Fantasy where the main character is a villain. Mary Shelley - “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus”

10 great books where you worry about negative characters!

1. H.G. Wells - “The Invisible Man”

Readers are invited to the most famous novel by the famous English writer H.G. Wells “The Invisible Man”. Tragic story a talented scientist who made an amazing discovery and imagines himself a “superman”, is distinguished by an intense, almost detective plot and amazes with the combination of psychological and everyday authenticity with the fantastic nature of the events taking place. The book was filmed several times, and its hero became one of the most popular characters.

2. Goethe - “Faust”

The great Goethe invented his “Faust” when he was a little over twenty years old, and completed the tragedy a few months before his death. This work was the result of the philosophical and artistic quest of the author - a poet, playwright, prose writer, the greatest scientist of his time, a man of encyclopedic knowledge. The hero of the tragedy, Doctor Johann Faust, lived in the first half of the 16th century and was known as a magician and warlock who, having rejected modern science and religion, sold his soul to the devil. There were oral legends about Faust, he was a hero theatrical performances, his image was addressed by the authors - G.R. Vidman, K. Marlo, F.M. Klinger, G.E. Lessing and others. From the pen of Goethe, the story of Faust, dedicated to eternal themes knowledge of life and the difficulties of the human path, has become one of the peaks of world literature.

3. E. T. A. Hoffman - “Everyday views of the cat Murr”

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822) is one of the most famous and popular writers in the world. The crowning achievement of Hoffmann’s work, the last German romantic and first realist, was the novel “ Worldly views Kota Murra” (1821), in which a spectacular combination of both artistic methods becomes the core compositional technique: the ardent confessions of the romantic musician Kreisler are interspersed here with sneering and satirically aimed “notes” of the famous Bursha cat, denouncing philistinism.
The novel enjoys continued success among a wide range of readers. different countries for a century and a half.

4. Alexey Tolstoy - “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”

This is perhaps the first Russian book in which science fiction and adventure elements are intertwined so closely that it is no longer possible to separate them. This is “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”. A book that young readers of our country could not and cannot tear themselves away from for many decades! Because eternal story a brilliant scientist who dreams of world domination, and a handful of daredevils who enter into battle with this “ evil genius”, still remains fascinating and talented!

5. Patrick Suskind - “Perfumer. The story of a murderer"

Published in 1985, the novel “Perfume”, which intricately combines the features of baroque, romanticism, literary parable and intellectual thriller, was not only translated into 33 languages ​​and remained on the international bestseller list for more than eight years, but also became a kind of standard of modern European intellectual prose.
A best-selling thriller that tells the life story of a brilliant perfumer and... bloody killer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille instantly became a world sensation.
“Perfumer” is recognized as the most famous novel, written in German, since the time of E.M. Remarque’s book “On western front no change."

6. Patricia Highsmith - “The Talented Mr. Ripley”

“The Talented Mr. Ripley” is one of the most famous novels Patricia Highsmith.
Tom Ripley is poor, he does not have powerful patrons, but he is a masterly swindler, and most importantly, a person absolutely devoid of ideas about morality and decency.
Patricia Highsmith builds a fascinating detective story, at the same time trying to penetrate into the very depths of his character’s soul, to answer the question of how a person who decides to commit a crime feels. The novel was awarded the Edgar Poe Prize. established by the Crime Writers Association of the United States, and has been filmed several times.

7. Iris Murdoch - “Escape from the Wizard”

Almost Detective story a girl running away from an elite college turns in Iris Murdoch's novel "Escape from the Wizard" into a postmodern, sophisticated version of the medieval legend of Magic, Power and Love - a version in which reality is intertwined with a crazy flight of fantasy, tragedy - with a cheerful and malicious farce, and irony classic English comedy - with bitter, tragic, arrogant absurdity.

