A Beast's Love Is Like the Moon

by Guri Nojiro

Dissatisfied with the hustle and bustle of the city, Izuki is a lonely young man who moves to the countryside to take care of his relatives' home.

While struggling to adapt to this unfamiliar mountain life, with its numerous insects and no cell service, he's suddenly attacked by a boar youkai. Saved by a handsome man with dog ears, who claims to be a komainu youkai whose job is to protect the local shrine, Izuki is asked to become his master!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Boys Love, Yaoi, Paranormal

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2022

About the author

Associated Names:
Guri Nojiro
野白ぐり

Reviews

[L Ann]

I was not expecting this to literally make me cry! What is that ending?! 😭😭

***Spoilers***
This is the story of Izuki, a guy who doesn't fit in with anyone in the city and so decides to temporarily move into his uncle's empty property in the mountains. On his first day there, he encounters Haku, the spirit of a komainu gaurdian, who's been abandoned over three centuries ago by his former master. In fear of tranforming into a demon, he forces himself onto Izuki, then begs him to become his new master. Izuki is reluctant at first, but Huku's loneliness is so palpable that he has a hard time abandoning him.

For whatever reason, this story really resonated with me, and I loved it. The only problem is that it shouldn't have been a oneshot. There just weren't enough pages given to the development of their relationship from the time they started living together to the time Izuki told him he wasn't going to leave him. This is a common thing with all oneshots, but this story had so much potential!! Then, just when we think things are fine, we are given a few transitional pages before we are smacked in the face with that ending. Like, wtf?

A few people have commented on the dubcon/noncon situation in the beginning, saying how it ruined the story for them. And that's fine, we all have our lines... but I don’t think people are realizing that Haku wasn't himself when that happened. He was literally in the process of turning into a demon and wasn't thinking about anything besides preventing it from happening. Later on in the story, when Haku started turning again, he was of sound mind and in love with Izuki and therefore refused to force himself on him again. It was never a case of uncontrollable lust in the beginning. It was self-preservation.

Anyway, the art style was nice, not necessarily my favorite, but decent enough. The mountain scenery was calming, and Haku's expressions pulled at my heartstrings. I really want to rate this 5 stars because of how it made me feel, but it really doesn't deserve it. It probably doesn't deserve 4 stars either, but I can't give it anything less. 💙🧡

[Phu]

Mình không nghĩ rằng quyển này lại khiến mình vỡ òa, thích thú thế này đâu. Mình ít đọc mấy cái thần thú, kỳ ảo gì đó mình không thích lắm nhưng quyển manga này thì lại khác, nó đánh bay hết mấy cái suy nghĩ kia của mình. Đọc quyển này mà mình cứ nghĩ tới Khu Rừng Đom Đóm, mang yếu tố kỳ ảo nhưng câu chuyện lại thực tế về nỗi cô đơn.

Cậu chàng Itsuki rời khỏi thị trấn nhộn nhịp và tấp nập, để đến vùng quê hẻo lánh và nhận việc trông coi nhà cho họ hàng. Tại đây, Itsuki đã gặp gỡ và bị bám lấy bởi Haku - vị thần Komainu có trách nhiệm bảo vệ tại ngôi đền bị bỏ hoang trong khu rừng. Từ đó hai tâm hồn cô đơn đã gắn bó, thấu hiểu cho nhau...



Trừ cái việc "cưỡng ép" hơi lố ở ngay chap 1 thì mọi thứ đều ổn, dù sau đó mình biết được nguyên nhân hành động của Haku nhưng nó kì cục vãi, với lại mình thấy cảnh H không hợp với quyển này. Bù lại thì nó lại là câu chuyện hay. Giữa một nơi hẻo lánh và hầu như chẳng còn ai, chỉ có mỗi Haku - người đã chìm sâu vào cô độc hơn cả trăm năm, ghét cảm giác bị lãng quên, sự xuất hiện của Itsuki là sự cứu rỗi đối với Haku, cảm giác được ai đó gọi tên hạnh phúc đến thế. Khi quen được Haku, Itsuki mới hiểu ra bản thân đã cô đơn thế nào, cậu cảm thấy hạnh phúc vì được thấu hiểu.



Cách kể chuyện và nét vẽ của tác giả vừa hài hước, vui nhộn và đáng yêu. Mình thích mấy nét chibi trông hài và cute kinh khủng!

