These days I’m hard pressed to read a lot of manga as opposed to written novels, so Mayu Shinjo’s new series, Demon Love Spell, was a welcomed reprieve. Miko is a budding shrine maiden who is still developing her abilities to banish spirits, a skill and duty that has passed down from generation to generation in her family for centuries.
She strives to keep her family’s tradition alive, but she has to get better. She sees one opportunity to do so when she meets Kagura, an incubus demon who feeds on women’s desires for strength. Miko’s spell inadvertently works to incapacitate his abilities, even shrinking him to the size of a pixy! But this plan isn’t full proof and he now has his sights set on her. While not completely evil, Kagura aides Miko in banishing spirits with intentions more evil than “lady-killing.”
It’s a cute, short, and occasionally humorous read. While it’s not what I’d consider explicit, the implied sexual themes are very obvious. He is an incubus with an appetite! I will say that I like how his smoldering sexiness is balanced with implementing his chibi form whenever Miko sees fit. Their dynamics shift at these points, which gives the series breathing room to put the two on screen while limiting the sap.
Overall, not a lot struck me as particularly original or innovative when it came to the art or the story, but I didn’t come in expecting that anyway. The plot is still entertaining even with the elements that I’ve seen before.
I liked the two lead characters overall and I expect a lot of emotional development as the series progresses. This is only the first volume, so it’s going to take time to build to something deeper I think.
*ARC Provided by the publisher