8. Robert Louis Stevenson - “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

One day, Dr. Jekyll locks himself in his office, refusing to show himself, communicating with his family in an unnatural voice. It is assumed that the criminal Hyde killed the doctor, and, unable to leave the doctor's house, pretends to be the murdered man.
In a found posthumous letter received by Utterson, Dr. Jekyll admits that he came to scientific discovery, which consists in the fact that in the human psyche several aspects of the same personality exist simultaneously, and a person as such is a product of the simultaneous combined action of all these personalities. As a result of a scientific experiment that was not completely successful, he was able to find a way for his negative self to temporarily occupy a dominant position. Mr. Hyde, who committed monstrous atrocities, is the same Dr. Jekyll in which he evil beginning received power and Jekyll could quietly sin in this shell. However, the doctor lost control of the process of his transformation into Hyde, which led the doctor to despair and death.

9. Mary Shelley - “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus”

In the history of world literature, the cult “Frankenstein” by nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley stands at the origins of the genre science fiction. This dark, unusually powerful story about a scientist whose invention turned out to be a tragedy for both him and those around him, anticipated the pessimistic motives of many modern science fiction works.

10. Charles de Lint - “Blade of Sleep”

Dream and reality... The thin and razor-sharp line between them cut the life of Isabelle Coplay in half. In past talented artist, a student of the great painter, now on a secluded island she is looking for salvation from her nightmares that have become reality. What ruined Isabelle's fate - an extraordinary gift or terrible curse? And who really is her teacher - an insidious villain or an unsurpassed genius? The artist is afraid to find out the truth. But, like a ghost, a letter from a long-dead friend appears and forces Isabelle to return to the past and once again walk along the edge of sleep.

It is rare in fantasy to find a book without a Main Villain (MV). In any case, I have never seen one like this before. Where would we be without him? Who will the Main Character kill/morally destroy/re-educate? So let's talk about Villains.

No one fights under the banner of evil.
Under the banner of darkness? Yes, as much as you like! People fight, first of all, so that either it is good for them, or for some idea (then it is good only for the author of the idea and a small circle of close people). There are too few sadists in the world to subjugate even a seedy country.

The villain is a psycho
People will not follow GZ if he is a complete idiot who has gone off the rails. Unfortunately, a little later crazy people people are coming with joy (Adolf Hitler is a prime example of this) So, when describing the villainous hysterical - demonic laughter, do not overdo it. Let him laugh no more than once every forty pages.
Although, to be honest, I prefer villains who are smart and without mental disorders- they are both worthy opponents and, to some extent, attractive heroes.

The villain must be original
No less, and sometimes more than other heroes. He is the second person after GG, he must be memorable! I’ll give you a hackneyed and hackneyed example - the eye-shaped Sauron in The Lord of the Rings.

The villain's actions should not be very predictable.
It’s better to skip the “very” particle. And G.G. and G.Z. Most books are terribly predictable. The first one rushes across the entire country/continent/other worlds to the Black Stronghold to kill the second one. The Main Villain sends his servants to meet him and sends curses, or at least curses loudly with them. Yes, everything is clear and even well argued in some books. But it’s so boring, comrades!

The Villain's actions must be justified
That is, if he sent a hero to a gang of robbers and the GG still killed them, then he will not send forces of the same size a second time: he will either use magic or hire mercenaries who are good with weapons. By the way, here you need not to overdo it: I read books where GZ sent gangs of barbarians, then mercenaries, or wickedness to the GG fifteen times, but he survived with the tenacity of a mated cockroach.

The villain must have some charm.
The villain must be sympathetic externally, and sometimes internally. Why? Because a person with initial depravity of character makes you think. This means that reading a book is much more interesting and enjoyable.

The people sent and the people went...
It must be explained why if G.Z. such a bummer, but for some reason the people still have not gathered and overthrown the tyrant and despot, or at least have not emigrated to neighboring states in order to complain to the Good King. No, everyone is sitting and peacefully waiting for the Main Character to appear! And sometimes they also do nasty things to him. Are the Dark Lords really collecting complete masochists?

About good, in the sense of property Explain to me why the Villain's castle almost always collapses triumphantly after the victory of Good and Light? Why such cliched stamps?

About the power of Darkness
The Main Villain must be a worthy opponent. What is the interest in reading about Zhmyr Zlodeychikov, who has a dozen servants and magic at the level of the simplest fireballs (which are now fashionable to call pulsars)? The villain must not only be prepared for a meeting with the heroes (castle, fortifications, ground-to-surface missiles, very powerful magic and an underground passage from the castle just in case), but also try to increase his strength.

