I can't believe this thing is below a 7 on MAL, loads of crap manga have only sex and violence going for them yet get rated way higher than Killing Bites which combines that appeal with tight well paced tournament storytelling, dynamic art that gets better as the series progresses, consistently funny humor and a cast of lovable characters. I couldn't believe my eyes when something I expected to be fun schlock managed to emotionally move me, more than once!
I like the animalistic moral compass of this series, it's refreshing for a series to present actions as they are without judgement. This leads to scenes that could understandably turn a lot of people off so I'll say if you don't want to see rape, odd fetishes or "bad" people go unpunished then you should probably give this one a pass.
Speaking of animals, the author clearly loves them. The narrator bombards you with mostly accurate animal facts to explain why fights turn out the way they do. I usually dislike this sort of explanation of abilities in fights but since it's tied to Biology which I find interesting it actually works for me. This information doesn't just aid the fights but also cleverly ties in to why characters act the way they do.
Killing Bites isn't perfect of course, the main problem for me is the fakeout deaths which takes away from the premise a bit. In addition some fights are a bit anticlimactic, some animal "facts" are more like asspull powerups and the story is unfinished so I can't give it a full appraisal yet.
None of that stops me from thoroughly enjoying myself with every chapter of this underrated gem.
