About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series My Demon Cry Baby, Maria. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to depression, suicidal ideation, implied stalking, obsession, death, dubcon/noncon, impersonation, chronic illness, contractual relationship, attempted murder, and BDSM, as it appears in the manga.
Synopsis:
Satoru is in mourning. His unrequited love, Jun Mariya, has passed away before Satoru ever got the chance to talk to him, much less confess to him. In the throes of sorrow, Satoru crumples up and marks all over the love letter he had intended to give to Jun someday before throwing it aside. Then, he lies there, expressing his want to die. Out of nowhere, a voice calls out to him, offering to take his life. It is a fluffy little black smoke cloud, claiming to be a demon, having been summoned from Satoru's inadvertent scribbling of a summoning circle.
Satoru is surprised, of course, but intrigued, as the demon offers him a wish in exchange for his life span, which the demon will steadily feed on for the remainder of Satoru's life. Satoru can only think of one wish: to see Jun. The demon takes this opportunity to lure Satoru even further, suddenly shifting into Jun's exact likeness. Satoru is shocked but is more than happy to make this deal so he can be with Jun. Similarly, the demon is delighted to make such an easy deal.
What the innocent demon doesn't realize is that Satoru has some depraved plans for this demonic lookalike, and he has every intention of acting on them until his dying breath.
Review:
The art in this is cute. I wouldn't say it is the cleanest style around and isn't always consistent, but some of the designs and expressions, particularly of our demon Maria, are top-tier. Maria is supposed to look identical to Jun, but oddly enough, he seems even more attractive than his counterpart. I'm glad he took on a different version of Jun, helping to distinguish the two and highlighting their differing personalities physically. Maria is the best-looking character and is my personal favorite in the cast of this short series.
And thankfully, I am not the only one madly in love with Maria. Satoru is physically attracted to him, of course, but Maria also draws the attention of Jun and the Grim Reaper, creating a little harem for himself, which I love. The only person we see him with is Satoru, but Jun and Grim both shoot their shots, which is great. This little harem situation also sets up the moment Satoru realizes his attraction to Maria isn't limited to the physical but the emotional as well, which is always a nice realization and transition. I also appreciated the solution of getting rid of the Grim Reaper (and spawning a spin-off that I'll be reviewing soon), which was his meeting Jun. Since Jun and Maria are identical, he willingly took Jun over Maria. It was a neat and tidy way of getting rid of the harem, so Maria and Satoru could be together.
On the topic of Jun, I really like that Jun is attracted to himself. It's not explicitly stated whether or not he is autosexual, but I like that he seems to embody that (plus the scene of him masturbating on a mirror is something else). It's something I don't see very often, at least not in a literal sense, and I really want to find more series with autosexual individuals. I especially like it in this case as Jun shifts from Satoru's main love interest to a rival. Jun seeks out a relationship with Maria, the closest person to himself. It's just an enjoyable relationship dynamic shift and creates a lot of interesting tension. While Jun isn't my favorite character, he adds a lot of interesting elements to the story.
I enjoyed most of this series, but one thing that wasn't to my taste (that actually usually is) is our top Satoru. He comes off as extremely creepy, though I think it's intentional for both the comedy and the story. Red is one of my favorite colors, and I am all for a red flag top, but there is just something about Satoru that goes beyond a red flag top for me. I would say it's his obsession and stalking of Jun that leads him to assault Maria, but I've read plenty of titles with obsessive and stalker tops that didn't give me this same feeling. I guess it's because he's meant to be comedic in his stalker-isms? I'm not sure, but Satoru is towards the bottom of the pile when it comes to the tops I've read. He's not unattractive, mind you, but something about his characterization isn't my favorite.
Results:
Regardless of how I feel about Satoru, I really like this. It's goofy, smutty, weird, and wacky, which all leads to a good time overall. Maria is the best, and I think this is worth reading for him alone, though the mirror masturbation panel is a pretty good reason, too. Don't come in expecting anything serious or wholesome, and you'll have a really good time. Then, you can enjoy the spin-off right after.
Have you read My Demon Cry Baby, Maria? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!