Bijo ga Yajuu

If you're ever in need of a quick, lighthearted pick-me-up, this series can do the trick. The narrative isn't convoluted nor does it capitalize on the torture and tragedies of characters for shock value as some romcoms tend to do. However, it does contain the death of a sibling (Ch. 25/26) which I did not enjoy because it came out of nowhere. It was almost written as if Wanichin (the love interest) saw Eimi (the protagonist) as a sister instead of a prospective love interest. There were parallels drawn between his sister and Eimi and then the creator immediately changed her mind because she remembered they were supposed to fall in love. I also wish she fleshed out minor characters more. Sometimes it seemed like Matsumoto lost track of where she wanted to go with the story and tried to make it up with quirky hijinks and tiny bouts of romance.

Overall, Beauty is the Beast is is a terrific comedy with chuckle-worthy, heartwarming antics, and some romance. The characters have great personalities all the while using beloved tropes like the "tough guy who's actually really caring" and the "absentminded but clever girl" without being misused for dramatic effect. Some tropes were used to illustrate machismo but luckily it was kept to a minimum. The story slowed a bit toward the end and the conclusion was really abrupt! Not as satisfying as I would like it to be; there are a lot of unanswered questions and too many things left to the imagination.

There was an odd break before the story concluded where Viz put an unrelated short story (by the same creator) right before the finale. I'm about to spoil it for you because it was horrifically racist and romanticized slavery and human trafficking. Basically, these three white boys abduct a Japanese girl and throw her in a concrete block and chain her to the bars. They all racially fetishize (wiki it) her and one in particular takes it even further to sexual attraction. He throws cherry blossoms into her jail cell as if it were supposed to be romantic and then he grows a "conscience" and frees her, giving her nothing to wear and no weapons to defend herself with. We all know he's going to kidnap another person and auction them off. I'm not sure how Beauty is the Beast was published in Japan but this terrible story really tainted my view of the author so I docked a lot of points for its inclusion. I don't wanna read that kinda shit.

I knew the moment I finished this series that everyone else would not love it as much as I do (isn’t that obvious from the other reviews?)

Story: 8

What’s the story to this book you ask? Well, just read the synopsis up there and there you go. That’s right. It’s the adventures of Eimi as she goes through her life in the dorms. But I will warn you ahead, the synopsis is a little misleading. More on that later. Now, every story has a goal. What’s this manga’s goal? Really, it’s just Eimi living in the female dorms of her school. That’s it. They're pretty episodic. But the adventures are hilarious and I did find myself entertained by them—such as the first “adventure” of this series: Eimi’s initiation into the dormitory life…which is how her “romantic adventures” begin.

Art: 7

It’s decent, but there are times when it feels empty. There’s not much shading going on and the backgrounds are there, but again with that empty feeling of “there could’ve been more details”.

Character: 8

Eimi’s the gluttonous, dense, airheaded girl. Is she a Mary Sue? I don’t believe so. Why? Because she’s an idiot. Mary Sues like to believe they’re smart, but Eimi’s just a plain idiot who attracts you to her idiocy. She’s a lovable idiot. I usually don’t like stupid characters, but for some reason, I like Eimi. Her idiotic character is done well, and I’m not being sarcastic here.

Eimi’s surrounded by her fellow dorm people, and the girls are hilarious. You won’t find any typical shoujo girls here. When we run out of hot water in the dorm, you best believe we’re throwing a freaking riot up in here!

Now, who exactly is Eimi’s love interest? He’s the beast spoken about in the title: Wanichin (that’s actually Eimi’s nickname for him and that’s how I remember him. See? She just pulls you into her idiocy). Wanichin is, I guess you can say, the bad boy. He smokes, has a rocking body, sneaks out of the boys’ dorm late at night, breaks the dorm rules of having a part-time job, and he dates older women. He might not seem likeable at first, but he’s surprisingly not a jerk and a mature guy. His maturity helps to balance out Eimi’s childishness, which brings me to my next point…

(In replacement of Enjoyment…) Romance: 9

Now here’s where the story really shines for me.

Remember how I said the synopsis of Bijo ha Yajuu misleads the readers? I quote, “exciting romantic adventures”. They got the exciting part down (sort of) along with the adventures. But the word romantic can be strewn about differently depending on the reader. Romantic doesn’t necessarily mean romantic love, but romantic passion, like something you’re passionate about. Yet, even that doesn’t fully cover the “romantic” aspect of Bijo ha Yajuu because this series is a pretty light and fluffy manga. The only person who carries something heavy on their shoulders is Wanichin (and that should be obvious since something had to have happened to him to make him go bad boy mode).

So how’s the romance you ask? I’m sorry to tell you that you may be disappointed. The romance is subtle but it’s not simply implied. It’s definitely there, but to some readers, it won’t be enough because (SPOILER ALERT?)

