"Many years ago, a war broke out between two empires. Shinigami, with their brave warriors and spiritual power, and Orochi, with their sneaky tactics and advanced machinery, made the entire world their battlefield. Chaos had erupted all across earth."
Demon Blade is an actionadventurefantasy comic with an eventual side helping of Super Robot Genre shenanigans, created by Crazed Ninja and finally launched in 2009 after 6 years of gathering ideas. The comic is about a young orphaned bounty hunter named Tsurugi Diablo, who is somehow in possession of a magical, ancient sword. Sound cliche? Don't worry, itis! The comic may be best described as "Gurren LagannmeetsDisgaea: Hour of Darkness."The story begins with him hitting it big by catching a notorious bandit called Dibi the Rhinoceros. However, this attracts the attention of a Religion of Evil who are trying to collect souls of powerful warriors as part of a plan to resurrect an ancient demon. For no other reason than to save his own skin, Diablo decides the bastards are going down.Also has a character sheet.The comic can be read at SmackJeeves
Alternate History: The story is mainly set in Australia, where a large number of Japanese migrated to during a war. The hero's town in particular actually lives almost entirely by Japanese culture, with one of the few actual Australians in said town running a ramen stand.
Anachronism Stew: The comic was originally supposed to take place in 1950, as shown by Jack's 30's/40's-looking radio, but the author just threw that out the window later in the very same chapter, as shown by Dr. Suno's 90's-looking computer.
In 2010, there was "Chapter 8.5", a five-page alternate version of the then-unreleased chapter 9, consisting of several video game and anime references and some Foe Yay between Diablo and Loki.
Big Damn Heroes: Diablo does this by accident, chopping off Vlad's tail by sheer coincidence when he's about to kill Michiko.
Big Damn Villains: Just as Diablo is about to finish Loki off, Zula comes and disposes of him instead.
Bishie Sparkle: The "illustration" of Michiko's yaoi fic is rife with them.
Bloodless Carnage: Diablo can control the sharpness of his sword. This is done as a way to avert Only a Flesh Wound, so if someone does bleed, you know the character is hurt.
Break the Haughty: Are you an overly proud person in the Demon Blade universe? Watch that pride shatter within ten chapters of your first appearance.
Captain Obvious: A bedridden Dogma says he might not be able to defeat Heimdall alone. Beat. Diablo replies with, "Duh."
Defictionalization: Dr. Suno's "A Doctor's Job is to Cure" shirt, Vlad's shirt with the red V on it, and Michiko's fox panties are all available as merchandise.
Elaborate Underground Base: For starters, the entrance to the Faustian Cult's hideout is under a grave. It's also littered with traps and has many mechanical functions, including electric doors and a bridge that extends and retracts at the flip of a switch.
Everyone Can See It: Diablo and Michiko. At first, Natsuki is the only Shipper on Deck, but toward the end of the Faustian Cult arc, Hinako joins in.
Fanservice: Michiko wearing Hinako's pajamas which are a bit small for her. Diablo later gets his own fanservice in the form of a Shirtless Scene.
Fantastic Racism: Humans and demons generally don't get along well.
Fourth Wall Mail Slot: The semi-animated "Ask Diablo!" which stars a yukkuri resembling Diablo answering viewer questions (about any of the author's works, not just Demon Blade) with a synthesized voice and Deadpan Snarker tendencies.
Friendly Local Chinatown: Tengu Town, despite being in Australia, is partly modeled after a typical Japanese city due to mostly being populated by Japanese immigrants.
Genre Roulette: Demon Blade rotates between three different genres, each one with a different protagonist. The meat of the story is the action segments, which Diablo dominates. During the mecha parts, Dr. Suno takes the spotlight, and then the Slice of Life chapters focus mainly on Michiko.
Hands On Approach: Diablo corrects Michiko's stance while teaching her how to fence. The blushing that ensues is more because it causes Michiko to remember something Natsuki said earlier than because of an actual crush though.
Heel Face Turn: Diablo's father makes one of these to end the Chaos War in the prologue.
Morph Weapon: The titular weapon changes shape depending on its user.
Legion of Doom: A meta example. Several members of the Faustian Cult (namely Loki, Heimdall and Vlad) are updated versions of Big Bads from the author's previous, unfinished works.
Mukokuseki: Less severe than in many anime and manga of this genre, as the Asian characters at least have dark skin and Asian facial features. Diablo and Michiko have light skin, but they're both only half-Asian.
Vlad: Do you think you can defeat us all? Look how outnumbered you are! One little Kitsune, against two of the Four Avatars of Dios, and our gatekeeper!
Touya: Hey, what about us?
Vlad: What about you?
Mythology Gag: Diablo wonders if he should have a "cool mercenary name", and his first and only idea is "DiablotheEchidna". The idea is immediately shot down by Jack.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Many real-world celebrities have expies in the Demon Blade universe, usually appearing as one-time cameos.