About oxymorons
The Chief Villain is one hundred percent confident in his victory, this is almost everywhere. But at the same time, he has a paranoid mania of persecution: he is afraid of the Main Character and does not even set foot in his castle.

About dark peoples
It touches me that the Chief Villain is subjugating states using the whip and sledgehammer method, doing without carrots and halva. But what about political tricks? Visual propaganda? Without the Main Character, he will not last long in his high position.

About author's and classic monsters
Well, everything is simple here. IN Lately in fantasy, monsters independently invented by the author are used less and less often. Why bother once again if you can take vampires, werewolves, ghouls and animated skeletons that have long been familiar to the reader? And so that the reader does not suspect the writer of poverty of imagination, one can refer to the fact that our worlds were created by the same demiurges.
But that’s okay, sometimes there are people like that detailed descriptions monsters, which can kill your appetite. Well, not for me, a person already accustomed to many things, but for the novice reader, please. All these tentacles, horns, teeth and enormous mouths... Horror! Yes, and the hackneyed one is also terrible.
Here I can only advise one thing: use your last money to buy a good encyclopedia of evil spirits and/or learn to describe monsters not in very detail, but it’s still scary. Originality is, as always, welcome.

And once again about love
The Main Villain should have no love. For two simple reasons:

  • Firstly, it becomes a pity to kill him, since he is capable of at least some feeling. GGs are generally very sensitive to such circumstances and begin to feel sorry for the Villains.
  • Secondly, love is the main weapon of good forces! It would never even occur to the author to give it to the bad uncle Head of the Villain.

  • Do you agree with me? But in vain! Because the plot is where main villain falls in love, it seems, has not yet become a cliche, unlike the first version.

    People, your comments and additions to this collection are still very important to me!

    In the world of Naruto, two years flew by unnoticed. Former newcomers joined the ranks of experienced shinobi at the rank of chunin and jonin. The main characters did not sit still - each became a student of one of the legendary Sannin - the three great ninjas of Konoha. The guy in orange continued his training with the wise but eccentric Jiraiya, gradually ascending to new level combat skill. Sakura became the assistant and confidant of the healer Tsunade, the new leader of the Leaf Village. Well, Sasuke, whose pride led to his expulsion from Konoha, entered into a temporary alliance with the sinister Orochimaru, and each believes that they are only using the other for the time being.

    The brief respite ended, and events in Once again rushed with hurricane speed. In Konoha, the seeds of old strife sown by the first Hokage are sprouting again. The mysterious Akatsuki leader has set in motion a plan for world domination. There is turmoil in the Sand Village and neighboring countries, old secrets are resurfacing everywhere, and it is clear that bills will have to be paid someday. The long-awaited continuation of the manga inspired new life into the series and new hope into the hearts of countless fans!

    © Hollow, World Art

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    Swordsman Tatsumi, a simple boy from the countryside, goes to the Capital to earn money for his starving village.
    And when he gets there, he soon learns that the great and beautiful Capital is just an appearance. The city is mired in corruption, cruelty and lawlessness that comes from the Prime Minister, who rules the country from behind the scenes.
    But as everyone knows, “Alone in the field is no warrior,” and nothing can be done about it, especially when your enemy is the head of state, or rather the one who hides behind him.
    Will Tatsumi find like-minded people and be able to change something? Watch and find out for yourself.

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    Fairy Tail is a Guild of Hired Wizards, famous throughout the world for its crazy antics. The young sorceress Lucy was sure that, having become one of its members, she had ended up in the most wonderful Guild in the world... until she met her comrades - the explosive fire-breathing and flying Natsu, who sweeps away everything in his path talking cat Happy, the exhibitionist Gray, the boring berserker Elsa, the glamorous and loving Loki... Together they will have to overcome many enemies and experience many unforgettable adventures!

