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王の獣 [Ou no Kemono] #6

The King's Beast, Vol. 6

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Ajin boys who show signs of special abilities are conscripted to serve in the imperial palace as beast-servants—status symbols and shields for their royal masters, to be kept or discarded on a whim. When they were children, Rangetsu’s twin brother Sogetsu was ripped from her arms and sent to the palace to attend Prince Tenyou as a beast-servant, where he quickly fell victim to bloody dynastic intrigues. Now in a world that promises only bitterness, Rangetsu’s one hope at avenging her brother is to disguise herself as a man and find a way into the palace!

Prince Kougai’s interest in his brother’s new beast-servant hasn’t waned, and Rangetsu is forced to forge an uneasy truce with him when his prying uncovers the dangerous truth about her identity. But her past isn’t the only thing the third prince has been investigating, and the palace holds many deadly secrets…

168 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2021

About the author

Rei Tōma

62 books359 followers
Rei Tōma (Japanese: 藤間 麗,Tōma Rei) has been drawing since childhood, but she only began drawing manga because of her graduation project in design school. When she drew a short-story manga, "Help me dentist" (ヘルプ me デンティスト), it attracted a publisher's attention and she made her debut right away. Her magnificent art style became popular, and after she debuted as a manga artist, she became known as an illustrator for novels and video game character designs.

Dawn of the Arcana is her first long-running manga series, and it has been a hit in Japan, selling over a million copies.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
Profile Image for StrawberryShojo.
275 reviews37 followers
December 3, 2022
Content Warning: Drugs, Sexual Assault

After the beautifully told story in volume 5, this volume is a massive disappointment. The writing for this volume was painfully immature and felt like non-con you would have stumbled upon back in the day on Livejournal.

Much to the misfortune of Rangetsu, she has caught the eye of Prince Kougai. He has suspected that she is secretly a woman for a few volumes, and seeks to confirm that suspicion. He traps Rangetsu and drugs her. He removes her clothing and proceeds to sexually assault her. To be clear, his assaulting her should come as no surprise to the reader. Previous volumes have depicted him as a bad person, who believes that given his station he has dominion over others as well as their bodies. The world that Toma has created in this story is a world that is unkind to Ajin, especially those who are beast servants. However, while this scene could have easily been predicted by the reader, it was depicted poorly.

The scene is drawn at first in a frightening way, and then in a more tantalizing way as the scene progresses. It is very clear that the scene itself is meant to be somewhat sexy to the reader and even funny at times (as a couple of jokes are made during the scene). Which I personally am not okay with. I know others may feel differently and can even find reading scenes like that cathartic, but it’s definitely not for me.

To be clear, I think if the scene had been drawn differently, with more sensitivity and care for its point-of-view character then it would have been better received. Plenty of media covers the topic of rape and sexual assault. There are ways of depicting scenes like this in such a way that gets the point across without depicting the act itself or concentrating more on the character’s internal monologue instead of the moment-to-moment actions. The sort of fan service that Toma employs in this volume undermines the complex and interesting characters she has written so far. It reduces Rangetsu to a plaything for the other characters in the story, while simultaneously forcing the reader to comply with that as well.

The rest of the volume aims to be light-hearted, making jokes and trying its hardest to soften the tension. However, almost every scene following the assault has some mention of how “cute” Rangetsu is, or how she needs to guard herself better or has another character touching her without her consent. While it tries to lighten the mood, it just doesn’t work. Every action in this volume just further reinforces that Rangetsu has no bodily autonomy, and It feels as though it was written by someone who was not mature enough to handle such a topic.

I’m going to finish reading and reviewing this story, as I have with all Rei Toma's works, but this volume has definitely soured this story for me.

