The Misfit of Demon King Academy manga has 4 volumes, all available in English. Whether you first heard of the series through the anime, stumbled across it while browsing manga, or just caught the name floating around and want to know what it’s about — the first question is usually the same: how many volumes are there, and where do I start?
Let’s get right into it.
The Misfit of Demon King Academy Has 4 Manga Volumes — Cancelled After the Artist’s Death
Here’s the quick answer: The Misfit of Demon King Academy (魔王学院の不適合者) manga has 4 volumes published in Japanese, and all 4 are available in English.
The manga was officially cancelled in July 2021 due to manga artist Kayaharuka’s illness; Kayaharuka passed away on July 6, 2021. Volume 4, released in March 2021, is the definitive final volume. There will be no Volume 5 or any continuation — four volumes is the complete set.
One important distinction right up front: this article covers the manga adaptation only. The Misfit of Demon King Academy originally started as a web novel, published online on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in April 2017. It was later adapted into a print light novel series — a type of Japanese novel that’s mostly text with occasional illustrations, typically published in small paperback volumes. The light novel version is significantly longer and covers far more story. The manga is a separate, visual adaptation of that source material, published under Square Enix’s Gangan Comics UP! imprint in Japan. If you’re specifically looking for light novel volume counts, that’s a different conversation — we’ll touch on the differences below.
With just 4 volumes out, this is a quick read. You can realistically finish the entire manga run in an afternoon. For readers who like to test the waters before committing to a massive series, that’s a nice selling point.
Complete Volume List
Here’s every manga volume released in Japan, along with release dates and ISBNs:
| Volume | JP Release Date | JP ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | November 2018 | 9784757559066 |
| Vol. 2 | May 2019 | 9784757561120 |
| Vol. 3 | October 2019 | 9784757563339 |
| Vol. 4 | March 2021 | 9784757571334 |
All 4 volumes are also available in English translation.
What are ISBNs? Those long numbers in the table are International Standard Book Numbers — unique codes assigned to each edition of a book. You can use them to look up the exact volume you want at any bookstore or online retailer, which is helpful when a series has multiple editions or formats.
A Note on the Release Gap and the Series Ending
The first three volumes came out at a pretty steady pace — roughly every five to six months. Then there’s a much larger gap before Volume 4, which didn’t arrive until March 2021, about a year and a half after Volume 3.
The reason for that slowdown — and the reason the series ended — is that manga artist Kayaharuka became ill. The manga was officially cancelled due to their illness, and Kayaharuka passed away in July 2021. Volume 4 is the final volume, and no continuation is possible.
While the manga doesn’t reach a formal conclusion to the overall story, the 4 volumes it does cover hold together well as a reading experience. The early story they adapt has a satisfying shape to it, and readers who want to continue beyond where the manga leaves off can turn to the light novel, which tells the full story.
What Is The Misfit of Demon King Academy About
The premise is gloriously straightforward and completely over the top — in the best way.
Two thousand years ago, the most powerful Demon King in history sacrificed himself to bring peace between humans and demons, trusting that he would eventually reincarnate. Fast forward to the present, and he does exactly that. His name is Anoth — known as Anos Voldigoad in the anime and light novel — and he enrolls in the Demon King Academy, a school built to identify and educate the Demon King’s reincarnation among demon descendants.
There’s just one problem: the academy doesn’t recognize him. History has been rewritten. The legends are wrong. His power levels don’t match what the school expects, and so he’s branded a misfit — the lowest rank possible.
Anos, of course, could not care less. He’s so overwhelmingly powerful that tests, rankings, and social hierarchies are basically comedy props. He defeats enemies by heartbeat alone. He kills someone and then casually resurrects them. The gap between Anos and everyone around him is so absurd that it circles back around from action to comedy.
Why It Works
The main character is what fans call an overpowered protagonist — someone so strong that the usual question of “will the hero win?” is off the table entirely. Anoth always wins. The real appeal is how he wins, and the slow unraveling of why history forgot him. There’s a genuine mystery underneath all the spectacle, and the series layers in mythology, loyalty, and surprisingly heartfelt moments between the explosive fights.
If you enjoy stories where the main character is essentially untouchable but the narrative finds tension in other ways — political schemes, identity mysteries, emotional stakes between characters — this series scratches that itch. It’s a story built around the fun of watching someone impossibly powerful navigate a world that doesn’t realize who he is.
