Year of Release: 2009-2011
Status: Completed
Story: Youn In-Wan
Artwork: Yang Kyung-il
Defense Devil is a Japanese serialized manga written by Youn In-Wan and illustrated by Yang Kyung-il. It was published in Shōnen Sunday from April 2009 until it's end in June 2011. The complete series runs 100 chapters long.
The story follows the rather comical struggle of Mephisto Barto Dertov Reffertlark Kucabara (aka: Kucabara), the 3rd son to the King of Hell, and his demon buddy Bchuler, who might as well be referred to from here on out as the demon world's strongest shape-shifting midget.
The title basically explains the majority of everything about the series; he's a goddamn demon lawyer. No, he's a goddamn royal demon lawyer. Of course, there's more to it than that. Kucabara and his best buddy Bchuler were tricked into doing something taboo in the demon world, and were caught in the act. As punishment, the King of Hell removed all power from both Kucabara and Bchuler, and banished them from the underworld. Kucabara spends his time in purgatory (when he isn't in the human world stocking up on a healthy diet of ramen), waiting for a chance to meet innocent souls who were wrongfully sent on their way to hell. If the innocent signs a contract with Kucabara, he gathers evidence to defend them from shinigami who want their souls. If successful, the innocent soul can avoid hell and return to the living and Kucabara can gather from them a substance called "dark matter," which will allow Kucabara to regain his lost powers and return to the underworld once he's gathered enough of it. But strange things are afoot... people are dead who shouldn't be, and shinigami who are forbidden from entering the human world are wandering freely, wreaking havoc.
The illustrations are on par with the majority of Shonen-related material. I find the artwork in it very reminiscent of Katekyō Hitman Reborn!, although the story is significantly better in Defense Devil, in my opinion. I often found myself rooting for a shinigami named Shugal in the series, more so than the protaganist. The series was originally published as a one-shot in 2008, but due to the popularity of it on it's original release, the creators responded by turning it into a full series of it's own. This manga title has action, comedy, romance, absurdity, and some seriousness (although not too much). Some common themes throughout the series are never giving up on what you believe in most, staying true to yourself, loving someone the way they are, and innocence until proven guilty, among other random themes. The most recurrent theme is not judging a book by it's cover.
If I were to read it again, I'm fairly certain I would enjoy it just as much as the first time through. Worth the read if you have a sense of humor and enjoy reading manga. Unfortunately, this was never adapted into an anime series.
You can find out more about Defense Devil here.
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