コヨーテ Ⅰ

コヨーテ / Coyote #1

by Ranmaru Zaria

【人間×人狼　運命に弄ばれた禁断の恋】

「男同士だろうが異種間だろうがどうでもいい」〈人狼〉であることを隠しながら暮らすコヨーテは、バーで働くピアニスト・マレーネに会うたび口説かれる。人狼ゆえ彼と深く関わることを避けようとするが、ある日、前ぶれもなく初めての発情期がきてしまい、人の姿を保てずにいたところをマレーネに見つかってしまう。彼の誘いを拒もうとするコヨーテだが…。

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

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 22, 2016

About the author

ZARIYA Ranmaru: 座裏屋蘭丸

Please also see other profile Ranmaru Zariya.

Reviews

[Alice Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would have given the storyline four stars if it weren’t for Marleen clearly raping Coyote at the beginning.
No means no! 😒
Why is rape considered okay when it’s two men? So sick of this trend! Just no. One star.

[Marureviere · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SHEER GORGEOUSNESS OF THEM BOTH 💙💛💙💛

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mature and pretty graphic in its visual contents, Coyote by Ranmaru Zariya opens on a dystopian reality where humans and werewolves coexist if not peacefully, at least tolerating each other.

It's still too early in the story for me to judge the plot and characters and this first volume mainly intrigued me for the powerful art.

I'm very curious to move on to the second volume.

[MaDoReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soy muy fan de Zariya, pero sabéis que el rollo fantástico y de shifters no va excesivamente conmigo, prefiero sus trabajos tipo Shangri-La o Liquor.
Ahora, esta señora es una maestra en las partes más smut, sus hombres pelilargos son sexies a más no poder, me fascinan, y aquí hay uno que OMG *blushes*
Espero leer la continuación.

[Floripiquita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me está gustando mucho la historia y el dibujo.

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

What a stunning story and the art is absolutely gorgeous. I had been holding off on another Yaoi manga for a little while because of the whole I am not a fan of the "rape culture = romantic relationship" situation. However, I was highly recommended this by a friend and so I picked it up. And boy I was not disappointed.

Zariya paints a beautiful dystopian world where there are humans and werewolves. And apparently at one time humans knew they existed but they became a faded legend. I absolutely love this idea of a forbidden romance between a werewolf and a human. The legend intrigues me and the characters intrigued me even more.

I love how sincere Marleen is and how open and honest he is about his feelings. He never once strays from his path of loving Coyote...or who he calls "Lili". I found their romance to be quite interesting because here you have Coyote (Lili) who wants nothing to do with the human world yet can't help himself due to going into heat every full moon. And then you have Marleen who is so very romantic....in his own beautiful way. Oh, and he is a pianist. I mean talk about perfect.

There is still so much to learn about and I can't wait to read the next volume. I hear there is going to be three volumes! So I can't wait for that <3.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you thirsty? I am.

Trust Ranmaru Zariya to give you a hawt, like extremely, exhaustingly (yes because it's taking my breath away), undeniably smoking hot series. I mostly like rounded and cute character faces fom boys love genre, and I definitely forgot how I adored Ranmaru's sculped face style. They are just so handsome that I literally stared longer than usual, trying to find out (as if) how she draw it like this. Just... Sublime—there's no other fitting word for it, so I'll use its publisher's name lol. It lives up to its brand. Big respect. Augh! I adore this series as much as I did her other works!!

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

hello the art is amazing??????? i keep on accidentally stumbling upon gems like these on recommendations, so thanks goodreads, i guess?

[Christian Savin · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3,5⭐ -ish rating

I cared more about the plot than the romance. However, both have potential and I want to know what's going to happen next and if the story will take on a more serious tone.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Малко е притеснително как ми навява толкова много спомени за... Gangsta, (нервно, тихо ха-ха-ха).
Харесва ми стила на рисуване, отличен е за този тип мрачна история с мафии и вълци. Малко съм изненадана, че действието като че ли се развива в съвремието. Всичко крещи "Втората половина на 20-ти веееек!!" Другият вариант е да е мислено както при Spy x Family - историята се развива някъде по времето на Студената война, но удобствата на съвремието не им липсват. Не мога да преценя от един том.
Историята е простичка за възприемане, класическа, сбита и изчистено предадена, без да се затормозява читателят с твърде много четене. Действие има доста, ако се сещате какво имам предвид...