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    18-year-old Sora and 11-year-old Shiro are half-brother and sister, complete recluses and gambling addicts. When two loneliness met, an indestructible union was born " Empty place», terrifying for all eastern gamers. Although in public the boys are shaken and distorted in ways that are not childish, on the Internet little Shiro is a genius of logic, and Sora is a monster of psychology who cannot be fooled. Alas, worthy opponents soon ran out, which is why Shiro was so happy about the chess game, where the master’s handwriting was visible from the first moves. Having won to the limit of their strength, the heroes received an interesting offer - to move to another world, where their talents will be understood and appreciated!

    Why not? In our world, nothing holds Sora and Shiro, and the cheerful world of Disboard is ruled by the Ten Commandments, the essence of which boils down to one thing: no violence and cruelty, all disagreements are resolved in fair play. There are 16 races living in the game world, of which the human race is considered the weakest and most untalented. But the miracle guys are already here, in their hands is the crown of Elquia - the only country of people, and we believe that the successes of Sora and Shiro will not be limited to this. The Earth's envoys just need to unite all the races of Disbord - and then they will be able to challenge the god Tet - by the way, an old friend of theirs. But if you think about it, is it worth doing?

    © Hollow, World Art

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    Fairy Tail is a Guild of Hired Wizards, famous throughout the world for its crazy antics. The young sorceress Lucy was sure that, having become one of its members, she had found herself in the most wonderful Guild in the world... until she met her comrades - the explosive fire-breathing and sweeping away everything in his path Natsu, the flying talking cat Happy, the exhibitionist Gray , the boring berserker Elsa, the glamorous and loving Loki... Together they will have to defeat many enemies and experience many unforgettable adventures!

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    University student Kaneki Ken ends up in a hospital as a result of an accident, where he is mistakenly transplanted with the organs of one of the ghouls - monsters that feed on human flesh. Now he himself becomes one of them, and for people he turns into an outcast subject to destruction. But can he become one of the other ghouls? Or is there no more room for him in the world now? This anime will tell about the fate of Kaneki and the impact he will have on the future of Tokyo, where there is a continuous war between two species.

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    The continent that lies in the center of the Ignola ocean is the large central one and four more - Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western, and the gods themselves look after it, and it is called Ente Isla.
    And there is a name that plunges anyone on Ente Isla into Horror - the Lord of Darkness Mao.
    He's the boss other world where all the dark creatures live.
    He is the embodiment of fear and horror.
    The Lord of Darkness Mao declared war on the human race and sowed death and destruction throughout the continent of Ente Isla.
    The Lord of Darkness was served by 4 powerful generals.
    Adramelech, Lucifer, Alciel and Malacoda.
    The four Demon Generals led the attack on the 4 parts of the continent. However, a hero appeared and spoke out against the army of the underworld. The hero and his comrades defeated the troops of the Lord of Darkness in the west, then Adramelech in the north and Malacoda in the south. The hero led the united army of the human race and launched an attack on the central continent where the castle of the Lord of Darkness stood...

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    Yato is a wandering Japanese god in the form of a thin blue-eyed youth in tracksuit. In Shintoism, the power of a deity is determined by the number of believers, but our hero has no temple, no priests, all donations fit into a sake bottle. The guy in the neckerchief works as a handyman, painting advertisements on the walls, but things are going very badly. Even the tongue-in-cheek Mayu, who worked as a shinki—Yato’s Sacred Weapon—for many years, left her master. And without weapons younger god no stronger than an ordinary mortal magician, you have to (what a shame!) hide from evil spirits. And who needs such a celestial being anyway?

    One day, a pretty high school girl, Hiyori Iki, threw herself under a truck to save some guy in black. It ended badly - the girl did not die, but gained the ability to “leave” her body and walk on the “other side.” Having met Yato there and recognizing the culprit of her troubles, Hiyori convinced the homeless god to heal her, for he himself admitted that no one can live long between worlds. But, having gotten to know each other better, Iki realized that the current Yato did not have enough strength to solve her problem. Well, you need to take matters into your own hands and personally guide the tramp on the right path: first, find a weapon for the unlucky one, then help him earn money, and then, you see, what happens. It’s not for nothing that they say: what a woman wants, God wants!

