Hunter x Prey
A relationship made up of a hunter of some kind and the person they are meant to kill as their prey for sustenance, materials, or monetary gain.
Manga Review | Sweet Blood by Nene Shakeda
Title: Sweet Blood
In a world dominated by vampires, human rights and freedoms have been severely limited. Humans and vampires are segregated, with very few select humans given passes to travel through and in vampire areas without being accompanied by a vampire. Jinosuke is one of those few humans. He’s a potter whose work is impeded by the deteriorating relationship between humans and vampires. Unfortunately, his most recent job has just been canceled due to his sponsor pulling out.
Frustrated and unemployed, Jinosuke travels through a vampire district, aimless and trying to determine his next course of action. Even with a pass, it’s not easy going through the streets of vampire districts, as all vampires have silver hair, and humans don’t. So, Jinosuke is constantly being watched and talked about. He’s hardly bothered by the attention until he ends up in a sparsely populated area. There, he is ambushed, confined, and then sold in a human auction for vampires. This is very illegal, but as the product being sold, Jinosuke has no choice but to go along with the process.
In the end, Jinosuke is purchased by a youthful-looking vampire named Noi, a human anthropologist. Thankfully, Noi doesn’t want to force Jinosuke into being food but would like to make a trade. In exchange for his blood and knowledge of humans, Jinosuke can continue to work and live under Noi’s protection. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than the alternative, so Jinosuke accepts. What Jinosuke doesn’t expect is for the feeding to feel so good. As they share more time (and fluids) with one another, Jinosuke begins to suspect it wasn’t a coincidence that Noi was the one to purchase him.
Manhua Review | Monstrous Heart by SYball
Title: Monstrous Heart (Tapas) | Ogus’s Law (all other platforms)
Johnathan Su is a human. Yet, he has been accepted into the prestigious monster academy: Augustine Academy. Why would a human be able to apply to such a place, and why would he even want to attend such a place when many monsters‘ primary source of energy and sustenance is humans? Johnathan’s mother is drowning in debt. While he could easily move on in life and leave her to deal with it, he would never do such a thing. Unwilling to let his mother go into further debt, putting him through college, he can attend Augustine Academy for free and allow the monsters there to learn about humans through his presence there.
There are safety precautions in place in the form of laws that prevent the monsters in the academy from harming human students, but that doesn’t mean the danger is gone. Still, Johnathan finds the risks worth it and attends all the same. Within just a few days, he’s assaulted and attacked by various monsters. Eventually, he learns about the Pal system, where a human partners with a monster. This partnership opens both individuals up to more opportunities, including the ability to leave campus, and requires the monster to become an unofficial bodyguard for their human.
Johnathan initially intends on becoming the pal to a bunny demon, but the bunny turns out to be a serial killer, having murdered numerous humans and demons alike in revenge for them abandoning him or bullying him. Johnathan, after coming upon his latest kill, ends up being his next victim. Before the bunny can successfully kill and consume Johnathan, Lucian Yu, the infamous black fox demon, swoops in and kills the bunny. Unfortunately, Johnathan’s wound is to his heart, and he’s facing death. Despite his better judgment, Lucian hands over one of his three hearts to Johnathan, keeping him alive while also intrinsically tying these two together for the foreseeable future.
It’s hard enough being a human and a blacklisted species of monster, but beneath the pristine veneer of Augustine, numerous plots are stirring that could alter the monster world forever.
Manhua Review | My Delicious Dream Boy by Xiyuer
Title: My Delicious Dream Boy (Less Censored) | Watch Out for the Dream Demon (Censored)
Joel Lin has had a lonely life. His family did their best to keep him happy and occupied, but nothing could replace the fun of school and public places. Unfortunately, Joel has suffered from an undiagnosable chronic illness that weakened him to the point he had to be homeschooled and kept out of any excitable public places at the risk of his life. He was nearly at the end of his rope when he and his mother visited a purveyor of magic called the goddess, who gave Joel a talisman to keep in his home and a charm to carry on him that successfully staves off most of his dire symptoms. Still, the nightmares he has been subjected to every night persist.
Being healthier now than he has ever been leads to the first time in his life that he can physically attend school for his first year in college. There, he meets a popular pink-haired man named Mara, who latches on to Joel immediately and solidifies himself as Joel’s first friend outside his family. Incidentally, his new best friend is very similar to the main villain in his nightmares, a pink-haired monster with wings, horns, and tentacles who captures and threatens him until he wakes up. This has to be just a coincidence, though, right?
Mara, though, has an ulterior motive for befriending Joel. As it turns out, Mara is a dream demon, a supernatural creature that feeds on human dreams. The most delicious of dreams are nightmares, and with his powers, he can determine how healthy his targets are and how likely they are to have nightmares. As it turns out, Joel has a 100% chance of having a nightmare every single night, and Mara is determined to have this delectable feast. But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to taste Joel’s dreams, and he has no idea why. But the more he tries, the closer he gets to Joel, and soon, he wants to taste much more than Joel’s dreams.
