Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Harem, Slice of Life, Isekai

A Demon Lord’s Fluffy New Life!

The third and final of my J-Novel Club new license reviews, Now I’m a Demon Lord, mixes the ever-popular genres of slice-of-life, cute fluffy wholesomeness alongside dungeon building and defence.

The story itself follows Yuki, newly isekai’d as a demon lord and now manager of a dungeon. As his dungeon area increases, so too do its occupants. From a young vampiress and two beastmen to even the queen of the dragons herself, they’ll all join Yuki in basking in the wonderful every day.

As a new license, Now I’m a Demon Lord is 100% my personal favourite of the three and is already a contender for my favourite new license of the year, and that’s for several key reasons.

First, this series sets itself apart from other slice-of-life series through the sheer amount of unfiltered reactions given by the main protagonist, Yuki. His thoughts are uncensored, and he isn’t afraid to speak his mind, which I think goes along well with the type of personality the author has given him. This is then amplified to a hilarious degree once Lefi enters the scene.

The top dog of the dragons, so to speak, her facade quickly crumbles revealing a childish, sweets-loving woman. Yuki and Lefi’s interactions are one of the main reasons to read this series. They have instant chemistry with one another and their constant bickering and bantering is always a joy to read.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the series thrives as more characters are added. Each bringing their little quirks (or sometimes big quirks) to the table, there’s always something interesting going on which brings the series to life. Case and point, Lew and Leila, who are added by the end of the volume. Lew stays at the dungeon for her master, fluffrir, whilst Leila is always engaged in her information gathering usually leading to some funny consequences.

Moving away from the slice-of-life elements, those who enjoy dungeon building and management might also find something that’ll take their interest. The climax of the novel sees the kingdom, or more specifically the prince, fail to learn their lesson and leave the demon lord well alone. As a result, the dungeon comes under attack by the princes’ forces.

Yuki’s dungeon strategies finally come into play here as he uses dungeon traps to his full advantage, leaving a massacre in his wake. As an aside, it should be noted how Yuki acts once becoming a demon lord. He does, rather quickly, lose his connection to humanity and is willing to kill many thousands of them to protect his family and new life – a tad too quick for my liking.

Overall, Now I’m a Demon Lord is a fantastic slice-of-life comedy series that leaves a rather refreshing impression. Starting strong with a unique protagonist alongside some great side characters, I’m looking forward to reading where the author will take the series next.