Kedamono Kareshi

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Beast Boyfriend seems promising from the looks of the first three chapters. Pacing seems good, characters are a little more 2D than they generally are in Aikawa Saki's stories and I haven't really seen any annoying insecure shoujo stereotypes surfacing their ugly head, so I'm quite a happy camper here!

Who should read this: Dedicated Aikawa Saki fans (for her art), shoujo romance enthusiasts and anyone looking to spend 20 minutes looking at neat art and relive their own high school insecurities or traumas relating to shyness or being teased.

Who should avoid it: Seriously discerning shoujo readers who have no patience for mediocre leads, bullying ... bishounen or a story which isn't progressing at a quick pace. Anyone who is sick of high school romedies with skewed love triangles.

Our heroine Himari has recently shifted back to her hometown once her mom got remarried (are you already sensing some of the plot points here?). Enter rougish sexpot of a stepson, Keita who just happens to be a past perpetrator, causing Himari's diffidence around boys because he teased and bullied her a bit four years ago.

Both are OBVIOUSLY classmates/deskmates as well and their day to day interactions, how Himari handles herself around him despite his impish sense of humor and how he decides to win her over make up the majority of the first three chapters. Up until now, no one has had unnecessary doki doki moments simply because one of the characters did something kind out of human decency (which is again, something BIG in Aikawa-verse!). Our male lead Keita seems to be suffering from some inner turmoil when it comes to his relationship with her current "girlfriend" vs his new stepsister so that might make for interesting drama soon.

So far, I haven't seen any reason to drop or throw this manga down in frustration. The build up is actually a wee bit tantalising to be honest and I'm looking forward to reading more. If handled at a proper pace, giving satellite characters a personality, and avoiding unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings this could turn out to be a pretty decent read!

Art is really good; Keita looks downright smexy with his Man Bangs all over his face and his pierced ears and many many wrist accessories (am I staring at him a bit too much?), no one is sweeping others into their arms every other moment, and expressions especially the chibi kind lend to a fun read.

Characters seem well thought out with a bit of depth. Both leads have a few Jane Austen-esque prejudices but they're also willing to give each other a chance, they have attitude to spare since they're teens and you giggle at how they brood around their respective others or family when they're peeved. I haven't heard anything asinine come out of their speech/thought bubbles yet and some of their intentions are still shrouded so the mystery isn't too bad, makes for an intriguing read.

Overall B+: I see some promise in this title and would recommend it to hardcore shoujo romantics who are in the mood for some well drawn stories. Not much has been scanlated so far though, so you may have to rein in your curiousity which will definitely get the better of you given the direction the story's taking.

Wow - you dont want to know how often I already read this Manga.
I love the story and how the characters are getting to know each other - the good and the bad sides. Keita is like a real bad boy while Himari is a good girl that doesnt come along with him.
I absolutely LOVE the style of the art and it motivates me to draw somenthing.. (I literally drew every time after I read the Manga xD)
If you are reading this Manga I can already tell that you will ship those two, even if that annoying Saeki exists that Himari loves so much (thats ... just my opinion~).
I dont really want to say more about it - just read it yourself♥

Story: 6 Art: 7 Character: 6 Enjoyment: 7 Overall: 6

A quick disclaimer before I start: because I was unable to gain access to a full English translation, I had to read the last 3/4 of the manga in Spanish. Although my Spanish comprehension and speaking skills are okay, they do not compare to my knowledge of the English language. In other words, I may have missed some finer details, so please take this review with a grain of salt.

Without further ado, let's begin. Just in case I say too ... much, I'll warn you that there may be minor spoilers in this review. I'm also basing this review on how well the manga holds up when examined through a critical lens instead of on how much I enjoyed it.

I suppose I should begin by saying that "Kedamono Kareshi" is not an innovative manga with a deep storyline or profound social commentary on the author's part. In fact, it is much like any other typical shoujo manga series. Now, this doesn't make it better or worse, that's just the way it is. As a result, it should not be surprising that the plot revolves pretty much solely around Himari Kiritani's evolving relationship with Keita Oogami.

