The first installment in The Beast Player is a captivating fantasy manga that immerses readers into a richly imagined world filled with unique creatures and intricate politics. The story follows Elin, a young girl and her mother, the "Beast Doctor," who have a mysterious connection to ancient beasts known as Toda. As Elin navigates the complexities of her world, she learns more about her mother's gifts and starts to discover secrets that will  challenge her understanding of her world and identity. The political structure constructed by the author is quite interesting. Especially the relationship and use of the Toda.

Overall, the first volume is a compelling start to what I hope to be an engrossing series. I look forward to seeing Elin not only develop as a character but also as a skilled practitioner to honor the memory of her mother. If you enjoy immersive fantasy worlds and strong, relatable protagonists, then you'll enjoy this series.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the author for a digital copy of #TheBeastPlayer in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, Nahoko Uehashi (writer), and Itoe Takemoto (artist) for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of a girl who admires her mother's work as a beast doctor to aquatic serpent creatures called Toda is absolutely fascinating. The dynamic between mother and daughter is strong, and the power of family is executed so well in such a short amount of time. Elin's mom is an outsider, though, and where she comes from harbors secrets. When a large number of the captive Toda all die off, questions are asked of Elin's mother. Her secrets go deeper than her daughter can fathom.

The innocence of a ten-year-old is no match for the knowledge she holds and the special abilities she has been given through her ancestry. She doesn't realize what that means yet, but hopefully she will heed her mother's word and keep her skills a secret.

A great start to a manga featuring a young child, but with thematic elements for an older audience. This intriguing story is perfect for soft fantasy lovers and a young adult audience.

When a young woman and a mother is blamed for the death of the Toda, sacred beasts considered the Treasures of the Empire she is put to death. Her daughter Elin attempts to save her and by doing so may have brought about a calamity.

This was interesting first volume and I'm intrigued enough by the premise that I'll be reading the second one for sure. Especially since the Toda are more like Crocodiles with horns than the standard dragon in these types of stories. I enjoyed the art as well. So far we just really don't have enough information regarding the characters to judge them as of yet. So to be honest I think I have to read the next volume just to determine whether or not I'm going to enjoy them.

Overall, I'm giving this four stars simply because I don't feel like we really got enough information about the characters or the larger plot to give it five.

As always thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eArc!

I have had The Beast Player novels on my to-read list for some time now, and I was so excited to see a manga adaptation! I love the chance to read stories in different formats, and this manga does an excellent job of threading what I can tell is a complex story into its opening volume. The art style is wonderful - detailed enough to feel serious during the more mysterious or emotional moments, but with adorable character designs for the lighter moments of Elin's story.

While I can't compare it to the source text, I know I want to keep reading this series! The translation is excellent as well, with a seamless and natural feel to the English dialogue. I look forward to Vol. 2.

3.5 Stars – A good adaptation but I prefer the novels

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an ARC of “The Beast Player Volume 1” by Nahoko Uehashi and Itoe Takemoto in exchange for an honest review.

Originally serialized between October 25, 2008 and April 8, 2016, in the manga magazine Monthly Shonen Sirius, “The Beast Player” is a manga adaptation of Uehashi’s novel series of the same name.

Having previously read the manga and watched the anime—not to mention having also read Cathy Hirano’s wonderful English translations of the first two novels in the series—I’m well-acquainted with Elin’s story. And it is certainly an interesting one. Between the background plot of territories at war that use beasts to fight and the primary focus on a young girl born of a woman from a secretive tribe with the ability to control beasts, the overarching trajectory of the story is pretty obvious: somehow this girl is going to end up caught in the middle of the war between these two territories.

As mentioned in the author and translator notes at the end, the manga is a faithful adaptation of the novel rather than being an interpretation. This volume of the manga covers the first six sections of the novel (44 pages in the Square Fish paperback). The chapter and section breaks are the same; so, if one were inclined, it would be a simple thing to find the section from the manga in the novel and vice versa. I’m usually all for faithful adaptations of source material, but in this case I’m not entirely sure it’s to the text’s benefit.

Keeping as close to the novel as it does, the omissions in the manga seem all the more glaring. Without the context of the novel’s exposition, some of the transitions in the manga end up feeling rather abrupt. For example, a line in the novel that notes four days having passed is rendered as a single wordless panel of the forest at night. These little omissions results in the pace of the narrative feeling choppy at times. The manga also relies on the illustrated expressions to replace some of Elin’s internal thought processes, which works at times and falls a bit short of hitting the mark at others.

This first volume does a good job at setting up the plot. It gives a glimpse into the world tensions, establishes different groups and the significance of beasts to them, and pitches us right into the inciting incident that uproots Elin from her normal life and sweeps her away from everything she’s ever known.

