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悪魔のリドル [Akuma no Riddle] #1
Akuma no Riddle Vol. 1
At Myojo Private School, an elite all-girls boarding academy, the Class Black is comprised of thirteen students, twelve of whom are assassins. Their prey is the thirteenth student, Haru Ichinose, an upbeat girl who vows to survive school and graduate unharmed! Enter Azuma Tokaku, a cold-blooded killer who transfers from another school to kill Haru. What should have been a routine hit turns into a far more complicated affair as Tokaku is unable to pull the trigger on Haru. As Tokaku copes with her budding feelings, will she decide to protect Haru's life from the other assassins or to end it before they do?
184 pages, ebook
First published September 10, 2012
13 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
January 28, 2018
A bunch of teenage female assassins converge in a special classroom in an otherwise normal school to kill one of their classmates. Because, like, metaphor? For how mean girls are bullies and high school is hard? And everyone is two-faced?
Or because an editor shoved it down the creator's throats? Because, like, sales?
It's sort of like Assassination Classroom without any of the violence, humor or crisp art. I seriously had trouble telling characters apart, especially in close-up when they all look exactly alike with the same chins and tousled hair or bangs falling into their big eyes. And the dialogue was sloppy, random and/or godawful for much of the book.
Developments near the end set up a status quo that might have some appeal, but I just can't see myself attempting to read a second volume.
Or because an editor shoved it down the creator's throats? Because, like, sales?
It's sort of like Assassination Classroom without any of the violence, humor or crisp art. I seriously had trouble telling characters apart, especially in close-up when they all look exactly alike with the same chins and tousled hair or bangs falling into their big eyes. And the dialogue was sloppy, random and/or godawful for much of the book.
Developments near the end set up a status quo that might have some appeal, but I just can't see myself attempting to read a second volume.
April 14, 2021
uhm ig it was okay? honestly i didn’t love it but it could’ve been worse, haru only refers to herself in 3rd person which i personally find so incredibly annoying. it didn’t really draw me in or anything i don’t really care for any of the characters they were all introduced so quickly and honestly i can’t even keep up with who’s who and who is getting a flashback now and idk i haven’t decided whether i’ll continue or not
May 30, 2014
Takes a really long time to fully get into the story, but I love it!
September 28, 2023
This was an okay read for me. But I really struggled to get into it.. It absolutely bothered me that Haru only referred to herself in third person. That's something I don't really vibe with. Other than that I found the premise to be really interesting but the execution so far seems a bit dull to me. And the characters also weren't all that interesting to me (although I do guess that still has mainly to do with Haru...)
December 28, 2015
Azuma Tokaku is the star student at Private Academy 17, secretly a school for assassins. As such, she’s being temporarily transferred to Myojo Private School, to participate in Class Black. Supposedly, Class Black is a game disguised as an ordinary homeroom class–twelve assassins compete to see which one of them can kill the thirteenth student.
The target is Haru Ichinose, a bubbly girl who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. But we soon have hints that her past is dark indeed, and she’s much harder to kill than she appears. Azuma begins to have second thoughts about her mission…perhaps she should be protecting Haru instead?
This manga (“Devil’s Riddle”) has been adapted into an anime series as well. (I am told the anime compresses the series and cuts out several subplots.) The author’s notes mention a “social game” but it’s not clear if this series was adapted from that or vice-versa.
In the tradition of dystopian YA, it is readily apparent that the teenage assassins have not been told the entire truth about what’s going on, and some of what the adults have led them to believe is completely false. Azuma’s teacher at Private Academy 17 tells the reader as much, and looks forward to her figuring that out. Most of the characters have very dark backstories, most only hinted at in this volume. (Haru’s body is covered in nasty scars, and “Tokaku” means “rabbit’s horn”, aka “a thing that does not exist” like a jackalope.)
Most of the first volume is given over to brief introductions to the characters; there are thirteen girls in Class Black, a homeroom teacher who appears to be oblivious to what’s really going on, Azuma’s teacher, and the mysterious person who set up Class Black. Azuma and Haru get the most characterization as “trying hard to be an emotionless professional” and “overly cute girl who refers to herself in the third person.”
The art is decent but relies heavily on hairstyles and uniforms to distinguish the characters. There’s a couple of fanservicey scenes in aid of the plotline.
The book’s primary weakness from my point of view is that it seems overly calculated. Each of the young women is designed to fit into a particular “appeal category” (the big-breasted one, the one with glasses, the one that looks underage, etc.) and I would not be surprised if this was originally published in a magazine with a primarily male reader demographic. Also, the premise kind of unsuspends my disbelief. Yes, I can accept for the sake of the concept one small private school that trains assassins, but here we have twelve teenage girls who come from twelve different schools and are all trained assassins. Plus we’re given to understand that Class Black has happened at least twice before without the outside world noticing.
