"Demons and monsters" is never a good word, they are usually a group of bad guys who endanger the world, and everyone who has courage should stand up to eliminate harm for the people, so to this day, "fighting monsters" is still the mission of the brave. If you can defeat the leader of the "monster", the "Demon King", it will be the greatest achievement of the brave man in his life, which is enough to make the brave famous and admired by thousands of people. However, I don't know when the "Demon King" is no longer the image of the blue-faced fangs and tiger-backed bear's waist that he once had, he has become a brave and wise leader who exudes the domineering spirit of a king, and his popularity sometimes surpasses that of the brave.

The brave, in a sense, he should actually call the demon king "Dad". Because there is no demon king, there is no brave, this truth is like there is no fly swatter without flies. If there is no demon king, the brave man may just be a **silk man with no ambitions, living a life of inaction. It was the demon king who created the special identity of the brave, so the setting that the demon king is the father of the brave essentially reveals the relationship between the demon king and the brave.

However, just the father-son relationship is no longer enough to satisfy the tastes of today's readers, so we can see that the demon king and the brave man appear in anime works in the form of enemies, partners, and even couples. The demon king and the brave man are destined to be entangled for a lifetime. From the original life and death to the current you and me, how has the relationship between the two changed? In this special project, we will look at this issue in the future.

(*The times in parentheses are the broadcast time of the first part of the anime version, or the release time of the live-action movie.) ）

The demon king and the brave do not share the sky

First of all, it is necessary to clarify a concept, the animation works that appear in the role of "Demon King" are generally Western fantasy.

Although there are also a large number of demons and monsters in Eastern classical themes, such as "Journey to the West" and "Inuyasha", there is no "demon king" in the real sense. A monster that can be called a "king" must not only have a strong power of its own, but also have its own country. High school politics teaches us that the state is an instrument of class rule and at the same time has the function of social management. Only with territory, people, political power, and sovereignty can we talk about a state, and only with a country can we have a king.

There is no concept of "Demon World" in "Journey to the West". The Charm Demon does not have its own territory, so there is no "Demon King" who can compete with the Jade Emperor, at most there are only some mountain kings who occupy the mountain like the Golden Horn and the Silver Horn. The closest to the existence of the demon king in the works of the oriental theme should be the "Yama King", because at least he still has the territory of "Netherworld".

Because it is not a local theme, Western fantasy animation with the appearance of a demon king appeared in Japan much later than the yokai animation of "Graveyard Kitaro" (1968). The rise of the Heroes and Demons genre must be attributed to the development of games, especially RPGs in Japan. This has to mention a classic game "Dragon Quest" (1986) that still has new titles coming out to this day.

The plot of "Dragon Quest" is that the legendary brave man embarks on a journey to defeat the dragon king in order to rescue the princess who was kidnapped by the dragon king. Although the Dragon King is not a real Demon King, the setting of this game is very much in line with our initial understanding of the relationship between the Demon King and the Brave. To put it simply, the brave are righteous, the demon king is evil, and the mission of the brave is to defeat the demon king.

The heroes of the classic tradition are all on a mission to defeat the Demon King

Since ancient times, ACG has not been separated, so the fantasy games of the brave demon king quickly affected the animation industry after they became popular. For example, "The Legend of the Demon God Heroes" (1988) and "Gollum Magic Circle" (1994). The former tells the story of Vatano, an ordinary elementary school student, who is summoned to the Divine Realm to defeat the Genesis Mountain, which is ruled by an evil emperor. The latter tells the story of Renjie's father who forced his son to become a brave man and defeat the demon king after seeing the king's edict to summon the brave.

Like Dragon Quest, the ultimate mission of the brave in these works is to defeat the demon king and save the suffering people. The relationship between the brave and the demon king is simply hostile.

The Demon King and the Brave join forces to fight the enemy

At the end of the story, the brave man defeats the demon king and brings a hopeful future to the people of Limin. But what about the brave man who regards defeating the demon king as his goal in life? What should a brave man who achieves his life goal too quickly do in the rest of his life? Faced with such questions, the creators have provided many answers, one of the most common of which is: the short peace ends quickly, and the brave meet more terrible enemies. In order to defeat this enemy, even the former enemy, that is, the Demon King, has become a brave comrade-in-arms.

