Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: IruMafia Edition Volume 1 Review

Little Iruma has been born into a life of poverty in the slums but has a kindly heart which others constantly take advantage of. ‘Unfailingly accepting by nature, he is incapable of saying no’. When he finds an old man lying in a pool of blood outside the tent he calls home, his first thought is to try to nurse him back to health, even giving him his last loaf of bread. Little does he expect that, a few days later, the old man will reappear and introduce himself as Don Sullivan, head of the Babel Mafia. Whisked away to the Babel HQ, Iruma fears that he’s been kidnapped – but no, “You can call me Nonno!” says Don Sulllivan, beaming indulgently. “Because as of today, you are my grandson!”

It just so happens that a young desperado from the slums, Opera, has been captured by Don Sullivan’s men – and they make a bid for freedom, capturing Iruma to hold to ransom. But when they learn what a tolerant and kindly soul the little boy is, Opera falters. Which is when Don Sullivan makes Opera an offer they can’t refuse: to become Iruma’s bodyguard.

Fast forward nine years and Iruma is now the underboss, Babel’s Number Two, with a scarily stern tutor (Kalego Naberius, who is also the famiglia’s treasurer) and a bodyguard, Opera, who is constantly feuding winding Kalego up. The second chapter shows Kalego at his most irascible as the family has racked up a huge debt – but who could imagine the ingenious solution Iruma comes up with to solve the problem? And the third chapter finds the young underboss on his way to Walter City ‘The Metropolis of Fantastical Fun’ where – of course – not everything is as it should be…

As a long-term fan of Iruma and the staff and students at Babyls, I couldn’t resist taking a look at this fully-fledged spin-off by Hiroja, created with the blessing and guidance of mangaka Osamu Nishi. And rather than opt for a yakuza-themed crime underworld theme, the choice of a Sicilian mafia-style set-up suits the demons rather well. One of the fun aspects of spin-offs is meeting new versions of the characters you know and love and here Hiroja doesn’t disappoint! It’s only the first volume but we’ve already encountered some of the original main cast – with many more to come, as shown in the splendid colour artwork at the front of the volume and the Wanted poster preview at the end. The new looks for Opera and Kalego are extremely cool (even though Kalego is still constantly scowling) and the young underboss himself looks very smart indeed in his white suit, braces, tie and hat. I can’t wait to meet Ameri and Clara in their new mafioso-style incarnations.

Osamu Nishi’s original manga is up to 45 volumes and ongoing in Japan with a fourth anime season due to start in 2026; IruMafia is already up to 6 volumes! What is the secret of the success of this likable series which tends to see each new volume enter the top 20 in Japan? Iruma himself is one of those sunny-natured manga protagonists that are very hard to dislike and the colourful cast of characters who are drawn into his circle make for strong page-turning fantasy that (in spite of initial appearances) is far from being whimsical. He’s in no way like Luffy (except for having a huge appetite) and yet there’s something of the same appeal about him – and, of course, the upbeat underlying ethos, “As long as I’ve got my family with me, we’ll still have lots of fun!”

The translation for Vertical is by JM Iitomi Crandall and deals effortlessly with all the mafiosi-style pronouncements: Don Sullivan’s speech is laced with Italian to give that authentic feel. And all this is brought to vivid life by Nicole Roderick’s wonderful varied and apt choices of lettering.

Kudos to Hiroja for creating such an enticing variation on the Iruma story, with, of course, the involvement of original mangaka Osamu Nishi. The art is splendid and, like the original series editions from Vertical, there are plenty of extras: messages from the creators, Devilish Details of the IruMafia which comprise a generous helping of 4-koma skits, Eiko’s Adventures, and a preview of the next volume (due out in November). With the generous colour art at the beginning, this adds up to an appealing start to the spin-off series. If you’ve never read Iruma before, this is an engaging and lively way to meet the characters – but if you’re already a fan, it’s a must-have for your collection.

Read a free preview at the publisher’s website here.

Our review copy from Vertical was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).

• Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun © Hiroja/Osamu Nishi/Akita Publishing Co., Ltd.