Monsters
The main character or multiple leads are monsters. This does not include beings such as vampires, demons, zombies, succubi, etc. These would be unique monsters without any specific, widely-accepted identity.
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.
Manhwa Review | Welcome to the Café of Love by Churrr
Title: Welcome to the Café of Love
Ingyu is an incubus. He survives off of the vitality of all manner of beings by having sex with them. Unfortunately, due to the barrier created by the divine beings around humanity’s world, Ingyu is limited to the beasts and monsters that live in Devildom to get vitality. It’s often gross, painful, and dangerous, and Ingyu longs to get vitality from humans. So, one day, he finally takes the plunge. He ends up getting a chance from the ruler of Devildom to break through the barrier and live among the humans. Thanks to the fallen divine being, Taegyu is able to move through the barrier and protect Ingyu.
Once in the human world, Ingyu wastes no time getting his vitality buffet going by opening up a late-night café. He charms the coffee lids, so when unsuspecting customers take a sip, he can take the form of the one they want the most and take his time sampling them before sending them off as if they had just woken from a dream. All of this is routine until Ingyu encounters Kangin. Kangin is a tired and overworked office drone, and one of his few comforts is coffee. He is precisely Ingyu’s type.
Unfortunately, Kangin isn’t that easily charmed, as every attempt Ingyu makes to charm him fails. Sure, Ingyu could just move on and charm the next passerby, but he doesn’t want just anyone anymore. He wants Kangin, and he’s determined to get him. Even if he gets a taste, though, will that be enough? And if it’s not, what happens to a human that gets targeted again and again by an incubus?
Novel Review | Little Mushroom: Judgement Day and Little Mushroom: Revelations by Shisi
Title: Little Mushroom: Judgment Day | Little Mushroom: Revelations
The world has become an unrecognizable habitat for monsters. Since the disappearance of the magnetic poles over a hundred years ago in the year 2020, the Earth has been in a state of chaotic flux. Finally, after generations and generations of trial and error, the remaining humans of the world have restored the magnetic field. Still, the areas surrounding the few remaining human bases are inhabited by creatures known as xenogenics, made up of various body parts, including human parts, animal parts, insect parts, etc. These creatures also have the ability to spread their deformation to humans through open wounds, but the change isn’t immediate. So, to prevent these infected humans from entering the bases and spreading the infection, there are people designated as Judges who are given the right to judge if a person is a xenogenic or not. If found guilty, the person can be killed on the spot.
In one of the most dangerous areas out in the wild, a tiny mushroom tries to raise his spore. Unfortunately, one day, a human being exploring the wild for materials comes upon the mushroom and steals his spore. Desperate to get his spore back, the mushroom encounters a dying human named An Ze. They become friends, and An Ze allows the mushroom to use his body to take on a human form of his own. Once the mushroom can take human form, he accumulates all of An Ze’s memories and essentially his identity. Before An Ze passes, he gives the mushroom a name: An Zhe. With the ability to now integrate with humanity, An Zhe travels to a human base with the sole goal of getting his spore back.
Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to survive the Judge’s test, and An Zhe’s first encounter is with none other than the most accurate Judge of all: Lu Feng.
Manga Review | Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda
Title: Rosario+Vampire
Tsukune Aono is as average as they come. However, as average as he is, his poor grades make it, so he cannot attend any of the local high schools. Thankfully, though, he receives an acceptance from the mysterious school aptly named Yokai Academy. On the surface, it seems to be an oddly decorated school campus. However, Tsukune quickly realizes that he should have never come to this school because it is not for average humans like him. Instead, it is a school specifically for creatures like vampires, werewolves, succubi, and ghouls – all creatures that seem to have an ingrained hatred for humans.
Thankfully, though, as Tsukune comes to terms with his risky predicament, he meets vampire Moka. Not only is she cute, but she is sweet, too, and she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Tsukune’s blood. However, much like Yokai Academy, not everything is as it seems. When Tsukune removes the rosary around Moka’s neck, she transforms from her bubbly pink-haired, green-eyed self to a silver-hair, red eyes badass with the ability to kick ass as a full-blooded vampire. Tsukune should not like Moka, but even with her split personality and her want to suck him dry, he can’t help but be drawn to her and resolves to stay at Yokai Academy to stay by Moka’s side.
Of course, this scenario couldn’t be that simple. Moka isn’t the only one drawn to Tsukune, romantically or otherwise. All manner of things that go bump in the night ends up being drawn to Tsukune, and he must somehow survive each encounter with Moka at his side.