Customer Reviews

Beast Master, Vol. 1 (Beast Master (Viz Media))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Seventeen-year-old Yuiko Kubozuka loves animals. Unfortunately, they definitely don't love her back. (She is always trying too hard, apparently, and scares them away.) Then one day--an appropriately stormy one where the rain is falling in sheets and bolts of lightning are lighting up the heavens--she meets him, a boy who is practically a wild animal himself. The boy, as it turns out, is actually a transfer student at Yuiko's school who had been living abroad for many years, and his name is Leo Aoi.

The student body is terrified of the scruffy, much-scarred, and wild-eyed Leo. Yuiko soon learns, however, that Leo is actually more kitten than lion, and the two develop a fast friendship. It's all going swimmingly until Leo manages to get on the wrong side of the wrong crowd. When they try to beat him into submission, he goes berserk, ready to kill everyone in sight with his bare hands. And he would have, too...had Yuiko not intervened to stop his rampage. Apparently only she is capable of stopping him once he sees fresh blood. Will Yuiko be able to keep Leo tame, or will this beast ultimately be the one to take his master's life?

Despite the lurid illustration of a chained and bloodied Leo embracing a sorrowful looking Yuiko from behind, the first volume of Kyousuke Motomi's Beast Master is, like Leo himself, more mellow than monstrous. And, as the title correctly implies, it is more about the "Beast Master" Yuiko herself than it is about Leo. This, like the best sorts of shoujo manga, is about a girl who grows into adulthood. For Yuiko specifically, this means learning how to relate to others in a compassionate way that fulfills their needs and desires, and not just her own, and she gradually comes to realize that smothering someone with affection is not the same as love.

Of course, Leo is an appealing character after his own fashion as well. A dead ringer of L from Death Note, he is a character design type that has won legions of fans around the world, and Motomi almost certainly drew him with his antecedents in mind. Actually, character design is one of this title's strongest assets. Although the quality of the artwork and layouts on its own terms is of the expected standard for mainstream shoujo manga and no more, the mangaka uses just the right combination of supporting character archetypes, from bald gangster to geeky father, to keep up the momentum of the story.

This volume of Beast Master also includes a standalone bonus story titled, "Fly." Unrelated to the main plot, it depicts a young woman who wants to become a pilot even though her parents want her to become a doctor, and with the encouragement of her boyfriend, she decides to follow her dreams. If this manga has a theme, it is that people cannot realize their individual potential alone, and the person to help them along the way is already right beside them. All in all, a pleasantly optimistic read that belies the lurid superficialities. Recommended.

-- Casey Brienza

Yuiko has a problem: she loves animals, but she smothers them so much that they hate her. She's kind of like Elmira from "Tiny Toon Adventures", only not insane. One day, a strange boy named Leo rescues Yuiko's cat from a tree. He looks scary, but he seems to get along with animals really well. It turns out that he's a new transfer student at her school. All the other students are afraid of Leo, but Yuiko is interested in him. She finds out that Leo was raised in the wild in a foreign land, which explains his appearance and sensitivity to nature. As they become friends, Yuiko discovers what a sweet guy Leo really is. Until someone makes him angry, that is...

I thought Leo was a great hero. He looks scary when he first shows up, but he ends up being really cute. He's a very light-hearted character. He doesn't understand about social boundaries, and he's openly affectionate to those he likes. It frustrates him that he can't make friends, but he's really happy to have Yuiko and considers her very important to him. Yuiko was fine, but she didn't have as strong a personality. She's pretty much an average-high-school-girl kind of heroine. I did admire the fact that she reaches out to Leo, though, when everyone else shuns him. Some of the minor characters are interesting, too, especially "Boss".

I would've given this manga a higher rating if it hadn't been for the plot. It's episodic, and the episodes don't seem to really lead anywhere. Most of them revolve around showing off Leo's kind and cute nature. He has to rescue Yuiko at least three times during the first volume. I guess it makes it a little more interesting that Leo goes wild with rage when angered, although the nice-guy-with-a-violent-side is kind of cliche. It doesn't help that only Yuiko can reach him when he gets in that state. There's plenty of cliched mushiness like that.

I suggest taking a look at this manga and deciding for yourself whether it's worth reading. Leo's charm may be enough for some. I've just read too many similar shojo to be interested in this.

I went against my own policy and judged this book by its cover from the first time I saw it ages ago-- I thought it looked rather suggestive and creepy. Then I got an I phone and I had a free download for the first chapter and thought, "Hey, what the heck?"
Oh. My. Goodness. I learned my lesson. LOVED IT! Must buy!

