Warning: This feature contains spoilers for The King’s Beast Volume 1.
Shojo Beat will release a brand-new story set in an already established world on February 2. The King’s Beast (Japanese title: Kogetsu no Yume) is the newest series from author Rei Toma (The Water Dragon’s Bride) and takes place in the universe she created in the series Dawn of the Arcana. In this incarnation, however, the setting is ancient China and features a brand new set of characters.
Originally serialized in Cheese! magazine starting in January 2019, the start of the first volume sets up the world which will bring even new readers into the fold with minimal effort. The story takes place in a world that has both humans and ajin (beast people). While they are superior to humans in every single way, the ajin are still the minority, which means they are subjected to unimaginable cruelty including all forms of abuse and scorn from the humans.
The main character is an ajin woman named Rangetsu. When she was younger, it was discovered that her twin brother, Sogetsu, had special powers and was thus taken away to be a slave to one of the human princes. Later down the line, Rangetsu hears that her brother has been murdered by someone. Assuming it was the prince, she dedicates herself to honing her skills as a warrior and hiding her gender in order to get close to the prince and get revenge for her brother by killing him.
What she doesn’t expect, however, is the prince turning out to be unlike any other member of the royal family. Unlike the other princes and attendants who treat the ajin very coldly and cruelly, Tenyou treats Rangetsu warmly and openly sheds tears at the memory of the death of Sogetsu. By the end of the volume, the prince and the ajin will form an uneasy alliance to discover who killed Sogetsu and bring them to justice.
In this first volume by Viz Media, the author keeps the story contained and the backgrounds simple, instead opting to give the readers a visual feast with her beautiful bishonen character designs. It doesn’t matter if the characters are human or ajin, they are very pleasing to the eyes and will be sure to captivate the audience.
Check out all the details below:
The King’s Beast Volume 1
Story and Art: Rei Toma
Imprint: Shojo Beat
Prince Tenyou is not what Rangetsu expected, and the political currents in the palace run deep and strange. Does Rangetsu have any chance of finding justice for her brother, or will she become just another Ajin casualty in the game of kings?
Both new and established fans should check out The King's Beast Volume 1 when it is released on February 2nd, 2021.
VIZ Media & OU NO KEMONO © 2019 Rei TOMA/SHOGAKUKAN