[Stephane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly have to say this book was very graphic and detailed. The side plot of a family bent on killing werewolves because they were selling their blood and because of a long time feud could have been interesting. The reason I gave it one star was because it is very clear that Marleen raped Coyote in the very beginning which was very uncomfortable to read. It continues to become uncomfortable because Coyote seems so confused about his feelings with Marleen, but Marleen continues to be pushy. He doesn’t give coyote time to figure out how he’s feeling, but again Marleen is very forceful upon Coyote. I wish stories wouldn’t normalize rape in any form. I’m not so sure I’ll be picking up the second volume.

[Aenea Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is shallow, the characterization non-existant, the sex talk cringeworthy... but the drawing style is quite beautiful and fits the rather dark theme.
I'll give volume 2 a go when it's released ᕤ◕◡◕ ༽ᕤ

[Gem (The Creepy Geek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to kick of 2021!! I am already obsessed with these characters and their story! Straight on to vol 2!

[Nea Poulain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy good 10/10
Ahora necesito leer todo el resto hahahaha

[Lucy Westenra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dibujo: chulísimo! :O
Historia: Top!
Escenas hot: fghjadñsjjasfsñj!!
Qué le falta? Pues que de momento fangirleo cero con la pareja, veremos!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot hornier than I thought it would be 😂

However, it does have the usual “I have to say no even though I want to do this bc I have internalized homophobia and saying no somehow makes this all sexier.” It’s annoying as hell, but I’m learning to live with it 🙄

Aside from that, the artwork in this is perfection. It’s not at all what I expected, but I love looking at the art! The character design is also so good! Both Coyote and Joshua are so well designed!

In terms of the plot, I’m intrigued. I’m curious to see what will happen since Coyote and Joshua are enemies without really knowing that they are. I want to see drama though 👀 Especially since there seems to be such a contentious relationship between humans and werewolves.

At the end of the day, though, I want everything to work out for them!

I’m also, ngl, looking forward to more smutty scenes of Coyote while he’s in heat in the coming volumes 🙏🏼

[ꪖꪶꫀ᥊ⅈડ ꪆৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot and steamy yes yes yes!!
I really enjoyed this quick read and I'm honestly intrigued on what coyote is going to do next!
Time to go buy the second book :))

[Say · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Mixed reactions. Kinda in between with this one. Will see with the next volumes where I stand.

[duniamimpigie Anggi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ini Senin malam, pas banget buat ngomongin sesuatu yang vulgar dan frontal dalam banyak arti (gak ada hubungannya sama hari, Gie). Yah, pokoknya sesuatu yang cocok buat Senin malam deh~ *maksa*

Ngomongin pengarang ini perlu kemampuan(?) khusus. Mesti bisik-bisik juga, semacam ngomongin dosa #bukan
Tapi saya merasa mesti bikin catatan juga mengenai pengarang ini. Catatan pribadi sebagai bahan pertimbangan buat yang mau mengenal Zariya (yeah, siapa tau ada di antara kalian :p)

Ada temen fujo saya yang bilang: "Gak afdol jadi fujo kalau belum kenal Zariya" dan saya setuju #plak
Zariya terkenal dengan adegan hot-hot dengan posisi hot-hot dan permainan hot-hot dan plot yang... apa-itu-plot--alias PWP--hot-hot, terutama di karya-karya awalnya semasa masih doujinka hot-hot.
*saya merasa harus selalu mengulang kata "hot-hot" untuk menggambarkan pengarang ini!!* *berjuanglah(?), Gie!!* *buat yang kenal saya di RL, pura-pura ga kenal aja pas baca review ini ya!*

Tapi, saya pernah bilang ke temen waktu kami ngobrolin Zariya via WA (karena bahaya ngomongin dia via mulut, berasa dosanya lebih besar :v) (tapi saya udah cukup umur, kok!), bahwa Zariya udah berubah begitu direkrut penerbit mayor. Dia udah mulai berusaha mikirin plot yang lebih rumit yang terbukti dengan karya-karyanya belakangan ini--dan bikin temen saya itu bales: "Wah, Zariya udah tobat rupanya~" lololol

