NORA: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, Vol. 1 (1)

item arrived on time and exactly as described.

In 2004, manga-ka Kazunari Kakei had his breakout hit manga series "NORA - THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM". The series has just been released as a graphic novel published by Viz Media under their cutting edge manga imprint known as Shonen Jump Advanced (targeted towards older teens and young adults).In Japan, there have been many manga and anime series which pits demons going after other demons and "NORA - THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM" fits that type of storyline description but with a twist.In the first volume, the unruly demon Nora has gotten in quite a bit of trouble with the Dark Liege Army leader and she's not exactly to keen when Nora keeps calling her "ugly". But also not too keen about Nora's uncaring attitude about the Dark Liege's priority which is to go after the demons that are feeding in the human world.So, because of his repeat offenses, he is forced out of Hell and forced to live with the humans without his powers. Where he must be educated on learning about humans.Unfortunately for Nora, he must become the familiar (or slave) of The cold as ice Tenryo Academy Middle School President Magari Kazuma. The popular president, a genius, athletic but seems to be bored and unsatisfied with life.Kazuma cares about his student council but he seems to look at everyone almost as inferior and thus treats them like his slaves. One day, while looking for his student body members who went to fetch him a drink, he is summoned via cell phone by the Dark Liege master who gives him the opportunity to be in control of destructive power. Kazuma agrees and thus the training begins for Nora who must learn about the human world before he can be let back in to Hell.And for Nora, he can't stand Kazuma because despite his feelings towards humans, he is treated like a dog by Kazuma. To make matters worse, to use any of his powers, Kazuma must approve or deny his request.So, monsters are unleashed in the human world and these monsters known as the resistance have put Nora and Kazuma as a high priority target. But what the resistance doesn't know is that Nora happens to be the legendary demon known as Cerberus: The Hound of HadesAnd so both must work together to stay alive but also to protect the human world from these deadly demons.I found "NORA" to be an entertaining series and because the two main characters do not get a long and it's twist of a demon having to learn from humans and forced to work with Kazuma (who seems to be doing this because it has made his life so much more satisfying) is quite interesting. And a fresh twist of the demon vs. demon type of storyline that we have seen in various manga and animated series in the past few decades.The first volume features the first three chapters and dedicated solely to character development and the interaction between Kazuma and Nora. These two are just like oil and water but the two must learn to work together.Because of the bickering of the two, there is a lot of humor between the two. But there is also a lot of action as the two confront the resistance in a few battles. In order for Nora to use his magic spells, Kazuma must approve for its use but each time Nora wants it to happen, Kazuma tends to deny the request.Both have two ways of handling themselves during battle with Nora attacking before thinking and Kazuma is more of the genius in observing tactics and strategies of the opponent. So, despite them not getting along, they need each other to become successful.ARTWORK:As for the character designs and artwork, Kazunari Kakei tends to use a lot of simple line art for his character designs but effectively showcases the character's emotions quite well.But where Kakei shines is when he features the various battles, the monsters, Cerberus and even the Dark Liege in her buxom blonde mode. Kakei starts featuring these battles with a lot of lines and these characters with a lot of blacks and grays and really capturing the action effectively on paper.For the first volume of "NORA", I really enjoyed the storyline. Granted, I've read a good number of Demon vs. Demon storylines, "NORA" is pretty cool manga series featuring two main characters with two different types of personalities.I use the oil and water description because these two don't get along but Nora needs Kazuma in order to get back to the underworld and Kazuma needs Nora to make his life a bit more satisfying.Also, the storyline doesn't take too long to get to the action. One chapter after the other, you're pretty much watching these two take on a variety of demons and rarely do you see Kakei straying away from that (for vol. 1), although you do manage to see Kazuma's student council buddies show up a few times but mainly as humans kidnapped by the demons.So, for action manga fans, "NORA" is not at all cerebral. The storyline is easy to follow, the artwork is not too busy but overall, "NORA - THE LAST CHRONICLE OF DEVILDOM" is an enjoyable storyline with plenty of action, humor and more. You won't be disappointed!

As the summary states - Nora is a hellhound (Cereberus) bound to a disaffected human. The reason? Well Nora has a rather bad attitude and the powers that be decided that Nora needs to be taught a lesson.This is the premise for this work. Not entirely bad and has just enough that it made me interested to check it out. Being the occulist lover that I am.This said, the work doesn't disappoint. The fight scenes come fast and are well drawn. The introduction of the demon world is fun - full a well drawn and unusual demons. Even our disaffected main human character actually is likable. Nora, our main character, is gruff and expectedly a bit dull witted. The art is clean with easy to follow panels - no jumbled work. Even the dialouge is unexpectedly funny. Something I didn't think I was getting with this work. In essence this work is more slap-stick action a`la Naruto than it is something like Death Note.Sadly this is where I thought the work could have taken a more serious tone. The humor is overly abundant. Apparently Nora cannot fight without proving that he is in fact dull witted - but he sure is strong! The formula ends up feeling familiar and over used. Perhaps later vols will prove me wrong, but it had the potential to be a rather dark and interesting work. Instead, it is a kiddy version - dulled down for an audience of children and yet contains mature sexual jokes (see next paragraph). It feels like the elements do not connect yet. That and I'm starting to fear a Zatch Bell remake in the wings.Another point against Nora is the head demon who actually controls the character Nora. This demon is presented to the reader as a skeleton demon with the exception of one panel where we get to see her true form. And it is complete fan service. In fact the author of the work notes in a side panel that original introduction of her form was supposed to be nude (the naughty bits covered). Moreover, she is supposed to be funny - she isn't. She comes across as annoying as possible. Her jokes are always sexually charged which might have been funny or even interesting if the author hadn't beated it to death by the second page of her dialouge. In the end, you pray for her to leave.Nora is a fun, predictable work that avid manga fans will find familiar. It is worth considering for a light hearted no think read. However, do not expect much from it.

I found this manga volume while browsing the shelves at my local library, so I checked it out to see what it was like.Nora, an unruly demon, is the main character of the series. He has defied his Dark Liege too often, so for "education," he is sent to live among mortals. Nora enters into a bond of servitude with student Kazuma Makkari. When the seal for Nora's form is released, he becomes Cerberus (as the name implies, he becomes a vicious dog). Unfortunately, Nora can only use magic when Kazuma grants him permission. Kazuma isn't willing to grant that permission easily. The Dark Liege is wanting the two of them to work together and crack down on the renegade demon factions in the human world.This manga has an interesting premise to it, and it's something I wouldn't mind reading future volumes of if I run across them at the library. I think readers who enjoy the Inuyasha manga series might find an interest in this series as well.I wrote this review after checking out a copy of this manga volume through the King County Library System.

I actually read this entire series all the way up to volume 9 and it was a tough read. If I hadn't bought most of it 2nd hand I likely wouldn't have finished. Perhaps some of it has to do with the translation, but there were a lot of things I didn't like:- The character development seemed really shallow and uninteresting.- Most of the characters were extremely unlikable and unrelatable.- None of the "jokes" were particularly funny- The artwork was average in the best parts and extremely sloppy at the worst parts, especially later on in the series.The things I liked:- Some of the art for the action sequences was cool.- The plot idea was interesting, despite having a poor execution.This wasn't a terrible series, just unremarkable as far as shonen goes. I'd only recommend it to well-travelled shonen fans that have read almost everything else.