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For a while now, I have been pondering how to best approach this review. See, I knew the minute I finished this anime that I would have to write one, even if for no other reason than to get it out of my system (so that I might somehow once again join the land of the living, and maybe even study for my impending finals).
But how do I go about convincing all of you nice folks that this is just about the best anime ever? My main problem lies in the fact that no matter what I write, this review will be subjective. The more ... I gush about the awesomeness of this anime, the higher rank I grant it, the more subjective this review will seem. I might as well pull out my chequered handkerchief right now and wave my credibility a jolly old good-bye (preferably in that invigorating manner seen in old cartoons).
But who cares, enough rambling. What is this anime about?
Well, this anime is about friendship and friendship through rivalry. It’s about how sharing a passion for something can bring people together. It’s about growing up, and learning that life is hard and unfair and always dealing you the shortest straw. It’s about fighting through all the crap that is thrown your way, because not fighting would mean giving up on something you love. Even if fighting means tears, sweat, blood and broken bones.
It’s about good people doing good things, because they see how hard you are trying, and because somewhere down the line, they wish someone had been kind to them too.
It’s about a single father working his ass off day and night in order to provide for his only son. It’s about a lonely kid who desperately wants his father to come home, but never admitting it because he knows his father is out there working hard for him. And it’s about this father sitting his son down in a kart, for no other reason than to see him smile, and then watching magic happen.
But mostly, it’s about a boy who loves cars, and who, when given the chance, would like nothing better than to keep on racing for the rest of his life. Even if he can’t say it out loud. Even if he can’t admit it to himself, because doing so would be the single most selfish thing he ever asked for.

To say that this anime has well-rounded characters would, (in-my-already-established-subjective-opinion), be an understatement. Instead I will say that the characters are immensely human and then leave it at that. (Otherwise I would most likely start rambling about the stereotypic-gender-based-characterization that seems to make up the basis of about 90% of all anime characters ever, and that's not a dissuasion any of us are ready for. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, but I'm sure it’s something.)
The anime sets a good pace all the way through its 52 episodes. Too often you find sports anime obsessing over a single match or game, *chough* Ookiku Furikabutte *chough*, and forgetting that there are viewers out there who didn’t just come for the sport, but for the characters and the underlying story. Capeta doesn’t really suffer from this, but neither does it rush. One of the most redeeming qualities this anime has is its ability to linger on the few truly peaceful moments in between all the worry and struggle, and then speed up its pace just enough to create the truly nerve-racking, heart-ponding moments that should always be required from a sports anime.
Likewise I believe a soundtrack can make or break a show, and here Capeta once again shines. The soundtrack used in this anime is nothing short of amazing.

If I had to fault this anime for anything, it would be the art. Nowadays enough panoramic idyll and glitzy sunsets can carry an anime through (even if the plot has the anatomy of a Swiss cheese. (Yes SAO, I am looking at you)). Capeta has none of this. And while I personally loved the art, a lot of people might initially be put out by the main character’s less than comely face. I urge you all to watch it anyway, because there is a simple, down-to earth honesty feel to the art that fits the show immensely well.
Before I finish off this ramble of a review, I will answer the question I probably should have started out with: Do you need to like sports anime to like this show?
The answer is no. I honestly don’t believe you do, not because there isn’t a focus on racing, but because story is about so much more than simply winning and becoming ‘stronger’. Nor do you need to be specifically into racing or go-carting to enjoy this anime, though I do believe a small amount of enthusiasm towards the sport as a whole adds to the experience.

Lastly, if there is anyone out there who made it through this review, I salute you, and I hope you go watch the anime, because it is certainly worth your time.

"A fairy tale for the demon lord” is…. Well, not really a fairy tale. A normal fairy tale would be a story about how the gallant knight ventured deep into foreign lands, slew the demon lord and rescued the sleeping princess from his evil clutches.

Which is precisely what happens.

….In the first two chapters….

But lets get back to that later.

