Nicola is a human but humans aren’t supposed to be in the chaotic demon world. However, Nicola doesn’t really care about that because this is her chance to travel the (demon) world and have adventures! Simon, a peddler who found her when she accidentally crossed from the human world, wishes that Nicola wasn’t quite so careless at times, but the two of them are taking this journey day by day, problem by problem, argument by argument.
Most of the manga I read is aimed at a teenage and up audience and part of the reason for that is because there simply aren’t many all-ages manga published in the US. It does feel a bit strange that there aren’t very many manga I’d recommend for elementary school/younger middle schoolers considering how wildly popular American graphic novels are with that age group, but Nicola Traveling Around The Demons’ World is a title I would happily recommend to a young reader looking for a new fantasy series.
Now some people might think that Nicola’s distinctive art style might put off these young readers but I actually think the opposite; Nicola’s pen-and-ink drawing style, with a heavily sketchy feel to it, feels like art styles that I come across more commonly in American or European graphic novels and I think that might be less off-putting to a new manga reader than adjusting to the kinds of stylistic quirks more common in manga (such as the heavy use of screen tones, different panel compositions, and yes the big faces).
Asaya Miyanaga’s art feels like an excellent match for this story as a whole. The combination of simple designs and what seems like a labor-intensive style of shading work to accentuate the story’s setting as a strange new place. Not a bad new place, in fact even a quirky new place most of the time, but it serves as a constant reminder that Nicola is in the demon world now and not everything is going to be what she’s used to.
And honestly it seems like Nicola wouldn’t have it any other way: sure there are many foods in the demon world that she can’t eat or drink but she gets to see new places, try new things, and use magic as much as she wants. Her life before coming to the demon world doesn’t seem like it was a bad life but it was probably a quiet, isolated one, so it’s no wonder she’s thriving in this bustling world full of oddities and eccentricities. Her traveling companion Simon, a devil who’s native to the demon world, is older than her but just to reassure folks now, I cannot see their bickering friendship turning into anything romantic bar changing 80% or more of the story. He’s also not a wise, all-knowing mentor figure either, as the second chapter involves Nicola dunking on him and the two of them really feel like equals despite their wildly different lived experiences.
Nicola Traveling Around The Demons’ World is an overall fun, quick read that you’ll be coming back to for a second read just to take in the art. It’s lighthearted, despite some elements of danger, and has a jauntily episodic plot with a few details that Miyanaga might choose to explore later (such as Nicola’s magic which seems to work differently than the manga of most demons). Think of Nicola as an adventurous fairy tale where Nicola gets to make mistakes, get messy, but most importantly of all just have fun.