Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom 7

Kazunari Kakei – Viz – 2009 – 9 volumes

This series is a lot like Law of Ueki, in that both are pretty typical-looking shounen manga that do pretty typical shounen manga things, but if you look closely, there’s lots of awesome things that set them apart from the pack.  The problem is that it’s hard to get people to look close, and sometimes you get volumes like this, where shounen manga tendencies override all the good stuff going on.

This volume is pretty much the windup to the final battle, and all the characters are running around the tower in the demon world looking for Fall in order to stop him from killing the Dark Liege, Nora, Kazuma, and pretty much every human and demon in existence.  The Dark Liege has her turn at fall, and slowly but surely Kazuma and Nora make it to the group by the end of the volume.  There’s lots of fighting and lots of “never give up!” moments, along with Kazuma’s promise that he will blaze his own path when it comes to making his decision about the Dark Liege.

None of that is out of the ordinary, but I get a particular kind of pleasure from Kazuma saying it, since Kazuma is just so cocky and is pretty much always, always right.  Similarly, when Nora is yelling at the Dark Liege at the end of the volume, the words coming out of his mouth are the same I’ve heard from 100 other shounen characters, but coming from Nora, they turn into something special.

Great characters and great ideas always stand out, and it’s easy to weather and even enjoy standard shounen battle patches like this.  The fights were only okay, and I’m no longer very impressed with any of the character’s powers (except for the snake lady at the end, who was just awesome).  But waiting to see what would happen to Kazuma and Nora, and the Dark Liege, made me sit on the edge of my seat while reading this.  I love them so much, and the novelty of the decision that Kazuma and Nora have to make still hasn’t worn off.  I want to see it happen, no matter what.  Kazuma needs that position like nobody’s business.  I don’t think it will happen, not after what the Dark Liege says in the last few pages here, but all the same.  Kazuma’s the man.

If you like shounen series at all, this one is worth reading.  Do not start with this volume, because you won’t believe me.  This is definitely one to start from the beginning, because otherwise you will miss out on the great clash of personalities between Nora and Kazuma, and how indeed Kazuma is proven right no matter what he says.  There’s a great sense of humor, there’s lots of interesting things about the magic and the way the human and demon worlds work, and this Dark Liege decision just won’t mean anything if you don’t start there.  It’s well worth it.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.