Beast Master Vol. 2by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 Danger follows Leo and so does his father. Some strange people are out to get Leo, and his father has come to whisk him away to another far away place to hide him. Yukio gets wrapped up in this misadventure causing Leo to yield to his father's wishes in order to protect Yukio. Neither Leo nor Yukio can stand this, but Yukio must acknowledge her love and role as protector and Leo must decide for himself what to do in order to be happy. Can their love stand the danger of being together? The bonus story has a woman's spirit possessing a cactus. She switches places with a teenage boy in order to say goodbye to her daughter, and it helps the boy and a close girl friend realize they love each other.Sadly, Beast Master is a very short series that only takes one and a half volumes to tell (less than half actually), but it is easily one of my favorite shojo stories. It's a beautiful, wonderful, powerful and fun story wrapped into a short package but I can't complain too much because every bit of it including the ending is just perfect. This partial volume amps up the angst a little and the violence as Leo's father and these mysterious people that want to hurt him step into the picture. Their passion and love bloom quickly in this volume, and while I would love to see more volumes about them part of me is satisfied just to know they embraced their feelings and will stay together. There's still some excellent humor and I love that Yukio is strong physically and emotionally but also shows her feelings readily. This is a manga that leaves me feeling happy. Plus, there's a little bonus finale chapter that shows them truly enjoying their romantic relationship in a simple but very effective (and slightly flushing and heart-pounding) scene. The bonus story takes up a little more than half this volume. It's not quite as dark as Beast Master, and it definitely has a more light-hearted humor. It keeps the fantasy aspect going with the whole person possessing a cactus thing, but it's really quite sweet and creative in a humorous way. I miss the darker hair that from the main story's style; here it's wispier on many of the characters which fits well but took me a bit to adjust to. Otherwise everything I love about the art stays the same. It's well done (though nothing unusual or noteworthy to make it stand out) and works well for the exaggerated yelling and actions during anger (humor for us) as well as the romantic and everyday scenes. If you like good stories that have a blossoming romance but also have something a bit fierce then this two volume series should definitely be on your list to buy. It's short and sweet - perfect for a spring fling. Written: April 19, 2010
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