HeLck vol 1 by Nanaki Nanao

Recently, a demon lord was slain by a human hero. Now, the Elite Demons are hosting a tournament to see who will claim the title of the new Demon Lord. There are some very strong candidates, but none a strong as Helck, a human warrior who claims to hate humans! Lady Vermillion and her sidekick try to put Helck through challenges where he is sure to lose, but Helck proves time and again that he is better than what they think. They can't stand the idea of a human ruling as a Demon Lord, and they don't trust that Helck really hates all humans. Try as they might, Helck can do nearly anything, and he's loved by he audience, so how are they going to get him out of this tournament?

---

This is a pretty silly title, but a lot of the gags are taken from older titles or cartoons like the Looney Tunes or Inspector Gadget as she constantly hints that she's going to get Helck the next time. Vermillion tends to explode with fire emanating from her head when she’s angry, so there’s a running gag that the tower keeps getting shorter every time when she blows off another floor. This gag reminds me a lot of Inside Out. So there are a lot of recycled jokes that might be fresh for some readers, but it seems to me like a lot of borrowed material in place of originality. Most of the characters are pretty forgettable, and not a lot of time is spent with the other demon contestants until the final two chapters. This seems very much like the mangaka had some jokes to get through instead of characters to explore.

Sara's Rating: 5/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: January 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781974736720 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 5/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Humor, Action Adventure, VIZ Media