‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess

A manga about a captured warrior princess who is tortured by the demonic enemy forces. She fails to resist against “horrific” temptations like food and video games, and she always reveals her kingdom’s secrets but luckily the hell lord is too busy taking care of his daughter to take advantage of them.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

At the beginning the shtick gets old quickly as the grand inquisitor always presents a simple pleasure like fresh toast and at first the princess resists it and her magic sword praises her spirit. Then the grand inquisitor raises the stakes by adding a new element like the remains of beef stew and the princess is powerless to resist this. After she gives up a kingdom secret the hell lord never takes advantage because he’s caring for his young daughter. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually the series focuses more on the growing friendship between the princess and all the demons. The tortures all become exceedingly sweet and the series transitions into a full iyashikei/feel-good story about a princess being friends with the demon forces. I give Robinson Haruhara a lot of credit for keeping the story upbeat. The artist Hirakei worked on another comedy manga Shinmai Nitta-ism which was also hilarious and heartwarming so they are a prefect fit for this series.

I really enjoy this manga but I can see how it’s not for everyone. You can read it in English now on Manga PLUS.

~dakazu