The work that takes this mode to the extreme is Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball (1986). The Demon King Piccolo, who originally fought Sun Wukong to the death in the world's first martial arts meeting, later chose to fight side by side with Sun Wukong when the Vegeta invaded the earth. Even Vegeta, who was eager to beat Sun Wukong to the point of not even being a scumbag when he first appeared, became Sun Wukong's comrade-in-arms when facing Frieza later, and the two were once together when they fought against Majin Buu.

Although Piccolo and Vegeta are not real demon kings, this mode has infiltrated countless shonen manga, so much so that every time the protagonist makes a new friend, he must first fight with each other vigorously, for details, please see "One Piece", "Grim Reaper", "Governess" and other "JUMP" shonen manga. There are two main reasons for this situation: first, the author has long designed this kind of "no fight, no acquaintance" plot; The second is that the popularity of the supporting characters is too high, and the reader does not agree if he is really killed by the protagonist.

The brave and the demon king are not in the same sky at first, but they can also fight side by side

The most recent one that really applies the model of "cooperation when you encounter a strong enemy" to the Demon King Brave animation is Yamamoto Kan's bubble noodles "Battle Brave" (2013). The demon king in this work is a little Lori who even admits that he is weak.,The only trick is the escape stunt of "space transfer".,And the effective distance is only 50 meters.。 The real shady is the king who summons the brave to destroy the monsters, and he does so in order to "become the legendary king who created the legendary hero".

According to the aforementioned concept of the demon king, if the demon world is understood as a country, it is not surprising that such a clumsy demon king will appear. Because even the Demon King can't control when his great genes mutate a little. In "Battle Brave", the reason why the demon king and the brave man can get along without any trouble is not only because they have to face the final shady scene of the king together, but also because the demon king is so weak that the brave man feels that killing her is not to uphold justice, but to bully the weak.

From these works, we can feel that the relationship between the demon king and the brave is no longer as intense as before. As long as certain conditions are met, they can actually get along with each other.

The blood of the demon king and the brave is thicker than water

The relationship that goes further than a friend is a relative, and the dearest relationship among relatives is that of father and son.

The premise that the Demon King and the Brave are father and son dates back to Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Because the source is this world-famous Hollywood movie, this is an international stalk, and people all over the world know it. In "Toy Story 2" (1999), the Demon King Zach announced to Buzz Lightyear that he was his father, leaving many viewers confused. In fact, you don't have to seriously investigate the origin of Buzz Lightyear's birth, it's just an "American joke".

Among the works I remember as a Japanese anime, there are "Dragon Tower" (2008) episode 1 and "Attribute Club" (2014) episode 3 spoofed this stalk. The first episode of "Dragon Tower" summarizes the old stalks in various brave-themed works, in addition to "Demon King Dad", it also includes "As long as you talk about going back to your hometown and getting married, you will die". In the 3rd episode of "Attribute Club", the game production department launched an experiential game at the school festival, in which a father and son play the role of the demon king and the brave respectively.

Although "Demon King Dad" has been reduced from the original "plot stalk" to today's "funny stalk", there are still authors who have the courage to carry forward the spirit of innovation and improve the old stalk and reuse it in their own works, and there are many popular works that everyone is very familiar with, such as "Blue Exorcist" (2011) and "Demon Dad" (2011).

The protagonist of "Blue Exorcist", Ryu Okumura, was originally the son of the demon king Satan, but in addition to Satan's own father, he also has a more affectionate adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto. And Fujimoto Shirou died tragically at the hands of Satan in the first episode of the anime, so Satan is not only the protagonist's biological father, but also the protagonist's father-killing enemy. After his adoptive father was killed, the protagonist resolutely embarked on the road of becoming an exorcist and destroying his own father with his own hands.

In the setting of "Blue Exorcist", the relationship between the brave and the demon king's father becomes more complicated and the conflict becomes more intense. And the brave man didn't pass the level, and only learned the cruel truth like a thunderbolt when he hit the last big boss, and then doubted his own life, but knew the truth from the beginning, and also set up the life goal of "becoming an exorcist" because of this truth. The goal of the brave man is not simply to defeat the demon king, and his actions reveal a spirit of "fighting against fate".

