Manga Review: The Devil Does Exist Vol. 1 by Mitsuba Takanashi

Title: The Devil Does Exist Vol. 1
Author: Mitsuba Takanashi
Genre: YA Manga / Romance
Publication Date: January 19th, 2004

“High school is difficult for most kids. But for Kayano, a shy girl whose single mother seems to work all the time, it’s even worse than usual. She’s so afraid of drawing attention to herself, in fact, that she can’t tell the handsome Kamijo how much she loves him-until one day she finally gets up the courage to write him a letter confessing her feelings. But her plans go awry when the letter falls into the hands of the school’s most notorious students, Edogawa Takeru. To Kayano, Takeru seems to be Satan himself. Not only is he devilishly handsome, he is the son of the school’s principal. Even the teachers dare not stand up to him. Kayano, appalled by how badly her first attempt at a social life has gone, thinks she can struggle through and get her letter back. But Takeru enjoys watching her suffer. Just when she thinks she’s solved the problem, her mother comes home to announce she’s getting married — to principal Edogawa! Now Kayano will have to live with this devil Takeru 24/7! How will she cope with This literal living hell?” (Goodreads)

I haven’t read this series for probably three years now but in my life I have read it over four times. I remember picking this up for the first time at my library when I was teen. I was immediately drawn in and I loved the characters and the plot. I devoured the whole series in a week.

Whenever I take a break for years and come back to manga, this is the one I choose to pick up first. It is sentimental and I just really love it! This definitely wouldn’t be for everyone, especially if you don’t like taboo topics. Takeru and Kayano are step-brother and step-sister but knew each other before their parents decided to get married.

Takeru is a bad boy. He doesn’t like to follow rules and because his dad is the principal, he thinks he can get away with anything. Kayano is definitely the opposite of him and that’s probably why they were drawn to each other. She does learn to stick up for herself but she has a long road ahead before she can take on the world, ha.

I love that they each have their own friend group and they are very different. They each have great friends who stand by their side and I like that.

Overall, I liked the beginning and I am excited to reread this series once again!