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We’ve seen a lot of Demon Lord 2099, as Yen Press picked up both the original light novel and later manga adaptation and the anime is on Crunchyroll. Still, it might not be a household name in the same way other villain manga and anime series are. Which is a shame, as the take on the story and concept feels quite unique and the manga omnibus that’s now available in English makes it easy to see a complete story. It really highlights how clever Daigo Murasaki’s idea is.
Editor’s Note: There will be some mild spoilers for the Demon Lord 2099 manga below.
While Demon Lord 2099 is a futuristic villain manga and anime set in Shinjuku, it also includes elements of high fantasy. Veltol Velvet Velsvalt was an immortal demon lord in Alnaeth in 1599. That’s when he was defeated by a hero named Gram. Since he is immortal, he’d eventually be back with a second chance. Except when he does return, it’s after a 2023 fusion between worlds that combined Alnaeth with Earth. That means the result is a melting pot of magic and technology. Not many immortals survived it, as a result, especially with magic being illegal in city limits. However, his subordinate Machina Soleige did and performed the Methenoel needed to awaken him.
Of course, since Veltol is a demon lord, his priority is to continue what he started and ascend to a leadership position once again. But as he is starting from scratch in an entirely new world, we get this fantastic situation from Murasaki that involves adjusting to the way things are now and how people he knew might have changed. Marcus, another demon lord from his time period, is already present in the world. As he was awake, he made moves to get himself into the sort of position of power that an overlord would take in this sort of modern time period: CEO of a company called Ishimaru Heavy Magical Industries.
Since Veltol’s own power depends on that of followers, it means taking an approach to gain similar notoriety. Which is another reason Murasaki’s story feels clever. He, with the help of Machina and her hacker friend Takahashi, leans into the power of technology and influencing. Before getting into a flashback explaining how Veltol wound up where he is, the Demon Lord 2099 manga begins by showing him as a streamer with 320,719 subscribers. So Machina and Takahashi are helping him tap into public opinion and a “legal in the city” sort of “magic.” It also means as Veltol and Machina face Marcus and fight him, we see the diverse tactics that tap into that additional element to combine it with the magic the two are familiar with. At the same time, we also see how Machina and Takahashi’s presence influences Veltol and makes him more of an antihero than a villain.
Demon Lord 2099 is just genuinely clever in its execution. It combines two types of worlds in a manner that makes sense. We see how magic and technology can work alongside each other. Veltol also becomes an antihero villain worth rooting for in the manga, anime, and light novel, and we see how the presence of everyone dear to him helps enhance the story.
The Demon Lord 2099 manga omnibus is now available via Yen Press, and it handles the light novel as well. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
