How does society adapt itself to the introduction of new technologies?
A fantasy universe, a sad and endless war between humans and demons,
a few powerful characters dead set on changing the game rules and putting the world in motion.
Among them, a genius inventor gambling on the rapid introduction of a few key technogies and ideas in a grand scale.
The plot revolves around the means and effects of this accelerated introduction in terms of simple
geopolitics, political economics and diplomacy.
The characters are cute and convincing. They have nearly unlimited ressources in their own field of expertise: strength, knowledge, money, political power.
They appear like levers by which the society changes.
Do not fear, it's very easy. I know nothing about economics, but with a few interesting concepts it opens the mind to a lot of things you have to think of when you want to change something in society. It's cute, interesting, funny and now I sympathize with resigning ministers.


BTWs:

-In my opinion, learning characters names is always a waste of brain power, so having no names for once felt quite good.

-Yes, spice & wolf comes to mind because they both deal with economics at one point. But the theme here is more society in motion where S&W doesn't dwell further than monetary systems (not that it's a competition, there are other interesting aspects developped in S&W)

-Many said this manga feels minimalistic (background drawings, names, character information).
I don't feel there is much more info on other mangas, isn't it just that for once you want to know more? I personally agree with U-Jin, everything fits great.

-I like your idea iggsta3o5, about the story beeing keynsian propaganda. Well, some mangas justifies for us some of our bad thoughts to sell.
It feels so good to have a universe where what we think is right:
One Piece (anarchy is the best), Berserk/Death note (homebrewed justice),
Most Vampires and girls stories (It's okay to like violent guys, they can't help it, it's the beast talking)...
Also, lots of manga explains how you can achieve anything, anything really, has long has your ready to endure enough pain for a normal human to kill himself over, and as long has you discover at one point in your life that one of your relative is a VIP/celebrity/hero/king/god.
But you are right, justifying Keynsian theories is pushing it.

-They could make such a good game out of this . No they must!

-Fun garanteed for Civilisation and simcity players

-minimum system requirments : eyes, brain, IQ 85 &+

... Last updated on September 6th, 2012, 11:56am

this is a really great manga version of the light novel series and hands down the best version (yes ive read the others). the art is amazing and i little more sketchy but makes this series look even better trust me. the story is really interesting and i find it funny and interesting that the characters names are only there position or what they are, its a good twist on things. anyway the only thing i gotta say about this (personally it doesnt bother me) is that there are chapters with a lot of text and reading so it does take some intellect to apreciate this fully but its still enjoyable either way so enjoy

... Last updated on June 1st, 2013, 9:44am

In the past, I've often thought how silly it was that so many manga "ponder" on the inevitability of war, only to take the easy way out with the defeat of the bad guy of the day (Naruto being a prime example).

After all, we've figured out the path to peace a long time ago, and we're living it right now: economic interdependence (coupled with social progress). As long as it's more profitable to trade with other countries than fighting against them, countries will avoid fighting. China won't ever attack the U.S., for example, because it'd be economic suicide to mess with its largest client (if you think otherwise, you're crazy). And yet, just about no manga bothers to address this economic aspect. Certainly, building a stable economy and society is MUCH harder than killing some bad guys, especially when the different parties hate each other to begin with.

When I first started reading this manga, I at first dropped it after 2 chapters: despite the excellent concept, the arguments put forth still made the execution feel flimsy. I only picked it up recently again, and I really don't regret it. The series dives into more aspects of the reforms and puts up better arguments later on. It still fails to go into the socio-economic aspects in real depth: spread of new concepts occur way more quickly than realistic, obstacles are easily set aside, social aspects aren't really addressed beyond "and now everybody is prosperous and happy" (though the changes do lead to backlash from existing establishments). It's a bit like how in fantasy stories, everything resolves itself once you kill the bad guy of the day, except here the issues are resolved with the crop, technology or social reform of the day.

Still, it is extremely refreshing to read, because it goes where 99% of adventure stories do not. For that alone, I must give it credit. While the readers may be familiar with most of the concepts described here, it is still quite interesting to see it used within a fantasy setting.

This is also aided by a cast of highly competent characters (sadly, with more basic common sense than many politicians around the world seem to have nowadays). The author doesn't treat any of the side characters as stupid fodder to make other characters look smart and competent. On the contrary, all of them (or at least the not-bad-guys) are highly competent in their own way, and side characters display remarkable growth to later take on more prominent roles in society, which is Really satisfying to read. Action is mixed in in a way that keeps the series lively.

In conclusion, this is a fantasy series that uses economic, social and technology (as well as fighting) to achieve its goals, instead of merely fighting like more series do. Though it addresses these aspects with as much depth as most fantasy address the concept of war (which is to say, not that much), it is still very interesting and refreshing to read, moreso thanks to its cast of competent characters.

An unusual duo set out to improve the lives of as many people as possible.

This manga has incredible writing, an interesting story, great deep characters, great art, great pace.
The only possible downside may be that there's a lot of text explaining economics/agriculture in the first 2 chapters and there's generally a lot to read and relatively little action up till now, but I personally did not mind at all, because *everything* was interesting.
I was surprised how this manga manages to stay interesting with each chapter and I love how this manga examines philosophical questions. (e.g. how the word "evil" is usually meaningless or simply relative.)
And it doesn't waste your time with senseless side plots.

I've read so many mangas which were riddled with logical fallacies/misconceptions, making me facepalm most of the time when characters had dialogues. Not here: The characters who are supposed to be intelligent also sound intelligent (at least to me).