This book was and still is my favorite short series and maybe best series I ever found. So glad I found this series. I am not to into too serious, romance mangas but this has comedy and could relate to me in some ways so I fell in love with it. It has adventure and plenty of drama I think any animal lover and manga fan would love. My best friend also loved it so I will buy her this series for her birthday. Its something worth reading over and buying for keeps.

Starting from a personal side, I loved this manga. I bought the first one at Barnes & Noble out of curiosity, and the sexy picture on the front. The chains attracted me, and the guy looked simply...Dark, mysterious and gorgeous. Finally, days later, I came across it lying still in the bag, and I decided I had thirty minutes to blow, so I could read it.

The first bit of it caught my attention right off, a cute high school-looking girl, trying to get a cat that apparently, hates her guts. And out of the tree, comes a wild looking male who the cat seems to adore. What makes it more interesting...Is he doesn't speak a word, simply rushes off, wounded. Soon after, the boy transfers to her school, and she wants to thank him for finally catching her cat for her. With a few clumsy mishaps, they start talking, and getting to know each other...But before long, she finds herself being adored by the strange animal boy! She soon finds out that Leo (Animal boy) Has something stange about him, and that he snaps and gets completely brutally violent when he sees blood, and he's scared. What surprises her even more, is the fact she's the only one he'll listen to when snapped in that state!

Learning this, she slowly by slowly takes a liking to the only wild animal that likes her! 'An animal lover hated by animals', 'And a boy with the eyes of a predator and the heart of a teddy bear.' Make an interesting pair in this manga that will keep you rolling in laughter until your sides hurt, have you crying your eyes out at the sincere drama, and 'aww'ing at the thick but sweet and sexy romance! Many adventures are packed into this little twisting story, and you'll feel the emotions as deeply as the characters do! Truly one of the greatest.

The best thing is that it's short, but you feel satisfied! Two books complete the series, and it leaves you without a doubt! I would buy this manga for anyone who wants to get hooked, is hooked already or needs a cheap and quick gift for an anime/manga fan! If you like Dramatic romance, mixed with side busting comedy, suspenseful plot lines and outrageous characters! Kyousuke Motomi's Beast Master is for you. :)

This is a super cute shojo manga story! *u*
It's one of my personal favorite stories and is the first manga I've ever bought ('cause I just HAD to have it)!!!!
So... if you're thinking about getting it... DO!

"To protect ourself and what we hold dear, we keep frightening beasts within us."

Summary:Yuiko loves animals and wants them to love her back. Unfortunately animals hate her, she's too...affectionate. No matter what she does, even her own cat runs away. Her friends tell her that if she put that enthusiasm towards a boy, she'd get a boyfriend. The only problem is that in all her seventeen years, she hasn't found any guy interesting. One night a mysterious stranger with blood on his clothes rescues her cat and leaves without a second word. The next day a new student transfer in to her class , it's him. He's rumored to be the beast fighting and almost killing in the area. After she witnesses Aoi losing himself to his inner leopard in a fight she steps in, will he run away from her too?

Yuiko, is unique you could say. She loves animals but her methods are too violent, you could see it from the first two pages. She is brave and kind and understands people well. She sees in Aoi, what other don't see, and finds hims cute and adorable.
Aoi, he's scary, His classmates even describe him as having eyes like a "carnivorous animal." And they are right. He doesn't stop being scary but he starts to get understood. Aoi is drawn beautifully, when he is scary he looks psychotic and when he smiles it all goes away. And his smile was drawn with fangs, sort of, that he looks very sweet and innocent.

The art in this manga was funny and nicely drawn at the same time. You'll lol at just their expressions most of the time. You feel it change, when it's meant to look cute and dreamy and when it's scary you could as smell the blood.

Rarely do you find a short manga that in just two volumes paints a clear picture of the lives of those around you and while reading it makes you fell like you've been part of their world since day one. You see what Yuiko sees and you start understanding Aoi, even if it sometimes goes against reason.

I bought this book as a gift & she loved it. She laughed & cried throughout the whole book. My guess is that was a great buy ;)

I picked this manga up, after reading a good review of it and decided to give it a try.
This manga isn't amazing, just read maybe if you're bored.
I really didn't like the characters too much; they're a bit too dull.
I will say that the storyline is pretty original, but that's the only thing.

This is one of my many favorite manga. If they ever make an anime out of it I will be the happest person in earth and everyone will now it!