Title: The King’s Beast Vol. 1
Author: Rei Toma
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
The Story
The King’s Beast is a new manga series that is set within the world of The Dawn of the Arcana; however, previous knowledge of that series is not required to enjoy The King’s Beast!
The story takes place where an Ajin (aka a beast-servant) named Sogetsu Ko was taken away to serve in the imperial palace after he learned that he had powers that could be beneficial to a prince. Prince Tenyou, the Fourth Prince, was assigned to be his master; however, an incident occurred and Sogetsu was killed. Sogetsu’s sister, Rangetsu, learned of the death through rumors and how Tenyou was the prime suspect in killing Sogetsu.
Rangetsu, being a girl, is doomed to a life of prostitution since Ajin are seen as nothing more than playthings by the humans. Male Ajin are to enlist in the army and those with powers serve the members of the imperial palace. Rangetsu wants nothing more than to avenge Sogetsu’s death so she disguises herself as a man and teaches herself how to fight. She ends up becoming such a deadly force that she is given the nickname of High Commander and assigned to Prince Tenyou as Sogetsu’s replacement.
Being so close to Sogetsu’s killer, Rangetsu goes to take revenge but decides its best to wait things out just to make sure. She’s glad she did because she learns that Tenyou was not the killer. In fact, he cared for Sogetsu so deeply that he is conducting his own investigation into Sogetsu’s death. Eventually, Rangetsu explains her purpose for living… to avenge Sogetsu… and forms a pact with Tenyou. He promises Rangetsu that once he finds the killer, he will hand them over to Rangetsu so she can get his revenge.
I keep referring to Rangetsu as “she” however, Tenyou has no idea that Rangetsu is a girl… although, I’m pretty sure that might change throughout this series (it always does in cases such as this!)
Characters
Even with this being a debut volume, there was plenty of character development to be had!
Rangetsu’s mindset hasn’t really changed but after learning that Prince Tenyou was innocent for Sogetsu’s murder, she has a change of heart and puts some level of trust into him. Despite that, Rangetsu is hell-bent on revenge and nothing else as that is the sole purpose for her existence. Because as such, Rangetsu has a cold personality and is uncaring for anything that doesn’t directly involve her goals but she does play along with things and feigns interest along the way… again… because it aligns with her revenge. Given how this is a romance series, it’s pretty obvious she is going to change over time!
Prince Tenyou really stands apart from the other princes. He is kind and considerate but he can be tough when needed. While Ajin are simply seen as tools to use by the humans, Tenyou sees things differently. Rangetsu learned that he mourned Sogetsu’s death which was a first for her. Normally, humans don’t care one bit when an Ajin dies but the fact that Tenyou mourned made Rangetsu think that there just might be people out there that actually care. Tenyou is about as noble as you can get for a main character. He has fantastic ideals and now that he learned who Rangetsu is, the bond he has to his duty of finding Sogetsu’s killer has only strengthened. He shows great worry and compassion for Rangetsu which makes me wonder how he’s going to react when he eventually finds out Rangetsu is a girl!
Final Thoughts
I have to say, that this was a highly enjoyable first volume! Despite it being set in the same world as another series, it did a fantastic job of standing on its own. It kind of reminds me of Steins;Gate in the sense that it was set in the same world as Chaos;Head but previous knowledge of Chaos;Head was not needed to enjoy Steins;Gate. I love how stand-alone stories can take part in the same world as others! It makes a world feel more expansive and detailed and really helps draw you in, making you wonder just what other aspects of a world can be explored? Not a lot of series will do this and I think it needs to be done more often!
Right off the bat, you can tell Prince Tenyou has some level of feelings for Rangetsu. Just certain looks, expressions, or moments subtly hints towards it. Perhaps he already suspects that Rangetsu is a girl. After all, there was a scene where she was cleaning the hot springs and got her clothes wet. You could see the bandages underneath that are restricting her chest and Tenyou took notice of them. He claims that Rangetsu is injured; however, given some of his other reactions, perhaps he silently acknowledged that Rangetsu is deceiving him when it comes to her gender? I wouldn’t be shocked if that small moment was used as a plot point in a future volume!
All in all, I highly enjoyed this and am really looking forward to volume two! Be sure to check it out for yourself. If you want a classic story of swords, magic, revenge, with a developing romance, then this series should be right up your alley!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
