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In the manga _My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's_ , the
English translation refers to a "Demon Kingdom" and a "Demon King". Based on
the wording in the original Japanese, which of the Japanese variations of
"demon" are they referencing?

Do they use a foreign loan word, or are they referring to a specific type of
demon out of Japanese folklore, such as a _yokai_ or an _oni_?


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2020-12-28T01:39:31.480
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2021-01-06T17:00:42.217
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japanese-language my-status-as-an-assassin
What kind of demon is in "My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's"?


As noted in @AkiTanaka's comment, the word translated as "Demon" in this manga
is "ma" (魔), or "maō" (魔王) for Demon King and
"[mazoku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazoku)" (魔族) when discussing the
demon kingdom.

I haven't personally read the Manga, but you can tell by comparing these
panels from the first chapter:

[![English panels with the text "Demon
King"](https://i.stack.imgur.com/idi5Y.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/idi5Y.png)

[![Same panels in Japanese, with the text "maō" /
"魔王"](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7cURz.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7cURz.png)

[![More English panels, describing the demon kingdom and the other 3
kingdoms](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fmYbk.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fmYbk.png)

[![Same panels in Japanese, with the text "mazoku" /
"魔族"](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Kx3E.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Kx3E.png)

So no, the "demons" to which they're referring aren't a particular type of
being from Japanese mythology, like "youkai" or "oni", but rather a more
general term for evil spirits/beings often used in generic Fantasy settings.

It's the same "ma" used in
"[akuma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akuma_\(folklore\))" (悪魔), which you
may have also seen in many Manga and Anime, and is often aligned with more
Western/foreign notions of "demons" and "devils".

See e.g. [this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/32271) answer for some
nuances of how of these various terms differ.


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2021-01-02T14:40:18.393
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