Daemons of the Shadow Realm

Synopsis

Set in a world where certain humans can control a duo of supernatural creatures called Daemons, twins Yuru and Asa, "born between day and night" in a premodern Higashi village, are prophesied to wield great power. As a teenager, Yuru learns that he was separated from his sister at a young age, and that the Higashi village has been cut off from the now modern world (called "Lowlands" by the villagers) for centuries, where Asa grew up. Along the way to find each other, the twins learn of their abilities to control all Daemons and eventually discover they must unite to save the world from destruction.

Production

Before creating the series, manga author Hiromu Arakawa told her editors at Monthly Shōnen Gangan that she wanted to create something outside of the fantasy genre. Discussions regarding the new series commenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Arakawa to undertake research for her subsequent project. Arakawa had long been interested in occultism and yōkai, which formed the conceptual basis of the new work. Although she also considered fantasy elements, she ultimately chose to focus more heavily on the occult. In preparation for writing Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Arakawa had already produced multiple storyboards intended for the first volume. She consulted numerous books during the writing process, some of which were works she had admired since childhood; her editor cited Tono Monogatari as an example. The manga was officially announced in the August 2021 issue of Square Enix's shōnen manga anthology magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan (released on July 12), in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Arakawa's first series, Fullmetal Alchemist (2001–2010).

Arakawa stated that the characters Right and Left, who assist Yuru, were originally conceived sometime around when Fullmetal Alchemist began serialization, though they were in prototype form at that time and did not have fully developed personalities. Arakawa found herself fascinated by their character designs even before their personalities were finalized. The concept of the Daemon originated from the idea of humans forming contracts with supernatural entities. Despite their otherworldly nature, Arakawa intended for her human characters to develop friendly bonds with the Daemons akin to ordinary human relationships, which became central to Yuru's dynamic with Left and Right. Her editor, being a fan of her earlier works, found it challenging to maintain a strictly professional relationship with her. Arakawa sought to limit the number of comedic elements in the manga in order to counterbalance the serious tone for which she was known; nevertheless, she appreciated comedy for the charm it added to her characters.

The concept of twins was one Arakawa had contemplated for some time before the manga began, and she wanted their origins to resemble mythological narratives, lending them a striking appeal. She considered various possibilities for their ages during the planning phase. To align with Asa's early antagonistic role, Arakawa chose to give her black hair and dark clothing; conversely, Yuru was assigned opposite colors to create a strong contrast. Some aspects of Yuru's personal development drew on Arakawa's own childhood experiences. She did not aim to present a curse narrative per se, but rather to evoke an unsettling atmosphere through the twins' origins. Because Yuru and Asa had been separated for an extended period, Arakawa did not write them as closely bonded siblings. Consequently, she did not regard them as having a conventional brother–sister relationship; instead, she depicted Asa as markedly polite toward Yuru, including the use of Japanese honorifics. Nevertheless, from the outset of the series, Arakawa had already determined that they would eventually develop into genuine equals.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, Daemons of the Shadow Realm started in Square Enix's shōnen manga anthology magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan on December 10, 2021. Square Enix has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 10, 2022. As of July 10, 2026, 13 volumes have been released.

In July 2022, Square Enix Manga & Books announced that they licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume released on April 25, 2023.

These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced during Crunchyroll's panel at Anime Expo in July 2025. The series is produced by Bones Film and directed by Masahiro Andō, with Noboru Takagi handling series composition, Nobuhiro Arai designing the characters, and Kenichiro Suehiro composing the music. Its first season aired from April 4 to September 19, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks, running for two consecutive cours. A second season has been announced.

Reception

By March 2026, the manga had over six million copies in circulation. By September 2026, it had over 7.5 million copies in circulation. The series ranked 19th on the 2022 "Book of the Year" list by Da Vinci magazine. It ranked 15th in the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers; it ranked second on the 2024 edition. It ranked second in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2023 list; it was ranked third in the 2024 list. It won Rakuten Kobo's first ever E-book Manga Award in the "I Want to Read it Now! Featured Manga" category in 2023. It ranked second in the 2023 Next Manga Award in the print manga category. The series won the seventh Tsutaya Comic Award's grand prize in 2023. It was nominated for the 17th Manga Taishō in 2024, and placed second with 73 points. It was nominated for the 48th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2024.

Early critical response to the manga was positive as Francesco Cacciatore of Screen Rant named Daemons of the Shadow Realm as one of the best new manga titles to debut in 2021, highlighting the potential the manga shows despite only having one chapter released by the end of the year. Additionally, Cacciatore likened Daemons of the Shadow Realm to Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba due to both series featuring a brother and sister pair as protagonists. Carlyle Edmundson of Screen Rant compared the concept of Tsugai present in the manga to that of Stands seen in Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. Demelza of Anime UK News drew multiple comparisons between Yuru's story and that of Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, noting similarities not only in character design but also in the protagonists' progressive familiarization with supernatural concepts across their respective introductions. Parallels were identified between Yuru's Daemons and guardians and Edward's role as a State Alchemist within the military forces of Amestris in Arakawa's previous manga. Víctor Teruel Sánchez of Akihabara Station praised Arakawa's ability to blend a dark narrative with comedic elements. He commended the handling of Yuru's capacity to control Daemons and escape his village, which lent the manga a distinct sense of mystery. The artwork also received positive responses, particularly with regard to both character designs and backgrounds.