I do not think I will be picking up a second volume, but if teenage female assassins are your thing, and the plausibility issues aren’t a dealbreaker for you, you might enjoy this.
Check out my other reviews at http:www.skjam.com
The target is Haru Ichinose, a bubbly girl who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. But we soon have hints that her past is dark indeed, and she’s much harder to kill than she appears. Azuma begins to have second thoughts about her mission…perhaps she should be protecting Haru instead?
This manga (“Devil’s Riddle”) has been adapted into an anime series as well. (I am told the anime compresses the series and cuts out several subplots.) The author’s notes mention a “social game” but it’s not clear if this series was adapted from that or vice-versa.
In the tradition of dystopian YA, it is readily apparent that the teenage assassins have not been told the entire truth about what’s going on, and some of what the adults have led them to believe is completely false. Azuma’s teacher at Private Academy 17 tells the reader as much, and looks forward to her figuring that out. Most of the characters have very dark backstories, most only hinted at in this volume. (Haru’s body is covered in nasty scars, and “Tokaku” means “rabbit’s horn”, aka “a thing that does not exist” like a jackalope.)
Most of the first volume is given over to brief introductions to the characters; there are thirteen girls in Class Black, a homeroom teacher who appears to be oblivious to what’s really going on, Azuma’s teacher, and the mysterious person who set up Class Black. Azuma and Haru get the most characterization as “trying hard to be an emotionless professional” and “overly cute girl who refers to herself in the third person.”
The art is decent but relies heavily on hairstyles and uniforms to distinguish the characters. There’s a couple of fanservicey scenes in aid of the plotline.
The book’s primary weakness from my point of view is that it seems overly calculated. Each of the young women is designed to fit into a particular “appeal category” (the big-breasted one, the one with glasses, the one that looks underage, etc.) and I would not be surprised if this was originally published in a magazine with a primarily male reader demographic. Also, the premise kind of unsuspends my disbelief. Yes, I can accept for the sake of the concept one small private school that trains assassins, but here we have twelve teenage girls who come from twelve different schools and are all trained assassins. Plus we’re given to understand that Class Black has happened at least twice before without the outside world noticing.
I do not think I will be picking up a second volume, but if teenage female assassins are your thing, and the plausibility issues aren’t a dealbreaker for you, you might enjoy this.
Check out my other reviews at http:www.skjam.com
August 9, 2016
listen i bought this purely because there are gay female assassins and the show was amazing and everything is amazing and gay.
June 13, 2019
2.5/5
Está bien, entretenido y ya. El primer capítulo me ha desilusionado bastante y de ahí mejora un poco el ritmo.
La historia no me atrae y los personajes más de lo mismo, quizá solo el último capítulo consigue hacer que me interese algo.
Igual cojo el segundo tomo por curiosidad de ver cómo sigue, se hace rápido de leer.
Está bien, entretenido y ya. El primer capítulo me ha desilusionado bastante y de ahí mejora un poco el ritmo.
La historia no me atrae y los personajes más de lo mismo, quizá solo el último capítulo consigue hacer que me interese algo.
Igual cojo el segundo tomo por curiosidad de ver cómo sigue, se hace rápido de leer.
January 14, 2018
I see the potential, but there is a lot that needs to be worked on. The dark premise is cool and so is the art. The dialogue/translation? Choppy, at best.
June 16, 2018
This series is a hot mess, but it's my favorite kind of hot mess. Technically, the comic itself is not very good, due to annoyingly literal translations of character voices, hard to follow action sequences, and just poor execution in general, but if you like action girls, f/f romance, and beyond ridiculous plot twists and backstories, you're in for a ride.
October 5, 2019
This manga is asking a lot to have me remember 14 characters in volume 1.
December 8, 2021
This is my book review of the 1st volume of Akuma no riddle out of 5
The first volume of the book is the introduction where we’re going to be introduced to our 13 main cast members although only a few of them we truly delve into during this volume, the main duo Tokaku Azuma and Haru Ichinose. It begins relatively positive and normal but this book is based off of the class labeled as “class black” where only the 13 students know the true meaning behind their class. The first attempt was made shortly after. The Genre’s of this book are officially Action fiction and Yuri. You’d want to read this book if you wanted to see how each different character decides how to carry out their “plans”. The mystery and the characters are a good selling point for this story, each and every one of them are different, same with their reasonings for what they do.
The major theme in this story is how far some people may go to reach their goals. And sometimes their goals are not always for the best. The steps they take and the training they’ve done just for a chance to do “this” what they would sacrifice/obey to gain what they want.