If "Blue Exorcist" takes the route of upgrading and strengthening, then "Demon Daddy" takes the route of reverse thinking. **The young Oga Tatsumi picks up a baby by the river, and it turns out that the baby is actually the future Demon King. So the brave man became the adoptive father of the demon king, and he had to take the demon king with him at all times, which led to a series of ridiculous life anecdotes.

The brave man became a father, and the demon king became a baby. The brave man is tortured by the Demon King, but he has to care for him and protect him. It's really pitiful for the hearts of parents all over the world.

The demon king and the brave are in love and love

In the previous article, we saw that the relationship between the demon king and the brave man can be enemies, comrades-in-arms, father and son, in fact, these are the traditional settings that have been handed down from the last century to the present. With the development of the times, the Demon King and the Brave finally broke through the limitations of race, identity and status and entered a new realm. Now the most fashionable and common relationship between the demon king and the brave has become a vigorous couple relationship.

Writing this, the author's ears seem to have heard the roar of Emi Yusa in his ears: "Who is a couple with the demon king!" "In the final battle between the brave man and the demon king, the demon king Maao Sadao crossed into the Anthropocene realm through the "gate", and the brave Yusa Emi chased him and came to the Anthropocene realm. As a result, both of them lost their mana and became ordinary people. In order to survive in Japan, they must have a job. So the Demon King became an employee of a fast food restaurant, and the Brave became a telephone customer service of a communications company. This is the history of the difficult employment of the demon king and the brave in the real world brought by "Working Job, Lord Demon" (2013).

Recently, the love story between the brave and the demon king has also become popular

Similar works include "The Demon King Brave" (2013), "I Can't Be a Brave Man and I Have to Find a Job Seriously" (2013), "The New Sister Demon King's Contractor" (2014). Whether it is the demon king and the brave man who have signed a contract and belong to each other, or the brave man who is unemployed after the demon king is defeated can only meet the demon king's daughter when he goes to work in an electrical appliance store, or the brave man's son has to meet the demon king's daughter (righteous sister)** - from these settings, we can see that the relationship between the brave and the demon king has undergone a qualitative change, from hostility between enemies to ** between lovers.

If the demon king and the brave man are a man and a woman, such as "Working Part-time Demon King" and "Demon King Brave", it will be convenient, and the two can fall in love directly. If the demon king and the brave are of the same sex, such as "I had to seriously find a job when I couldn't become a brave" and "The contractor of the new sister demon king", it won't be difficult for the author, anyway, the daughter of the demon king must be a woman, so let the daughter fall in love with the brave. The author's "uncompromising means" to match the demon king and the brave man may be understood as a kind of intermarriage policy to alleviate racial contradictions.

In classic textbooks such as "Meteor Garden" (1996), the reason why Daoming Temple fell in love with Shancai is that "everyone else is afraid of me, only you dare to beat me". In "Fuji Detective" (2013), Jet Li will complain when he sees the article and Chen Yanxi arguing, "What's the noise, let's get married so much". In terms of conflict, the conflict between the demon king and the brave is one of the best in all CPs, so it makes sense that it has developed into such a situation.

In addition, the reason why readers can accept the change in the relationship between the demon king and the brave man is also because of the change in the environment. Now, far from the war years, race and nationality are no longer enough excuses to hate each other. As mentioned above, if the Demon Realm is regarded as a country, the combination of the Demon King and the Brave embodies the principle of "peaceful coexistence and common development".

The battle between the Demon King and the Brave Protagonist

The theme of the demon king and the brave has developed so far, and there is a phenomenon that is becoming more and more prominent. That is, the demon king seems to be unwilling to play a supporting role, but to compete with the brave for the throne of the protagonist. Nowadays, there are more and more animations with the demon king as the main character. The protagonist of "Demon Wars" (2006) is the son of the Demon King, Laharu, and the brave man is just an uncle who plays soy sauce; The protagonist of "Tears of Tiara" (2009) is the resurrected demon king Aaron, and the brave can only watch his sister be fascinated by the demon king. The protagonist of "The Most Powerful Demon King" (2010) is Shaia Kuto, who is predicted to become the Demon King, and the brave man is only the younger brother of the Demon King at first.

