Fantasy clashes with reality in this sweet and comedic BL manga about the eighteen-year-old descendant of an onmyoji and the buff but somehow helpless king of demons.

High school senior Akiharu Abe is tired of working through the summer at his family’s temple. Desperate for some help with his chores, he accidentally invokes a spell from his deceased mother and summons… the demon Satan?!

Now, instead of catching a break, Akiharu is stuck with a clueless demon wreaking havoc at home and at school. And not only that, but Satan needs Akiharu to ‘feed’ him divine power with steamy kisses…

NOTE: This book contains mature content and is intended for readers 18 years of age and over.

The manga blurb describes this as “sweet and comedic” and I’d have to agree. This was really cute. Akiharu is slated to inherit his father’s temple; in the meantime he has a ton of chores related to the temple’s upkeep. One day, he focuses on the strange star-shaped birthmark he has on his inner arm, and makes a wish based on a spell he heard from his mother before she died…and ta-da! Out comes Satan!

Satan wants to make a deal–he recognizes that Akiharu is special and contains “divine power,” and he wants a piece of it. So in exchange for some of that power, he will grant Akiharu’s desire. Which is…to get some help with chores around the house. This befuddles Satan but he does as he is tasked.

The kicker is when Satan randomly kisses Akiharu and explains that’s how his demonic powers get replenished. And so, for better or worse, the duo are stuck together with a slow blossoming of romantic feelings…after all, how many times can you kiss someone without starting to feel something? Add to that a growing closeness at home and at school, and it’s no wonder their relationship starts changing.

As much as Akiharu and Satan’s feelings (and dependency) start to grow, there’s a bigger issue…Satan is taking too much of Akiharu’s life energy. When Akiharu collapses after a sweet confession, Satan decides to give all of the life energy he has taken back to Akiharu, and disappears to the demon realm, where he begins fading to nothingness, like ashes in the wind.

I’m not going to spoil things more than I already have, but suffice it to say that this romance has a happy ending that also surprised me a little with a special transformation.

A highlight of this manga, besides the humor and romance (and Satan’s backstory), is the artwork. I think the characters are absolutely gorgeous, well-detailed, and unique looking. The leads are particularly handsome, with a shout-out to Satan himself. Of course he has to be tempting!

This was a delightful manga and a fun little excursion in my reading life. Thanks to Goodreads’ new rating policy, I’m giving this one a 4.5.

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This manga was received as a digital ARC directly from the publisher, TOKYOPOP. I am happy to freely leave a review of this work. Better the Devil You Know Than the Devil You Don’t Know releases October 20. You can pre-order now or buy on the release date from a variety of booksellers, or directly from the publisher.