Saya sendiri kenal Zariya di karyanya yang Sleeping Man and Loving Man (Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko) yang versi scanlation english-nya di-uncensored dengan heboh--HEBOH, saya ulangi pake caps--oleh pihak scanlator. Mimisan baca itu wuwuwuuuu~~~
Temen saya itu sampai bilang, "Aku gak fokus sama ceritanya, soalnya distraksi *piip*nya luar biasa," yang bikin saya ngakak abis-abisan.
Saya pribadi punya batasan-batasan khusus saat membaca BL, jadi saya sampe mesti nyari raw-nya di internet, yang masih disensor, supaya gak terdistraksi macem-macem :v :v :v

Btw, mari kita kesampingkan karya-karya terdahulunya, lets discuss about Coyote, karena dialah bintang utama kali ini sekaligus karya Zariya terbaru.
Saya akhirnya tertarik baca ini karena beberapa hal:

1. Saya suka banget latar belakang kota yang digambar dengan detail. Cantik. Ini salah satu perkembangan yang signifikan dari Zariya, menurut saya, berhubung dulu dia cuma ngegambar ranjang #krik
Seenggaknya kita harus mengapresiasi dia lah, udah naik level dari ranjang ke tata kota London yang indah *dari tadi si Gie sarkas banget*
Dan saya suka banget warna-warna indigo yang dipakai sebagai warna utama di Coyote. Mengingatkan saya pada Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) yang penuh warna indigo.
Duh, saya emang suka warna begituan sih.

2. Plot. Saya lagi cenderung ke cerita-cerita BL action-thriller, makanya Canis dan Coyote jadi menarik perhatian saya karena temanya sesuai. Enaknya Coyote, Zariya ternyata bisa ngegambar fighting scene dengan bagus, saya gak nyangka lho (saya kira dia cuma hebat gambar pertarungan di ranjang doang #sarkaslagi).
Apalagi didukung gaya gambar Zariya yang emang agak-agak bara (berotot), nyem nyem~
Mata Anggi bahagia liat otot~
Otot everywheeerrrreeee sluuurpy~~

Plotnya cukup menarik. Seriusan. Saya dari tadi salah fokus mulu malah ngomongin otot di bagian plot. Yah, pokoknya saya suka plotnya, meski jujur nih, masih 50-50 karena saya masih belum tau apa Zariya mampu mengembangkannya dengan baik. Tapi sepanjang buku 1 sih saya suka, ada beberapa bagian yang ketebak dan klise, tapi sejauh ini dibawakan dengan sangat baik dan menarik. Tampaknya Zariya dapet editor yang mumpuni mengolah plot setelah diadopsi penerbit mayor.

Perkembangan Zariya dalam plotting saya rasa titik baliknya ada di "Void", karyanya tepat sebelum Coyote ini. Sebelum Void, dia hanya bikin oneshot-oneshot doang, sementara di Void dia semacam bikin gebrakan dengan bikin tankoubon full dengan plot yang cukup berat tentang human android yang penuh penjelasan sci-fi. Sayangnya, saya kurang suka karena naik-turun plotnya terlalu jomplang dan ending-nya terlalu "mudah". Ini pendapat pribadi lho.
Kali ini, di Coyote, tampaknya dia nyoba tema fantasi, which is lebih saya sukain dibanding sci-fi. See? Itulah kenapa saya sangat berharap pada Coyote.

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Rasanya saya kepengen banget ada orang nanya ke saya "Emang cerita Coyote itu kayak gimana sih?" dan saya pengen banget jawab dengan cengiran super jail: "Ganteng-Ganteng Serigala versi manga" dan bikin si penanya illfeel :v

Singkatnya, ceritanya tentang perseteruan kaum werewolf--setengah manusia setengah serigala, dengan sekelompok manusia yang memburu mereka.
Jadi, tokoh utama (uke) kita yang bernama Coyote ini pemuda werewolf sementara pasangannya (seme) adalah keturunan satu-satunya Galland Family (mafia, btw) yang mengasingkan diri dari kelompoknya dan memilih jadi musisi.
Semacam cinta terlarang uhuy(?) gitu deh. Ala-ala Romeo and Juliet, cinta terhalang status dan kedudukan dan ras dan spesies gitu deh (dan jenis kelamin, btw).