How the Manga Compares to the Anime
The anime has two seasons: Season 1 aired from July to September 2020, and Season 2 aired from January 2023 to July 2024. The manga’s 4 volumes cover roughly similar ground to Season 1 — the early portion of the story where Anos enrolls in the academy and begins unraveling the mystery of his erased history. The manga won’t take you significantly further than what Season 1 covered, so it’s more of an alternative way to experience that same material in drawn form rather than a continuation. Season 2, however, adapts substantially more story than the manga ever reached — readers who have watched Season 2 will have seen content the manga never got to cover before its cancellation. For readers who haven’t seen the anime at all, the manga works perfectly well as a standalone introduction.
The manga began serialization in July 2018 on Square Enix’s Manga UP! website, with the first compiled volume released in November 2018 under the Gangan Comics UP! imprint. The art brings Anos’s ridiculous power displays to life in a way that’s genuinely fun to look at — massive spell circles, dramatic page compositions, and character designs that match the anime’s look closely enough that fans of the show will feel right at home.
Manga vs. Light Novel — Which Version Are You Looking For
This is a really important question, because the two versions offer very different experiences.
The Light Novel
The series began as a web novel in 2017, which was then adapted into a print light novel series. The light novel is the primary source material for both the anime and manga adaptations, and it covers far more story than the manga’s 4 volumes. If you want the full, complete narrative — every storyline, every character, every bit of worldbuilding — the light novel is where you’ll find it.
The trade-off is that light novels are text-heavy by nature. You’ll get more internal monologue, more detailed explanations of how the magic works, and more time with side characters. For readers who love deep lore and don’t mind a longer commitment, the light novel is the way to go.
The Manga
The manga adapts only a portion of the overall story. With 4 volumes, it covers the early sections of the narrative — enough to introduce Anos, the academy setting, and the core mystery of his erased history, but nowhere near the full scope of the light novel.
What the manga offers is visual storytelling. Fight scenes are drawn out in full, character expressions are immediate, and the pacing is faster because you’re processing images alongside text. It’s a solid entry point if you want to sample the world and see if the series clicks for you.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Manga | Light Novel |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Visual (drawn pages with dialogue) | Mostly text with occasional illustrations |
| Story coverage | Partial (early storylines only) | Complete (full story) |
| Volumes available | 4 | Significantly more |
| Best for | Quick visual introduction | Full story experience |
| Publisher (JP) | Square Enix | — |
Bottom line: if you want a fast, visually appealing taste of the series, grab the manga. If you want the whole story with all the depth, go for the light novel. Some readers enjoy starting with the manga to see if the premise clicks, then switching to the light novel to continue beyond where the manga leaves off.
This article focuses exclusively on the manga edition, so everything else here — volume counts, buying info, release dates — refers to the manga.
Where to Buy The Misfit of Demon King Academy Manga in English
All 4 English volumes are available through major retailers. Here’s what you need to know.
Physical Copies
The most straightforward option. You can find the English-language manga volumes at:
- Amazon — All 4 volumes are available. The listing below is for Volume 4 (the most recent volume) if you want to look it up directly.
The Misfit of Demon King Academy, Vol. 4
- Barnes & Noble and other major bookstore chains
- Local comic shops — availability varies, but many stock popular manga titles
There are no known omnibus editions, box sets, or deluxe formats for this series. The standard single-volume paperback is your only physical option. Given that there are only 4 volumes, the total cost is modest compared to longer-running series.
Digital Copies
If you prefer reading on a screen, digital editions are available through platforms like Kindle (Amazon’s e-book store), Kobo (another major e-book platform), and BookWalker (a digital storefront that specializes in manga and light novels). Digital is a great option here because you can start reading immediately, and 4 volumes won’t take up any shelf space.
Buying Tips
Since the series is only 4 volumes, collecting the full set is about as painless as manga collecting gets. A few things to keep in mind:
- Start with Volume 1. The series tells one continuous story from beginning to end — there’s no standalone volume you can jump into out of order.
- Check format before you buy. Make sure you’re purchasing the manga and not the light novel by mistake. They have different covers and different publishers, so a quick glance at the cover art and product description will confirm which version you’re getting.
- New vs. used. For a series this short, buying new is usually the easiest path. Used copies might save a bit, but availability can be inconsistent for less mainstream titles.
With just 4 volumes to track down, you can realistically have the complete manga collection on your shelf within a single order. No hunting for out-of-print volumes, no agonizing over which storyline to buy first. Just grab all four and start reading.
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The Misfit of Demon King Academy is a fun, fast read that delivers exactly what it promises: an absurdly powerful Demon King who refuses to play by anyone else’s rules. Four manga volumes won’t take you long, but they’ll give you a solid taste of what makes this series so enjoyable. And if you find yourself wanting more after Volume 4, the light novel is right there waiting to pick up the story.