    © Hollow, World Art

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    IN high school Suimei University of Arts has many dormitories, and there are apartment building"Sakura". While hostels have strict rules, everything is possible at Sakura, which is why its local nickname is “madhouse.” Since in art genius and madness are always somewhere nearby, the inhabitants of the “cherry orchard” are talented and interesting guys who are too far out of the “swamp”. Take, for example, the noisy Misaki, who sells her own anime to major studios, her friend and playboy screenwriter Jin, or the reclusive programmer Ryunosuke, who communicates with the world only via the Internet and telephone. Compared to them main character Sorata Kanda is a simpleton who ended up in a “psychiatric hospital” just for... loving cats!

    Therefore, Chihiro-sensei, the head of the hostel, instructed Sorata, as the only sane guest, to meet his cousin Mashiro, who transfers to their school from distant Britain. The fragile blonde seemed like a real bright angel to Kanda. True, at a party with new neighbors, the guest behaved stiffly and said little, but the newly minted admirer attributed everything to understandable stress and fatigue from the road. Only real stress awaited Sorata in the morning when he went to wake up Mashiro. The hero realized with horror that his new friend - great artist absolutely out of this world, that is, she’s not even able to dress herself! And the insidious Chihiro is right there - from now on, Kanda will forever look after her sister, because the guy has already practiced on cats!

    © Hollow, World Art

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    In the 21st century, the world community finally managed to systematize the art of magic and raise it to a new level. Those who are able to use magic after finishing the ninth grade in Japan are now welcome in magic schools - but only if applicants pass the exam. The quota for admission to the First School (Hachioji, Tokyo) is 200 students, the best hundred are enrolled in the first department, the rest are in the reserve, in the second, and teachers are assigned only to the first hundred, “Flowers”. The rest, the “Weeds,” learn on their own. At the same time, there is always an atmosphere of discrimination in the school, because even the forms of both departments are different.
    Shiba Tatsuya and Miyuki were born 11 months apart, making them the same year in school. Upon entering the First School, the sister finds herself among the Flowers, and the brother among the Weeds: despite the excellent theoretical knowledge, the practical part is not easy for him.
    In general, we are waiting for the study of a mediocre brother and an exemplary sister, as well as their new friends - Chiba Erika, Saijo Leonhart (or just Leo) and Shibata Mizuki - at the school of magic, the quantum physics, Tournament of Nine Schools and much more...

    © Sa4ko aka Kiyoso

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    The "Seven Deadly Sins", once great warriors revered by the British. But one day, they are accused of trying to overthrow the monarchs and killing a warrior from the Holy Knights. Subsequently, the Holy Knights stage a coup d'état and seize power into their own hands. And the “Seven Deadly Sins”, now outcasts, scattered throughout the kingdom, in all directions. Princess Elizabeth was able to escape from the castle. She decides to go in search of Meliodas, the leader of the Seven Sins. Now all seven must unite again to prove their innocence and avenge their expulsion.

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    2021 An unknown virus "Gastrea" came to earth and destroyed almost all of humanity in a matter of days. But this is not just a virus like some kind of Ebola or Plague. He doesn't kill a person. Gastrea is an intelligent infection that rearranges DNA turning the host into scary monster.
    The war began and eventually 10 years passed. People have found a way to isolate themselves from the infection. The only thing that Gastrea cannot tolerate is a special metal - Varanium. It was from this that people built huge monoliths and surrounded Tokyo with them. It seemed that now the few survivors could live behind the monoliths in peace, but alas, the threat has not gone away. Gastrea is still waiting for the right moment to infiltrate Tokyo and destroy the few remnants of humanity. There is no hope. The extermination of people is only a matter of time. But the terrible virus also had another effect. There are those who are already born with this virus in their blood. These children, the "Cursed Children" (Exclusively girls) have superhuman strength and regeneration. In their bodies, the spread of the virus is many times slower than in the body ordinary person. Only they can resist the creatures of "Gastrea" and more to humanity there is nothing to count on. Will our heroes be able to save the remaining living people and find a cure for the terrifying virus? Watch and find out for yourself.