Sayangnya, hanya si Abang Seme yang tau jati diri Coyote sebagai werewolf, sementara Coyote sendiri gak tau kalau si Abang itu adalah anggota mafia yang menjadi musuhnya.

Cerita diawali dengan datengnya heat aka musim kawin Coyote untuk pertama kali dalam hidupnya pas dia lagi ketemuan sama si Abang Seme di bar tempat dia biasa main piano.
Btw, karena ribet manggil Abang Seme, saya pakai nama Marlene, soalnya itu nama alias pemberian Coyote buat dia, diambil dari penyanyi yang lagunya sering dimainkan olehnya di bar. Iya, jadi si Coyote dan Marlene ini sampai akhir jilid 1 pun masih sama-sama gak tau nama asli. Cuman pake nama alias: Lily dan Marlene, yang notabene gak cocok buat cowok lol.

Berhubung saya pembaca super rese, sepanjang heat Coyote berlangsung, si Gie malah mikir: Apa semua werewolf mengalami heat di saat yang sama (bulan purnama)? Soalnya di buku 1 cuma diliatin si Coyote aja yang sibuk(?) ngalamin. Kalo semuanya mengalami heat di saat yang sama, mendingan para mafia yang memburu werewolf itu nyerang pas bulan purnama aja kan? Toh para GGS (lol) itu lagi sibuk ngurusin heat. Saya heran kenapa selama ini mereka ga melakukannya. Apa karena mafianya gak ada yang tau soal heat itu? Atau karena yaoi logic yang mengaburkan human logic (lol)?
Jadi, saya berharap Zariya mampu menajamkan konsep tentang heat para werewolf (dengan mengesampingkan yaoi logic); terutama tentang jangka waktu, siklus, bobotnya (liat aja tuh si Coyote di bab 1-2, seminggu full ogah keluar dari ranjang rumahnya si Marlene :v), dan yang terpenting: kaitannya dengan plot non-romance, yakni masalah perseteruan kaum werewolf dengan mafia.

Plot romance dan non-romance itu mesti sinkron. Saya mau liat Zariya udah mampu sampai taraf ini atau belum. Sementara saya berharap plot romance-nya berlangsung klise dan dramatis, saya berharap plot non-romance berlangsung sebaliknya, meluap-luap dan full aksi.

=====
Masalah Zariya gak cuman itu. Saya dan beberapa temen punya pendapat yang sama mengenai karakter buatannya.
Zariya itu semacam punya "template" untuk seme dan uke-nya. Coba cek dari karya-karya awalnya. Seolah-olah seme dan uke-nya tuh cuma "ganti muka" doang. Sifat, karakteristik, bahkan kelakuannya saat di ranjang sami mawon orzzzz

Padahal ya di Coyote ini saya menyadari bahwa ternyata Zariya bisa membuat banyak tokoh figuran yang variatif! Bahkan cuma dari gerak-geriknya aja (tanpa ada dialog atau cerita) pun, saya bisa nebak karakteristik masing-masing tokoh figuran itu! Yang menurut saya cerdas bagi seorang komikus!
Jadi, sebenarnya Zariya itu bukannya GAK BISA bikin variasi tokoh, dianya aja yang GAK MAU bikin variasi untuk tokoh utama.
Sebagai seorang pengarang, Zariya masih terlalu egois. Dia masih masukin apa-apa yang dia sukain secara pribadi ke dalam karyanya dan mengabaikan pembaca. Sangat disayangkan, semoga aja setelah Coyote ini dia dapet editor super galak yang bisa memaksanya mengubah tipe seme dan uke yang udah ber-template selama ini.

Dan!!
Saya jadi inget sesuatu yang bikin saya gak bisa ngelupain Zariya di awal-awal!! Duh, sambil ngetik aja saya udah ketawa duluan!
Jadi, di Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko bagian bab tambahan, ada adegan si uke diranjangin dengan masih tetap mengenakan sepatu botnya tanpa celana! Sepatu bot, plis! Saya berbaik hati mengingatkan kalian bahwa bot itu jenis sepatu panjang yang dikenakan di luar celana.

