Return of the Crazy Demon Review (No Spoilers)

What would a madman do with a second chance? If you’re expecting him to learn his lesson and become a model hero, Return of the Crazy Demon isn’t for you. If you’d rather see what happens when he doesn’t change one bit but does everything better, welcome to my go-to murim series. Absolutely top tier.

What it’s about

Lee Ja-ha, known as the Crazy Demon, dreams of becoming the God of Martial Arts. His dream is cut short when he falls off a cliff fleeing the Demonic Cult, from which he’s stolen the Heavenly Jade. He wakes up in his twenties again, with everything he knows about the future and about martial arts.

What makes it special

Lee Ja-ha. One of the most interesting protagonists in the genre, hands down. He doesn’t use his second chance to become a model hero, but to be exactly who he is, only better. Every time he walks into a scene, you know something you didn’t see coming is about to happen.

A premise you’ve read a thousand times that feels brand new. Regression, revenge, the Demonic Cult in the background: nothing you haven’t seen. But Ja-ha makes it all feel new, because his path to becoming a chivalrous warrior is full of zigzags (starting with the fact that his definition of a chivalrous warrior isn’t quite what everyone else has in mind).

The humour. I give it a 10, and it’s no coincidence that it’s the murim series that’s made me laugh the most, ahead even of Return of the Mount Hua Sect. Ja-ha’s personality is as unpredictable as it is funny. The way he treats allies and enemies alike is unorthodox, to say the least.

The art and the action live up to it. It has nothing to envy the very best (like Solo Leveling or Absolute Regression), with superb character design and frantic battle scenes.

Is it finished?

The webtoon isn’t. It’s been running on Naver Webtoon since 2021 and is in its second season, with over 210 chapters in Korean. In English it comes out on WEBTOON every Sunday, about fifteen chapters behind, as Return of the Mad Demon.

What is finished is Yu Jin-seong’s original novel: it ended in 2022 at 450 chapters (namu.wiki). So it’s not short of story to adapt.

Series info

Status: ongoing (over 210 chapters, as of October 2026).

Creators: original novel by Yu Jin-seong; script by JP; art by Hi Lee (AniList).

My scores: art 10 · story 9 · characters 10 · humour 10 · action 9. The full series page is here.

Where to read it: on WEBTOON, as Return of the Mad Demon.

If you like it, try…

If you want more murim with laughs, Return of the Mount Hua Sect is its natural companion. If what hooks you is going back knowing what’s coming, it tops my favourite regression manhwa. And if you want every murim series I’ve reviewed, here they are together.

My verdict

A worn-out premise, a one-of-a-kind protagonist and scores that speak for themselves. A must-read. If you only read one murim series, make it this one.