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    The story in Steins,Gate takes place a year after the events of Chaos,Head.
    The intense plot of the game partly takes place in a realistically recreated area of ​​Akahibara, in famous place shopping otaku in Tokyo. The plot is as follows: a group of friends installs a device in Akihibara to send text messages to the past. A mysterious organization called SERN is interested in the experiments of the game's heroes, which is also engaged in its own research in the field of time travel. And now friends have to make enormous efforts to avoid being captured by SERN.

    © Hollow, World Art


    Added series 23β, which is alternative ending and leading to continuation in SG0.
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    Thirty thousand players from Japan and many more from around the world suddenly found themselves locked in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Legend of the Ancients. On the one hand, gamers were transported to new world physically, the illusion of reality turned out to be almost flawless. On the other hand, the “fallen people” retained their previous avatars and acquired skills, user interface and leveling system, and death in the game only led to resurrection in the cathedral of the nearest large city. Realizing that there was no great goal, and no one named the price for exit, the players began to flock together - some to live and rule by the law of the jungle, others - to resist lawlessness.

    Shiroe and Naotsugu, in the world a student and a clerk, in the game - a cunning magician and a powerful warrior, have known each other for a long time from the legendary “Mad Tea Party” guild. Alas, those days are gone forever, but also in new reality you can meet old acquaintances and just good guys with whom you won’t be bored. And most importantly, “Legends” appeared in the world indigenous people, which considers aliens to be great and immortal heroes. Involuntarily you want to become a kind of knight Round Table slaying dragons and saving girls. Well, there are plenty of girls around, monsters and robbers too, and for relaxation there are cities like hospitable Akiba. The main thing is that you shouldn’t die in the game, it’s much more correct to live like a human being!

    © Hollow, World Art

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    The ghoul race has existed since time immemorial. Its representatives are not at all against people, they even love them - mainly in their raw form. Lovers of human flesh are outwardly indistinguishable from us, strong, fast and tenacious - but there are few of them, so ghouls have developed strict rules for hunting and camouflage, and violators are punished themselves or quietly handed over to fighters against evil spirits. In the age of science, people know about ghouls, but as they say, they are used to it. The authorities do not consider cannibals a threat; moreover, they view them as an ideal basis for creating super-soldiers. Experiments have been going on for a long time...

    The main character Ken Kaneki faces a painful search for a new path, because he realized that people and ghouls are similar: they just eat each other in literally, others - figuratively. The truth of life is cruel, it cannot be changed, and the one who does not turn away is strong. And then somehow!

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    In the world of Hunter x Hunter, there is a class of people called Hunters who, using psychic powers and trained in all manner of fighting, explore the wild corners of the mostly civilized world. The main character, a young man named Gon (Gun), is the son of the great Hunter himself. His father mysteriously disappeared many years ago, and now, having grown up, Gon (Gong) decides to follow in his footsteps. Along the way he finds several companions: Leorio, an ambitious medical doctor whose goal is to get rich. Kurapika is the only survivor of his clan, whose goal is revenge. Killua is the heir to a family of assassins whose goal is training. Together they achieve their goal and become Hunters, but this is only the first step on their long journey... And ahead is the story of Killua and his family, the story of Kurapika’s revenge and, of course, training, new tasks and adventures! The series stopped with Kurapika's revenge... What awaits us next after all these years?

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    The action takes place in an alternate reality where the existence of demons has long been recognized; There is even an island in the Pacific Ocean - “Itogamijima”, where demons are full citizens and have equal rights with people. However, there are also human magicians who hunt them, in particular, vampires. An ordinary Japanese schoolboy named Akatsuki Kojou for some unknown reason turned into a “purebred vampire”, the fourth in number. He begins to be followed by a young girl, Himeraki Yukina, or "blade shaman", who is supposed to monitor Akatsuki and kill him if he gets out of control.

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    The story tells of a young man named Saitama, who lives in a world ironically similar to ours. He is 25, bald and handsome, and, moreover, so strong that with one blow he can annihilate all dangers to humanity. He is looking for himself in a difficult way life path, simultaneously handing out slaps to monsters and villains.

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    Now you have to play the game. What kind of game it will be will be decided by roulette. The bet in the game will be your life. After death, people who died at the same time go to Queen Decim, where they have to play a game. But in fact, what is happening to them here is the Heavenly Judgment.



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