The Fall 2019 Manga Guide

Nicola Traveling Around The Demons' World

What's It About? 

Nicola was raised by her grandmother, a witch who didn't want to teach her granddaughter magic because of human prejudice against magic users. Feeling alone and like she didn't fit in after her grandmother's death, little Nicola made her way to the demon world – and promptly collapsed.

A passing devil peddler named Simon found the girl and took her in, and now the two of them travel around the demon world, learning new things and making discoveries everywhere they go – even if Nicola can't quite keep it secret that she's a human.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World is written and illustrated by Asaya Miyanaga. Seven Seas released it in October and it's available in paperback ($12.99) and digitally ($9.99).

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

This three-month period of September – November is a good one for child-friendly manga (and manga adjacent) releases, and Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World is perhaps the most imaginative. The story adheres to some tried-and-true elements of fiction for younger readers – most notably the Orphan Fantasy, where Nicola's parents are taken care of so that she can have the adventure in the first place – but it also keeps things from being too scary by providing her with a guardian in the form of Simon, a young devil man who picks her up when she collapses along the side of the road once she makes it to the demons' world. Since Simon is a peddler (apparently dealing in sketchy antiques), this gives the plot a perfect reason to move the two characters around this strange new land.

Perhaps what marks the piece the most clearly as a kids' story is the fact that both Nicola and Simon learn a lesson everywhere they go. They're pretty basic ones, too – don't judge by stereotypes or appearances, what you're afraid of isn't always bad, people of all types can get along…the usual for the chapter book set. While this is a bit heavy-handed for older readers, it actually isn't all that preachy, and the chapter in the restaurant where Nicola makes her point to Simon has some nice reversal of their roles, with the little girl as the teacher. The magic tournament chapter is perhaps the weakest, largely because it doesn't do much with its premise beyond what you'd expect.

The artwork for the story is interesting, very heavy on grays and blacks with almost sketchy lines. It can be a little difficult to read at times, and anyone with vision issues may find it a bit too much. The monster designs are kept relatively simple, though, and that helps with readability a lot. And just because things are simple doesn't mean that Miyanaga doesn't get creative with the creatures; their simplicity makes them interesting simply for the way we can get so much out of so few lines.

While I think this title will be more appealing for younger readers, that doesn't take away from the fact that it's still a cute little Halloweeny read.

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Faye Hopper

Rating:

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World is a very good kid's manga. It's the kind of well-crafted, gorgeous fantasy story that I would have devoured as a child—especially as one who grew up on similar things like Moomin and Spirited Away. It's got great art, fun characters and thoughtfulness and empathy, like the best of its fairy tale inspirations.

Like the best of its genre, Niocla uses its imagination and magical devices as a vector for smart, essential messaging. For instance: One of its best chapters is a commentary on essentialism from the perspective of looking at the various magical races of the world. Simon and Nicola make a bet to see if all the various races of the bar match the stereotypes Simon prescribes to them, under the guise of him being ‘world-wise’. One by one, the races are proven to break their assigned molds: A race assumed to be inherently cowardly will display bravery, one assumed to be only lackadaisical will exhibit pickiness, and so on. In so many other fantasy stories, for adults and for children, racial essentialism is taken as a given, never questioned. But in Nicola, the fantasy frame is used to impart valuable life lessons about getting to know others before deciding on their characteristics, of not painting all people of all races or demographics with the same, stifling brush. And it even ends on a note of social critique, with one of the races being a servant class and Nicola commenting on how terrible that is. Its not the only instance of the book valuing this sort of active empathy either (Nicola discovers that the ghosts that haunt a hotel were simply wanting to play with her, even though she was frightened of them, Nicola uses her magic to protect people being harassed by guards), and it's remarkable both from the perspective of being addressed directly to children and as thoughtful, honest storytelling in its own right.

Nicola's art is also great. It's got this chalky, storybook style that captures its influences perfectly. It genuinely looks like it came straight out of the work of Tove Jansson, and adds so much flavor and dimension. The world of Nicola is scratchy place full of smiling demons and wonders and magic abound, and the art captures this beautifully.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World is a whimsical, fun and surprisingly thoughtful fairy tale that I can heartily recommend to anyone with kids. Or anyone who simply likes good, imaginative fantasy, for that matter. It certainly brought me back to my childhood, curled up under the covers with a flashlight oo-ing and aa-ing, and that is never a bad place to revisit.