Giữa vùng quê hẻo lánh, yên ả đó vẫn có hạnh phúc, tiếng cười từ những con người thấu hiểu cho nhau. Thời gian lấy đi mọi thứ, thời gian để mọi thứ chìm sâu vào quên lãng, Haku nhận ra bản thân sẽ lại cô độc, rằng tình yêu thực sự là không ép buộc người khác; Itsuki nhận ra tình yêu thực sự của bản thân, nhận ra tình yêu của mình dành cho Haku.

Trong khoảnh khắc cao trào "lời yêu" được nói ra khiến mình thấy nhẹ nhỏm, cảm thấy vui trong lòng vì những khoảnh khắc yên bình, đơn giản sau đó của các nhân vật. Nhưng rồi mình nhận ra, SAO MÌNH KHÔNG NHẬN RA??!!! Cái kết của quyển này khiến mình sốc, chỉ lo dõi theo chuyển biến của hai nhân vật mà mình quên bén đi, rằng Haku và Itsuki khác biệt thế nào, để rồi cái kết khiến mình vừa thấy đau lòng vì mình lại trở về với thực tế - thời gian không chừa lại bất cứ điều gì.

[rory (jess' version)]

i'm on my last straw !! STOP INCORPORATING R*PE SCENES IF THEY WOULD NOT BE ADDRESSED PROPERLY i'm going back to shounen ai istg

[alex :)]

i. loved. this.

the ending had me in tears. it was definitely a scenario that was in the back of my mind, but for it to actually happen was insane. i have to give nojiro their props because although it was sad, it made their story even more beautiful. at this point, give me a volume of them in the afterlife 😩

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐]

What the hell, sure! I mean, the art is really amazing but I was lowkey uninterested. But that final chapter really blew me away! Like what?! I didn't expect that final, which made the whole reading experience better.

[Peppa]

I‘m just sick and tired when mangas start with assault/rape because no one can say that this wasn’t it!! It was non consensual!!

Even if the start really didn’t sat right with me, I still finished it. The story was interesting, I do like the whole yokais and guarding spirits theme in general, it actually reminded me of the manga and anime Natsume reiko. Yes the end definitely hits!! It was sad and heartbreaking but also really fitting.

I would have giving this manga more stars but I can’t look past the beginning with the sexual außer act, I mean it really was unnecessary.

[V.ya]

TW: dubcon

Ngl, I was pretty shocked with the s*x scene at the start of the story—uncensored and right in your face. The rest of the story is pretty sweet, but being a one-shot, it doesn’t leave much room for depth, which makes the romance feel a bit unconvincing.

[Lydia Ralte]

Dubious begining, bittersweet endingn- Mixed feelings from a reader.

[Brigi]

Oh, this was cute! I really just wish it had been more fleshed out, then it would be 5 stars for me. The initial meeting was a bit abrupt (tw: dubcon), and I think that could have been done differently had this story received even 20 more extra pages.

Did not expect the ending to make me emotional!

[Sparky]

I had to binge this one, it was so good! It almost made me cry, but I love the story and Haku and Izuki’s relationship! Definitely recommend!

[Keiko the manga enthusiast ♒︎]

What I love about the LoveLove imprint from Tokyopop is that they always manage to snag my heart with angst and depth of story. The first few pages felt ridiculous to me but as I progressed in reading, things did make sense somehow. And I just love how beautiful, although heartbreaking at some-point, the ending was. I’ll give it a generous 3.25 cause there were indeed “ridiculous” sometimes enraging in some unnecessary plots but overall, I liked the concept.

[Marilyn (yuu.nemi_reads)]

A nice short read

Not gonna lie the beginning of the story really caught me off guard, but as you dive more into the story and characters it makes you understand, but obviously it’s not an excuse. Overall the art it’s fantastic and the ending got me tearing up, it’s a warm and bittersweet ending.

[Imanewreader ✨]

dnf
non-con in first pages

[abi]

tldr: a man falls in love with his stalker/rapist

[Leila ✨]

Ehhh estuvo rara la cosa

2 de 5 estrellas.

[Nayli]

Gracias por hacerme llorar

[Dora]

i swear i could smell the late autumn air while reading this... very bittersweet 💔

[Emily]

This manga would've been really good had it not been for the rape scenes.