This manga adaption of Maoyuu is unique, intelligent, cute, funny, beautiful, real (within the fantasy-setting of course), emotional, educational and so much more. There's some fanservice in the form of Demon Queen's cleavage, too.

This has become my new favorite manga.
Maoyuu may not be for everyone, but it's a *must-read* in my opinion.

(This review is for chapters 1-8)

... Last updated on December 20th, 2011, 9:45am

I saw this title a few times, here and there. Finally decided to give it a try and guess what.. its great!!
Of course the "hero + demon queen theme" was done already in "Superior" but this is still most original manga i've read in years!
Now i don't know how good other versions are (i prefer to stick to one.. yea), but reading this one feels like reading a great book (lots of text - i don't mind).

I won't go into: characters are blah blah, art is this and that, or whatever. Because everything fits great! Don't read this comment, read the manga!

Clear 10/10 from me

I prefer this interpretation over the previous one, however, the art in this one is more toonish

they both have the same author, but different artists so I dont know whats going on

but if u are deciding between both and dont want to do both, choose this one

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is an excelent manga, has the same vibe and feel to Spice and Wolf, another great manga. The description of this manga is pretty accurate as well
Beware, this is pretty information heavy (economics and world setting) so watch out for that if you're not into reading too much.
The protagonists of the manga: the demon queen and the hero are pretty dynamic and cute together, they make a really good couple. The side characters are really good as well, my favorites are the big sister maid and the female knight.
Overwall, I give Maoyuu Maou Yuusha a solid 9, it's not perfect, but it's an excellent manga, with a really good story, strong characters and a really cute artstyle.

... Last updated on June 27th, 2012, 11:06pm

This is pretty much what this manga (and novel) is about: Economic Simulation. There are no names given to any of the characters because when you read a report, it's all about numbers and statistics - nameless. And this is how the story are unfolded.

The premises is great, but the deus ex machina of the whole problem solving makes the story appear like a joke. Numerous inventions were brought up by a single person called Female Scholar (Demon Queen). They are pretty much a carbon copy of stuff from our world. Hell, even the vegetables are from our world. I mean it's relate-able since we know it so well, but calling it one of the staple food is of demonic origin is incredibly offensive. This is what potatoes are in the story. Wheat and Rice came later. -_-"

I mean the Author could have make something more unique and in the fantasy setting the story portrayed. The morality about religion versus advancement is heavily implied. I could go on for ages about how wrong this is, but I'm not religious so I tend to enjoy the story for what they are.

Cuteness overwhelming between the Hero and the Demon Queen. I mean it so fluffy at times that I couldn't help but grin at the situation. He's bad ass in skill that never explained fully, which made it a few "what?" moment. The two factions are there to create fictions between the characters and pretty much did nothing more. They pretty much detailed in their own background and individual goal, but in the end, they pretty much fillers. There is one overall plot, but it gets stale very quickly and I just want to see if their relationship gets any further developed than they are.

Also, harem route is played with but ultimately abandoned. It simply doesn't work in the setting where everyone is nameless. The females cast aren't shallow, which is great relief to know. There are many real life theme that this manga touched on, but like real life, never really solved, which makes it somewhat realistic. There are bad and down just like any stories, but overall, it's deserve the score it got. People who gave it low score because it's not stereotype "fantasy" is incredibly biased. Fantasy doesn't necessary mean sword and sorcery and its mechanics, it simply mean the setting is in a fantasy world where magic existed.

Hahaha... it's interesting to see how many heavy-minded comments stuck for this manga series. Well, I'm also a fan (big ones) for this series, so allow me to express opinion about the previous comments.
First being first, i guess it's not quite right for you to judge this series based on the details of every attributes in this manga, like the back-ground story, magic process, knowledge source of the Demon Queen, the source of strength of the Hero, etc. If you read it carefully each chapter of this series, you will find that this Manga is entirely talking about PHILOSOPHY, please note that word. (Sorry spoiler) First arc, they talk about the PHILOSOPHY of war, whether it's good or not, based on Keynesian Economic. Next arc, they talk about the PHILOSOPHY of technology of agriculture, international trade, freedom, and so on.
I guess the writer is quite understand that if the writer add the details for each arc, the storiy will too overloaded with information, and the focus will gradually away from the philosophy itself.
About the graphic? Matched very well with the style of the story (a bit ancient-ish) which myself really like.
About the story? (sorry spolier again) It's explained eloquently with implicitly tells about the philosophy of almost all big event in human history, like war, international trade, freedom revolution, and even religion).
Score: definitely 10 (it's very subjective though)

Note: there's a comment that this series just imported invention from future to middle ages (like cars)... Come on read again, it's not stop at that point, this manga also explain how to introduce the car to middle age, how to manage the reaction, and how to maximize the utility from the technology morally.
Ah, don't worry if you dont like philosophy, this manga wrap the main message with a beautiful plot and dialogue, so don't miss it just because i said too much words about philosophy.
Have a nice read...

... Last updated on June 18th, 2013, 9:18pm

The fighting is a bit hard to take serious as the hero can kill just about anything with absolute ease if he wanted to.... not to mention being able to tele through defenses... basically just a giant godmod lol. Whats interesting is the character development, plot, comedy, and romance spread throughout the story. I always find myself hoping to see a new chapter of this every time i check recent updates. Surely not a title to pass up, and a manga that deviated from the average path in a splendid way.