Noodle Incident: "...and that's why you should always bring a helmet whenever you visit the Honda area."
Nosebleed: Michiko has a nosebleed when Diablo takes off some of his wet clothes to restore his mobility. In the omake strip for the same chapter, she is shown with a bloody tissue in her nose while writing a yaoi fic.
Not so Different: Loki points out that Diablo is similar to the Faustian Cult, in that he only thinks of himself.
Now or Never Kiss: Hinako and Dogma, after the latter makes it perfectly clear that he's either going to kill Dios or die trying.
Off Model: Much of chapter 11, which was drawn while the author was recovering from an eye infection.
Our Demons Are Different: Demons aren't just a species in the Demon Blade universe; Demonism is an entire biological kingdom, and the term is used for monsters and supernatural beings as a whole. And so, two creatures who look completely and utterly different could both be called demons, just like how two entirely different creatures in the real world are both animals. However, most demons share one common weakness: Silver.
Our Souls Are Different: Demon Blade's souls are translucent, colored balls surrounded by white flames.
Ow, My Body Part!: Loki yells "Agh, my spleen!" after being kneed in the chest by Hinako.
Prison Rape: Humorously subverted. Touya brings a pack of cards into his cell, and Carl insists on "making the game interesting" since he feels Touya owes him for his help. Touya is understandably horrified. Later, it turns out they're gambling for each other's food.
Product Placement: In one omake strip, the author has a bottle of Dr Pepper and a bag of Doritos (referred to as "mind fuel") with him while he draws. In another, Ivory is seen with a can of Diet Dr Pepper.
Rape as Comedy: Diablo's reaction to Michiko hugging his tail? "SHE'S TOUCHING ME INAPPROPRIATELY!"
Recoil Boost: Jay uses the recoil from his dark flames to dodge an attack.
The Reveal: Dios is an evil spirit who has taken over Diablo's dead brother's body, his previous host was Emperor Keiji, he created the Demon Blade, and Diablo is adopted.
Rule of Three: The name "Bruce" is listed exactly three times in the phone book when Diablo looks up Dr. Suno's number.
Running Gag: Diablo tends to leaves things behind, but he's always interrupted by a shocking sight when he's about to say what he forgot.
Sadistic Choice: The entire reason behind Dr. Suno and Carl Baki's duel. The Faustian Cult had set it up so that no matter who wins, an innocent person dies.
Schedule Slip: The first two chapters took three months each to complete, despite being of considerably lower quality than the newer chapters. There have also been a few chapters released near the end of the month, making the monthly schedule rather loose.
During a flashback, Ivory wears pants with "What What" printed on the seat, much like the ones Samwell wore in the "What What (In the Butt)" music video.
Heimdall, appropriately enough, quotes The Princess Bride's Count Rugen after he has Dogma cornered. However, unlike Inigo, the latter does not receive a Heroic Second Wind.
"This fate could have been avoided if he had a Sassy Gay Friend."
Chapter 20's splash panel pays tribute to the cover of The Beatles' Abbey Road album.
The "Dusk" poster in Michiko's room features a character making a trollface.
Spit Take: Ivory spits up his (very hot) tea this after finding out that Diablo's story, which sounds like something a child would make up, is in fact true.
Stay in the Kitchen: Dogma tries to convince Hinako not to join in the final battle against Dios. Although, it's slightly justified, since she had just recovered from a life-threatening injury.
Stunt Casting: Heavily parodied at the end of the first casting call for the dub, which lists the names of professional voice actors cast as all but one of the characters. (that one being listed as LittleKuriboh.)
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: When Diablo wakes Hinako up after freeing her. He later busts out, "Don't knock it 'til you try it, bitch!" in regard to Zula underestimating his speed.
Three Faces Of Eve: Among the female characters are the intelligent and serious Hinako, the innocent and naive Michiko, and the vulgar and perverted Natsuki.
Training from Hell: Diablo strongly implies that this is what Michiko will experience under him. As an example, before he could even begin to train her, he made her hit herself until it was made clear she could take pain.
Unsound Effect: The sound of Dr. Suno pulling a bonesaw from under a table? "BONESAW!"
Xanatos Gambit: Dios put Yowie in a room with a weak and easily breakable floor. If Yowie succeeds in killing any intruders, then he succeeds. If he fails, his sheer weight as he's knocked down breaks the floor and sends the intruders falling to their deaths anyway.
Xanatos Roulette: The entire Yaibato Mansion mini-arc and the events leading up to it were a Xanatos Roulette on Zula's part to eliminate Carl as a threat to Dios.
Xanatos Speed Chess: A wrench is thrown into Zula's plot, but that very same wrench is incorporated into it and used against the heroes.
Yowies and Bunyips and Drop Bears, Oh My: A Yowie appears as a minor enemy, simply named "Yowie". The Yara-ma-yha-who also makes an appearance, and there is an area of the Demon Blade universe called Bunyip Desert.
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