The demon king, who bears a heavy fate and bears the misunderstanding of the world, is more attractive as the protagonist

In the above 3 works, the brave can at least be regarded as a supporting role, but in some works, the brave is no longer visible at all, and only the demon king is left to play the starring role, supporting the whole drama. For example, in "Start Being a Demon King Today" (2004), Shibuya, an ordinary high school student who is considered a demon king because of his black hair and black eyes, in "Campione God Slayer" (2012), the demon king Kusanagi Godo who obtains the power of the gods by killing gods, and William Twyning, the heir to Solomon's ring in "The Prince of the Demon World" (2013).

In fact, this practice of turning the villain into a starring role does not only exist in Japanese animation, but also in European and American animations in recent years. The two most obvious films are "Elf Hotel" (2012) and "The Invincible Wrecking King" (2012). "Elf Hotel" tells the story of the baby daughter of the vampire Count Dracula who falls in love with a human guy. In the film, classic monsters such as Frankenstein, Mummies, and Invisible People appear one after another, and after breaking into the human carnival in the finale, they understand a truth: it turns out that humans love monsters so much. "Invincible Destruction King" is a story of a villain in a game who breaks into the world of other games, and it is a standard villain counterattack battle, turning over and becoming a protagonist.

The reason why the villains led by the demon king can replace the protagonist must be because they have something in them that can attract readers. To sum up, demon kings often have two characteristics: one is freedom, and the other is rebellion. The brave often give people the feeling of "sticking to the rules and being born with a predetermined fate", while the demon king can "use his powerful power to change the world".

In the confusion and chaos, we need the brave to bring peace, but in the peace and tranquility, we need the demon king to bring change. This may be the theoretical support that can turn the demon king into the protagonist.

The birth of the Demon King

After studying the relationship between the demon king and the brave for so long, the author wants to summarize several forms of birth of the demon king.

The first is "born to be a demon king". Just like the Lori Demon King in "Battle Brave", she doesn't know what she is a demon king or does not have the strength to become a demon king, just because her father is a demon king, so she is a demon king.

The second is to rise up and fight the demon king of the world and unify the demon world by self-reliance, similar to Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang in ancient China. The representative character in the anime is "Let's Work Part-time! Maao Sadao in "Demon King".

The third is the one with the most anime spirit, and it is also the most esoteric. As mentioned above, "A brave man can be the son of a demon king", so "whose son is the demon king?" The answer given in many comics is - the son of God.

In Dragon Ball, the Demon King Piccolo is formed by the evil thoughts of the gods. Because God wants to become a god, he must separate his evil thoughts from the clouds, so these evil thoughts become demon kings. The explanation of the birth of the demon king in the shoujo manga is more romantic, for example, the demon king in "Kamikaze Thief Joan of Arc" is the lonely heart of the god. God fell in love with Eve, and felt lonely after seeing the happy life of Eve and Adam, so there was a demon king. In "The Most Powerful Demon King", the demon king is the executor who completes the revolution for God.

In either case, the Demon King can be regarded as the "closest person to God", so it is logical that the Demon King can become a comrade-in-arms, a father, or a lover of the brave. There is a Western proverb that says, "There is a demon living in everyone's heart." "Because of this, the Demon King's quest for power and power, as well as the courage and persistence to promote change, can resonate with us ordinary people. This is how the Demon King has accumulated a high popularity that can compete with the brave.

epilogue

Anyone who is engaged in creation should have an experience: it is often simple to explain the motivation of the protagonist, but it is difficult to explain the motivation of the villain. The task of the protagonist is to eliminate the villain who is engaged in sabotage, but why does the villain want to sabotage? If it is simply "the desire to destroy and conquer", it is no longer enough to convince the current audience. The Lori Demon King in "Battle Brave" once complained about the Demon King's father, "He has a middle school disease and wants to conquer the world."

In fact, the conflict between the demon king and the brave man is the conflict of two values, and the change in the relationship between the demon king and the brave man is also the change in the tolerance of different values. Looking forward to the birth of a better Demon King-themed work in the future, it will provide a better explanation for the relationship between the Demon King and the Brave and stimulate deeper thinking.