…

They never actually say “I love you” out loud. But there were plenty of other romantic things that happened in the manga for it to be considered romance and the two of them are an item as well. Believe me, they are. Though some people don’t like it when it’s not bluntly stated aloud for the readers, I believe Tomo Matsumoto does the romance well in this manga. The romance in here is way more romantic than most shoujo I’ve read because you can actually see the bond forming between Eimi and Wanichin through their interactions together.

Also, there’s one scene in the manga—which I won’t spoil and tell you what exactly happened—that involves a yellow wallet and it’s BY FAR one of the most romantic things I’ve read in manga ever. To me, that scene was way more romantic than typical clichéd scenes where a guy and a girl declare their undying love for each other and finally kiss after chapters and chapters of playing hard-tsudere-to-get because the yellow wallet held more meaning to it and the context that it’s given in just makes you feel giddy and declare, “Yup. This is romance alright.” There’s also some dialogue after that scene that just made me outright fangirl scream. You know? “Kya~!”

Of course there’s a little struggle between their relationship since Wanichin’s actually already in one with an older woman and of course, someone like Eimi is bound to attract the attention of some other guy *hint hint.

Overall: 8

I can proudly say I thoroughly enjoyed this manga. There’s humor and it’s light and fluffy most of the time. Of course, this is a slow romance, and the romance builds up towards the end. The rest of the manga are Eimi’s adventures in her dorm life and there are also some side stories thrown in there involving Eimi’s friends (and their romantic adventures) and Wanichin’s past.

Now, will you enjoy this manga? Maybe. Will you think like me, “This is one of the most memorable manga I’ve ever read!”? Most likely no. But it doesn’t hurt to give it a try. Besides, this manga’s only 5 volumes long.

As a fan, I wished there could’ve been more, but I’ve grown to become accustomed to it and accept the fact that there will be no more Eimi and Wanichin…because I’m mature like that.

…*sobs.

I think that Beauty is the Beast was really good due to the fact that it's different. At first, I was afraid that it was going to be another typical shoujo manga and usually I don't read manga with only ~decent~ art. But I gave it a chance and I'm glad I did. Eimi is my favorite girl character ever. She wasn't annoying and she was so much better than all the girls in any manga I've ever read. I loved her straightforward, optimistic attitude and her airhead personality. The plot is slow and not much goes on, but it was a nice break from all the magical princesses and steamy romances. Plus it had me laughing the entire time. If you're looking for one of your usual love stories, this is not going to be your cup of tea. I definitely recommend it though!

this story was not very good in my opinion. i have finished the series but i had to read the ending 2 times for me to still not understand what happend.
the characters were okay, but the storyline to me was not understandable. in every volume the story kind of changed to what i was thinking it was going a different direction.i will admit that some parts were funny but it was kind of boring. if you liked the series you might have your own opinon about it, but i disliked it.

On the opposite of the other reviews so far, the story being "all over the place" didn't bother me a bit, neither was it confusing. It made you familiar with all the other characters along with the relieving non-stereotypical shoujo-heroine. I also found the rather slow paced little stories cute and simple. What also is refreshing with this shoujo is the overall lack of crying, sparkles, or a pathetic overly girly main character. On the other hand, there are "eyecandy boys" and somewhat of a love triangle, but it is all handled pretty much painlessly and with little drama. It has plenty of comic relief, isn't very long, and though I would say it's far from a master piece, it is one of the better Shoujo's I've come by so far, and wouldn't mind reading again later. A charming little read that may make you chuckle just a little.

Not the best manga out there. It was pretty anti-climatic but there were certain parts where one would go "aww, that's cute." However, the story overall wasn't very interesting and the story was all over the place. There's not really much to say about this manga other than the low profile it yields and the small amount of enjoyment that someone can get from it. It had its "deep"-ish moments and what have you, but nothing I would want to read again or care if I never read.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the last few pages. The ending was a bit better than the entire story since it made me giggle a bit on the inside.

I don't really agree with the other reviews. Beauty is the Beast is a sweet short story, though not incredibly complex and developed. At a few moments it did seem like nothing was really happening, and I don't get why the author included some arcs/focus on things that she didn't really use later, but most of it flows together with the author's direction. I particularly like Beauty is the Beast for not being as ridiculous and overwrought as other shojo. No excessive drama traps. The ending does sort of slow down, and I wouldn't call the author's "climax" a real climax, but it's was pretty clever. The finishing touch did confuse me for a while, but I attribute that to my slowness.

Art's average, characters are good. I just wish there was more development on the characters other than the main 3--the author does some small development for a few characters in the beginning, but seems to drop them as time goes on.

Overall, I found Beauty is the Beast most enjoyable for the direction the author took and the good humor.

This manga's actually a good quick read. I have been always looking for shoujo mangas wherein the protagonist is laidback and has strong convictions or ideals - in comparison to other shoujo mangas where the protag is fragile and at most times can't make up a decision who to go out with. In addition, even though there weren't many romantic scenes and more of platonic, it was a fun read since there were a lot of funny scenes. The only thing bad about it was how they rushed the ending (mostly prolly had to do with the manga's standing). So yeah, have a go at it if you don't want to settle for mediocre plots.