The Kyo Kara Maoh! light novel, anime, and manga series features a cast of characters created by Tomo Takabayashi and Temari Matsumoto. The story mainly takes place in an alternate world, in a country called . Yuri Shibuya, a Japanese high school student from Earth, travels between this other world and Earth by coming in contact with water. On Yuri's first visit to the other world he is informed he is the king of The Great Demon Kingdom.
The Demon Kingdom is split into 11 different sections. One section is ruled over directly by the king and each of the rest are ruled over by one of the ten noble families of The Demon Kingdom (Christ, Voltaire, Grantz, Bielefelt, Karbelnikoff, Wincott, Spitzweg, Gyllenhaal, Rochefort, and Radford). "Von" comes before the surname of anyone who is a member of one of the noble families.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 8
The Original King's era took place 4000 years before the present storyline.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 72 Volume 1 was released on December 26, 2005 in Japan.
Genres Comedy, Fantasy
Main characters
Yuri Shibuya
is the protagonist of the story. He was born in the United States and grew up in Saitama, Japan. He is a high school student who enjoys baseball more than textbooks.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 14 The kanji Yuri's parents chose for his name means profitable, so people make fun of him by saying (roughly translated meaning "If Shibuya is profitable, then Harajuku is unprofitable"). His mother insists that he is named Yuri because he was born in July and has nothing to do with money or the fact his father is a banker. In the English dub, this became the pun "Yuri is short for urine." He later finds out that Conrad inspired his mother to use the name since while she was in labor, he said that July is called "Yūri" where he comes from.
When Yuri first arrives in The Demon Kingdom, he is told that he is the 27th King of the Demons.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 1Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 38 Throughout the series, he strives to create a world in which demons and humans can live together in peace, something that progresses slowly but surely as the series goes on.
Yuri easily gets caught up in his emotions, to the point he loses control of himself. He is quick to anger, and cannot stop himself; when he is angry, sad, or feels a strong emotion, his powers emerge. Fans call this condition "Maoh mode" (literally, , and as Yuri is a huge fan of Japanese period drama, his speech becomes similar to expressions from that genre. In the novel, there is no note of his appearance changing, while in the manga and anime his eyes become thinner and his hair may grow longer.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 2
At the beginning of the series, Yuri could access his magic only at the height of his emotions. He would usually pass out after using his powers, only to wake up later and not remember what happened. Later on in the series, Yuri learns to control his abilities, summoning powerful magic even in human lands, while most demons can only perform limited magic outside their country.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 36 He is unaffected in houseki-filled areas and can wield magic in those spaces, even while full-blooded demons have difficulty standing or breathing. Yuri has a contract with water and uses his magic to alter it into various monster-like forms, notably water dragons. He has also been known to make other messy magical "creatures" from mud, food scraps, etc., much to the horror of the other demons and everyone else.
Due to a misunderstanding, Yuri ends up engaged to Wolfram von Bielefeld on first meeting. Wolfram, angry at the idea that the half-human Yuri is supposedly the king, insults his mother for being human. In anger, Yuri slaps him: the etiquette of the demon nobility dictates that a slap on the left cheek is the way to propose marriage. Wolfram considers this insulting, so he challenges Yuri to a duel by throwing his knife on the floor. Yuri mistakenly picks it up, unaware he accepted Wolfram's challenge again because he is unknowledgeable in the local culture.
It is revealed fairly early in the series that Yuri is the reincarnation of Susanna Julia von Wincott, a blind healer who died in the war against humans 20 prior.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 35Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 24 Conrad gives Yuri a tear-shaped pendant that used to belong to her. When Yuri first arrives in the Demon Kingdom, Adalbert von Grantz, who was Susanna Julia's fiancé before she died, brought out his stored language memory from his soul so he could understand spoken demon language. While this helps Yuri understand the spoken form, he is still unable to read; he later realizes he can "read" if he runs his fingers over the print, as the blind Susanna Julia read this way (much like Braille in the human world). There is a time in the novels where Julia's consciousness overpowers Yuuri's body, and he temporarily loses his eyesight. Yuri's blood is also one of the keys of the forbidden boxes, another trait he inherited from Susanna Julia. In the anime, Yuri inherits the power to open the box through Christel Wincott, the ancestor of all Demons on Earth, to which he travelled with one of the forbidden boxes to 4,000 years before. This is never mentioned in the original novels.
In the anime, Yuri is called the greatest Demon King after defeating The Originator and freeing The Original King from the dark power. Because of that, Yuri is able to transit between worlds without the help of The Original King.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 78
Morgif is the demon sword which can only be wielded by the Demon King. It is a talking sword with the personality of a cheerful, lecherous old man. Murata, who knew the sword when he was the Great Sage, mentions that Morgif had changed much over the years. According to Murata, Morgif once had "a young and handsome face" and a "soothing counter-tenor voice".Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 32 Morgif originally had a jewel on its 'forehead' that was the source of its power, but it fell out when Cheri dropped the sword while handling it. Yuri then gave the jewel to Josak and said to do whatever he wanted with it.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 7 In the anime, the jewel is eventually replaced in Morgif when Yuri has to fight a powerful Holy Sword.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 55 While the jewel is the source of Morgif's true power, Morgif is still formidable without it. The extent of its powers without the jewel are a mystery, and his powers with it are said to be limitless. It is later explained that Erhard Wincott, the ancestor of Susanna Julia von Wincott, was an inventor who tested Morgif and researched its history.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 76 Morgif was created from powerful lava streaming from a particular volcano on Van da Via Island. If Morgif is thrown into the lava again, it would assume its original form: a heavily decorated black sword, which Yuri later uses to defeat The Originator.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 77
Conrad/Conrart Weller
is the second son of the previous Demon Queen, Cecilie von Spitzweig. His given name is "Conrart", but Yuri calls him "Conrad" since it is closer to English and easier to pronounce. Conrad is only half-demon and because of this, he is unable to wield demon magic. His father was the human Dunheely Weller, famed for his swordsmanship. As his father was not a demon noble, Conrad does not bear "von" (a Germanic nobiliary particle) in his name. Conrad is captain of the Demon Kingdom's army and Yuri's personal bodyguard. When Yuri first arrives in the Demon Kingdom, it is Conrad who finds him and brings him to the castle.
Conrad fought on the front lines for the demons during the war against the humans in order to prove his loyalty to the Demon Kingdom. He and Jozak Gurrier were in an all-half-blood "Lütenburg Platoon", and are famous for being the only two survivors from the Battle of Arnold. Conrad thus gains the moniker "Lion of Lütenburg" from this battle for his heroics and bravery. In the anime, this battle is where Conrad receives his characteristic scar above his right eye.
Conrad and Susanna Julia had a close relationship prior to her death. 17 years before the series' events, after the war had ended, Conrad was put in charge of Susanna Julia's soul at her request, since it was going to be that of the new Demon King. He then took her soul to Earth so that it could be reborn in the body of Yuri.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 26
At one point, Conrad loses his arm in battle, but later appears with a new arm. It is explained in the novels that this "new" arm originally belonged to his ancestor Robert Belal, who was transported to Earth in 1798. When Conrad's arm was cut off, The Original King took the other arm and gave it to Conrad. This arm is the key to the forbidden box named "The End of the Wind".
His ancestor, Lawrence Weller, fought alongside The Original King.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 68
As Conrad stayed on Earth for a time when Yuri was being born, he is knowledgeable of certain Earth tendencies and the culture of Japan. Due to this, he also has an interest in baseball and frequently plays catch with Yuri. He is also known for his horrible puns.
Wolfram von Bielefeld
is the youngest son of the former Demon Queen, Cecilie von Spitzweg, and the half-brother of Conrad and Gwendal. He is the only one of the previous queen's three sons who inherited her emerald green eyes and blonde hair, and thus bears a striking resemblance to her. It's also mentioned that he closely resembles The Original King. Celi says he inherited his selfishness from his father, but he can be very manly and reliable. His handsome appearance is so powerful that dying people in the hospital were miraculously healed after laying eyes on him. Wolfram is one of the country's leading practitioners of fire magic (a trait from his mother's side of the family), as well as great swordsmanship. The original author of the light novels, Tomo Takabayashi, has said that Wolfram is her favorite character in the anime version.
He finds himself engaged to Yuri after a misunderstanding. He is extremely upset at first, but the idea quickly grows on him to the point he takes it much more seriously than Yuri does. He follows Yuri practically everywhere so he can keep an eye on him, and even sneaks into Yuri's bedroom at night. He gets extremely jealous when Yuri talks to a girl or good-looking guy, and often accuses him of being unfaithful, a recurring thing used as comic relief.
He initially disliked humans, even Conrad's father, because of his demon pride. He does not like to admit that Conrad is his brother, even though he cares for him. In the novels, it is hinted that this hatred towards humans stems from his late father's own prejudice against humans. His attitude improves throughout the series, progressing to the point he adopts the human girl Greta as his daughter, acknowledges Yuri's parents as his future "in-laws", and runs into a raging fire to save a human child.
A major weakness is that he gets seasick. Yuri also says that Wolfram cannot paint well, even though he insists on it. For example, he tries to paint Yuri, although it turns out unintentionally impressionistic.Kyo Kara Maoh! anime, episode 18 However, in the novels and manga it is said he could paint very well when he was young when he painted realism, but has decided to change his style to cubism.
Near the end of the second season, there is a time when Wolfram is possessed by The Original King, who in turn was possessed by The Originator. The key he possesses, his heart, is ripped out by The Original King so he can open one of the four forbidden boxes, "Hellfire in Frozen Land". Because of this, Wolfram temporarily dies, and Anissina puts him in a special box to keep him alive. He is revived when The Original King returns the keys to their owners.
His ancestor, Rufus Bielefeld, fought alongside The Original King.