If so, this story will be a difficult read.

The following introduction has been designed to help you understand:
(1) what AkuEro is about,
(2) what audience the manga targets,
(3) my perspective as a translator and a Christian, and
(4) the tale’s virtues.

Knowing these things will aid you in deciding whether or not the value of AkuEro justifies the potential asperity.

 
(1) WHAT AKUERO IS ABOUT.

Akuma na Eros (or Satanic Eros), by Mayu Shinjou, is a story about the Scriptural and Apocryphal Devil himself: Satan. He is the angel who once stood at God’s right hand, fell for his pride, declared war on Heaven, and became the architect of all evil.

This Devil is the protagonist.

Satan is the one for whom we’re intended to cheer, and this story provides the expression of bitter ill will, “Go to Hell,” with the unexpected response, “I hope to.”

Despite the story’s expectation that the reader will become sympathetic to Satan’s plight, the Devil does nothing charitable to earn such symapthy. He is not painted as a misunderstood philanthropist, and he has no intentions of foregoing his pride to again serve God. He is all the things the Bible promises him to be: master of sin, enemy of the righteous, a liar, he who goes to and fro to Earth to destroy, who has great hold over human hearts and leads them to iniquity, who has the power to tempt, who is the source of all evil, who seeks to destroy souls... and, in the case of AkuEro, he seeks to destroy virginity as well.

AkuEro takes this being of unbridled hate and introduces him to one of illimitable love. The heroine must then choose between Heaven, Hell, and Earth, but her circumstance becomes such that no choice can be made without sacrificing an aspect of her love.

 
(2) WHAT AUDIENCE THE MANGA TARGETS.

This protagonist is selfish and sacrilegious, generating a conflict which questions the extent of God’s love and power, and he is not a hero intended for a culture that was founded on puritanical religions.

Shinjou-sensei intended this hero for Japanese culture, in which Buddhism and Shintoism mingle to create an anthropomorphic afterlife and a metaphysical Earth. Evil is a part of all things—including humans—and Good is a part of all things—including Satan. There are innumerable Japanese myths in which demonic entities perform benevolent acts, just as there conversely exist tales of saintly men performing irreligious acts. AkuEro extends this cultural concept of inherent Good and Evil to Judeo-Christian lore with the expectation of appealing to none but the Japanese cultural group.

Thus my apprehension to translate Shinjou-sensei’s work into English.

 
(3) MY PERSPECTIVE AS A TRANSLATOR.

Raised in a Christian home, I struggled with the moral implications of translating a manga which cast Satan as the hero and glorified Hell.

I read a comment from a devoted English-speaking fan of AkuEro, stating that she was uncomfortable calling the protagonist “Satan”—she instead called him “Kai” or “Akuma.” This consciousness of the potential unease AkuEro could cause led me to wonder how responsible I am for alleviating the discomfort. To this end, historical, social, and theological notes have been inserted into the text of the translation to aid understanding and answer questions as they arise.

However, I worry that my responsibility does not end there. My fear is that this work will act as a little demon which whispers in the ear: “Worship Satan,” or “Women mean ‘yes’ when they say ‘no.’” If the inventor of the fire cracker suspected that one day his invention would morph into dynamite and subsequently facilitate countless deaths, would he have cast the idea aside? If I suspect that Mayu Shinjou’s work will have a negative effect on any portion of the society to which I belong, is it my responsibility to withhold it?

The answer is both “yes” and “no.”
Yes, I am responsible for the decision I make and its outcome.
No, I will not withhold Shinjou-sensei’s work.

 
(4) THE TALE’S VIRTUES.

While there are elements of AkuEro that cannot be recommended to all readers, they are necessary elements. Shinjou-sensei herself admits that she could neither make the story any longer nor any shorter—it is a perfect unit as it stands.

These elements all combine to create a grander theme—a transcendent ideal that, in the course of its irreverence, leads to the implication that the Devil does serve God’s purpose. This ideal is not only Scriptural, but it connects to the Japanese ideal of the balance and cooperation between Good and Evil.

More prevalent than this is the theme of love. Love exists on many levels for the heroine, Miu: she respects and depends upon her mother, she values her friend, she wishes no ill against her enemies, she adores her idol, she learns sexual love, and she taps into profound love. Her capacity for love is boundless, and, through her willingness to forgive, so is her capacity to receive it. She exemplifies an imperfect human being capable of “perfect love.”

Miu’s capacity for love rivals that of her idol, Shion Amamiya, but Amamiya’s love must make compromise. He struggles with the conflict between selfish and unselfish love. In his selfish heart, he condemns the Devil for inviting Miu’s affection. In his unselfish heart, he believes that Satan can one day know love again and return to Heaven as God’s angel, and it is his opinion that “no one who has served God is a bad person.”

Amamiya’s opinion speaks of a relationship between Good and Evil which goes beyond balance and cooperation. There is an eternal love between Heaven and Hell. Satan expresses a lingering respect for God, and God waits forgivingly for the day when His angel will return. The intense emotion of hate Satan feels would not be possible if he did not care... if he did not at one time, and still, love.

The lesson beneath a surface riddled with sacrilege, jealousy, sex, and hate is one of balance, sacrifice, and profound and everlasting love.

 
So I’ve made the decision, despite whatever implications there may be for my eternal soul, to translate Mayu Shinjou’s work completely and accurately. I can be resposible for no reaction to AkuEro save my own, but I accept all the responsibility which that much entails.