Demons' Crest

Demons' Crest
First light novel volume cover, featuring Yuuma (left) and Sawa (right)
デモンズ・クレスト
(Demonzu Kuresuto)
Genre
Light novel
Written byReki Kawahara
Illustrated byYukiko Horiguchi
Published byASCII Media Works
English publisher
ImprintDengeki Bunko
Original runNovember 10, 2022 – present
Volumes4
Manga
Written by
Illustrated byTOmoe
Published by
ImprintMF Comics [ja]
MagazineHykeComic (application)
Original runNovember 6, 2022 – present
Volumes3
Original net animation
Devils' Crest
Directed by
Written byEiji Umehara [ja]
Music by
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed byAmazon Prime Video
Released November 6, 2026 – scheduled
icon Anime and manga portal

Demons' Crest (Japanese: デモンズ・クレスト, Hepburn: Demonzu Kuresto) is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Yukiko Horiguchi. It has been published by ASCII Media Works under its Dengeki Bunko imprint since November 2022. A webtoon adaptation illustrated by TOmoe began serialization on Akatsuki [ja]'s HykeComic platform the same month. The light novel series has been licensed for English release in North America by Yen Press under its Yen On imprint. An original net anime (ONA) adaptation, officially titled in English as Devils' Crest and produced by Production I.G, is set to premiere worldwide on Amazon Prime Video in November 2026.

Plot

On June 6, 2031, playtesting begins for the VRMMO game Actual Magic. Yuuma Ashihara, an elementary school student, is one of the play testers. He is initially amazed by the realistic fantasy world the game created. However, upon logging out, the game begins fusing with reality, turning one of the most beautiful girls in his class, Sumika Watamaki, into a horrifying monster. Yuuma must figure out how to survive despite the chaos and confusion of the situation.

Characters

Yuuma Ashihara (芦原 佑馬, Ashihara Yūma)
Voiced by: Tomo Muranaka (PV), Haruka Shiraishi (anime)
Sawa Ashihara (芦原 佐羽, Ashihara Sawa)
Voiced by: Miyu Tomita (PV), Konomi Inagaki (anime)
Kenji Kondou (近堂 健児, Kondō Kenji) / Kenk (コンケン, Konken)
Voiced by: Yūya Hirose (anime)
Minagi Sano (茶野 水凪, Sano Minagi)
Voiced by: Satomi Amano (anime)
Teruki Sugamo (須鴨 光輝, Sugamo Teruki)
Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi (anime)
Aria Misono (三園 愛莉亜, Misono Aria)
Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (anime)
Kai Kisanuki (木佐貫 櫂, Kusanuki Kai)
Voiced by: Rie Murakawa (anime)
Sumika Watamaki (綿巻 すみか, Watamaki Sumika)
Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (PV, anime)
Shin Haizaki (灰崎シン, Haisaki Shin)
Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru
Kakeru Niki (仁木翔, Niki Kakeru)
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase

Media

Light novels

The series was announced by ASCII Media Works on September 5, 2022, and the first volume was published by ASCII Media Works under its Dengeki Bunko imprint on November 10, 2022. In a press release, Yen Press announced that it had licensed the series in English. The English version is translated by James Balzer, and the first volume was released on June 18, 2024.

No. Title Original release date English release date
1Reality Erosion
Genjitsu∽Shinshoku (現実∽侵食)		November 10, 2022
978-4-04-914677-6		June 18, 2024
978-1-9753-9352-6
2Otherworld Manifestation
Ikai∽Kengen (異界∽顕現)		July 7, 2023
978-4-04-915151-0		October 29, 2024
978-1-9753-9890-3
3Demonspawn Awakening
Majin∽Kakusei (魔人∽覚醒)		November 8, 2024
978-4-04-915801-4		December 30, 2025
979-8-8554-2241-2
4Haken∽Sōdatsu (覇権∽争奪)December 10, 2025
978-4-04-916868-6		—

Webtoon

A webtoon adaptation written by Koroku Takano [ja], illustrated by TOmoe (TOもえ), and produced by whomor inc [ja] began serialization on Akatsuki [ja]'s HykeComic webtoon platform under the HxSTOON label on November 6, 2022, soon before the first light novel release. After the initial batch of chapters, it started a weekly serialization schedule, which moved to a biweekly schedule on January 7, 2024, and after multiple periods of hiatus in 2025 moved to a monthly schedule starting on December 7, 2025. Its chapters have been collected unscrolled in tankōbon volumes by Media Factory under its MF Comics (MFC) [ja] imprint.

