Time of Review: c217
I like Kuro no Maou. The start is a little bit of a chore to get through but once it opens up a little the worldbuilding is quite interesting and there is a very wide range of characters and concepts. Despite this, the author manages to delicately balance what fleshing out is required with not dragging it on too much which makes the novel feel well developed without being too slow. The motives of the antagonists side are mainly a little one dimensional (wrong beliefs/race = rape and pillage) which is a slightly dissapointing way to build up the tension but there are a couple of exceptions.
One of the things I like the most about Kuro no Maou is that characters aren’t safe, which I think adds greatly to the sense of desperation and/or helplessness which is prevalent in many cases. Characters will die. If you can’t handle getting attached to a character only to see them have their head lopped off 20 chapters later, Kuro no Maou isn’t for you.
So far, Kuro no Maou hasn’t tried too many different things, but what it has tried has worked out pretty well. If you’re looking for something a bit grimmer, a bit more brutal, or a bit more desperate, Kuro no Maou is worth a try.
Oh, and there’s a yandere.