Kyou Kara Maou
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kyo Kara Maoh!, 今日から㋮王!, Kyō Kara Maō!, "Demon King from Today!" |
| Abbreviation(s): | KKM, MaruMa/まるマ |
| Creator: | Tomo Takabayashi, Temari Matsumoto |
| Date(s): | April 3, 2008 – February 19, 2009 |
| Medium: | light novels, manga, anime, ovas, video game, audio drama |
| Country of Origin: | Japan |
| External Links: | at Wikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Kyo Kara Maoh! is a series of Japanese light novels written by Tomo Takabayashi and illustrated by Temari Matsumoto. The story follows the adventures of Yuri Shibuya, an average 15-year-old Japanese high school student, who is suddenly transported to another world where he is told that he is now the king of demons.
Fandom
In Japan, the light novels and manga are considered the primary canon. Since only the anime has been fully translated into English, Western fandom focuses more on the anime. Fandom was concentrated on LiveJournal and flourished from 2004 to around 2010, roughly concurrent with the anime's run.
Most ships in KKM fandom are yaoi/BL, as one of the first things Yuuri does in the demon realm is accidentally propose marriage to another boy. Yuuri professes not to be interested in boys, but is assured that gay relationships are common in this world. The series teases moments of tension between Yuuri and most of his male allies, most prominently Wolfram and Conrad.
Differences Between Fandoms
The popular perception in Western fandom is that Yuuram is the most popular ship with English-speaking fans, and Japanese fans prefer ConYuu. This is supported by comparing the コンユ and ユヴォ/ヴォルユ tags on pixiv where there are 1780 for ConYuu and 1255 for the combined YuuRam/WolfYuu tags. (Pixiv may automatically sort to illustrations for certain tags and create apparently different results - to find the grand total of all forms of works you have to switch back to "top" along the top tabs).
Some have speculated that the difference was because American fans tend to prefer tempestuous relationships and Japanese fans calmer ones, but the reason has never been pinned down. One important point to consider is that Yuuram and Wolfram himself are most volatile in the anime, where his jealousy is played up. In the light novels and manga, which are the primary canon in Japan, Wolfram quickly grows past his initial attitude and has a much more mature presence.
Another factor is that the official mangaka is a BL artist whose favorite dynamic is strongly reminiscent of ConYuu, and so the manga leans into the ship tease moments between Conrad and Yuuri. English-speaking fans in the 2000s were much less likely to have any exposure to the manga, since the translations for both manga and light novels have been scattered and slow-paced. ConYuu may also suffer among American fans because of the age gap, although the fandom's glory days were in an era of fandom where that was less of a consideration.
Shipping
Yuuri/Wolfram AKA Yuuram or WolfYuu / YuWo or WoruYuu. On his first day in the world of demons, Yuuri accidentally proposes to Wolfram. After a rocky beginning, Wolfram genuinely falls for Yuuri and becomes protective of him and (mostly in the anime) very jealous at the idea of him finding someone else. Though Yuuri continues to insist he's not interested, their engagement is never broken off and becomes part of the series status quo. The light novel series is currently on hold due to the author's health, but she's written a short story in the world that hints at their relationship being endgame.
Conrad/Yuuri AKA ConYuu. Conrad was devoted to Suzanna Julia, the owner of the soul that was later reincarnated into Yuuri, and was the one to deliver this soul to the human world. At this time, Conrad was full of resentment towards the world after fighting through a senseless war that left many of his fellow half-demons dead and eventually took Julia's life too. After an encounter with the demon who would become Yuuri's father, Conrad resolved to start smiling for the sake of Julia's reincarnation, and he ended up helping to deliver and name Yuuri upon his birth. He was not the first one Yuuri met in the demon world, but he made his entrance rescuing Yuuri from a resentful enemy of the Great Demon Kingdom, and he spends most of the show protecting Yuuri, who admires and respects him for his courage and kindness.
Ryan/KG Background canon relationship
Common Tropes
- Yuuri dealing with internalized homophobia and accepting Wolfram as his fiancé. It's often pointed out that he's never made any serious attempt to break their engagement off.
- Introducing other strange customs in the demon realm similar to canon customs like proposing by slapping someone's face
- Bed sharing (Wolfram canonically insists on sleeping in Yuuri's bed)
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Meta
- Tumblr post about fanon treatment of Yuuri's canon attitude towards same-sex relationships
- Where is the gay? Have you seen the gay? Was it left in someone's sock?: 2008 discussion in kyou_kara_maou (LiveJournal) about canon's portrayal of gay relationships
Fanvids
Archives, Communities & Resources
Archive Fanfiction
Fanart Sites
- Kyo Kara Maoh Fanart on theotaku.com
- Kyou kara Maou! tag on Pixiv
- MaruMa tag on Pixiv
- MaruMa tag on Tegaki
- Kyou Kara Maou Screencaps
Fanmixes
- Kyou Kara Maou tag on 8tracks
- KKM tag on 8tracks
- Kyo Kara Maoh tag
Communities
- kyou_kara_maou (LiveJournal) (link): Livejournal community for fanfiction, fanart, discussion, etc.
- The Daily Maou newsletter community, closed since 2009.
- KKM Icons - Icon community.
- KKM Media - A Livejournal community for KKM multimedia, including icons, banners, screencaps, and AMVs
- kkm_rewatch (link), which collectively liveblogged a rewatch of the series from 2008-2010
- kkm_yaoi, LJ for yaoi content, most active from 2004-2011
- Portrait of a Demon King - resource for official images and goods. Last updated in 2009 and offline since 2019.
- Kyou Kara Maou! Valentines Exchange - LJ for the Valentine's Day exchange celebrated from 2007 to 2008
- Feme kkm - journaling community for genderswapped characters.
- gwendalgunter for fans of the ship between Gwendal and Gunter (2004-2012)