Pertanyaan: Gimana caranya si seme melorotin celana si uke tanpa ngelepas sepatu botnya???
Sungguh suatu misteri besar ciptaan Zariya yang sampai sekarang masih bikin saya penasaran!!!
Tunggu, tunggu! Anggi yang hebat dan genius ini sudah memikirkannya siang-malam dan akhirnya mendapatkan dua hipotesis besar yang saking luar biasanya sampai-sampai saya gatel pengen menyampaikan ini pada Zariya langsung:

1. Seme-nya bisa sulap! Atau sihir! Pokonya hanya dengan "tring", celana si uke ilang! Dengan sepatu botnya masih terpasang (mungkin karena mantra yang dia pake masih belum sempurna, jadi sepatunya masih ketinggalan, mestinya dia belajar mantra dari Hermione /salah seri, woi/). Bisa jadi Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko itu diam-diam karya fantasi, bukan drama!
2. Seme-nya sebenernya ngelepas sepatu botnya juga. Jadi, langkah-langkahnya: lepas sepatu bot, plorotin celana jins dan segala jenis celana lain, pasang lagi sepatu botnya. Demi apa??? Semua demi fanservice!! All hail fanservice!! All hail yaoi logic!! All hail boots!!

Tapi, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa yang betul itu adalah HIPOTESIS 1!! Sebab hipotesis 2 terlalu awam!! Saya gak suka jadi awam! Dan saya rasa Zariya juga gak suka jadi awam! Dia kan yaoi goddess!! Dengan yaoi logic yang begitu luar biasa! Goddess tak mungkin awam!!


..........Maap, saya... gak bisa berenti ketawa.
Untunglah misteri(?) semacam itu gak terulang lagi di Coyote ini.
Baiklah, baiklah.
Sekian celotehan vulgar-frontal si Gie yang cocok untuk Senin malam.

Btw, 3 bintang untuk Coyote adalah eerm... karena saya masih harus melihat perkembangan ceritanya ke depan, biar adil.
Dan seperti saya bilang di awal, meski review ini banyak sarkas, saya jujur berharap banyak pada Zariya untuk judul ini demi otot!!
Eh, jangan salah! Coyote ini udah masuk cetakan keberapa gitu hanya dalam beberapa bulan, lho! Dia juga masuk jajaran atas untuk beberapa award sekaligus lho! Serius! Makanya saya bilang saya berharap pada judul ini! Tapi entah kenapa saya bisa ngabisin Canis The Speaker dalam sekali duduk dan gak bosen baca itu berulang-ulang, sementara Coyote ini butuh waktu yang cukup lama ngabisinnya karena saya sering bosen dan nutup bukunya

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Original Review 9/27/2020*
Original Rating: 2.5*

Pretty predictable, a little weird and a little boring? The talk about the mob and the werewolf war wasn't all that interesting, but I liked the relationship enough. It's a starcrossed lovers, werewolf x werewolf hunter relationship. Coyote/Lili is cute, but he doesn't seem to have much of a personality so far. All he is right now is the shy werewolf bottom that for some reason gets into heat during the full moon? Then there's Josh/Marlene, who offers a little more character and a personality, but even then it's not much. It just doesn't feel like there's much substance, I guess. I don't know if I care enough to continue.

*Reread 7/15/2021*
Decided to give this series a second chance because I’ve really loved all of the other works I’ve read by Zariya. It’s weird that I read this less than a year ago, because my opinion has really changed.

While it wasn’t my favorite of Zariya’s works, I still enjoyed it. I still wasn’t super interested in the feud, but I was paying more attention this time around. Honestly my previous review wasn’t wrong, but I don’t think it’s boring anymore. I think the tone Zariya writes with is an acquired taste and I have finally acquired it. I wouldn’t say the characters don’t have personality, but then again I could not explain them for the life of me lol. I’m completely drawing a blank, but they’ve got the vibes y’know? I cared a lot more about them and heir relationship during this read though, and the art is honestly just so beautiful. I’m happy to read it just for that.

I’m glad I gave this a second chance because now I do like it enough to continue and bump up my rating to a 3*.

*Reread 5/1/2025*
Rereading to refresh my memory for volume 4. It's so sad that Ranmaru Zaria's series take so long to come out, but the art and writing is so detailed it def makes them worth. There's something so sensual about the way she writes and her works are so atmospheric. It's so juicy.

