Former Heir Gets Married Off to a Clan of Shark Men
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Sacrificed to the Shark Clan. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to male pregnancy, violence, blood, arranged marriage, interspecies, power imbalance, sexism (specifically referring to a man as a woman due to role during sex), mentions if being orphaned, mentions of war, prejudice, assault, dubcon/noncon, animal death in the context of hunting, self-harm, blood play, mentions of beastiality, voyeurism, drowning, human sacrifice, xenophobia, mentions of religion, implied death, and adoption, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Avel is part of the mysterious Tangata clan. They are a tribe made up entirely of men, yet they are able to procreate just fine. How? Their anatomy goes through a change. When they reach adulthood, they are paired up to battle one another. The winner wins the opportunity to be a male, while the loser becomes a female. Then, when they have their first intimate experience, the bottom becomes a female and can get pregnant, while the top remains a man. This tradition has kept the clan going for generations.
However, there is an unfortunate ending to these festivities. The weakest person among all of the combatants is expected to be handed off to the Miyaru to become a bride. The Miyaru are equally as mysterious as the Tangata, as their members are said to have shark blood in their veins. It’s a terrifying prospect to be traded off to such a violent and terrifying group, but it must be done for the sake of the Tangata clan. So, the two clans live under this tenuous relationship.
Avel has no doubt he won’t lose his fight, as he has been trained since childhood to take on the role of Chieftain of his clan. But all that changes when, out on a hunt, he encounters a vicious tiger. Avel is holding his own, but just barely, until a member of the Miyaru tribe appears and helps drive off the beast. The two take refuge in a cave where the Miyaru man helps Avel nurse his wounds. But the scent of blood is in the air, and a man with shark blood can’t resist such an alluring scent.
So, after a passionate moment in the cave, Avel is now a female, whether he fights or not, and he resigns himself to taking the role as an offering. Though his father is furious, he has no better option, so he sends his son off to the Miyaru clan. Avel is ready for the worst, though he takes some comfort when he realizes his husband is none other than the man who changed his life in the jungle. Things are strange and frightening, but it’s nowhere near what Avel expected. Maybe this new life won’t be so bad.
Review:
The art in this is nice. It’s not perfect by any means, but it has absolutely stunning moments. There are certain panels, however, when the faces are turned slightly or at an angle, where they look very short and boxy, which isn’t the nicest in the world, but it’s not the worst, either. It’s very inconsistent, and I find that everyone looks very similar across the board, with the differences mainly being hair colors, hair length, facial hair, skin color, and the like, rather than facial structure. There is a distinction between the more feminine characters, the children, and the more masculine characters, but when comparing those within each category, it can get a bit muddy. But, I have to say I adore that Avel is a big, hunky, hyper-masculine man. I’m always on the hunt for couples featuring beefy men, and this serves on that front. Is it perfect? Not even close, but it’s nice to look at overall.
But now let’s talk about the story. I know that this is a fantasy title, and in the Tangata tribe, there is a physical transformation that occurs due to a man’s role during sex that changes their internal reproductive organs. Still, I despise when the bottom is referred to as a female. This is a bit more frustrating for me here because they even refer to bottoming as the “female role,” and who takes that role is determined by battle. So weakness means female. As a woman, I won’t pretend that most men aren’t stronger than I am. Plus, I know in some cases this can be used as a form of humiliation play, mocking toxic masculinity, and the like, but it is just something that really irritates me. If you’re like me, this may irritate you, too, but I know this is a silly nitpick for many people, and I totally understand that.
But it also causes issues with the translation, with a Tangata man mentioning his older sister when there is no such thing as a sister in their tribe, unless they also call those who become “female” sisters. They do refer to the one who birthed them as their mother, which would align with this. Yet, Avel calls someone, now a “female,” an older brother to him. It’s very inconsistent, and it’s just not a good move overall. It is more confusing than anything, in my opinion. I think this could’ve worked better if the Tangata people had been explored more, but their tribe and how it functions beyond their relationship with the Miyaru tribe are all very superficial, which is unfortunate. We do get a bit of an info dump regarding the history of the tribes that explains why they exist. Still, it does little to explain why the traditions occur to begin with, what the purpose is of completely separating the tribes and keeping this all a secret, etc. It all just feels nonsensical and left me with more questions than answers, which was disappointing.
Before I close out this review, I do want to point this out for my fellow degenerates out there: double penis. I didn’t know sharks have two, but I know now, so this is as much an educational title as it is a smutty romp. Really, though, the sexy time is fun. We see them do it in fully human forms, with Tukiri in his shark form, and these two have some delicious physical chemistry. If you’re just looking for interesting smut (that includes some level of blood play, just to be clear), this is a good one.
Results:
There is a ton to unpack in this title. I feel like this happens a lot with fantasy-heavy titles where they try to explore a lot of higher fantasy concepts, but just don’t have the time to do so in a satisfying way. It has a lot of potential, and though I’m not fond of every aspect, I would’ve loved to have more time to explore the reasons why they do certain things and how they determine identity within a family unit. This does have mpreg, which is always a plus, but that’s just one more thing that was rushed. It needed to be longer, but here we are.
Have you read Sacrificed to the Shark Clan? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!