Uchi no Maou Kamimasen yo · review
This manga introduces us to a world in which supernatural creatures not only exist, but they can be owned as pets! The story follows a small group of pets and owners, focusing mainly on a teenager named Yuuhei and his family, and their pet, Satan, a demon lord. Each little arc is only a few pages long, and for the most part, self-contained, though later arcs do occasionally reference things that have happened before. The way the manga wraps up is incredibly clever, and makes you think about all the little hints that were scattered through the chapters that would ultimately contribute to the climax. For themost part, the manga is very lighthearted, focused almost entirely on funny and/or heartwarming moments between pets and owners. The supporting cast isn't terribly developed, but we get enough time with them to understand their personalities and get attached to them. As a short manga, there aren't a lot of characters, so you don't get overwhelmed trying to remember who is who, and which pet is whose.
The world itself also isn't really explored; we don't know where the pets come from, how they came to be pets, etc. There are lots of questions regarding the worldbuilding aspect, but the story is satisfying enough that you don't feel cheated by missing out on the details of their universe.
The art is rather simplistic, never really going overboard with character designs or backgrounds. But this isn't the type of manga that really needs that. It tells a good story without looking too cluttered, and the expressions of the characters are often hilarious and adorable.
The only downside of this manga is that it IS so short. At 39 chapters, it tells a full story, but I could have continued to read about these characters for hundreds of chapters without getting bored.