[Februaryuri 2024 rerun] Beauty and the Beast Girl
(base post on Februaryuri here!)
(note that all that follows, unless mentioned explicitly, was written in February 2024)
Beauty and the Beast Girl (Bocchi Kaibutsu to Moumoku Shoujo), by Neji
Publication
Ended (50 chapters online on Pixiv, only a dozen chapters were published in one printed volume)
Published in English (Seven Seas Entertainment) for the same one printed volume; the rest is readable through fan-translations here
Not published in French
Summary
One of them is a monster girl, hated by humans, wallowing in guilt over the human village she destroyed when she was younger and couldn't control herself.
One of them is a blind human girl, tired of being looked down upon.
The two meet at the edge of the woods - the first relieved her monstrous nature isn't seen; the second relieved to interact with someone who doesn't pity her.
This is the tale of how one of them is forgiven, the other is understood, and how they fall in love.
CW
- One single mention of partial self-strangulation in one early chapter in a moment of desperate guilt
- Some elements of ableism regarding blindness (handled a bit simplistically)
- Easy forgiveness regarding past actions of the monster girl protagonist
- Some slight bits of "but you're both girls" that are a bit ridiculous compared to a human/monster relationship
- Occasional slightly suggestive content/sexualization; very occasional sexual content (see Sexual elements? section below)
Sexual elements?
Occasional suggestive elements and sex scenes, more or less explicit (see notably the use of the NSFW tag in the Dynasty Scans link above for reading the chapters). Some extra chapters are entirely explicit sex scenes.Comment
If I were to overthink this whole list of yuri titles1, maybe I would replace this manga with something else that is a bit more... special? Thought-provoking? Addressing deep topics?
But, you know, not all of the yuri of this list can be like that. Sometimes, you want something that feels like comfort food.
This one qualifies.
It has its specificities, of course. Yuri series with this kind of light Western fantasy setting, if we ban the isekai subgenre, are actually not that widespread. Monster girl yuri also has, surprisingly, only a handful of well-known representatives as far as I know2. In addition to all this, Beauty and the Beast Girl has, you guessed it, some trappings of a fairy tale - which doesn't make its base story particularly original, but still makes the "... but it's yuri" twist a nice one to its familiar and/or simple elements.
Because, let's be honest, this manga is simple. Yes, it discusses a little how it feels to be othered (both metaphorically and literally) and tidbits of ableism regarding its human girl protagonist; but at the same time, her name is literally Lily Blind - a bit of an insensitive misstep that operates, too, on fairytale logic - and if I recall correctly her blindness often has little actual consequences on her day-to-day life. Yes, the manga talks about overwhelming guilt and redemption and remorsefulness regarding the monster girl's past rampage; but she is quickly forgiven in the present of the story, and it feels a bit clumsy at times how she is conveniently stripped of the actual responsibility for her actions3.
And yet... Yet, it's on AnimeFeminist yuri beginner's guide for a reason: it's accessible and simple in a good way, too. It's straightforward (gayforward?), lighthearted, and after its initial fairytale start, it shows what it's good at: domestic bliss. Two girls living together and kissing a lot and being gay. That's it. That's most of the plot.
... So, yes, some elements are sometimes addressed and/or solved a bit too simplistically. But they are addressed at times still; and if you accept the way they are handled, well, you ultimately get an uplifting and heartwarming (if cheesy) read with no durable threat or obstacle to the main couple's lovey-dovey happiness. It's sweet4.
It's also worth mentioning that there are two or three sex scenes or sex mentions in later chapters, that oscillate between some implicit and some more explicit stuff (and definitely NSFW stuff in extra chapters, which would probably best be described as "joyous smut"). Overall, there is some slight sexualization going on here or there, but it also feels like this entire component is joyfully embraced by the protagonists and the story.
Your mileage may vary, though.
If this helps for context, the manga is originally a self-publication on Pixiv5, and the chapters are actually mini-strips padded with extra little illustrations and doodles - it's understandably smaller-scale than most other titles from my list, making a comparison with most print works a bit unfair. In the end, this truly is drawn as some self-indulgent monster girl yuri. Comfort food.
That being said, the story does get some worldbuilding in spite of my simple description above - as it often is with little Internet comics, it grows as it goes. There are bits about the human girl's household, and other occasional supernatural creatures, and it all slowly extends the initial setting. I'd even say, the latest chapters' goodbye to this small wholesome cast is surprisingly moving, for something that started this simple.
I do overthink it, actually (edit: Yup... I still do.). But I did a good part of said overthinking after putting it online... (edit: and now when putting it online again.) Anyway: I am trying not to judge my own tastes too harshly. Often, I guess I could actually summarize my comment by: "yeah, I liked this". Ultimately, that's simply the case here.↩
I'd say, mainly, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (that I haven't read/seen) and, in a wholly different genre, A Monster Wants to Eat Me. Oh, and I also have to read Alcohol and Ogre-girls that I've seen around cohost a lot.↩
The Summer You Were There handles similar themes of guilt and forgiveness much better, if this is a topic you're interested in.↩
Understand: it would probably get tagged as "tooth-rotting fluff" on Archive of Our Own.↩
Also described at times as the Japanese equivalent of DeviantArt.↩