If you are interested in supporting my reviews, you can use my affiliate link to pick up a copy of the King's Beast or any other title:
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Profile Image for Mark.
2,312 reviews200 followers
May 11, 2022
[Content warning: sexual assault]

With the third prince catching a whiff of something in the air, he lays out a trap for Rangetsu that promises all sorts of calamity for our hero. Even if she gets out of that, there’s still the far more complicated mess that she and Tenyou are becoming embroiled in, which has everybody asking all sorts of questions of themselves…

This story has never been shy about the horrors inflicted on the beast-people, but we’ve been mercifully spared anything particularly heinous since the flashbacks in the first volume. Until now, that is, as the third prince has suspicions and decides to prove them.

Thankfully, despite this whole scenario being incredibly sketchy and non-consensual, Rangetsu manages to come through it mostly okay, at least physically so, and she learns a valuable lesson about her weaknesses, which likely means we won’t see things get this bad again. Still, fair warning and all that.

The rest of the story is the usual high standard that this series has delivered time after time, with a surprising amount of humour mixed in with a lot of the drama, making this a rather good blend (minus one truly bizarre meta-joke, but I’ll admit it’s pretty funny) if you’ve liked this manga to date.

Tenyou gets so much to do here and it’s impressive that they decide to directly address his wrestling with the fact that he is becoming increasingly attracted to what he believes is a male servant of his, to say nothing of also addressing the power dynamics in such a pairing.

There’s a welcome lack of gay panic, possibly because of Rangetsu’s true gender, but this also lets the story put poor Taihaku through the wringer again, as he is trying to stop his master from crushing on Rangetsu, but not for the reasons he’s stating.

Most of the comic relief in this volume is from Taihaku and Rangetsu (the omake about the boyfriend shirt is pure gold and they can smash the fourth wall to pieces in an omake, so it’s great) going back and forth. They’re really such different people, but both devoted to Tenyou, which gives them a great dynamic.

The scene where Rangetsu is getting new clothes is absolutely delightful because the tailor is apparently dressing the warrior within, as it were, which is giving poor Taihaku the vapours. Later, he assists Rangetsu’s plans to steel herself from any more danger such as the third prince presented and that goes all kinds of wrong.

Amidst all this we have the burgeoning Rangetsu and Tenyou attraction, which is really starting to heat up. The wait for this might seem interminable, but the way this story is laid out means it has many other things going on besides this romance aspect, which smartly keeps it from feeling particularly strung out.

And hey, forbidden love, can’t go wrong with that! These two are so over-the-top into one another, and clearly just holding back, that it does feel like this is all going to explode at one point rather than just have them gently ease into it.

Oh, there’s also a ton of intrigue beyond third prince as well. In fact, the crucial question that’s been hanging over this series from the beginning - who killed Rangetsu’s brother - is finally answered in a quite scene that is all the more impactful because it is both done so nonchalantly and because it reveals the truth to the reader, but not the people who really want to know.

To say this thing is stuffed is an understatement, but it all has enough time to breathe and while it doesn’t push things too much more along, it does have a couple of critically important plot developments that seed things for the future. It never feels like it’s spinning its wheels.

5 stars - yeah, okay, I’m no fan of sexual assault, and definitely adjust your expectations downward if that’s a big N-O for you, but the rest of this book is pure gold. The consistency of the writing in this series remains stellar and there is SO much packed into these 160-odd pages and it’s almost all amazing.
Profile Image for Rebekah Gyger.
Author 2 books84 followers
July 6, 2023
Well, I'm disappointed. I was really enjoying this series after the last two volumes, but this one took a turn that I am just not comfortable with. Honestly, I had read it on the VIZ app, so if I had seen the cover art, I might have known just from that. I've decided to leave this review here for anyone following my reviews, and that is also why I am not removing the series from my account all together.
Profile Image for Victoria ✮⋆˙.
1,065 reviews104 followers
April 28, 2023
Not my favourite volume…the SA was absolutely unnecessary and gross!! It’s a shame because the series till now was so cute and fun but that chapter was so uncomfortable! I hope it returns to cute and fun…
Profile Image for DesertSkyCacti.
247 reviews50 followers
May 3, 2022
Sadly my least favorite volume so far. Slow with not much progress plot wise or relationship wise. Overall a filler volume. Still highly recommend this series though!
Profile Image for Sequoia Cron.
926 reviews9 followers
September 16, 2023
There is sexual assault in this one. I was definitely not expecting that.