Manhwa Review | I’m Yours, Blood and Soul by GyaGa
Title: I'm Yours, Blood and Soul
Deok Bokhee is a vampire. At least once a week, if not more, he goes out to the clubs on the hunt for his next meal. He ends up with an impressive catch that leads to a steamy moment in the bathroom, then evolves to an even steamier time in a hotel room. The two are very compatible, which makes this meal all the more delectable. Bokhee is just about to take a bite of his prey when, out of nowhere, the man he’s in bed with sprouts little black wings. As it turns out, the man he thought was a human is a demon, also on the hunt for a meal.
Kim Mariam is that demon. While the sex was great, the prey wasn’t what he expected. Thankfully, vampires are just as edible as humans, if not more so, since vampires are immortal and have multiple souls inside them, thanks to their own hunger, often causing the death of others. So, Mariam isn’t all that put off, but Bokhee seems to be beyond disgusted. After Bokhee goes off to shower, Mariam takes a moment to rifle through Bokhee’s belongings, discovering an unusual bottle among his things. Thirsty and not worried about what’s in the bottle since he’s immortal, he gulps it down.
Unfortunately, that was a bottle of Bokhee’s 500-year-old vampire blood, and whoever drinks it creates a link with Bokhee that will make it so Bokhee can only drink from that person. Bokhee is beyond upset, as the only way to break the link is for one of them to die. As a demon, Mariam will never die, and Bokhee is not interested in dying. So these two are now forced together, and while Bokhee desperately wants out of this contract, Mariam seems all too happy to be linked to the resistant vampire. All while they are struggling to deal with this new connection, there is a serial killer whose murders resemble a vampire killing, and that puts Bokhee in the crosshairs of the police.
Manhwa Review | Tiger Lily by Nire
Title: Tiger Lily
Yoon lives a hard life. His mother despises his existence after his father died in a car accident while getting his birthday cake when Yoon was a child. His brother mercilessly bullied him before going missing, which their mother blames Yoon for since it occurred when he moved out. Plus, he has to take a leave of absence from college to work, save up, and pay his tuition. Yeah, life can’t get much worse. He thinks so until he encounters a mysterious man named Jay.
As it turns out, Jay is a tiger goblin. This creature hunts humans, stealing their vitality until they are no more. Once consumed, their souls become tied to the tiger goblin, enslaved, and forced to bring new sacrifices in exchange for their freedom to the afterlife. As it turns out, Yoon’s missing brother was Jay’s previous victim, and the person his brother chose for his freedom is Yoon. He thought he could escape his brother’s torment when he left home, but even in the afterlife, his brother wants nothing more than to torture Yoon.
The only thing keeping Yoon alive is that humans are best consumed at the peak of happiness. While Yoon is anything but happy, Jay is determined to make him the most delectable prey possible before consuming him whole. Unfortunately, it seems Yoon doesn’t have a single wish in the world, and as such, Jay can’t make Yoon happy. So, without any other course of action, Jay decides to go down the one path he thinks can brighten up Yoon’s lonely life: pretend to love him.
Manhwa Review | No Love Zone by Danbi
Title: No Love Zone
Eunkyum is a newbie at his company. He’s been there a year, but his level of responsibility is still pretty low, much to his dismay. While he pines for better opportunities at work, he also longs for better in his love life. Unfortunately, his relationship history has been fraught with shitty men. His current partner is no different, always asking him for money and ignoring him most of the time. Still, Eunkyum will take what he can get… until he sees his beau out in the streets with a wife and child in tow.
Eunkyum is heartbroken. At least work isn’t so bad… until he meets his new manager Jihyuk. Jihyuk is exactly Eunkyum’s type, tall, dark, and handsome. Too bad he seems to have it out for Eunkyum, tossing all of the scut work onto his plate and criticizing every little thing he turns in. So his love life is in shambles, and his professional life isn’t going so hot either. Can Eunkyum catch a break? And will he figure out why Jihyuk is trying so hard to put him down?
Manga Review | Baby, Sugar, Succubus by Sakana Tojo
Title: Baby, Sugar, Succubus
Arata has got a lot going for him. He’s pretty attractive, a manager at a café, and has no shortage of women to pick from. But, unfortunately, he has a large problem. His genitals are huge. Most men would be proud of this fact, and Arata once was in his younger years. However, as it turns out, his substantial piece isn’t popular among his sexual partners. It’s too big, doesn’t fit, and hurts, with Arata being forced into a mostly celibate life.
While bemoaning his cursed fate of reborn virginity, he encounters what he initially thinks is a drunken student passed out in his café. However, while trying to rouse the young man, he grabs Arata and says he is hungry before passing out again. When the young man wakes up, Arata is there waiting with a plate of food. While the meal is delicious, the young man isn’t hungry for food but for something else that Arata has plenty of.
And Arata is all too happy to give it.