History Manga / Helck

Red Vamirio, one of the [[EliteFour Four Great Kings]] of the whole Demon Empire, cannot believe this and furthermore will not allow it - humans are the enemy. She sets several roadblocks for Helck but the human passes them all easily and with each contest the citizens come to love Helck.

* CookingDuel: Helck and Vamirio enter one in order to get money for the map they need. Becomes something of a parody to manga that make such things SeriousBusiness.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Many of the special chapters are devoted to the lives of the inhabitants of the Demon Empire before Helck's arrival, starting with Vamirio and her experiences as a child with Azudora, then moving on to the other participants of the Demon Lord tournament (as well as its staff), before finally focusing on Piwi's narration of the silly hijinks he experiences during his travels with Helck and Anne.

* DeusExMachina: A few times in moments of NearVillainVictory, some of the previously established characters, even when presumed to be far away or dead, just happen to have the skill to completely undermine the villain's plan. Vamirio is surprised just as much as everyone else.

* EliteFour: Vamirio, Azudra, Kohaku and the currently unnamed Black Heavenly King of the North. And that ticks all boxes for TheFourGods, too.

* TheFourGods: the [[EliteFour Four Heavenly Kings]] of TheEmpire is exactly that: Vamirio is the Vermilion Bird, Azudra is the Azure Dragon, Kohaku is the White Tiger and the unnamed Heavenly King of the North is supposedly the Black Tortoise.

* GenreShift: The series starts as a very comedic TournamentArc with Helck beating any challenge Vamirio throws at him... for the first few chapters, then the invasion begins and we start to find out why a human hero would want to join the demons.

* HappyFunBall: Little Vamirio is seen in the omakes swinging around a twig she calls the [[NamedWeapons Koedarion (Twigalion)]]. [[spoiler:Being a branch of the WorldTree, it is a legitimate AmplifierArtifact that let her blow up Azudora as a child and makes her even deadlier as an adult.]]

* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Helck and Vamirio.

* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: [[spoiler:It's what causes the mutations into the New World beings and is behind the Contacted. Azudora drops the trope name almost word for word before Vamirio and Helck travel into it.]]

* KidAppealCharacter: Piwi is TheLoad and TagAlongKid, but he's the source of half of the gags, has a quite detailed backstory, gets merchandise, and Vamirio adores him. He turns out to be ChekhovsGunman in the end and [[BreakoutCharacter gets his own spin-off]].
* KryptoniteRing: [[spoiler:Helck eventually gives Vamirio the Hero Killer, a sword capable of killing him, in case he loses control of his powers and goes berserk.]]

* LittleBitBeastly: The various people Helck and Vamirio meet on their journey home all have animal-like appearances.
* LittleMissBadass: Vamirio. She looks like a teenage girl, but is an incredibly powerful fire wielder.

* MercyKillArrangement: Helck gives Vamirio the Hero-killing blade, twice, in case his SuperpoweredEvilSide gets better of him.

* MoneySpider: When Vamirio roasts a [[SealedEvilInACan sealed, ancient monster]], what look like large gemstones drop all around it.
* MoodWhiplash: A lot. One village had a monster that they feared because it could crush boulders with its jaws and had hard skin that could deflect blades. Vamirio kills it in passing. They immediately throw a party.

* NotSoStoic: Vamirio is noted to be almost completely emotionless on-duty and besides a brief surprise of new things, barely emotes, but she tends to have a HairTriggerTemper and AngerBornOfWorry.

%%* PlatonicLifePartners: [[spoiler: Helck and Vamirio.]]

* PowerLevels: Combat ratings are set like a videogame: Vamirio, one of the strongest demons, is level 78, while Helck is probably level 99. Though how these play out in actual battle isn't cut and dried; Vamirio is sure she can probably defeat Helck but she is equally confident she would not survive.

* SaveBothWorlds: [[spoiler:Helck and Vamirio shift their goals from {{Mercy Kill}}ing the entire human race to finding a cure for them, even if they have no idea how.]]
* SimpleSolutionWontWork: Vamirio wanted to just take Helck out herself, but his MagicallyBindingContract makes him impervious to all harm that isn't a part of the tournament. And she can't disqualify him without a ''very clear'' reason either.

** Vamirio has the same [[PsychoticSmirk evil grin]] as old ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' demon kings.

* SlaveToPR: The main problem why Vamirio can't just make Helck fail the tournament because he's adored by all demon viewers and on top of invoking anger it would ruin the event.

** Helck and Vamirio get transported to a remote island in volume two; the two then end up having to work together to get back to the Demon Empire.

%%* TrueCompanions: the most obvious pair is Vamirio and Helck.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:The Human King kills Mikaros and Rafaed himself since it became clear they're unable to stop Helck and Vamirio, and he wanted to talk to them about ''his'' plans without fighting. Mikaros was NotQuiteDead though.]]

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: While some names remain the same between the scanlation and official translations, others don't:
** The scanlation used Vamirio, Azudora, Asuta, Isuta, Doruushi, etc.
** The official translations for the manga and anime use Vermilio, Azudra, Asta, Ista, Dorshe, etc.

** The official translations for the manga and anime website use Vermilio, Azudra, Asta, Ista, Dorshe, etc.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Demonic rulership has six categories: Populace, General, Demon King, Heavenly King, Guardian King, and Emperor. Anyone starting from a Demon King is a OneManArmy.

''Helck'' is a weekly manga by author Nanao Nanaki which began in 2014 and finished in 2018. It was followed by ''Piwi'', a weekly miniseries by Nanaki that ran in 2018.

An anime adaptation of ''Helck'' was announced in February 2022. Animated by Creator/{{Satelight}}, the anime will air in July 2023.

%%* PlatonicLifePartners:]] [[spoiler: Helck and Vamirio.]]