Kyo Kara Maoh! takes place in an alternate world which Yuri travels to go through contact with various sources of water. The clothing of this world is similar to the clothing of medieval Europe. There are many nations in the alternate world, however, the plot centers around the nation of Shin Makoku (眞魔国? True Mazoku Land) (officially translated "Great Demon Kingdom"). The people of the kingdom are Mazoku (魔族?), a type of Japanese mythological creature similar to a demon. In the official translation, Mazoku is rendered as "demon" or "Demon Tribe", depending on context. The Demon Tribe are granted the privelege of making an agreement with an element of nature, which allows them to manipulate that element through the use of their Maryoku (魔力 Mazoku power?) controlled using Majutsu (魔術? Mazoku special discipline). In the English translation, both terms are rendered as "magic". The capital of the Great Demon Kingdom is Covenant Castle , the residence of the Maoh (マ王 or 魔王 Maō?), or "Mazoku King" (officially "Demon King"). The culture in the Great Demon Kingdom is very different from the Japanese culture Yuri is accustomed to, and the differences make for some amusing mishaps with long ranging consequences, such as an accidental proposal of marriage. The Great Demon Kingdom shows many similarities to medieval Germany. For example, the pronunciations of the names (as well as several of the names themselves) and the indications of language in the Great Demon Kingdom are derived or transliterated from the German language. Also, Conrad gives Yuri his name, which he claims means "July" in the language of the Great Demon Kingdom. In German, July is "Juli" pronounced "Yuli". Due to the lack of distinction between the Western sounds of the letters L and R in the Japanese language, this is rendered in Japanese as "Yuri." He also sometimes claims that he is nicknamed "Shibuya Yuri Harajuku Furi" and that Conrart is responsible for it. Also, it may be noted that the nobles of the kingdom are named using the traditional naming conventions of German nobility, using the preposition "von" in their surnames to denote their fiefdom, as in Günter von Christ and Wolfram von Bielefeld.
