Rei Toma

Toma's The King's Beast follows Rangetsu, an ajin assigned to protect Prince Tenyou as a 'beast-servant'. But there's more to Rangetsu than meets the eye.

This was the first manga by Rei Toma I've had the pleasure to read. The artwork was amazing! The storyline was surprisingly deep too, touching on topics of slavery and discrimination, as well as revenge. The life of ajin is brutal and unforgiving. Males must serve as bodyguards or cannon fodder. Females of a certain age are forced to be show more sex slaves. Once they grow too old to be desirable, they are used for menial labour. Ajin are a suppressed people, treated as beyond inferior, despite being stronger than humans, and possibly endowed with a unique magical talent. But Tenyou doesn't see them the same as everyone else. He cares for ajin well-being, unlike many of his fellow palace dwellers. The perfect person to push for greater ajin equality if he can become king.

Great series start! Recommended for those who love anime and manga!

****Many thanks to Netgalley and VIZ Media for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. show less

My interest in this series takes a downturn as the heroine confronts another outside force desiring control over her power and her relationship to the water god. Asahi starts taking on Mary Sue qualities as she deals with the emperor and his problems as well as an outbreak of sickness at her own village.

And I really have no interest in watching the asshole water god learn to become human through her ongoing efforts so he can better appreciate what a catch has fallen into his lap.

I think I'm show more done reading this. show less

After two volumes of the heroine as a child, this is a transition volume as the story jumps several years and establishes a new status quo for Asahi. She is now a begrudgingly respected priestess of the water god, feared and hated by many in her own village and coveted by other villages. She has placed her human protector, Subaru, firmly in the friend zone while she overanalyzes her every interaction with the remote-yet-perhaps-reachable water dragon god. Power struggles with forces inside show more and outside the village and incremental cracks in the water dragon god's facade seem to be the future of this series. I'm not sure how I feel about that. show less

I forgot I had a hold on this at the library, so I thought I'd give the series one more go. And I'm definitely done with it now. It's just too dull for me as the story doubles down on the lackluster political machinations of the fantasy world and continues to insist that the Water God is a viable love interest instead of the cold fish he is. There's just no spark in the characters or story to draw me in.