Neil Bowman (尼尔·鲍曼, Ní ěr·bào màn) is the main character of the All Saints Street manhua and donghua series. After leaving Hell behind to pursue his dream of living in China and becoming independent, Neil moves in with his online friend and long time 1031 resident, Ira Blood, as hijinks ensue in the shared apartment.
Appearance[]
Neil is a friendly-looking young demon with round golden eyes and fluffy white hair. While remarkably humanlike in his regular form, his true kin is unmistakable thanks to a pair of furry goatlike ears that match the rest of his hair, as well as the small set of brown horns protruding from his head. Lastly, he has a devilish red arrow-shaped tail.
The left side of his hair is styled into a braid, a family tradition passed down from his mother's side of the family.
While he stands at average height in his initial manhua appearance(being the same height as Ira Blood, as described in his character profile), he is eventually visibly depicted as the shortest amongst the 1031 tenants across all franchise iterations, with only Lily running behind.
Neil can be seen wearing a wide range of colorful hoodies and shirts with jeans to match across his donghua appearances as well as promotional material, although in the manhua he is mostly known to sport a plain grey hoodie or t-shirt. As a shapeshifter, Neil’s female form is versatile, featuring frilly dresses in addition to his usual casual wear.
His true form takes that of a small white goat, shedding his human elements but maintaining the characteristic red devil tail.
Personality[]
Neil is well-meaning and naive; being new to the mortal realm, as well as China, at the beginning of the series and eager to coexist with humans. Upon learning that the residents of 1031 are neither human (nor chinese), he is comedically disappointed. Neil loves China and the fact that it's home to pandas, his favorite animal, and is naturally curious, trying his best to learn more about the local culture. However, he is very uninformed and first shows up to China wearing a traditional Tangzhuang, not knowing that people in China don't wear them regularly.
Despite being a demon, Neil is incredibly kind-hearted and (at least as of the donghua) wouldn't hurt a soul, unless he's eating one. He is incredibly friendly and quick to befriend the residents of 1031, but has a habit of letting people treat him unfairly due to his conflict-avoidant nature.
Neil spends much of the early run of the series getting into trouble due to his clumsiness and shelteredness, although he eventually adjusts to his new surroundings, promptly finding a job at a pet shop that can both accommodate his love of animals and sustain his new living expenses.
Neil, as well as being kind, is determined, leaving home against his parents' wishes to live with his online friend, Ira Blood, in Beijing. He tries his best at his grueling pet shop job despite the fact that the pets don't like him so that he can spend time with the panda shopkeeper. Despite being anxious, Neil attempts to romantically pursue Lily, his landlord Lynn's sister, after falling in love with her and despite her brother's attempts to stop Neil from doing so.
His Manhua counterpart shares most of his kind demeanor for a devil, however, he is known to have a darker, malicious side of his personality that manifests on occasions to enact acts of petty revenge, offer criticism of other characters or when holding grudges. Especially when it relates to Nick, with whom he has a pointedly more strained relationship, or potential love rivals in his quest for Lily's affection. Many of these traits are personified in the donghua in the form of the Demon King and his ill-advises to Neil.
Early life[]
Neil was a quiet misfit as a child brought up in Hell, being often being bullied due to his kind nature and lack of strength. As a student at a devil academy, Neil excelled in theory classes, but his practical skills (unsurprisingly relating to the doing of evil deeds) were seriously lacking. His half brother, Nick Hoult, didn't help his confidence, physically abusing him and constantly belittling him. This led to a strained relationship between the two, lasting into adulthood. However, his relationship with both his parents are strong, as he is often seen confiding in his mother.
Trivia[]
- He can't swim.
- His hobbies include learning Chinese, collecting panda-related items and playing video games with the other residents of 1031.
- His favorite food is hot pot and all kinds of souls.
- Whenever Neil is under a lot of pressure, his body bursts into flames. Demons also do this subconsciously when in danger. [2]
- It is shown in the Manhua that Lynn Angel is not only Neil's landlord, but also his Chinese teacher. [3]
- Neil is only scared of gore-y movies. When he watches movies with ghosts he gets hungry. [4]
- In Episode 25, at the end of the episode, Evan gave a present to Neil. Inside was Evan's number with the words "Call Me" on it.