It's worth mentioning that this relationship really begins to take off after Keita and Himari officially become stepsiblings (note: they are not related by blood), so if that is something that makes you uncomfortable, I think that it may be a good idea to skip this series. I was curious about how the author would approach such a controversial kind of relationship, so I decided to give it a chance.

Overall, it developed much like I expected. Keita and Himari had to go through a lot of challenges in order to keep their relationship going, which was expected. What I did not like, however, was how Himari approached the situation. Granted, she was put in an extremely difficult position, especially since she already liked someone else, so I don't blame her for being indecisive and anxious about the whole relationship. However, what bothered me is how she kept repeating to herself that she was family with everyone (including Keita), which was really... odd. At that point it was obvious that her relationship with Keita was no longer platonic, and yet she still seemed to be clinging to such an out-of-place idea. It didn't make much sense to me. She also kept saying that she'd be honest with her feelings, but then would keep backtracking right afterwards. I'm not sure if this was an intentional choice on the author's part or just poor character writing, but I believe that it should have been made a lot clearer whether it was intentional or not. As it is, I didn't dislike Himari as a character; she just behaved a bit unrealistically occasionally.

As for Keita, he really grew on me throughout the series, even though he initially seemed to be nothing more than a two-dimensional bad boy type. At first, he came across as somewhat insensitive and forceful, which made me uncomfortable. Despite this, throughout the series, Keita softened considerably and became much more caring towards Himari. I really appreciated this, as not only did it make sense within the context of the manga, but it also made him a much more likeable character. It reminded me a bit of "Koe no Katachi" in that aspect, since it was noticeable that he was doing his best to move past the immature version of himself that he used to be. I think that this character development was the reason why he ended up being my favorite character.

What about the other characters? Well, there weren't many, which I feel like was a bit of a weak point for the manga - mostly because the other characters weren't developed very well despite there being so few of them. There was Ryou Saeki, who acted as the typical nice guy and was also Himari's first love. Then there was Kuroda (I've forgotten his full name, unfortunately, since I don't think it was mentioned very much), who was very similar to Keita (as Himari points out). She also seemed to have made a few friends by the end of the manga, but I don't think their names were ever given (same situation with Keita's friends). Besides Keita and, I guess, Himari as well, I would argue that none of these mentioned characters experienced any character development (developing a crush doesn't count in my book). This was likely because they played only minor roles in the story. Although a lack of development could make sense because of that, it was still rather disappointing. Additionally, their relationships with Himari - more specifically, Ryou and Kuroda's relationships with her - turned rather... uncomfortable at certain points, which made it seem as if they were experiencing character regression rather than development. Long story short, if you're hoping to see some intricate side character plots, backstories, or interactions here, you will be let down.

In spite of all of this, I enjoyed the art style. It was very detailed and clearly had a lot of work put into its development. I did have a moment though where I mistook Kuroda for Ryou. In other words, there was some minor deficiency in variety of character design, at least for the side characters. Regardless, the art was great and of high quality, which made reading this manga much more worthwhile.

There are only two other things that bothered me about this series. The first is how Himari had barely any time to interact with Keita before she became his stepsister and subsequently fell in love with him. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if she had time to fall for him BEFORE he became her stepbrother, since it would have provided the author with a better opportunity to comment on how social norms shape or break our relationships with different people. For example, Himari's mother could have gotten a new job near Himari's childhood home, forcing them to move back and Himari to begin attending Keita's school. Instead, Himari and her mother moved back because the latter developed a relationship with Keita's father. I don't believe the latter plotline to be unrealistic; rather, I only think that it constrained what the story could have been otherwise.

The final thing that bothered me was how quickly everything was resolved at the end (you'll see what I mean when you get there). There was a lot of buildup, of course, but the way it played out was unrealistic and anticlimactic. Some details also remained improperly addressed (like the whole bit with Keita's dog). If you consider the idea of Chekhov's Gun (all mentioned details must contribute to the story in some way), the author's decision not to develop certain features of the plot was odd. I'll avoid going any further into depth since that would spoil the story, so I think that this is a sufficient comment on the matter.