I liked the theme and genre of this volume and that’s what led me to continue reading it. Along with the designs of the characters which make each of them different from the other either with their backstories, their state of dress, personalities and goals. The main duo's relationship also has roped me into liking this volume but that increases as the volumes go on. Although their “relationship” might have been abrupt it will slowly make sense as the story progresses.
I however don’t like how it never really went into the man who contacts Tokaku. I’d would’ve liked to know his motives and reasoning.
I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys Girl’s love, mystery, action
And well a bit of spoiler but not really assassins. I personally really enjoyed this volume, there were subtle hints at what was to come and the interactions between them all before and after “it” is revealed was interesting to see. Anyways I’d really recommend this book if you're interested in their stories and the heartwarming feelings you would feel throughout the entire series and enjoy it as much as I did.
The first volume of the book is the introduction where we’re going to be introduced to our 13 main cast members although only a few of them we truly delve into during this volume, the main duo Tokaku Azuma and Haru Ichinose. It begins relatively positive and normal but this book is based off of the class labeled as “class black” where only the 13 students know the true meaning behind their class. The first attempt was made shortly after. The Genre’s of this book are officially Action fiction and Yuri. You’d want to read this book if you wanted to see how each different character decides how to carry out their “plans”. The mystery and the characters are a good selling point for this story, each and every one of them are different, same with their reasonings for what they do.
The major theme in this story is how far some people may go to reach their goals. And sometimes their goals are not always for the best. The steps they take and the training they’ve done just for a chance to do “this” what they would sacrifice/obey to gain what they want.
I liked the theme and genre of this volume and that’s what led me to continue reading it. Along with the designs of the characters which make each of them different from the other either with their backstories, their state of dress, personalities and goals. The main duo's relationship also has roped me into liking this volume but that increases as the volumes go on. Although their “relationship” might have been abrupt it will slowly make sense as the story progresses.
I however don’t like how it never really went into the man who contacts Tokaku. I’d would’ve liked to know his motives and reasoning.
I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys Girl’s love, mystery, action
And well a bit of spoiler but not really assassins. I personally really enjoyed this volume, there were subtle hints at what was to come and the interactions between them all before and after “it” is revealed was interesting to see. Anyways I’d really recommend this book if you're interested in their stories and the heartwarming feelings you would feel throughout the entire series and enjoy it as much as I did.
May 17, 2021
A very... curious take on the "yuri in highschool", and one that I am definitely here for. The series has a few notable problems (that I will get into shortly), but on the whole it is surprisingly wholesome for its morbidity, and quite charming in its romance. A very satisfying lesbian narrative.
Perhaps the most glaring issue is the framing of trauma = capacity to do violence, which is incredibly both harmful, and backwards. Given their line of work, the presence of abuse is very "understandable", but it cannot be the rationalization for their own violence. Awful, awful!
I am not well-versed into manga, so this might be my own inexperience showing, but I felt that the author used too few words to convey meaning and give context. Reading it, it felt sparse not exactly in plot or substance, but that very dutiful role the appropriate amount of words provides in letting you properly contextualize and follow along. It's not that I felt lost so much as I did not feel quite persuaded enough.
Lastly for the faults, the narrative became formulaic very, very quickly, and thus lost a part of its thrill. The protagonist pair duels a pair of opponents was established as the norm too directly, and that contributed to the already rather unrealistic plot being brought further into focus.
Apart from that, the series had a unique charm to it, and was a very satisfying read. And that is without mentioning just how much I adore women valiantly defending each other, it simply makes my heart melt. The extra-issued chapters were just the cherry on top, and compliment the grimness of the original with the perfect amount of jolly, gay fun.
Perhaps the most glaring issue is the framing of trauma = capacity to do violence, which is incredibly both harmful, and backwards. Given their line of work, the presence of abuse is very "understandable", but it cannot be the rationalization for their own violence. Awful, awful!
I am not well-versed into manga, so this might be my own inexperience showing, but I felt that the author used too few words to convey meaning and give context. Reading it, it felt sparse not exactly in plot or substance, but that very dutiful role the appropriate amount of words provides in letting you properly contextualize and follow along. It's not that I felt lost so much as I did not feel quite persuaded enough.
Lastly for the faults, the narrative became formulaic very, very quickly, and thus lost a part of its thrill. The protagonist pair duels a pair of opponents was established as the norm too directly, and that contributed to the already rather unrealistic plot being brought further into focus.
Apart from that, the series had a unique charm to it, and was a very satisfying read. And that is without mentioning just how much I adore women valiantly defending each other, it simply makes my heart melt. The extra-issued chapters were just the cherry on top, and compliment the grimness of the original with the perfect amount of jolly, gay fun.
May 10, 2020
2.5 stars, but I’m rounding down because it IS an overall weak book, despite my desire to read another one. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m a sucker for ridiculous competitions and pitting an entire class of assassins against one girl promises some fun.