One doesn't need to spend a lot of time in the manga-world before you know that people generally tend to avoid manhwa. In fact a lot of people tend to avoid these korean-made mangas like the plague. And Why? Well, there are a ... lot of reasons for that, and while they are all horribly generalizing they are however also true a lot of the time. Incoherent plotlines, long and indistinguishable names, sporadic character development, wacky and often off-putting art, meaningless misplaced and very often over-the-top violence, and, for some inexplicable reason, are every high school delinquent the leader of a juvenile-motorcycle-gang. Now there are a lot of decent and respectable Manhwas out there, Evyione for one was an excellent read, but anyone who ever read, "Love in the mask" or “Do you want to try” will know what I'm talking about.

Now, the point I'm trying to make here is that while "A fairy tale for the demon lord" is a Manhwa, it is also a Webtoon. And why is this relevant? Well you see Webtoons are vastly different from what you'd ordinarily describe as a Manhwa and can therefore generally not be categorised as the same genre.
Webtoons are digitally made, and are designed to be read on the computer or on a smartphone. This gives the artist a whole new range of potions that are expressed in the form of long clean strips of airy panels and beautiful coloured art. An additional perk are swift chapter releases, sometimes as much as one or two chapters a week.
"A fairy tale for the demon lord" as well as “Orange marmalade” and “Noblesse” are great examples of just these qualities, and if you are by any chance, looking for something dark, sinister and beautifully made, then "A fairy tale for the demon lord" is defiantly a great choice.
However while most Webtoons have freed themselves from the genetic diseases many Manhwa suffer from, "A fairy tale for the demon lord" has not quite managed just this.

"A fairy tale for the demon lord" wasn't made to have a powerful or gripping plotline, it was made to be an emotional ride, an insight into how love and longing can twist a man, and how far he is willing to twist himself for the sake of love. Its not a fairytale, but it’s a beautiful story in its own way.
I won't lie, it achieved its gaol, but in the pursuit of making its readers a somewhat blubbering mess, it forgot that sometimes an explanation is in order to help reader understand and keep up with the story. As a result, it suffered from one of the Manhwa-illnesses that was mentioned earlier; an incoherent and confusing plot.
Now careful reading can make up for this, and the sickness should therefore not have been terminal..... If the author had known when to stop that is.
Had the story ended at chapter 31, it would have been a remarkable read, an emotional mind fuck. But instead new characters were introduced just as you thought the series were done, come full circle you might say.
Promises for a second season were made. And all of this would have been FINE, if you'd known or at least understood the main characters. But you don't, you don't know any of them. Instead an impression is made, of the main character the nameless knight, princess Nir and of Odin. And that is okay, really, it makes you want to find out, but new characters are just too much: keeping track of the story as well as trying to figure out who the hell that new guy is..... Well it's just too much.

In the end "A fairy tale for the demon lord" is a beautiful, sinister, chilling piece of art, that suffers from the infamous illness of wanting to be a LONG series when it was clearly intended to be short.
Its different, and in some ways remind me of the beginning of "Casshern", if you'll forgive the comparison; dark, dramatic, and with an anticipation of doom.
Characters are left undefined, but that the nameless knight undergoes great character development is unquestionable and it is in this aspect that the Webtoon truly shines, as perplexing as that might seem.

I can really only say one thing about this manhwa and that is; "wow".
It's not that the idea behind the plot is particularly original or anything, in fact I tend to avoid vamp-human-love-stories ever since the Twilight-fever, but somehow this story just swept me of my feet. Two chapters into Orange Marmalade and I was completely sold.
The characters are really believable, the female lead, Baek Mari struggling with loneliness and her distrust for humans after being shunned by them, and Jae min, the former Misogynist with an unexpectedly dark past and a Mother complex, trying to win her over. The whole thing is just ... so expertly put together; the conflict between vampires and Humans, the more personal struggles and the occasional goofy moments (that had me laughing all over the place).
Oh and then there's the art! It’s absolutely gorgeous! The art alone had me falling in love with Orange Marmalade all over again.
All that said, it's a romance, and a slow paced one at that. So if you don't enjoy really emotional mushy love stories you might want to find something else to read, but if you like this kind of thing, even just a little bit, I can honestly recommend Orange Marmalade with all my heart!