Soara and the House of Monsters Vol. 4

ソアラと魔物の家 [Soara to Mamono no Ie] #4

by Hidenori Yamaji

RETURNING TO THE ROOTSWhile searching for Kirik's master, Soara and the gang are suddenly attacked by a mysterious monster. Soara takes up arms to protect her newfound family, and the battle reveals unexpected secrets about Kirik's past. What is the real, hidden reason that Kirik began his monster housebuilding journey in the first place?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Adventure

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Carlos J. Eguren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Posiblemente, uno de mis mangas actuales favoritos por su dibujo y su uso del fantástico (y su detallismo enfermizo a la hora de crear casas y reinos). Puede que sea cozy fantasy, pero de calidad, no como paridas del estilo El café de las leyendas. En este volumen conocemos más el Lore de los enanos (ese príncipe Leónidas) y la guerra entre monstruos y humanos.
Quizá mi única pero del tomo es que hay dos momentos donde habría sido más valiente (lo que ocurre con los trasgos o los simios), pero imagino que Yamaji quiso ser cozy hasta las últimas consecuencias. Al menos, un buen manga.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like flashback arcs have a tendency to drag a story down, but with this one I am Seated. 😆

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

After fighting off a chimera trailing the renovators/questers, we get a flashback of another chimera Kirik met and how he and Niko were first introduced when Niko was a flashy prince defending his kingdom against giant monkey monsters, and Kirik was his unlikely blacksmith assistant providing him with the only weapons that could take his great strength.

I like that we are getting some backstory on the characters and how they got to where they are now. I am quite curious where this flashback will lead as Niko and Kirik seem quite a ways away from doing renovations. Them taming the first chimera they encountered together is funny. Kirik is quite the underdog hero you can't help but cheer for, and Niko is an unlikely ally.

Notes on content:
Language: About 5 minor swears.
Sexual content: None. There are some tightly clad buff warriors, one a guy who doesn’t seem to do shirts and one a lady who only does halter tops.
Violence: There’s a battle with a chimera monster at the beginning and then Prince Niko’s one on one battle with the giant monkey creature to the death. Both are more cartoon-ish violence with sound effect bubbles and things more implied than shown.
Ethnic diversity: Different fantasy creatures and races.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Kirik is teased for his small stature and weakness among dwarves, but he shows he has other special talents.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume starts with the mysterious monster from the last volume attacking Soara and the dwarves. After narrowly surviving that attack, Kirik starts to tell Soara about his past, which may be related to their attacker. This starts off a flashback arc that will continue through the next volume.

I liked the well drawn fight scene with the mysterious monster, and we finally get to see Soara's sword skills tested against a difficult opponent. Kirik's flashback also has its fight scenes, as Kirik recounts his time with a prince of the dwarves. There may be more battles in the next volume, since Kirik's flashback may include the human-monster war. This volume isn't just fight scenes though, as we get to see Kirik's crafty mind at work as well.

Overall, this was a fun volume to read, though I hope we don't spend too long in the past.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entry in the Soara and the House of Monsters series takes a different tack than previous volumes by adding some more action into the mix, as our protagonists encounter some violent enemies. The action scenes are well-done; all too often, action in manga, especially when they're drawn by artists who don't specialize in battle manga, can be hard to follow. Beyond these scenes, this volume offers what fans of the series want: imaginative creatures living in spectacular fantasy houses.

[Rebecca Whaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good manga. I love the characters and how they continue to grow closer. we learn how two of the characters meet in this volume. kirik and Niko are young at the time and in different stations before the war with humans when they meet. it's a great start of their story. I can't wait for more in the next volume.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5/5)

Volume 4 was decidedly less cozy with less monster house building as it’s predecessors as we start to see the backstory of the dwarven crew. However, it was still well written with excellent character development and left me excited for the next volume!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! I didn't know it but I needed this backstory

[Natalie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, especially as we are getting into the history of things.

[NotQuiteAllHere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still super cute and fun. I love Kirik's secret base... so him

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tween is enjoying this series :)

[Cody Roecker]

a looooovely backstory episode

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that there's an actual story going on here underneath the fun architecture stuff.

Soara and the House of Monsters Review

5/5 stars

I picked up this manga on a whim because I saw it at the library and it looked cute. There are currently two volumes out, with a third on the way. There will be no spoilers. Granted, that will make this quite short, but hopefully you get enough to determine if you’d want to start this series. Enjoy!

This is a relatively new manga about a girl named Soara who spent her whole life training to fight monsters, only to find out that the monsters have just signed a truce with the humans and they will no longer be at war.

While trying to figure out what to do with her life, Soara ends up running into these dwarves who are architects who build houses for monsters. She doesn’t trust them at first, because she’s not sure that the peace treaty will last very long.

But after seeing them create such beautiful houses that are perfectly suited to the monsters who will inhabit them, Soara eventually agrees to help them. She’s sort of the hired muscle for their group, but might eventually learn about architecture as the series continues.

In the first few volumes, they build a couple of houses for different monster species, and work through some of the difficulties they have getting to know each other. The architecture is really where this series shines. Every house is designed specifically for each monster, and the creative ideas are so fun to read about. It kind of feels like dream architecture, but it’s actually drawn out and tangible!

And then everything changes when they receive a mysterious letter from the king of the monsters, asking them to come back to his castle for some unknown reason. I won’t tell you why, as that’s spoilers, but what I will say is this adds a whole new layer to the world building and plot I was not expecting from a kind of cute, goofy series about magical architecture.

I honestly had a lot of fun with these two volumes, and I can’t wait for volume three when it comes out later this year. I’m always on the hunt for fantasy or sci-fi manga that aren’t just your typical shonen, because those start to all feel the same after a while. I’ve never read anything like this in manga or book format, and I’m super glad I found this series. I cannot recommend it enough!

Have a nice day/night everyone!

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad we are getting an origin story. Having an insight into why everyone was inspired to do what they are doing makes the story that much better.