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A review by rereader33
Beasts of Abigaile, Volume 1 by Spica Aoki
4.0
I mentioned this manga when reviewing Spica's newest manga, Kaiju Girl Caramelise, so this is a reread for me. For the most part, this is just as enjoyable as I remember it being (I read this about two years ago). I love love love the character designs! Spica's artwork is absolutely beautiful, it reminds me a lot of Sailor Moon. The expressions are funny as hell and there were some that had me laughing out loud. Nina is a great character and I love her resolve to stand up for her ideals and others, whether it be their ideals or to protect them physically. But as much as I loved this volume as much as I remembered, they're two major issue that I had with it that I have to address: Roy and his aggressive behavior.
Maybe it's because I've matured in the two years that I've read this (doubt it) or maybe it's because I've become more sensitive to aggressive male leads, but Roy really rubs me the wrong way. Here's a small list of reasons why I dislike him:
1. He forces a kiss on Nina and says that he "marked her". And no, the fact that they are wolf-human hybrids DOES NOT excuse this behavior. Dario welcomes her into his home and does not mark her to do so, thus Roy's actions were unnecessary and uncalled for.
2. He pushes her to end up begging him not to out her in front of the other Luga and gets perverse pleasure over "a human begging for him". Yes, Luga's have been tormented and tortured by humans, BUT AGAIN, Dario, his housemates, Gilles, and other secondary characters don't act like this to her. Only Roy and Range, his housemate. I'm going to make this clear, because apparently very few people grasp this despite it being 2019, but HAVING A SAD, TRAGIC BACKSTORY DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE AN ASSHOLE TO SOMEBODY ELSE, ESPECIALLY YOUR LOVE INTEREST. Going off of that...
3. It's clear from the beginning that Roy is meant to be Nina's love interest and this makes me just the tiniest bit UNFATHOMABLY ENRAGED. I am SO DONE with romance love interests being assholes with tragic backstories (looking at you Christian Grey and Hardin) who are meant to be redeemed at the end so that we can root for the couple. Yeah, here's a fun fact-YOU CAN HAVE A ROMANCE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHERE ONE OF THEM ISN'T AN ASSHOLE WITH A SAD, TRAGIC BACKSTORY. Examples: Shirogane and Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama Love is War, Hori and Miyamura from Horimiya, Kase and Yamada from the Kase san series (a yuri manga, but the principle still applies), and who can forget one of the most romantic couples in anime, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon. Obviously it's possible, so stop making asshole characters for the main girl to fall in love with and make him nice, I swear it won't kill you.
That's my bit on my issues with this series. As someone who has already read it obviously I know how it ends, but I do still love this series and still recommend it to anyone looking for a beautifully drawn and fun manga.
Maybe it's because I've matured in the two years that I've read this (doubt it) or maybe it's because I've become more sensitive to aggressive male leads, but Roy really rubs me the wrong way. Here's a small list of reasons why I dislike him:
1. He forces a kiss on Nina and says that he "marked her". And no, the fact that they are wolf-human hybrids DOES NOT excuse this behavior. Dario welcomes her into his home and does not mark her to do so, thus Roy's actions were unnecessary and uncalled for.
2. He pushes her to end up begging him not to out her in front of the other Luga and gets perverse pleasure over "a human begging for him". Yes, Luga's have been tormented and tortured by humans, BUT AGAIN, Dario, his housemates, Gilles, and other secondary characters don't act like this to her. Only Roy and Range, his housemate. I'm going to make this clear, because apparently very few people grasp this despite it being 2019, but HAVING A SAD, TRAGIC BACKSTORY DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE AN ASSHOLE TO SOMEBODY ELSE, ESPECIALLY YOUR LOVE INTEREST. Going off of that...
3. It's clear from the beginning that Roy is meant to be Nina's love interest and this makes me just the tiniest bit UNFATHOMABLY ENRAGED. I am SO DONE with romance love interests being assholes with tragic backstories (looking at you Christian Grey and Hardin) who are meant to be redeemed at the end so that we can root for the couple. Yeah, here's a fun fact-YOU CAN HAVE A ROMANCE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHERE ONE OF THEM ISN'T AN ASSHOLE WITH A SAD, TRAGIC BACKSTORY. Examples: Shirogane and Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama Love is War, Hori and Miyamura from Horimiya, Kase and Yamada from the Kase san series (a yuri manga, but the principle still applies), and who can forget one of the most romantic couples in anime, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon. Obviously it's possible, so stop making asshole characters for the main girl to fall in love with and make him nice, I swear it won't kill you.
That's my bit on my issues with this series. As someone who has already read it obviously I know how it ends, but I do still love this series and still recommend it to anyone looking for a beautifully drawn and fun manga.