Review: I'M A BEHEMOTH Focuses Too Much on Fan Service and Not Enough on the Story
Yen Press recently released the first volume of I'm a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl's Pet, and when you read the synopsis, it sounds like it has some fun potential. Yen Press was kind enough to send me a copy of the manga, and I will say that when it focuses on the story, the manga is fun. However, the constant fan service is too much in my opinion. You can get your copy of I’m a Behemoth… from your favorite retailers including comiXology.
A comedic fantasy manga based on the popular light novel series. In this new adventure, a knight finds himself reincarnated as a behemoth, one of the most powerful monsters in the world, and when he meets a beautiful elf girl, he's ready to fight at her side. Problem is, a baby behemoth looks an awful lot like...a housecat?!
The manga is written by Nozomi Ginyoku with art by Taro Shinonome who also did the character design with Mitsuki Yano. We get to follow Tama and Aria. Tama is the Behemoth who looks like a cat, and Aria is the elf girl that rescues him from the Labyrinth and gives him that name. If you’ve watched anime or read manga in the same vein as Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? then you’ll get a sense of familiarity. The world is designed to be like if the characters lived in an RPG. They have abilities, guilds that they do quests for, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see mention of stats in later volumes. We get to see Aria and Tama go to the Labyrinth and train to get stronger. It’s pretty simple and a lot of fun to read. We also see Aria and Tama fight a jerk adventurer who’s the son of a Baron. That was also fun to read.
There is something I want to address though. There’s a lot of fan service in this manga. It’s rated M for Mature for very good reasons. While certain areas are censored, there are many panels where very little is left to the imagination. Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem except I felt like the manga cared more about providing the fan service than telling a story. By looking at the cover, you can tell that Aria’s boobs are out of control and there’s going to be some fan service, but it just gets ridiculous. Also, I’m not convinced Ginyoku understands boobs as one of Tama’s lines is:
I thought those bouncing melons would make close-quarters combat a challenge, but it seems they can maneuver independently in three dimensions so as not to obstruct her! It’s a miracle! My master’s bosom contains a sacred power!
What the actual heck? That really makes no sense! I know a lot of you are going to come at me about how it’s just a manga so take it easy, but there are several manga that have similar things going on, but realize no explanation is necessary. The moment this explanation is even attempted, it’s stupid.
Of course, another aspect that I was a little surprised by is the goal of Aria. We find out in this volume that Aria is keeping Tama in hopes that he will grow quickly and have sex with her. I’m not even sure what to think about all this.
Honestly, the story is quite fun and if you want gratuitous amounts of fan service, I’m a Behemoth… is a good title. I personally felt like the story was put on the back burner too much. This title really had some potential, but they decided sex and fan service were more important than actually developing the story.