Overall? Despite having pointed out quite a few (in my opinion) flawed instances that occur throughout the story, I don't think that this manga is "bad" or anything like that. It's just a typical shoujo romance (typical if you forget about the whole stepsibling thing, I suppose) that played out much as I expected it would. All in all, my best advice for reading this is to not go into it with high expectations. As long as you do that, it is likely to be an enjoyable read. Worst-case scenario, all it'll be is a good way to kill time.

This was such an amazing story! One of my favorites! I love how the guy always teases the cute, adorable girl. Only problem is maybe that they are in a step family relationship. Other than that, it's amazing! Storyline: Himari returns to her hometown 4 years later, this time with a surprise. Her mom is remmaried! But her step brother is a bully from when they are in primary. What can she do when she finds out they must live together!? This is a must read!!! I would give it...5 complete bright and yellow stars! :3 I don't know ... what else to say..it's just amazing. So some people don't like that bad boy aspect...whoever does should read this

Sometimes you just want to read a well executed but extremely old trope. That basically summarizes Kedamono Kareshi. Himari and Oogami have known each other since they were kids, and he was always picking on her due to a stereotypical elementary school crush, while Himari is just upset she's getting bullied. They're reunited in high school, and that dynamic hasn't changed, only now of course their single parents have married each other, making them surprise step siblings.

Like I said, the set up is very tropey. There's probably hundreds of similar shoujo manga out there like this. But I feel like the execution on this one ... is particularly good. It does a good job of showing what Himari and Oogami are thinking, even when they don't say it out loud. It does a good job at balancing the bickering too. It could easily go too far one way or the other, where you ends up feeling like, why should they ever get together when they hate each other, or what's stopping them from getting together?

The other point I feel is particularly well done is that it's often a disappointment when the bickering couple actually starts admitting their attraction. You came for the bickering couple, but then they often end up being completely lovey-dovey because the author doesn't know how to keep up that dynamic once they're together. As far as I've read, that doesn't seem to be happening.

First of all, i wanna tell you that i don't really wanna read this manga in the first place. But, since i don't have any manga i can read in a while and i'm a sucker for love-hate relationship, finally, i tried to read it.

So, i have known this manga way before i read this. But, tbh, I hate the plot of this manga which is about a love between step-siblings (because for me, it doesn't matter whether u are step-siblings or real siblings. we call 2 people siblings because of the bond, not the blood). But, after all the boringness, finally, i read ... this manga.

Story (5/10)
The story is just mediocre for me. Nothing special and it just a usual shoujo manga with the delinquent perfect boy, idolized by everyone and this cute girl (actually she is not cute for me) who hate this delinquent in the past, but suddenly her mom remarried and she became a step-sibling with this delinquent, so she gradually starts to develop a romantic feeling towards him. It is the kind of story i hate the most in shoujo manga. Not only because they are sibling, but it's also because of the cliche of shoujo i found in this manga (For example all girls in her school idolized this delinquent and will confront anyone who gets close to him. I mean, THIS IS VERY CRINGEEEEEE).

Art (7/10)
it's a good art. not the best though. I don't really like the hair and eyes. Sometimes the eye looked pulled in the middle lol. but, still, it is a good art

Character (4/10)
This is the worst part of the manga. First, let's talk about the MC. Oh god, she is so bitchy. Maybe she acts cute and innocent on the outside, but she is a BITCH. She acts like she doesn't wanna developed more romantic relationship with the FL, but when he avoids her, she became so sad and act like she doesn't want to lose him (i found this kind of plot a lot in shoujo manga). It just disgusts me even more. I mean, if u wanna do something, do it with your full heart, not half-heartedly bitch. Next the FL. He is kinda cute, but still, he acts so stupid. He doesn't care about his new parents and just cares about his relationship. I feel bad for her mom, she trusts her daughter a lot, but she will stab her in the back, what an ungrateful daughter.

Enjoyment (8/10)
well, although i said all that bad things, i still enjoy the series. i finish it only in 2 days which means i still enjoy it (i only finish 24 chapters which already translated into English).

Overall (6/10)
I'm not gonna say it is a bad manga. It just that the plot doesn't really suit my taste and the character is kinda bitchy. U can try it if u like this kinda plot though.