YMMV / Crimson Spell

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Exactly how Vald's curse works is....ambiguous, to say the least, leading to this both in- and out-of-universe. Vald himself treats it like a classic case of Demonic Possession and wants to distance himself from the demon's actions, but feels guilty for what he does during his blackouts anyway. Havi theorizes that Vald isn't possessed as such, but rather that the demonic influence of the curse brings parts of himself that Vald finds distasteful to the fore. This would certainly explain all the traits human Vald shares with his demon self. When he forces human Vald out of his body, allowing the demon to manifest fully, Astador speaks about it as though he were a distinct being. But Astador himself is the Enemy Without of a traumatized sorcerer, so he may simply be taking a different view on the same situation. Many fans split the difference and view Vald and the demon as separate, but acknowledge a certain degree of psychic seepage, causing human Vald to become angrier and more unpredictable and demon Vald to become gentler.
  • Havi gets quite a bit of this as well. Readers are split on if he's a great execution of a sugar-and-ice Seme or an abusive boyfriend who takes advantage of someone who came to him for help. This split also tends to go alongside the confusion about Vald's curse, with readers who see Vald as possessed being more likely to dislike Havi and readers who see demon Vald as being more of an Enemy Within (therefore making Vald's consent to their first few encounters somewhat less questionable) viewing Havi more sympathetically.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: As noted on the main page, the series does have a plot (an increasingly dark and complicated one, at that), but the graphic gay sex is its best-known trait.
• Jerkass Woobie: Halvir. While still a child, he loses his parents, is exiled from his homeland, and ends up near-homeless in the woods. Oh, and his closest neighbors are villagers who hate him and blame him for the royal family's problems with no proof. It's no wonder that by the time Vald meets him as an adult, he uses his power only for himself.