act as his bride... sort of. She at least makes breakfast and does things around the house, trying to prove herself to him. They begin to form a relationship, but things take a bad turn when he finds her in the woods late at night, naked and beaten up from the villagers attacking her. Oh, and she is actually a he. Surprise! I will retract my loli-con statement and replace it with shota-con? The devil decides to keep him around after all, their relationship growing even stronger.
Until the young boy dies.
And this is where the story gets a little bit disturbing.
The devil re-animates the boy’s body and names him Ley since he never knew his name before, and he keeps the empty shell around as if he’s still alive. He decides to get back all of the things Ley needs to be human again -- eyes, heart, emotions, whatever it takes to bring the boy back to life. He plants summon contracts all around the human world, waiting for a human to summon him for whatever reason so he can get the pieces he needs for Ley. Jya isn’t pleased to hear this at all, and as he leaves the devil’s house he discovers... a naked kid with wings inside of an egg? Right... moving on...
The story switches gears, showing the devil’s quest for the items by showing the back stories of where they come from. The first item is the eyes, and this tells the story of a young, blind prince named Alex. His father’s kingdom is in the middle of a war but does not have enough money to pay the mercenaries of war. Therefore, his father decides to let the mercenaries have their way with Alex. That’s right. He treats his son like a prostitute to motivate the soldiers. The worst part? Alex agrees to it when his mother freaks out! He feels that he is completely useless due to his blindness, so he might as well be useful somehow. Wow. How depressing.
Not only is Alex’s mother against this idea, but so is Ted, one of the people in the castle who is close to Alex. He is forced to listen at the door while a rather disgusting soldier has his way with Alex. Ted decides to leave the castle, knowing that it’s hard for Alex to know that he is listening on the other side while he is violated by the soldiers. The first volume ends with a mysterious new soldier joining and killing the beast who molests Alex, holding Alex close to him and Alex recognizing him (it’s definitely Ted). He is desperate to be able to see if his suspicions are true and decides that he would do anything to see again, even “sell his soul to the devil.”
In summary:
This is an interesting story that sort of dances on the edge of 18+. The sex isn’t explicit, but its obvious. And the content is mature -- Alex’s story in particular with his father selling him to soldiers -- but not thrown into our faces. The art is just gorgeous, with lots of long flowing hair, willowly bodies, and big eyes. But despite the positive points there are parts that I didn’t enjoy. I feel like they don’t do enough explaining in this story. If there are going to be supernatural creatures in the human world, I want to know a bit more about those creatures. Is Jya a devil too? Or is he just an inhuman creature? Is this THE devil we are dealing with, or just one of many devils? And what exactly is Jya’s relationship with the unnamed devil?
Is this heaven and hell? Or are there just other worlds out there with supernatural creatures? Jya mentions other gods, and the devil trying to intimidate them, so... are there many gods in heaven or just... I don’t get it! And just when I think I’ve figured it out, something else happens and I’m confused all over again. For example: the creature in the egg that Jya runs into. What. The. Hell. Is that another devil, or a god, or just... a weird naked kid in an egg? There’s also this idea of using humans as sustenance, and the fact that Jya having sex with the devil sort of replenishes his health, and the devil using plants instead of humans to sustain his life. Um... what? I don’t mind supernatural beings, but I need some sort of explanation, especially if this is supposed to be the devil, or a devil, or... whatever it is we’re dealing with.
The devil not wanting to be, well... a devil... that is an interesting concept. He wants to live a normal, peaceful life, but he’s still kind of a devil. He’s going to steal pieces of people to recreate someone who is dead. That’s a little... twisted. Though if all of the people he steals from are in such bleak situations as Alex, it might be a saving grace. I do like how the contract between human and devil is spoken with the words, “I’d sell my soul to the devil,” because it does seem like people are always casually throwing that phrase into the air. “I’ll sell my soul for a doughnut,” says Homer Simpson. Well, the devil in this story is waiting to hear those words, so be careful what you say. Though he may be waiting for a while, because it doesn’t look like a second volume was ever released.
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