The Bride & the Exorcist Knight

*Contains a few spoilers* I found manga while I was browsing “exorcist” related manga and I didn’t have too high hopes for it as my initial reaction was that it was a “cheeky rom-com” type manga from the synopsis alone. While it wasn’t completely that, this manga is definitely nothing to write home about. Story: 6 We follow the development of Annelotte Capell (Anne) and Hal's relationship as Hal continues to protect her whilst continuing to propose to her. It is a simple story to follow, but there are a few major issues with it. Most of the issue comes from the characters themselves, but I’ll leave thatwhen I talk about the characters. One of the issues is the lack of the actual antagonist, Mephisto, from actually appearing in the story. He appears about 2-4 times during the entire story, so he is supplemented with other demons looking to take away Anne. While this might not be an issue on the surface, we have no clue about who Mephisto is as an antagonist which makes him very forgettable until he does pop up again. The other issue of the story would be progression. The ending of the story is super rushed in my opinion. It kind of just slaps the final climax of the story in our faces and makes us continue reading on from there. I was really confused at the sudden shift and went back to make sure that I wasn’t missing some crucial turning point in the plot to which I had no avail. The story was definitely in the right position for the final climax to occur, but it was just so sudden that it jumbled my mind for a bit. In reality, the story is nothing special, but there are a few major issues which kind of drag the experience of it down. Characters: 5 There is a massive issue with the characters which is the fact that they are so easily forgettable and literally just tossed to the side after they have completed their role. The 2 characters that this story centers the most around are Anne and Hal and the other characters are barely ever talked about after the subplot where they are important is over. The only exception would be Johann as he physically stays close to Anne and Hal for most of the story, but he is still generalized to the “best friend” trope. The other characters are very general as well and have little that is really interesting about them. Also, because Mephisto barely has any time in the spotlight in the story, we practically know very little about his character despite him being the end-all antagonist. Even though Anne and Hal’s characters are thoroughly observed throughout the story and are pretty interesting, it isn’t fair for them to be the only ones with any essence as a character. Art: 7 I have no issues with the art, but I don’t think it is the most “unique” thing that I have ever seen. I do like how it goes into a lot of detail for close-ups and how it transitions the characters into chibi, child-like states when the conversation starts to include funny or embarrassing topics. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Overall: 6 I certainly did not hate this manga and I pretty much enjoyed it until it got to the end where the sudden insertion of the final climax made me incredibly confused. I might’ve been a bit harsh on rating the story, but I do feel like this was a pretty average manga. I definitely would’ve given it a 7 or something if it wasn’t for how bad the ending was and I do believe that the ending tying up a manga is one of the most important aspects to take into consideration.