It was still a very good read, but for those who need the warning, here you go.
Profile Image for bri.
146 reviews10 followers
October 18, 2023
the creator should have handled that sexual assault scene better. i’m pissed.
Profile Image for Ester.
1,021 reviews62 followers
June 18, 2024
Habiendo descubierto la verdad, Kôgai le juega una encerrona a Rangetsu. Esto hará que Tenyô sea más consciente de sus sentimientos por su bestia sirviente, aunque sepa que no puede ser. Nuevos secretos salen a la palestra relacionados con Sogetsu.

Cada vez me gusta más esta serie, y me ha encantado el momento bisexual de Tenyô (gracias por darnos visibilidad) y el gay total de Reiun. O sea, para mí él está más que casado con su bestia sirviente, sabe mucho de hacerle el amor a los hombres.

Leer la reseña completa:
https://unabibliotecaentremundos.blog...
Profile Image for Kaitlynne.
1,600 reviews53 followers
May 3, 2022
Slow
ETA: okay so after looking at Goodreads, it looks like it at least goes to vol. 10, which means 4 more volumes, hallelujah. Things are still moving at a slower pace, but at the same time heating up?

Original
I heard that there was only 1 or 2 volumes left and that makes me nervous because there's still a lot left open. It's still cute though and we finally got some information that we've been looking for
Profile Image for love, lauren♡.
318 reviews12 followers
June 21, 2024
overall it was a good volume, but the blatant sexualisation of SA was NOT on. Depicting SA and other forms of assault is fine, but it was drawn and presented p*rnigraphically and those scenes should NOT be sexualised like this. I will continue reading the series because it is otherwise good, but if anything like this happens again im out
Profile Image for Katie❄️.
1,429 reviews
November 18, 2022
Idk. I feel like the rating on this one should be higher than teen. There’s no beating around the rape scene. Even if they were to call it “mild”. As insulting as that is. Being coerced by drugs, striped, and touched all without consent, is still rape. Ajin beast or human.
Profile Image for Barbara.
481 reviews42 followers
July 26, 2023
The third Prince Kaigou,finds out with the help of drugs that Rangetsu is a woman and afterwards lets his own beast servant Boku,know that he suspects him and and his sister Ririn,of their involvement with the murder of Rangetsu’s brother.

Profile Image for Bree Dawn.
190 reviews7 followers
June 7, 2023
I wanted to love this book, but I couldn’t. The fact that the majority of the book involves a sexual assault that is described in too much detail immediately makes this a one-star read.

I have included more details about the sexual assault in the content warning section of this review. It was incredible uncomfortable to read and did almost nothing to move the story forward (with the exception of the male character confirming his suspicions that the female character is, in fact, a female).

I would not recommend this book to anyone, and—after this—I don’t know if I will continue this series or not.

Content warnings: Classism, drug abuse, emotional abuse, misogyny, panic attacks, racism, sexual assault (details below), and sexual content.

Sexual Assault Details: There is a sexual assault in this book. The female character is drugged with a scent that makes Ajin women go into heat. The male character pins her down on the bed and holds her there for a long time. The two then (kind of?) have sex, but it is not consensual because she did not agree to it.

Graphic, Detailed Summary of Assault: The female character ends up on top of him and the two “grind.” She does not seem to be aware of why she wants this or what is really happening, but she makes a comment about it being hard to sit on him because “there’s something hard” down there. He encourages her to keep “moving” on top of him because it feels good.
Profile Image for Paula Rodríguez.
247 reviews
August 5, 2024
Ha hecho una cosa que no me ha gustado nada y que no era necesario para la trama porque se podría haber abordado de otra manera (tw). Dejando eso a parte me está gustando la trama que envuelve al hermano y otros personajes.
Profile Image for Lemoona.
181 reviews
June 13, 2022
I… I… OH. MY. GOD. OH MY GOD!

