Kara Dennison
July 25, 2025 
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is Osamu Nishi’s surprisingly wholesome series about a boy adopted by a high-ranking demon. As he attends demon school, he inadvertently teaches the underworld about the power of friendship. But in a new spinoff series, Iruma descends into a very different kind of underworld. Get ready to meet the IruMafia!
New But Familiar
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: IruMafia Edition hails from writer and artist Hiroja. The spinoff runs alongside and in collaboration with Nishi’s main series, but there are some differences right within the first few pages. Iruma is still down on his luck, but we meet him at five years old in a really bad part of town. Rather than being adopted by a demon while he’s in his teens, he’s adopted as a child by a mafia boss. But you may recognize him. Yep, it’s Sullivan again!
Don Sullivan is the boss of the Babel family, and he desperately wants a grandkid. (Some things just don’t change across universes.) On the same day, he welcomes Opera into the family as little Iruma’s bodyguard. It’s a festive occasion to be sure. But things really kick off when Iruma turns 14, becoming the Underboss of the Babel family.
Vibe Check
IruMafia Edition is, as one might expect, different in many ways from the original manga tonally. There’s a lot more violence, but never from anyone you wouldn’t expect to be violent. Like Iruma himself, for instance. This mafia-verse version of our protagonist is excellent at dodging danger thanks to his rough upbringing. That means he generally doesn’t have to get his hands dirty. Nor does he want to. He has one goal: make sure nobody ever feels hungry.
There’s plenty of talk of demons, but not literal demons. The underworld is a nasty place, full of people who care only about money and power. These sorts of “demons” also need winning over. And while there is a bit of a darker edge to this series, the whimsy and heart of the original is still threaded throughout.
What Remains
Just because IruMafia Edition tends toward a slightly darker tone doesn’t mean there’s no silliness. Kalego Naberius is his usual uptight self, but fans will be thrilled to learn that his cuddly familiar form does live on in this non-magical world. How? You’ll just have to wait and see.
Hiroja has done a truly brilliant job in this first volume of casting familiar characters in appropriate roles. Even with major differences in rank, role, and background, everyone just feels right. And we’re happy to see Iruma’s wholesomeness transcend dimensions.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: IruMafia Edition Vol. 1 goes on sale August 19.
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