Devils and Realist

I'd like to point out: this is NOT a BL manga. There's some BL fanservice sprinkled in the series and a couple flamboyant characters, but not an actual BL manga. So, if you're interested in the series but don't want BL (but don't mind the fanservice), then go ahead and read this manga! I'm gonna do my best to not spoil in this review! ==Story (7)== This will be a bit tricky to even summarize because the biggest issue I had with the story is that around the middle of the manga, it gets hard to follow. More characters get introduced and as more characters get introducedthen more plot points, world lore, and backstory info comes up. Which can happen with different characters talking and doing things simultaneously as well. I will say that the story gets bigger than the whole elector plot around the beginning of the manga. I even forgot about William having to choose an elector at times because I'm trying to keep up with the other things happening. It gets easier to follow around the end (I think around volume 13) where you'll understand better what in God's name is going on. Despite the middle being a bit of a mess to follow, there is good world-building with the demons and angels and how things work for them. I wish we got separate chapters with the new demons/angels/other creature, so it would be easier to learn their backstory rather than info dump. We do spend time with William and his journey, as well as his connection with Solomon, which was handled well enough. ==Art (10)== I LOVE Utako Yukihiro's art. Each character have a very attractive/cute design and looks great in color. The art is detailed, great drawn action scenes, comedic expressions are well drawn, and overall just nice to look at. This artist's other works include B-Project, Bonjour Koiaji Pâtisserie, and Shounen Oujo (also did the story!). ==Character (6)== Just like the story, getting to know all the characters was a bit of a mess. First, I'll list the positives. The characters: William, Kevin, Dantalion, Isaac, Camio, and Sytry were overall solid characters in the manga. William is a great protagonist. He's such a little shit, but I can't help but love him. Of course, despite how he acts, he's not heartless. His reaction is understandable because he never asked to get into the world of angels/demons. He has a goal of being the youngest prime minister and rather focus on that. Of course, his stubbornness does bite him back at times, which was interesting to see. He's full of personality, so I enjoyed any scene with him. Dantalion and Sytry were interesting as well and we do learn more about them. There was so much more to their backstory and they both have their own charming qualities. I enjoyed their interactions with William, though, I wish we saw them interact with other characters more. Isaac is the side character and William's best friend. You'd think he'd drift to the background, but he surprisingly has a good amount of scenes. While he may not have some epic role, his role as William's goofy best friend and occult enthusiast was handled well. I'm glad he didn't end up forgotten. I'd say, aside from William, Camio and Kevin were the best written characters. Which I didn't expect because the focus seem to be mostly William and Dantalion (sometimes Sytry). Kevin is William's butler who has a gambling problem, but his role ended up being a lot bigger and took on a more epic role in the story. His journey and backstory was honestly very interesting and a bit emotional at times. Especially his relationship with William, which was touching to see how much of a 'family' they are despite being master/servant. Camio surprised me as well cause I was expecting him to slowly be forgotten, but he had a solid character, engaging journey and backstory, and enjoyed his interactions with some of the characters. His romance with Maria was surprisingly consistent as I was expecting her to just be mentioned once or twice, but nope, we actually do get to see how much Maria and Camio mean to each other and was touching at times too. I will say, I wish we had more scenes with Maria as a character, but I was happy for them at the end of the manga. I was also happy to see Camio happy and his journey coming to an end, which I won't spoil. But I was definitely satisfied with Camio and Kevin by the time I finished the series. Positives aside, time to mention the issues I had. The biggest issue I had was the large cast of characters being introduced but some either not having enough spotlight, introduced late into the story, or end up being forgotten until the end later to wrap up the story. Which is a shame because the manga does provide extra pages of Isaac introducing them and they seem like great characters I'd like to get to know. They'd get mentioned in the story, but they wouldn't get that much scenes as I hoped where you'd remember them in the end. Especially the angels of the manga. I think William should've spent some time with the angel characters (especially that they end up not taking the full on 'villain' role in the end) and in heaven, so we can get to know them better throughout the series. Solomon was a kinda disappointing character, he may have a huge role but he was forgettable. I think it's because we see too much flashbacks of him being this important guy and how much he meant to the other demons/angels, but not as a character. If that makes sense... I guess his purpose is to drive the story since the focus is William. ==Enjoyment (8)== Surprisingly, despite the mess of a story and most of the characters, I had a good time with this manga. Again the world-building was interesting to read and the other characters are still fun. If there's a couple things, I wish we had more scenes with Joan of Arc and Gilles de Raise because I was very interested in their relationship and their past. Also, I wish we had more scenes to Micheal and Metatron because I felt like there was more to those two, like as if they had this deep bond or what but the manga didn't really show me that. I even forgot they knew each other a few times. The manga presented as if they've had this strong, unbreakable bond, but I guess it wasn't as interesting as William and Kevin. So, I didn't really care that much in the end. Again, we should've spent more time with the angels and heaven! Again, despite all that, I did feel a bit sad by the time I finished the manga. I wish I could see the characters and an epilogue of them a bit more. So I can see how everyone is doing in their new life/role. ==Overall (8)== I'm surprised with how little attention this manga has. I have yet to see the anime, but I don't think it had good reception. Tho, with 12 episodes, I doubt it would do well to cover most of the story, but I'll still watch. And if anyone watched the anime but wasn't impressed, I do recommend giving the manga a chance as it has more meat and fleshed out. If anyone enjoys Black Butler and looking for anything similar, then I highly recommend reading this. While I definitely had issues with the story being confusing at times and the cast of characters being too large and some not being impactful/memorable, I still had a great time reading the manga and seeing everything coming to an end.