Takemoto’s illustrations suit the story well for the most part, with some truly inspired panels of landscapes and spirit beasts as well as engagingly emotive character designs. The bold use of true black and white without mid-tones in some particularly horrific scenes also works great to emphasize Elin’s distress.

I did however notice some panels with an odd use of screentones that kind of made me pause and just stare in confusion, like at the bottom of page 128 where there’s this polka dot pattern overlay that’s not just on the grass but on the tree trunk and bushes too… It looks more like a mistake than a deliberate choice. Some (probably deliberate) choices in screentone used elsewhere also kind of irk me.

Aesthetic sensibilities are subjective though, so that may be more of a “me” issue. Most readers probably won’t spend too much time grumbling about screentones.

Though I do prefer the novel overall for technical narrative considerations, the way Takemoto illustrates the various beasts is a real treat!


Uehashi is well-known for her children’s literature but I do think “The Beast Player” would appeal to many older readers of fantasy as well. With her background in ethnology, Uehashi’s world-building is some of the best I’ve ever encountered in fantasy. Her worlds aren’t just tenuously populated and lacking in distinction, they’re not bland interchangeable fantasy landscapes; rather, they're well-constructed particular settings that inform the way the characters live their lives. Uehashi’s characters are products of their cultures and communities in everything from the food they eat to their mannerisms and speech. To that end, they feel real within their world. Their motivations and decisions aren’t just contrivances to move the plot along, but are logical given the context of their experiences.

Takemoto’s manga adaptation may have its shortcomings but it certainly has an excellent foundation to build from.

I would recommend this series to those who are fans of Uehashi’s “Moribito” and “The Deer King” as well as those who enjoy fantasy, the tensions of cultural taboos, coming-of-age stories, and stories that dedicate a lot of time and consideration to the interaction between humans and non-human animals.

Why is this only available as an ebook?! I would 100% buy this for my library if it were possible.

I have some familiarity with the story, and I am thrilled to see a manga edition of this come to life. I really enjoyed volume 1, and I am looking forward to further volumes in the series. Elin, as always, is absolutely adorable. Her joy and her love for her mother is inspiring. Likewise, her mother is just. I adore her. The world is fantastical (though the beekeeping equipment seems a bit modern? Minor thing to note.) and I can't wait to see it come to life. Absolutely adore this.

Thanks to the publisher and the Netgalley for letting me preview and review this story!

I haven’t read the series that this is based on but the premise sounded super interesting so I had to pick it up. I love fantasy and with this being centered around fantasy creatures like it is it’s right up my alley.

I really enjoyed this little book. I’m a huge fan of the main character. It will be interesting to see how she adapts to the changes that happened in her life over the course of the book. She’s a smart, inquisitive, precocious child and I look forward to seeing how her story develops. I’m a huge fan of the main creatures in the book. You don’t get much back story to the right now but I’m hoping that future volumes will add to their backstory/lore. I also look forward to learning more about the two main groups of people they are followed in this. You don’t get much information about them but I’m looking forward to learning more about them in the future.

Overall I highly recommend this for fans of the work that this is based off of and just fantasy readers in general.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.
Content warning: family and Animal death.

This manga is extremely touching. A mother’s love for her child ends in sacrifice. Mysterious serpents and people understand the land. But there are rules, and breaking those rules have severe consequences.
This manga follows a ten year old girl (who from what I can tell.) was born into servitude to a royal family. Since this is the first volume, not much is known, but it’s well worth the read.

I was rather shocked by the depth and heaviness of the storyline. But what really stands out to me is the artwork. The panels are done in black and white, but when the reader gets full colored portraits it’s simply stunning. It looks like it could have been done with watercolor. Just having a glance at the artwork alone makes it well worth the read. I will be looking forward to the next volume.

The Beast Player' is an alluring and graphically enamouring beginning manga. It's fast paced, easy to read and took me less than an hour to finish! Perfect if you're looking for something cozy to read <3 Folklore, mythology and most definitely a coming of age plot to come :))

The only criticism I can say is that the scenes would change without warning - there's no note or separator to indicate the next part is at a different time or place.

Thank you NetGalley and Nahoko Uehashi for the advanced reader copy 🩷

This manga was too short!! I want to read more than what I was given haha. I'm curious to see where it will go!

This manga adaptation of a fantasy novel written by the same author is about a young girl named Elin who is the daughter of a woman in charge of the care of giant serpents called Toda. One day, the Toda in the mother's care pass away all at once and she is sentenced to death. Elin is forced to flee and ruminate on her mother's last words.

The story is wonderful and the illustrations are lovely. I haven't read the novel that inspired this adaptation but I quickly added it to my to-read list. I also can't wait for the second manga volume to come out!

A strong start to the series with a very interesting premise! The storytelling is engaging and the art style is absolutely my cup of tea. Overall, the setup for the rest of the series seems solid. I would be interested in picking up the next installment to keep an eye on the series!