PRINCE KOUGAI HAD NO RIGHT! NO RIGHT! THAT WAS A VIOLATION AND WAS NOT ALLOWED. BUT WTF WHY DOES RANGESTU NOT EVEN FEEL LIKE SHE WAS VIOLATED? He had some nerve saying he got horny, then announcing that he would sleep with a woman who looks similar to her to get off because she wouldn’t take care of his horny self. SOME NERVE. SOME NERVE AFTER DRUGGING HER HIMSELF! Prince Kougai is out y’all. IT IS NOT A SHIP ANYMORE. WHAT HE DID WAS NOT OK THAT PIECE OF TRASH JERK. And he found out she was a woman of course. How could he not when he literally purposefully used a drug that only works on women Ajin and stripped her?! It was funny when Taihaku got mad when he found out she was stripped, when the person in question was acting like it was NO BIG DEAL. And Prince Kougai was playing around the whole time! What an atomic jerk!!

Aside from that, so Prince Kougai knows who killed Sougestu, and that his own Ajin was involved. Why did he turn a blind eye? Another thing I won’t forgive him for. Guys, I thought I liked him but he’s a MAJOR ASSHOLE. But why does he have to be so hot…



Prince Tenyou won’t stop calling Rangestu cute even though (he thinks) she’s a guy. And of course he’s the only one who still thinks that because EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS ALREADY. He also discovers he is in love with her because he desires to kiss her. So basically he thinks that he is gay. And he has never been interested in men before so naturally he is confused and goes to get advice from his brother. His brother, who seems to have an odd relationship with his own Ajin. All these palace people need help…

But so Prince Tenyou admitted it! He is in love with Rangestu! And he takes on the challenge of the throne and the battle for succession because he wants to protect her existence as an Ajin. He is too good, too good but can you please tell her you that you like her? And can someone please tell him that she’s a girl and not a a guy? Please and thank you. I will kill that princess. And that stupid Ajin Boku if they are actually involved in Sougetsu’s death. I WILL KILL THEM!

This book was so… scandalous! With that vulgar (bed?) scene with Prince Kougai and that almost-kiss scene with Prince Tenyou. They should’ve kissed! I wanted them to! But no we get some weird bed scene with Prince Kougai instead. Sigh… SIGH. Also the scene when she was telling Taihaku to chain her? To experiment with drugs so she can develop a tolerance? Ok, but did they not realize how weird that would look to someone else? And guess what, Prince Tenyou decides to walk in at the worst moment! Oh lord, what am I going to do with these people… SCANDALOUS MUCH?!

I am not okay. This book was not okay. Prince Kougai needs a big slap. I need to kill the Princess and Boku. Prince Tenyou and Rangestu need to kiss. And please can Taihaku just marry me? Why don’t I get any of the men and Rangestu gets to hog all of them?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for lroses.
188 reviews
May 10, 2024
I… I… OH. MY. GOD. OH MY GOD!

PRINCE KOUGAI HAD NO RIGHT! NO RIGHT! THAT WAS A VIOLATION AND WAS NOT ALLOWED. BUT WTF WHY DOES RANGESTU NOT EVEN FEEL LIKE SHE WAS VIOLATED? He had some nerve saying he got horny, then announcing that he would sleep with a woman who looks similar to her to get off because she wouldn’t take care of his horny self. SOME NERVE. SOME NERVE AFTER DRUGGING HER HIMSELF! Prince Kougai is out y’all. IT IS NOT A SHIP ANYMORE. WHAT HE DID WAS NOT OK THAT PIECE OF TRASH JERK. And he found out she was a woman of course. How could he not when he literally purposefully used a drug that only works on women Ajin and stripped her?! It was funny when Taihaku got mad when he found out she was stripped, when the person in question was acting like it was NO BIG DEAL. And Prince Kougai was playing around the whole time! What an atomic jerk!!