No. Release date ISBN
1June 21, 2024978-4-04-683672-4
2October 23, 2026978-4-04-660504-7
3October 23, 2026978-4-04-660505-4

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced on December 2, 2025. It was later revealed to be an original net animation (ONA) that will be produced by Production I.G and directed by Kenichirō Komaya, with Shinji Ushiro [ja] serving as chief director, Eiji Umehara [ja] handling series composition, Yukiko Horiguchi redesigning the characters for animation, and Yuki Hayashi and Naoyuki Chikatani [ja] composing the music. Titled in English as Devils' Crest, the series is set to premiere worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on November 6, 2026. The opening theme song is "Shinka" (シンカ; 'Evolution'), performed by Ado, and the ending theme song is "ReaL", performed by Soala [ja].

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Demons' Crest, Vol. 1 (light novel): Reality Erosion". Yen Press. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  2. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト フルカラーマンガならHykeComic. HykeComic (in Japanese). Akatsuki [ja]. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 川原礫氏の完全新作『デモンズ・クレスト』発売直前となる小説版PV第2弾が公開 村中知さん&富田美憂さん&雨宮天さんが出演. LN News (in Japanese). November 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 23, 2026). "Demons' Crest Anime Reveals Main Staff, Cast, 2026 Debut in Video". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  5. 1 2 「デモンズ・クレスト」に広瀬裕也&天野聡美、OPテーマはAdo 新ビジュアル&PVも. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 5, 2026. Archived from the original on July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Cayanan, Joanna (September 16, 2026). "Sword Art Online Author Reki Kawahara's Devils' Crest Anime Casts 4 Classmates". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 2, 2026). "Devils' Crest TV Anime Reveals More Cast, Ending Theme in 2nd Promo Video". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  8. ↑ 『ソードアート・オンライン』の著者・川原 礫氏による完全新作小説『デモンズ・クレスト』が発売決定！ (in Japanese). Kadokawa. September 5, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  9. 1 2 デモンズ・クレスト1 現実∽侵食 [Demons' Crest 1 Reality∽Erosion] (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Mateo, Alex (January 5, 2024). "Yen Press Licenses 7 Manga, 1 Light Novel Series for June 2024 Release". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Library of Congress Catalog". Library of Congress Catalog. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  12. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト2 異界∽顕現 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Demons' Crest, Vol. 2 (light novel): Otherworld Manifestation". Yen Press. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  14. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト3 魔人∽覚醒 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Demons' Crest, Vol. 3 (light novel): Demonspawn Awakening". Yen Press. Archived from the original on December 30, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  16. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト4 覇権∽争奪 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ 『ソードアート・オンライン』著者・川原 礫氏による完全新作『デモンズ・クレスト』の縦読みフルカラー漫画が、本日より「HykeComic」にて連載開始！. HykeComic (Press release) (in Japanese). November 6, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2025 – via PR Times.
  18. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト【デモクレ】（WEBTOON公式） [@demonscrest_wt] (January 7, 2024). |◤《隔週連載のお知らせ》◢| いつも本作をご愛読いただきありがとうございます。 本日更新第68話から"隔週連載"にて 皆様にお届けさせていただきます。 ⚔次回更新日 1/21（水）⚔ 今後とも『デモンズ・クレスト』を よろしくお願いします。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  19. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト【デモクレ】（WEBTOON公式） [@demonscrest_wt] (December 2, 2025). 【お知らせ】 各種配信プラットフォームにおける最新話更新について今後は毎月第一日曜日に月刊連載の形式で配信を行ってまいります。 更新スケジュールは下記をご覧ください。 2025年12月07日 106話 2026年01月04日 107話 2026年02月01日 108話 2026年03月01日 109話 #デモクレ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  20. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト 1 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト 2 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  22. ↑ デモンズ・クレスト 3 (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  23. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 1, 2025). "Sword Art Online Author's Demons' Crest Novels Get TV Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  24. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (July 6, 2026). "Trailer: 'Devils' Crest' from 'SAO' Creator to Launch New Anime in November". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  25. ↑ Mateo, Alex (July 4, 2026). "Devils' Crest Anime Reveals 1st Promo Video, Theme Song Artist, November 6 Streaming Debut on Amazon Prime Video (Updated With English-Subbed Trailer)". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 4, 2026.