Ishura, Vol. 1

The New Demon King War

By: Keiso, Kureta - illustrator, David Musto

Narrated by: Chris Guerrero, Emily Bauer

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

In a world where the Demon King has died, a host of demigods capable of felling him have inherited the world. A master fencer who can figure out how to take out their opponents with a single glance; a lancer so swift they can break the sound barrier; a wyvern rogue who fights with three legendary weapons at once; an all-powerful wizard who can speak thoughts into being; an angelic assassin who deals instant death. Eager to attain the title of “True Hero,” these champions each pursue challenges against formidable foes and spark conflicts among themselves. The battle to determine the mightiest of the mighty begins.

©2022 Keiso (P)2023 Yen Audio

Entertaining Ensemble Cast

Despite some dark content this light novel ended up being a surprisingly fun binge listen. The story is centered on a large ensemble cast of characters who vary greatly in their moral standards- this reads as a nuanced world rather than one with a standard good vs evil narrative. Another delightful element is the large variety of fantasy races. The author had some fun with it, building a more vibrant world rather than falling back upon only the standard fantasy race tropes.

This volume also manages to utilize overpowered characters is ways that some other light novels fail to accomplish. Using many characters of comparable strength in two opposing sides in a war allowed for tense action scenes where it is not evident who will emerge from the battle alive. The clashes in the second half of the book were an especially enjoyable experience.

A Truly Unique Tale

A world like no other, as it contains all that is discarded. Ishura is so good man, like you gotta read it. Even a passing interest will get you hours of entertainment. Every character is likable and has understandable goals, so knowing that these characters will clash, and some will die, leaves you legitimately unable to guess what happens.

The voice work from both actors is incredible, but I will say that some of the "s" sounds the lady voice actor puts out aren't mixed perfectly and sometimes peaks my speakers, but outside these few issues it was nothing but a 10/10 performance that captures the emotion of every line.

Please check out Ishura, as it only keeps getting better from here.

It was long, but good

I highly recommend it for good listeners. In my opinion, read along if you have the book. I picked up the book because it this series is introducing all the characters. Additionally, both these voice actor are truly spactacular! Their performance enthralled me.