A Deal with Lucifer by Clio Hui ᐧ Kiri : Angels, Demons, Exorcists and Father Issues
Official Synopsis:
“Hikari is a seemingly normal high school student. His innocent and naive character led him to accept a deal offered by a demon called Lucifer, who promised to fulfil all his wishes in exchange for his soul…”
Tags and themes:
#Action #Fantasy #Supernatural #Demons #FallenAngels #Exorcists #Schoollife #Romance #Shonen #Manga
What’s it about and why should I read it?
There is always going to be a catch when a good-looking stranger makes an offer that seems too good to be true, but despite all the recent efforts in educating the public about scams, some people still fall prey willingly. This is the case with A Deal with Lucifer (ADWL), a manga that delivers familiar characters and tropes one would expect from a title laden with biblical references: A simple-minded teen mortgages his soul with a demon disguised as an attractive transfer student ends up with caveats on top of the side-effects of suddenly becoming too popular, too smart and too athletic. Such irregularity raises suspicion and countermeasures from undercover agents from mysterious organisations pretending to be school staff. What started as a light-hearted and humorous campus romance story between said teen and cute demon girls soon evolves into dramatic clashes between heaven, hell and earth. The protagonist’s secret identity and hidden powers could potentially disturb the fragile balance between realms.
The main appeal of ADWL is its aesthetics: from beautifully rendered covers and character illustrations, to skillful panelling of the interior pages and dynamic action scenes, the pacing of the narrative is quick, leaving readers flipping the pages and devouring the drama, occasionally laughing at how the author references and reinterprets vaguely familiar tropes into deadpan visual humour, while other times empathising with the trauma that the protagonists had to experience but tried to hide.
One central idea in ADWL is that affirmation from authoritative figures can affect children’s sense of self-worth: Childhood trauma can lead to irreversible relationship damages, because some brash and impressionable youths tried too hard to impress their fathers who failed to express affections. While traditionally, the epic battle between heaven and hell over the control of the human realm serves as cautionary tales to the consequences of disobedience towards the creator, ADWL injects a dose of human touch into the possible reasons behind such acts of defiance: perhaps not even supernatural entities are free from insecurities, imperfection and suffering, perhaps tragedies can be avoided with more communication and forgiveness.
Where can I get it?
Purchase the physical books from the publisher’s official website:
They’re also available in libraries.
Format:
On-going manga series. Physical and digital publication. Available in English and Chinese.
- A Deal With Lucifer (2015–17), 116 pages x 3 volumes complete. Monochrome inner pages.
- A Deal With Lucifer II Prequel (2019–), 116 pages x 1 volume on-going. Monochrome inner pages.