Promises being the key word as a whole lot of not much happens in this volume. Lots of moving the pieces into place and too early to tell if anything interesting will happen with them.
It’s fair to say that Tokaku’s change of heart is a bit out of nowhere and while Haru’s intriguing - I do want to know her backstory - her habit of talking in the third person is one of those writing quirks that authors like and readers tend to hate.
So it just sort of hangs there. For a story about assassins the whole thing is sedate as all get out. It reminded me a lot of Assassination Classroom, after a fashion, but that series is actually really enjoyable.
Like I said, I’ll read another book but I’m probably holding out for a price drop, it’s not compelling enough to eat into my budget.
Promises being the key word as a whole lot of not much happens in this volume. Lots of moving the pieces into place and too early to tell if anything interesting will happen with them.
It’s fair to say that Tokaku’s change of heart is a bit out of nowhere and while Haru’s intriguing - I do want to know her backstory - her habit of talking in the third person is one of those writing quirks that authors like and readers tend to hate.
So it just sort of hangs there. For a story about assassins the whole thing is sedate as all get out. It reminded me a lot of Assassination Classroom, after a fashion, but that series is actually really enjoyable.
Like I said, I’ll read another book but I’m probably holding out for a price drop, it’s not compelling enough to eat into my budget.
October 15, 2024
I read this series after stumbling across a video on Youtube that interested me. (I'm a sucker for any character with scars and Haru has a ton of them.)
However, the summary was a little misleading in my opinion. I was expecting an action-packed series with all twelve assassins facing off against each other in an attempt to take out the same target. What I got was a group of very polite assassins all taking it in turns to fight Tokaku (who makes herself Haru's bodyguard early on). Then, it all kind of devolves into a love story, which I didn't mind, but it was really light-hearted in the end.
If you think the summary is too scary, take a chance on the first volume. I don't think it's too much for anyone. 3/5
However, the summary was a little misleading in my opinion. I was expecting an action-packed series with all twelve assassins facing off against each other in an attempt to take out the same target. What I got was a group of very polite assassins all taking it in turns to fight Tokaku (who makes herself Haru's bodyguard early on). Then, it all kind of devolves into a love story, which I didn't mind, but it was really light-hearted in the end.
If you think the summary is too scary, take a chance on the first volume. I don't think it's too much for anyone. 3/5
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January 10, 2018
I liked it, I certainly didn't hate it but I'm left with little. There is a lot that can be worked on in this manga. One is clearing up the cluster of ideas going around. All of the characters with the exception of the two leads (who have this as well but not to the same extent) were very stereotypical. And did no think how silly it is that Haru Ichinose didn't already freaking learn how to fight and whatnot to defend herself? I, also, think the real target is the sensei! Its him, I tell you! Girls, kill him! Anyway, I will try the next just to see where it goes.
January 28, 2020
A story about a class of assassins sent to kill a mysterious target among the class, but one assassin may make a different decision, while struggling through riddles all the way.
Not the strongest, but still manages to keep you reading.
3.5☆
Warnings for basically anything you might expect of assassins
Not the strongest, but still manages to keep you reading.
3.5☆
Warnings for basically anything you might expect of assassins
April 23, 2020
Meh. Couldn't get into it. I've been reading a lot lately so it's possible that I'm just going into a book coma and this may have nothing to do with the actual quality of this book. I think it's dumb that the summary of the book actually contains a spoiler for a story tho. The book both does and doesn't want to keep the identity of the assassination target a secret and it royally fails in that.
April 15, 2022
I love this series! I had watched the anime and the ending sucked so I wanted to see what really happened. Man. The manga is so much better. They cut out a lot of the chemistry between characters and it’s so much more detailed. The difference is crazy. I recommend if you liked the anime and were unsatisfied to give this a shot.
August 27, 2017
Hard to get into the story. It felt a bit disjointed and frenetic. Could get better once the characters are better developed.
January 10, 2018
it was really intresting
June 19, 2018
Good stuff. Hope it gets gayer in later volumes.
October 25, 2018
The story is just getting started.
December 24, 2018
Muy interesante hasta ahora, me interesa saber cómo sigue.
January 2, 2020
El principio un poco extraño ,pero poco a poco esta trama de asesinas tiene buena pinta.
November 8, 2020
a nice precursor to an awesome anime
December 2, 2020
don't recommend, but i love it , i have trash taste
December 3, 2020
Der erste Band ist zumindest einmal sehr kurios. Wenn die Motive und Hintergründe gut erklärt werden, kann das eine gute Serie sein.
January 15, 2021
It’s the first book and I already hate Isuke-san.
But when she said, “sometimes water is thicker than blood” I really felt pity for her
But when she said, “sometimes water is thicker than blood” I really felt pity for her
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews