Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children is a manga series authored by Hideaki Fujii, based on the video games Devil Children Black Book and Red Book. The manga began serialization in Kodansha's monthly Comic BomBom magazine starting in August 2000, and concluding in September 2002. In 2013, a new edition of the manga was published, which condensed the original five volumes into three, and featured new illustrations.
Although mostly based on the events of Black Book, the manga's story diverges from its source material at certain points, and changes various plot elements. The narrative is also told in a somewhat non-linear fashion, as ongoing plotlines are occasionally interspersed with perspectives from the future. Gore and violent imagery are depicted often in the manga as well, contrasting the original child-friendly aim of the video games. The manga received a complete fan translation from Gouma-Den Scanlations in 2020.[1]
On July 31, 2000, black fog shrouds the skies of Harajuku, causing snow to fall in the middle of summer. As Setsuna Kai returns to his apartment, a deliveryman hands him a parcel and is killed by a Devil. Setsuna protects the package and his mother Tsubomi's memento, the Messiah's Horn, from the Devil, but gets stabbed through the chest. The Horn is taken from him, which triggers his latent powers and heals his wounds. Grabbing a Deviliser from the parcel, Setsuna is joined by Cool the Cerberus, defeating the Devil and entering a gate to the realm of Makai. A confrontation in Makai leads Setsuna to cross paths with his neighbor and rival Mirai Kaname, learning that they are the Devil Children destined to gather the Messiah's Horns and Messiah's Eyes, artifacts capable of changing reality. Unwillingly caught in the midst of a war between Devils and Angels, the Devil Children must survive in Makai and bring peace back to the world.
Mirai is not a descendant of Lucifer and has no blood relation to Setsuna, but is still a Devil Child. Instead of journeying to Makai to find her father, she goes because she promised her deceased mother that she would keep Setsuna safe.
Setsuna's deceased mother is given the name Tsubomi, whereas she is unnamed in the video games.
Zed Takajō is Setsuna and Mirai's childhood friend. Rather than being a Devil from Makai disguised as a human, he was created by Hoshigami to oversee the human world with little interference. Zed eventually awakens to his true identity as Zebul, the Demon Lord of the Abyss.
The Deep Hole, instead of being a labyrinth for the banished, is a dimensional void created by Zed/Zebul. Its formation causes the destruction of Fire Land.
Elegy is more involved with Setsuna's character than Mirai's, opposite of the video games. She has a habit of scratching herself when under pressure, or as she calls it, "itchy blood" (血が痒い,chi ga kayui). Elegy nearly killed her father Azel prior to the story, and was persecuted by his assassins until she received protection from Asmodeus and Demogorgon.
Abaddon only appears briefly in the story, having been killed by Fenrir after betraying the rebels of the Devil Army.
Devilisers can carry Devils of the King Class, and thus the King Riser is absent from this adaptation. It may also be fired like an actual pistol by utilizing summoning energy.
Dynamis and Ego are not Devils, instead serving as battleships for the Angel Army.
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Japanese