[akacya ❦]

2025 reads: 354/300

izuki is a lonely young man who moves to the countryside to take care of a relative’s home. the last thing he expects is to be saved by a komainu youkai, or for that youkai to ask him to be his master.

this was a nice, quick read, but nothing really stuck with me, hence the mid rating. i did like the fantasy aspect and thought the ending was sweet. i’d be interested in reading more from guri nojiro.

[Chloe]

This was a quick one shot! I was able to read it free on Hoopla through my library card which I was excited about!

It reminded me of another TokyoPop title called “The Cat Proposed” that I have read and enjoyed! It is a lot like the Cat Proposed but I little more on the spicy side!

Overall I enjoyed the story, the romance, and the characters!

[Paula (lovebookscl)]

Cuando comencé el manga nada me preparó para la primera escena entre los protagonistas, ya con esa dudosa (por decir poco) situación sabía que esto no sería la mejor lectura... Aun así decidí seguir porque después de todo es un manga, no toma mucho tiempo y quería ver si algo mejoraba un poco.

Y la historia es bien bonita una vez que pasamos esa primera escena, el dibujo es lindo, una historia muy cottage aunque para nada profunda (en todo sentido, lamentablemente eso afecta el romance porque al final ni eso se desarrolla).

Así que con esa parte intermedia del libro estaba pensando, pues... rata ciega, ignoremos lo que pasó al inicio... hasta que llega el final y quedé o_O?! nonono.

Miren, esto es totalmente subjetivo y mi opinión y mis gustos, pero el final no es lo que quería. Denme solución mágica de Disney, no eso ;-;

Si pudiera lo dejaría en 1.5, pero como goodreads todavía no se le ocurre tener más puntuaciones, queda en 1.

Si llegaron hasta aquí, una advertencia con SPOILER para quienes buscan historias con HEA. Aquí no es tan así, es agridulce.

[book worm]

I should’ve known what kind of book this was after the first few pages hahaha 😅😅😅 not for me but good for them. also, I’m the biggest hater of unclear consent 🤨🤨🤨👎👎👎👎🚫🚫🚫

[Lee Fr]

nothing like manga to remind you that when you get raped by some kind of mountain spirit and then you force him to bathe when he gets into your house after kinda rescuing you from a cat (which btw is telling you he's bad news like all the fcking time!!) but hey at least he's helping you clean up and hey now he even stops himself from raping you again and oh no it turns out he was just turning into a demon so it wasn't his fault after all and you kinda lonely anyway so ig you want to keep him even if he's almost full on demon now who might hurt you (or even kill you) again but hey you can fix him right so it's all good. (in all seriousness the art was amazing and the last two chapters really beautiful if you just ignore that rape scene but it's manga so yk)

[Kay]

Izuku meets a guardian spirit named Haku. Well Izuku cleans a statue and saves Haku from becoming a demon. Haku essentially rapes him since yaoi like this never establishes proper consent. Izuku allows him to live in the mountain house and hijinks ensue. Honestly without this terrible opening first chapter, the book is bitter sweet and quite beautiful in all honesty. It could be a series if they worked out feelings and consent properly.

I kept waiting for the title to make sense or have something to do with the moon or have a little bit more lore explained but no.

[Akansha]

TW: Dub con/non con

There is absolutely no denying that even the best of the stories will get average rating from me if there is a dub con scene. Like idc it's mentioned in the tw list or whatever.

This could have easily been a 5 star but the scene was so graphic it just ruined my experience.

It talks about loneliness and how two people find comfort in each other and that ending was so bittersweet.

[Fudanshi]

I think I've deluded myself that BL will eventually turn away from the "grapey; dub-con"(G-DC). At least this was right out the gate, so I don't have anyone to blame but myself.

With that being said, the rest of the story was freakin' beautiful.

Too bad the fist Ch. left such a bad taste.

[Cassandra]

I don't get this story the ending was trying to be sweet and heart warming but there was non con on the page in the first chapter but would habe been better to leave that out and develop the story a little more cause it could have been sweet.

[Andria]

Cute little one shot. The ending was so bittersweet. 😞

[MAGGS]

Tengo muchos sentimientos mezclados. Yo sé que al principio no todo es corazones y unicornios, pero yo tengo corazón de pollo y ESE FINAL ME DESTRUYÓ. No puedo dejar de llorar.😭

[Lindsey]

Wow. Okay, I was NOT expecting that much sadness 😭