[Weinlachgummi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieser Manga war ein Cover kauf, wie könnte man diesem Blick widerstehen ;-) Ich habe schon länger nichts mehr mit Werwölfen gelesen und war gespannt auf die Umsetzung.

Zunächst war ich etwas überrascht, weil es recht schnell zur Sache geht und ich habe befürchtet, dass die Story wohl nicht viel hergibt. Doch es gibt sie und sie ist auch noch interessant. Es hat etwas von Romeo und Julia nur mit zwei Männern und einer davon ist ein Werwolf und es spielt in London. Aber diese Grundstimmung passt, zwei Clans und eine verbotene Liebe.

Lili und Marlene, beides nicht ihre richtigen Namen haben mir auch gefallen. Lili ist ein junger Werwolf und noch sehr unentschlossen. Marlene hat sich in ihn verliebt und weiß genau, was er will. Ja es ist dieses Typische, "Nein das geht doch nicht, du bist doch ein Mann" Ding, aber durch den Mensch und Wolf Kontext war es doch nicht so gewöhnlich und ich mochte es, wie Marlene sich Lili gegenüber verhält.

Die Zeichnungen haben mir auch sehr gefallen. Die Emotionen kommen durch die Mimik gut raus und alles ist klar und übersichtlich. Obwohl auch mehre Nebencharaktere vorkommen, bin ich nicht einmal mit den Bildern bzw. den Personen durcheinander gekommen.Besonders toll fand ich, dass die erotischen Szenen schon so gezeichnet wurden, dass kaum etwas zensiert werden musste, was ich immer etwas nervig finde.


Fazit:
Konnte mich rundum überzeugen.
Tolle Zeichnungen, übersichtlich und Emotionen werden toll an den Leser transportiert.
Es wird recht schnell heiß zwischen den beiden, doch dann folgt auch noch eine interessante Story.
Bin sehr gespannt auf den nächsten Band.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received my copy of Coyote, Vol. 1 from the publisher, SuBLime (the yaoi/BL division of Viz Media), through Edelweiss+.

It's been a while since I've read something so risqué, but luckily the proportion of story to gratuitous sex in this volume is maybe about 7:1. So there's still plenty here if you want your storytime.

Josh, pianist extraordinare and only surviving heir of an important family, falls for some random at the bar who turns out to be a werewolf named Coyote, though Josh calls him Lili (and Coyote calls Josh Marleen). Coyote and Josh are on opposite sides (Josh's family versus werewolves), but they don't find that out in this volume until the end. And neither knows yet that the other knows.

The beginning was quite sensationalist: Coyote goes into heat one night, so, since he won't have sex with Josh at first, Josh calls up the local hermaphrodite whore because that's just what one does. While Coyote has sex with the whore, Josh gets in on it, and before you know it Coyote is getting DPed like a champ...maybe - the art wasn't that clear there. Anyway, if you can make it through that scene, the rest of the story is surprisingly good, and, even more surprisingly, well-developed.

It's set to be released October 9. 2018. I don't see a release date for the second volume yet, but I hope the publisher lets me review it before it comes out. I think once the story fleshes out some more, it could get pretty interesting.

This review is also on my blog.

[Jack Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-Read Review (July 18th, 2023):

I was more immersed from the jump this go-around with Coyote's first volume. My rating still stands because of what I mentioned below. The sexual tension between Coyote and Marleen is palpable, yet it still feels like the latter takes advantage of his feelings for the former with that favor, and despite apologizing for it, doesn't appear to feel that guilty. Preestablishing the attraction also comes at a cost. Some of the moments Coyote and Marleen share lack that extra intimacy to make me fully connect with them, although that should change in the next two volumes.

On the plus side, how Zariya establishes the tension between the Galand family and werewolves is a definite win. The stakes felt appropriate, and the reveals were well-executed. I read the last third of the volume both times in a single sitting, and jumping back and forth between strategic planning, Coyote and Marleen's budding relationship, and getting snippets of the side characters did feel cluttered on this read. I'm wondering if the sides are more in cahoots than initially expected? I also like how the art doesn't feel as polished for this series. It gives it a rougher edge, and the shadowing adds bleakness to a world that matches Zariya's tone.

