Demonizer Zilch


Demonizer Zilch is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Milan Matra. The series is licensed by Yen Press in North America.

Plot

Sixteen-year-old Haruomi Io is haunted by dreams of how when he was younger his mother, sister, and childhood friend all died in a tragic accident. One day, Haruomi has an inexplicable pain in his chest, and is attacked shortly afterwards by a girl. After he is able to escape from her, he encounters another girl, who shows signs of being surprised to see him. The second girl is even more shocked when Haruomi's eyes begin to glow after he has another fit, this time in the form of a massive headache. She is then ordered by her boss to kill Haruomi, but he is rescued by a demon named Zilch. Zilch shares a kiss with Haruomi that infuses his body and strange powers. Haruomi soon finds himself caught in the middle of a war between demons and a religious order called the "Seventh Gospel Organization". He later learns that a company that his father worked for had found religious artifacts which included King Solomon's ring that they used to fuse unbaptized female children with one of 72 demons of King Solomon. As events unfold, Haruomi also discovers what actually happened to his lost loved ones.

Characters

;Haruomi Io
;Zilch Kanoa
;Murohime Yakagi
;Hato Mitsukuri
;Tounogi Haime
;Kurohazumi Shijima

Secondary characters

;Sitri
;Tobari Kemizuka
;Evelina Zieliński
;Karen Houzumi
;Sophia
;Hellentza Fitzengahen

Release

Milan Matra launched Demonizer Zilch in the October issue of Fujimi Shobo's shōnen manga magazine Monthly [Dragon Age] on September 9, 2014, and ended it on September 8, 2017. The series was released as five tankōbon volumes between March 9, 2015, and November 9, 2017. Yen Press announced their license to the series at Anime Expo 2015 on July 5, 2015.

Volumes

Reception

The English adaptation of Demonizer Zilch has received negative reviews from various sources. Sean Gaffney from Manga Bookshelf was rather disappointed with the manga, as it was almost exactly like a manga he had just read. He referred to the main character Haruomi as "passive and aloof", but did go on to say that the fanservice was not "mind-numbingly offensive". Jason Thompson from Otaku USA also reviewed the first volume, criticizing the artwork for making the characters appear doll-like. He also felt that the name dropping of Christian references and the love triangle were unoriginal. Thompson indicated that he had disliked the author's previous work, Omamori Himari, but did not go into detail on the matter. Despite the criticism, the first volume of the English translation ranked at number 7 on The [New York Times] manga Best Seller list for the week of March 20, 2016.