A Pleasant Read: Beast Master

Synopsis

Yuiko Kubozuki is a regular high school girl with a, to say the least, extreme love of animals, which in turn results in animals hating her. One day as she attempts to capture the attention of a black cat, she encounters a boy with glaring eyes and an injury in the rain. She soon discovers that he is a transfer student named Leo Aoi. With his glaring eyes and intimidating looks, he easily frightens her classmates; but not her, no, she decides to learn more about this supposedly dangerous boy. And her curiosity seems to be in favor as there is more to the male than he looks.

The Good

The art while somewhat rough, does well in the terms of the characters’ expressions, especially when it comes to characters seeming to look innocent but can actually be menacing and vice versa. It’s an art style that is not entirely used today, while I may not be an art expert, that art style could be considered a something from the classics.

The theme of a rough looking male who is actually nice also takes a bit a twist as there is also an interesting background to him to create the plot. Manga that takes on the tough guy on the outside but gold heart on the inside often focuses on that aspect alone and how others perceive the relationship between the leads while they stumble through their relationship. This series does not do that.

It is also an additional point that the characters are so dynamic and create humorous scenes with their wacky personalities and appearances. Yuiko is one of the first draws to the manga with her over the top love for animals. While she may seem like the typical kind female character not afraid of the male lead with an interesting quirk, there is development to her relationship with Leo and another side is seen to her in one of the chapters.

The relationship between her and Leo is also heart-warming to see, and a very nice thing to see is that they learn from one another and help one another. Most often when it comes to the tough guy theme, it’s presents the girl as this type of angelic character with certain quirks, but you see both their flaws, their issues and they develop together, which is refreshing.

The Bad

While overall the manga series brought good characters and an interesting plot, it could have been fleshed a little more. Yes, both characters had good development and relatively thought out backgrounds, but there could have been more done with them. In comparison to the plot though, the latter could have been worked on more.

At the first chapter, there is antagonist that appears but is soon dealt with. But then a chapter or two later he reappears to make way for an appearance of a girlfriend that suddenly pops up and causes drama. So, there’s that transition that could have been fleshed out better. Anything else may become spoilers.

Then there is the cover; it is understandable that a cover needs to stand out in order for a reader to get interested, but from a personal experience, the first time I saw the cover, I was getting ready for something either dark or wild, maybe even both.

Conclusion

I was apprehensive the first time I saw it but was soon pleasantly surprised by the easily loveable characters and interesting plots. I liked the little moments of comedy slipped in from how wacky some of the characters can be and how the artist can shift the expressions and impressions of the characters with their shading and lines. The issues the I noted was honestly bits of nit-picking in my opinion but nonetheless can be noted on. So overall, if you’re looking for a manga series with the theme of not judging someone by how they look with dynamic characters and a little wild side, then this is what you’re looking for.

Rating: 8/10