First Read Review (October 30th, 2020)

Despite the rape and the badly written intersex character, I'm curious to see what else Coyote has to offer. The world-building is fascinating, and the forbidden romance is only going to bring more delicious tension to the table. That, and Zariya's stunning art is always a win.

[Yani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gay werewolves you say? Sorry... what? Gay werewolves in the werewolf mafia? Oh, also, werewolf hunter mafia? So, basically gay werewolf Romeo and Juliet? Sure, why not.

I got this in at the library on a whim after seeing it online. Mostly I wanted to know how "furry" it was going to get, and also how actually erotic.

The answer is "not at all" and "quite a bit" respectively. And by erotic, I mean 18+, as much as the censors will let you get away with while not actually really showing genitals.

Also, just generally, the whole male/male manga genre just comes across as... rapey to me. Which is also present here, but like, delayed consent rapey. Very much "oh, well, now that you're ALREADY fucking me, you might as well keep going".

I also don't know who is responsible for the translation to English, but it's... not how human beings speak. Also, sidebar, the popular mythos is about shooting a werewolf with a silver bullet. It is not, as far as I'm aware, about using a "silver stake" as this story suggests. I mean, if you want to make that a thing, sure, but it doesn't come across that way.

Additionally, if you took the word "werewolf" out of the text, you wouldn't actually know that this character, or in fact any of the characters, was a werewolf. Because while we get one shot of actual wolves, the closest anybody gets to a transformation is nails and some fangs. And that's even on the night of the full moon as far as I can tell.

The art is decent, the story is terrible, and generally it's all a bit... huh?

[Ray Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coyote tells the story of a human who falls in love with a werewolf, and it’s kind of an enemies-to-lovers because they don’t know their groups are sworn enemies.

Marlene aka Joshua is the only heir of a mafia group who also happens to hunt werewolves, yet he doesn’t want to do anything with them. Either way, he finds himself fixated on to Lili, whose real name is Coyote, our lovely protagonist wolf. So, they’re destined to hate each other but one day, Coyote experiences what we would call heat, which means, he needs to have sex ASAP, and guess who will provide the service?

Anyway, the highlights of this volume are the art style and the sexy scenes which are SUPERB. The aesthetic of the characters and the ambience is quite pleasant to the eye. Plus, the sex scenes are really, really erotic. Though I do mind that there wasn’t any consent on Coyote’s part –I mean, Joshua didn’t rape him, but Coyote never truly agreed to their hook up.

Note aside, the story is slowly building itself and the first volume ended with a cliffhanger: Joshua finds a photo of himself and his mother in Coyote’s clothes. Why did he have it? Can he fully trust him?

Read it for the #Queerious and #Prideathon readathons.

[Rarely on here · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read for me and I really enjoyed it!

PROS
• I am trash for both werewolf AND mafia stories.
• The sex scenes were really steamy!
• The plot was wild and the anticipation of events unfolding.
• It was a really fun read overall.

CONS
• The first time the main characters have sex there is quite a lot of ~dubious consent~ (which I tend to be generous with mlm manga in this subject as a lot of the time it is straight up r*pe), especially as there is another person involved who isn't aware that the third person in the room has started to engage sexually with the character their having sex with.
• There was the use of the term "hermaphrodite" in regards to a character who is intersex.

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was…a lot. I think this is the spiciest manga that I’ve read in a while. And it was so good! It was also really different from what I was expecting. Like the secret mafia vs. werewolf war that was going on? Didn’t expect that. The star crossed, slightly stalkery romance? Didn’t expect that. But I loved every page of it. I also loved that our main characters didn’t know each others real names and only call each other by nicknames. Coyote volume one is getting five stars and I can’t wait to read the next volume!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, this is a giant pile of trash, but call me a dumpster diver because this is exactly the kind of trash I love. I was expecting the whole thing to just be sex so when the plot kicked in I was surprised and a little cautious, but that ended up being the cherry on top. This hits all the tropes I love and I'm actually pretty hyped to read the second volume.

[Elicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very instalove for one character and the start of the graphic content between love interests comes off as rape (although I dont think that is what the author meant it as which is the only reason I continued). I wouldn't recommend but I may still end up reading Volume 2.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art style for this series is beautiful but I have mixed emotions about the overall story. I won’t be continuing this series since certain scenes seemed very much like non-consensual sexual acts and not being agreed upon; at least not verbally.