Reincarnated into a new world as the newest Demon King, with a mission from the goddess who brought him to defeat the other Demon Kings and unite the world … by any means necessary.
Kingdom Building Realism
A category of fantasy that I really enjoy is Kingdom Building, think That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy, Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, and How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Now, not all Kingdom Building manga is isekai, but all of those including this one are.
The appeal of these stories is seeing the growth and development of a new kingdom; how it’s formed, what skills do they need, what resources they can provide, what connections and trading opportunities exist, etc. While I did really like reading The Reformation of the World As Overseen by a Realist Demon King, I do think it is a little weak in the kingdom-building aspect.
Now, the first volume did have an official release not that long ago and covers 6 chapters, but there are additional chapters for the series online, unofficially. This series is not ecchi, but it certainly does have some suggestive scenes, fairly exposed characters, and a character who just wants brothels, but these scenes and moments are very few and far between, so just know that if that is something you do not enjoy.
Overall, the first chapters are very strong, the first volume was enjoyable, however as the story went on it did become weaker than where it started.
A Machiavellian Demon King?
Now, the setup for this series is the main character was reincarnated in a new world as a demon king, the newest and lowest ranking, where 72 demon kings exist fighting to be the last one standing. His plan is to take a more realistic approach, using whatever means he can to achieve victory. For example, he knows from games that demon kings hold on to treasure that heroes end up using to defeat them, so he's just like get rid of that, destroy it.
In the beginning, the main character, Demon King Astaroth, is very cunning, even one of the chapters is titled after his Machiavellianism, but once he has his kingdom and starts amassing followers, he starts to become much more cautious. I loved his attitude in the beginning. He was very much like we find any heroes who could kill me, even if they're children, we do away with them or we use them to play them against other demon kings. If I get into a situation where I can't win, oh well I lose, I didn't deserve to be the top demon king.
His previous life is a bit of a mystery at 20 chapters. He knows about things like cars and video games, but the small glimpses of his past that are shown have a more classical European look. He does reference Japan a few times, but the way he speaks about it seems more like he has not been there, just researched it.
Heroes and Demons
As for the supporting characters, we are introduced to a few early in the series.
The character Eve was the first demon summoned to serve him and provide information about the world he is in. She was named by the main character, is very loyal to him, and loves him dearly. Her character, at least at this point in the story, is not a physically strong character meant to fight in battles alongside him. She is full of knowledge to help the main character in other ways.
The next character we meet is actually a hero the main character summons named Toshizou Hijikata. He is a very capable swordsman from Japan who wants nothing more than an honorable place to die.
Then there’s the character Jeanne D’Arc who is a hero from France that was summoned to the world. She is a character created to be a version of Joan of Arc. This character I personally had issues with, and kind of why I paused reading at the moment. Her character’s entire personality right now is to either talk about what God has said to her or how she is now the wife of the main character and will have his children because god said so. I'm just not a fan of these types of characters.
Worth the Read
While kingdom building is an important point in this series as to be a great Demon King the main character has to have a great kingdom, it really does not take the time to showcase or focus on the development. It’s a very fast-paced series. By the time it gets to 20 chapters, there’s already a kingdom where all races are living peacefully together, and the main character defeated 2 out of the 72 Demon Lords.
It's still a fun read, starts very strong, and volume 2 releases in November of this year.