ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘The King’s Beast,’ Volume 3

Things are heating up in The King’s Beast, a manga series based on the Dawn of the Arcana series that started as a story of revenge and has quickly turned into a lot of yearning. The King’s Beast Volume 3 is written and illustrated by Toma, and localized in English by VIZ Media, published through its Shojo Beat imprint, is translated and adapted by JN Productions, and features touch-up art and lettering by Monaliza De Asis.

Last volume, Rangetsu struggled to keep her cover when an Ajin was wrongly accused of murder. Instead of standing by and watching injustice unfold, she used her position within the castle to push towards justice. Oh, and someone found out that she’s actually a woman.

Now, in The King’s Beast Volume 3, Rangetsu has to find a way to balance the vengeance she so desperately has been seeking with her new life in the imperial palace. Instead of blaming Prince Tenyou, she’s fallen for him, seeing him as her light. But she doesn’t just know him from a yearning sense, she trusts him, and she is set on protecting him at all costs, even if it’s directly putting her life at risk.

In The King’s Beast Volume 3, Rangetsu becomes even more driven by her yearning for Tenyou. Yes, she still wants to avenge her brother, but when jealousy takes hold, we see the moment where her character has begun to switch her focus. While I appreciate Toma allowing Rengetsu to embrace the femininity that she’s pushed away, it doesn’t feel dynamic. The way that her love grows for Tenyou and the fact that it is now her only reason for growth, makes me scared for growth or lack there of in Volume 4.

I don’t want to see this capable fighter and woman driven by sibling love and grief turned into someone only driven by romantic love for a man, especially one she really hasn’t known that long. While this hasn’t happened yet, I worry that’s the path we’re going down, especially given the way that Rengetsu’s moment of jealousy unfolds. She gets drunk, she jumps to conclusions, and she doesn’t question Tenyou’s promise that he didn’t buy a female Ajin at the brothel.

The reason that this is an issue is because there is a note that brothels are like prisons for female Ajin, something that was also noted in the beginning of the series, but that doesn’t drive her. <- huh? It’s her jealousy over another woman being with Toma that seems to be her focus. But only time will tell where this will go.

Overall, The King’s Beast Volume 3 is a sharp change in Rengetsu’s identity and motive. It’ll land for some people and not for others. Beyond that though, we are finally slowly inching towards a romance, which is exciting. I just hope that Rengetsu doesn’t lose herself in it.

The King’s Beast Volume 3 is available August 3, 2021,  wherever books are sold.