Title: The King’s Beast Vol. 6
Author: Rei Toma
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
The Story
For the most part, not much really happened in The King’s Beast Vol. 6. The main focus of this volume was on Tenyou and his developing feelings for Rangetsu. The volume spent a lot of time having him question his emotions and, much like anyone who is in love, we saw him battle those emotions back and forth like a see-saw. One moment he’s practically forcing himself onto Rangetsu, the next moment he’s come to his senses, the next he seems to be ready to push her away and steel his will, then the next he’s letting Rangetsu sleep on his lap.
There are some interesting developments here, though with Kougai. He tricked Rangetsu into delivering a box of incense which was, in reality, a powerful aphrodisiac that was meant to be used specifically on Ajin women. Kougai did this to confirm his suspicions; however, much like we saw with Taihaku, Kougai swears to keep her secret safe.
I will be honest… I didn’t see that coming. I thought for sure Kougai would do everything in his power to expose the secret but we find out why he chose to hold his tongue when the volume gives us a bit of a flashback scene later on. Outside of this, there is a HUGE revelation and reveal but, obviously, I’m not going to talk about it. The volume does come to an end with preparations to continue the games to determine who will take the throne next.
Characters
As I mentioned, Kougai’s willingness to hold his tongue when it comes to Rangetsu’s secret shocked me but once we saw the flashback of how Kougai and Tenyou were really close as kids and how all of that changed when Rangetsu’s brother died, it really painted Kougai in a whole new light. He lavishes in entertainment because the rivalry between himself and Tenyou was snuffed out. After Rangetsu’s brother died, Tenyou lost the light in his eyes and, therefore, stopped competing with Kougai. This was why he wanted to constantly challenge Tenyou to games and even in the tournament. He just wanted that feeling of competition back with Tenyou. It’s also those feelings of brotherly love that he has for Tenyou that’s allowing him to keep Rangetsu’s secret. I thought Kougai was a jerk this whole time; however, he’s actually not that bad once you understand where he’s coming from.
The other big development here is with Tenyou. Because Rangetsu is a girl, she’s going to obviously look cuter and prettier than a boy. Even though Tenyou is still convinced Rangetsu is male, those cute features of hers have been eating away at him this entire time. It has gotten to the point where he is beginning to realize he is sexually attracted to Rangetsu but cannot understand why. He even went so far as to seek advice as to what to do if one would find themselves in love with a man. While this edges into yaoi territory, I think it’s the perfect set-up for Tenyou to find out Rangetsu’s secret. All of his feelings will become validated upon learning that he’s actually a girl. This could lead him to protect Rangetsu with all of his heart. It is, honestly, the perfect setup-up. With Tenyou’s big heart and with Taihaku and now Kougai’s support, I’m sure this will also forge the path for Tenyou to become the next king and order a reform plan for all Ajin to make a human’s equal. Just my hunch, though.
Final Thoughts
While not much really happened in this volume, I liked it a lot. The inner turmoil with Tenyou’s emotions is indicative of what we all go through once we realize that we’re in love. “Oh, she’s perfect for me! Wait… is she really into me? She smiled at me and seemed to really enjoy my company today! She must like me. Oh, she seemed pretty distant and nonchalant today, maybe I was wrong and she doesn’t like me but I can’t help but stare when I see her! She’s so perfect! I wonder if I should buy her a gift? Oh no, I bought her a gift and she liked it but she doesn’t seem overly excited. Was it too subtle?”
I think you get the picture.
Seeing Tenyou sort those feelings out made him pretty relatable as a character. Plus, it really increased the tension because now, you just want him to find out Rangetsu’s secret so that it can be over and done with. Usually, when you phrase it like that, it means that it has been dragged on for long enough but in this case, it makes me wish to see what the two of them will become once the secret is unveiled. I mean heck… two people now know about it… so it’s not as if the secret has been guarded too well. If more people find out, it’s just going to become a mundane plot point rather than a focus of intrigue and excitement so I think Tenyou needs to find out sooner rather than later.
Although I didn’t care for Kougai in the beginning, this volume brought him into a new light and made him a semi-likable character. Of course, he’s still a bit of an eccentric snob but now we know why he’s that way. The fact that he’s being a bit honorable redeems him a little bit. There is still the competition to determine the King’s successor, though so we will see how he handles that. Will he give the Tenyou the upper hand to help him erase the sadness that came with losing his servant or will Kougai go all out just to have that sense of rivalry back that he lost so long ago? Before this volume, I would have said the latter 100% but now… it could go either way. He already surprised me once, let’s see if he can do it again!
We’ll find out in Volume 7!
Oh, and maybe we’ll get some more on that HUGE reveal that was just casually dropped into our laps towards the end!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
