“In an ancient world where martial artists reign supreme, Unseong can only watch as his master is brutally beaten to death after a false accusation of practicing forbidden demonic arts. Even after a valiant fight, he fails to kill those responsible and faces his own end. But fate has other plans… Instead of taking his last breath, he awakens as a child, training to be an elite soldier of a demonic sect. Now Unseong must embrace the demonic arts and harness power in his ultimate quest for revenge.” (Ablaze)
“Heavenly Demon Reborn”, in many ways, is your typical action fare set up through reincarnation and a revenge quest. The book is, undeniably, bereft of originality and lacking in traits that make it unique among the plethora of similar titles. As a result, a release of this ilk needs to excel within familiar tropes to make itself stand out among the crowd. So, does it accomplish this?
Where the manhwa excels is in worldbuilding, with the inaugural release spending time establishing the main character's power through deadly trials and self-discipline. Through these challenges, Unseong is able to narrate the intricacies of both the cult he finds himself in as well as elements of his past life. This gives him the ‘hero' of the book a unique position of having insight beyond the strict regime implemented by the cult. Consequently, the introductory volume does an exemplary job of packing in a lot of lore in a short period of time to hook the reader into the lore. The strong writing also extends into an exploration of martial and mystic arts, and the descriptions of how these actions are implemented becomes not only a fascinating element but crucial in keeping the manhwa fluid and comprehensible. This is all the more vital given the books one glaring weakness.
Where “Heavenly Demon Reborn” really begins to falter is in its depiction of motion, and as an action-heavy title, this gives valid cause for concern. Notably, none of the action sequences flow in a manner that clearly conveys the amount of power being commanded and there is never a sense of impact thrown into each punch, stab, etc. This is somewhat compensated in by the strong descriptive work of the text, but having explained what happened in intense moments is not a favorable substitute for the lackluster visual direction in the intended genre. Furthermore, the lack of skill in this component forces the reader to pick apart any fallacies, as the one thing it should excel in comes up short. Ultimately, if it was not for the strong writing and emphasis on crafting lore, “Heavenly Demon Reborn” would be an unremarkable sidenote in the medium.
For the physical release from Ablaze, they did an exemplary job of improving the layout of the series, as the original paneling of the WebToon was sparse and ugly. This helps improve the flow of action, which is lacking as is, as well as makes for an easier read. The colors are slightly more muted given the choice of print, but, arguably, this actually works in favor of the book in giving it a more authentic comic book feel that is often lost when dealing with digital art. Overall, the physical release is the way to go for those interested in checking out the series for a multitude of reasons.
There is no denying that the artistic direction in “Heavenly Demon Reborn” is lacking the elements to make it stand out among the plethora of similar titles and the lack of originality further hinders the end product. However, the story is competently told, and getting drawn into the world of martial arts and mysticism flows rather naturally. Despite my issues with the book, I quite enjoyed my time with it, and did eat up the content in one sitting–there is certainly value within and Ablaze Publishing did an impressive job in the adaptation. Go in not expecting much beyond entertainment and you shall receive just that.