Aside from that, so Prince Kougai knows who killed Sougestu, and that his own Ajin was involved. Why did he turn a blind eye? Another thing I won’t forgive him for. Guys, I thought I liked him but he’s a MAJOR ASSHOLE. But why does he have to be so hot…



Prince Tenyou won’t stop calling Rangestu cute even though (he thinks) she’s a guy. And of course he’s the only one who still thinks that because EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS ALREADY. He also discovers he is in love with her because he desires to kiss her. So basically he thinks that he is gay. And he has never been interested in men before so naturally he is confused and goes to get advice from his brother. His brother, who seems to have an odd relationship with his own Ajin. All these palace people need help…

But so Prince Tenyou admitted it! He is in love with Rangestu! And he takes on the challenge of the throne and the battle for succession because he wants to protect her existence as an Ajin. He is too good, too good but can you please tell her you that you like her? And can someone please tell him that she’s a girl and not a a guy? Please and thank you. I will kill that princess. And that stupid Ajin Boku if they are actually involved in Sougetsu’s death. I WILL KILL THEM!

This book was so… scandalous! With that vulgar (bed?) scene with Prince Kougai and that almost-kiss scene with Prince Tenyou. They should’ve kissed! I wanted them to! But no we get some weird bed scene with Prince Kougai instead. Sigh… SIGH. Also the scene when she was telling Taihaku to chain her? To experiment with drugs so she can develop a tolerance? Ok, but did they not realize how weird that would look to someone else? And guess what, Prince Tenyou decides to walk in at the worst moment! Oh lord, what am I going to do with these people… SCANDALOUS MUCH?!

I am not okay. This book was not okay. Prince Kougai needs a big slap. I need to kill the Princess and Boku. Prince Tenyou and Rangestu need to kiss. And please can Taihaku just marry me? Why don’t I get any of the men and Rangestu gets to hog all of them?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for 1stTimeReader.
134 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2023
This was really disappointing.

I have loved Rei Toma’s works so far - both “Dawn of the Arcana” and “Water Dragon’s Bride” were enjoyable and Toma is really good at building worlds with real stakes.

When I started this series, I enjoyed returning to the world of Ajin and Humans from “Dawn of the Arcana” and the history and motivation of our main character felt important and justified. She had to wander in the dragon’s den to seek revenge in a world where the lives of Ajin are considered worthless.

But the series gradually wondered away from this and focused more onto romance, which in itself is fine - I like the main male lead and it added another obstacle she had to overcome internally.

This volume has a sexual assault scene by one of the other princes - instead of framing this as the dangerous and disturbing even for our main character, they turn this into a sexy scene for the reader? It obviously included as a fan service scene, but this goes against the serious premise of the story and the main character’s personal feelings (as seen in the first volume, the main character had been forced into a brothel at a very young age and a past scene even depicted a very disturbing scene where a random man sexually r*pes her) - I can’t believe this is how they depict it, as something the reader is mean to enjoy. It felt repulsive and sadly, this is where I stop reading this series.

Profile Image for alicat.
314 reviews4 followers
August 17, 2022
Ughhhh I keep trying to understand why so many people love this series. But this volume definitely put the nail in the coffin for me. A volume full of sexual assault and drugging is not good. It's not real plot. It's uncomfortable to read. And unnecessary. And the murder mystery already just casually answered?

I do love the art in this series. And the concept of beast-servants. Well not really the servants part or the whole power stuff hasn't come into play much... I just like eared and tailed characters. Sigh.

