About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Beast's Storm: Touch Me Baby!. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to male pregnancy (mpreg), sexual assault, PTSD, attempted rape, prejudice, violence, and obsession, as it appears in the manga.
Synopsis:
With a set of twins and Shouta, Akira and Sougo's life is full of happiness and the joyous chaos this bustling family brings. One downside of their growing family is that it's much harder to have sexy time now with Shouta and the babies interrupting them at every turn. Sougo is all the more troubled by the fact that Akira is giving off postpartum pheromones, making him all the more alluring to both Sougo and every other Bestia around. Unfortunately, things are about to get a lot tougher when he has to return to work, and in the midst of it, he runs into none other than Sougo's half-brother. And Sougo's half-brother has Akira in his sights as a potential mother to his children.
On the other side are Doctor Kurosaki and Kirigaya. Even though Kirigaya is still a bristly spitfire with Doctor Kurosaki, the doctor isn't dissuaded from pursuing him in the least. It isn't until the other nurses mention how often Kirigaya made his way through earless lovers that Kirigaya begins to see the doctor differently. However, to the doctor's chagrin, it isn't as a potential lover but as a threat. Why is Kirigaya so jumpy around earless men? And can Doctor Kurosaki overcome Kirigaya's fears so he has a chance with him?
Review:
The art is gorgeous. This volume has the best art of all the volumes, which excites me about future iterations in this series. Akira gets a haircut, which I love for him. All three babies are precious, as usual, and we get to see a sexy iteration of Sougo in his half-brother (along with his sexy attendant). However, this really shines in our side characters, Doctor Kurosaki and Kirigaya. They have been hovering around in the background for a long time, but they shine in this volume. Kirigaya's design becomes so much cleaner and a beautiful. Doctor Kurosaki has major daddy vibes. In short, the art is peak.
I did find it a bit weird how Kirigaya suggests that he never loved Akira romantically when it was pretty apparent in earlier volumes that he did. He made it seem almost laughable that it would be perceived that way, which doesn't make much sense. However, when paired with his background, I can understand why he might have flipped to growing attached to Akira out of desperation. Kirigaya, as it turns out, was sexually assaulted by an earless man right before he met Akira. Up until that point, Kirigaya was only ever attracted to earless people. While suffering through the trauma, Akira was the one to approach Kirigaya and comfort him. It makes total sense how Kirigaya could associate that relief and comfort with romantic feelings. I still don't think the transition was well done, but I can see it logically.
On the flip side, with Akira and Sougo, I love that Akira is the one being seduced and sought out over Sougo, who is supposed to be the playboy among the two of them. It's also nice to get some insight into Sougo's family structure, with his half-brother appearing and going after Akira. Kazuhisa is just as sexy as Sougo, and he definitely has the personality Sougo did in the first volume of the series. What excites me about his introduction, though, is the introduction of his attendant, a very manly and attractive Bestia in his own right. It seems to suggest that the attendant has a thing for Kazuhisa. Thus far, all the relationships we've seen are very stereotypical, with an effeminate bottom and a more masculine top. If this does play out like I want, I'm very excited to see two manly men get together. Only time will tell.
Finally, I have to talk about the smut. Sougo and Akira smut is everything, and there's lots of it to be found in this. Unfortunately, we don't get anything between Kirigaya and Doctor Kurosaki, though it does suggest they have both an emotional and physical relationship. It would have been nice to see their dynamic in bed. Still, it was nice that Kirigaya wasn't forced into a physical relationship when his previous experience was so violent and traumatizing. I hope we get to see them together in future iterations.
Results:
This series is great. I look forward to every new entry, and this one was no exception. We get lots of smut, sweet child-rearing, and some intense drama. What more could I ask for? This whole series has been such a great time. I can only hope that it doesn't end any time soon.
Have you read Beast's Storm: Touch Me Baby!? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!