As of writing this review, I have just now finished the long and beautiful journey that was this manga. I'm writing this to get out my thoughts on this series, as well as, hopefully, get you all to give it a shot and read it. That being said, let's begin.
The manga I'm talking about is Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid, which is mostly known in english speaking countries as The Duke of Death and His Black Maid. It is the first and only manga of the artist, Inoue, but, thanks to the wide success the manga received, it managed to get not only one, but a whole two season of anime adaptations.
The story is about a young, noble boy, which we will call Duke for the time being, that has been suffering by a terrible curse cast upon him at a young age, getting him separated from his family and locked in a mansion deep in the woods. The curse is one that resembles King Midas' though, instead of turning things to gold, it kills them. The Duke is therefore unable to touch any living creature, not even flowers are safe from his curse.
Thankfully, he is not alone. Close to him in the mansion are his butler Rob, an old man with a bad eyesight but a big heart, and his maid Alice, a flirty girl that never misses an opportunity to get close to his Duke, most times startling him. The two of them are destined to never touch eachother, yet they helplessly fall in love with one another and so they choose to find a way to dispel the Duke's curse.
The art-style used by Inoue throughot this manga is a rather weird yet fascinating one. I can best describe it as dark chibis, with round faces and short bodies, yet somehow realistic and, at times, poetic.
The characters are really well thought up, and can be distinguished in comedic-relief characters, such as Rob, and thought-provoking characters, which I cannot name in this. Both the groups do their job well, allowing for some breaks between the dark part of the story.
There are 223 actual chapters, excluding extras, omakes and .5 chapters. Each one of them is arohnd 20 pages long, making for an experience that will last a long time.
First of all, I must say that I absolutely loved this manga. It accompanied me throughout a whole year before I finished it, and not a single time did I regret starting it.
I always looked forward to a new chapter, and I actually got kinda sad when a chapter named like the series itself, indicating the manga was ending, came out.
The more the story progressed, the more I understood each character's motivations, even coming to like many antagonists.
It was truly a journey that I cannot recommend hard enough, and I definitely cannot give it anything below a 9 out of 10.
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