Demons are a common trope in many anime and manga, usually as terrible foes that plague the protagonist and his allies. With a reputation for being horrific monsters in folklore dating back to ancient times, demons have been used in popular anime like Demon Slayer, The Seven Deadly Sins, and more.
While demons are usually portrayed as evil monsters and abominations, sometimes they are shown as more peaceful and kind. It's an unexpected concept, and the contrast can be quite appealing to those who are tired of seeing the same old evil demons. Here are some anime that feature a more peaceful type of demon in their stories.
10 Gabriel DropOut
Gabriel White Tenma was one of the best angels in her school and strived to become an ideal angel that would guide humans toward the right path. However, the moment she arrived on Earth, Gabriel became addicted to video games, becoming a lazy slob with no motivation in her life.
Gabriel DropOut is about angels and devils trying to live amongst humans without being found out. Being a slice-of-life comedy series, the demons featured are not violent beasts, but cute high school girls who are mischievous at best.
9 Hozuki's Coolheadedness
Hozuki works as the Chief of Staff for King Enma, who has the difficult task of deciding which souls go to which hell. With many tasks to care of and an endless amount of issues to deal with, Hozuki's calm demeanor and bureaucratic skills keep Hell from falling into chaos.
Hozuki's Coolheadedness is a comedic series that showcases a Hell that is more orderly and procedural than might be expected. While there are still quite some dark moments, the demons in this show are much more reasonable than in other interpretations.
8 Sleepy Princess In The Demon Castle
Princess Syalis has been kidnapped by the fearsome Demon King Twilight and is held prisoner in his castle. However, instead of being frightened or terrified by the demons in the castle, Syalis is merely concerned with getting a good night's rest.
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is a silly comedy series that features demons that seem frightening, but never actually get up to any good. In fact, the princess is the one who often ends up taking advantage of them, making it quite an interesting role reversal.
7 Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartphilia, who are both members of the titular mage guild. They encounter a variety of foes and allies during their adventures, with demons being among them.
While there are demons in Fairy Tail who are villainous and sadistic, there are also demons who are friendly and just want to live in peace. The demons that live on Galuna Island are a good example of this, as they live happily on their own island and have no wish to harm others.
6 The Devil Is A Part-Timer!
Demon Lord Satan and his general Alciel are beaten by the Hero Emilia and escape to Earth as a last resort. There they lose their incredible magical powers and are forced to take up a part-time job in order to eke out a living in this new world.
While Satan is initially a cruel and stoic ruler, his time as an employee at a fast food restaurant mellows him out, and his allies follow suit. While they haven't yet forgotten their ambitions of returning home to Ente Isla and resuming their conquest, their demeanors have changed to become more thoughtful and sentimental.
5 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
A businessman wakes up in another world after being stabbed as a slime, with the strange power to obtain powers from anything he eats. While his powers are weak in the beginning, he soon begins to grow in power, taking the name Rimuru Tempest for himself.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime frequently features demons and monsters as major cast members. While they are initially barbaric, they eventually become civilized as Tempest works to create a society around them. Fighting still occurs often, but when they fight, they do so with good intentions.
4 Actually, I Am...
Asahi Kuromine finally decides to confess to his crush Youko Shiragami, only to find out that she's a vampire. In order to keep her at school, he'll have to keep her secret, but things get harder when it turns out that Youko isn't the only person at school hiding something about themselves.
Actually, I Am... is host to a variety of different supernatural beings, but the eternally youthful Akane Komoto is one of the most prominent, being the actual principal of the school and a demon. While Akane is certainly a mischievous and rascal-like personality, her antics never amount to more than slightly malicious pranks.
3 Oh My Goddess!
College student Keiichi Morisato is constantly down on his luck until he makes an accidental call to a Goddess Help Line, through which a goddess named Belldandy appears to grant him one wish. Thinking that he is being pranked, Keiichi declares that he wishes for her to stay with him forever, and the wish is quickly granted.
Oh My Goddess! usually revolves around the various goddesses that involve themselves in Keiichi's life, but occasionally demons do appear. While they can occasionally cause major issues, for the most part, they are largely benign and rarely do more than act as rascally pranksters.
2 Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-kun
Iruma Suzuki is sold to a demon by his no-good parents, but it turns out that his new adoptive demon grandfather is nicer than he expected. He soon finds himself going to Babyls School for Demons, and must hide the fact that he is human.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is a laugh-out-loud supernatural comedy series featuring demons that love to lie, trick, and steal, but mostly spend their time enjoying school life rather than tormenting humans. The various demons Iruma makes contact with act similar to normal high school students, aside from a few demonic quirks.
1 The World God Only Knows
Keima Katsuragi is a master gamer, having conquered hundreds of different dating sims and visual novels. His expertise catches the attention of Elsie, who has come to the human world from Hell to catch souls who have escaped. Keima is forced to help by getting the possessed girls to fall in love with him.
Despite being from Hell, the demons seen in The World God Only Knows generally appear to be cute young girls instead of horrifying creatures. Furthermore, they act more as guardians and enforcers rather than agents of chaos, making them quite different from the usual portrayal of demons.