Maybe I'll keep reading just because it's popular and I did like The Water Dragon's Bride, but I'm just disappointed.
Profile Image for book_worm119.
693 reviews11 followers
November 21, 2022
4.5
I love the dynamic between Taihaku and Rangetsu. It did look pretty weird when she was chained lol...
The third prince is disgusting. What made him likeable..ughh..it was even weirder that for moments Rangetsu complied..but it makes sense.
I love that expression Taihaku and Tenyou had when they saw her as if they knew..
I mean why did she try to kill so many other people, but didn't even try to kill the man who attempted to rape her? I mean literally during that she popped up and started trying to stop him by talking..
can't believe she only punched him.
If all the people who read this punched him through the book, he'd be dead.
Profile Image for Babsi .
39 reviews
March 10, 2023
Finally i have the 6th Volume in my Hand and i love it so much, my heart is beating so hard. First of all why this cover? Why is Kogai on th Cover that destroyes the vibes from all the other covers….. but it is still very beautiful. The Story is getting more and more intense and incredible and i can’t wait for the next Part. But in this volume are soo many beautiful Moments between Rangetsu and Prince Tenyo, they are sooo sweet together i love them so much. And i‘m a big fan of Tenyo and he steals my heart more and more in every volume. I‘m really looking forward to the next part and how this is going to continue.
Profile Image for Tanya.
277 reviews
September 17, 2024
This one was a little more confusing. Perhaps I am being too hard on it but I feel the topic of the sexual assault and such was too light hearted and almost suppose to be found sexy. Despite her supposed trauma around being female and having to work in brothels. It didn’t sit right with me how quickly it just recovered from the emotions of it. I felt it should have been a little more serious or not drawn the way it was.

I am fine with more adult topics being brought up but it just felt too naive for someone who had been through what Rangetsu has been through. How does she not know what a boner is after sitting on him and seeing that played out all through her childhood.
Profile Image for The Book Dragon.
2,249 reviews33 followers
June 2, 2022
I was starting to like Kougai. He was an interesting character, a good antagonist, sorta funny... then he did this. Like, I get it, between how this society is and that fact that he's a prince, it's technically his right. But I don't care!

And that's not the only big upset to happen in this book. Setting aside the fact that Tenyou is starting to question if he's gay for thinking Rangetsu is cute.
Profile Image for Jessica.
40 reviews
June 30, 2022
Sorry but this was an uncomfortable read. I understand that the whole point of the world they built is that Beast Servants are treated lower than dirt. They've showed us that in different ways throughout the series so far.
But its not fun to read about sexual assault simple cause one of the characters wants to have a bit of fun. There could've been other ways the prince could find out his suspicions that she was a girl in disguise.
All that's left me is feeling gross and really I'm just done with the series at this point. There's better stuff to read out there.
Profile Image for Emylea.
142 reviews3 followers
June 7, 2023
Kougai on the cover had me so confused… but it makes so much more sense once you read it. It is not what it looks like THANK GOD.

I just want Tenyou to figure out Rangetsu is a girl. Also Ajin are treated so badly it makes me angry. I realize they have been treated this way since book 1 but some of the things that happened in this one were INFURIATING.

Is Kougai a bad or good guy? Sometimes I think he’s cool but he did some VERY questionable things in this one. Actually it wasn’t even questionable is was downright wrong.

I will now immediately read #7
Profile Image for R..
1,618 reviews
September 25, 2023
More awkwardness ensues as Rangetsu ends up having to try on an assortment of clothes for Tenyou and Taihaku as they are trying to determine his wardrobe as the prince's beast servant. Now we have more people learning Rangetsu's secret as well thanks to the third prince's plotting and this incense that can apparently only affect female Ajin. Even more confusion as Rangetsu is so pleased with the bracelet, but then Tenyou takes it away. Neither one seems to be able to stick with any decision or clear identification when it comes to their emotions or actions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Vivienne Beloved.
222 reviews
May 11, 2024
Finalmente sappiamo chi è l'assassino o per meglio dire chi sono! Lo sospettavo, ma non ne ero sicura. Ora dobbiamo scoprirne le ragioni, ma scommetto che si tratta di gelosia, visto che c'è di mezzo la Principessa. Forse mi sbaglio?
Adorato le scene tra un Tenyo ormai quasi consapevole di essere innamorato e Rangetsu che cerca di trattenersi. L'unica cosa che mi ha dato fastidio è la parte con il principe Kogai che droga Rangetsu per i suoi scopi, assistendo ad un'espetto della ragazza bestia che sinceramente dovrebbe mostrare solo a Tenyo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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