Manga Review | Beauty and the Beast of the Lost Paradise Volume 1

There are whispers of a beast in the wood who kidnaps pretty girls. However, Belle doesn’t heed these warnings and ventures into the woods to pick flowers. There she encounters the beast, and her mother sacrifices herself to save her.

Ever since that day, both Belle and her father blame her for her mother’s disappearance, and as punishment, he keeps her locked away.

However, Belle is convinced that her mother is still alive and she’s determined to bring her back.

In Beauty and the Beast of the Lost Paradise Volume 1, Kaori Yuki introduces a gorgeously dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast. You may know Yuki as the mangaka of Angel Sanctuary and the queen of gothic manga herself, and her latest manga certainly delivers in the gothic department.

It really amps the magic and the horror factor with all sorts of fantastical characters and monsters. For instance, there is a Cogsworth-like character who can control time at the Beast’s castle. There’s also the Idoles—faceless corpses who try and steal the faces of the living—who are wonderfully creepy.

Not to mention, the artwork itself since the art style is so hauntingly beautiful, and I initially picked this manga up because its cover reminded me of a good old-fashioned pulpy horror novel.

However, my biggest issue with the story so far is its break-neck pacing. It’s filled with a lot of twists and turns right out of the gate, and I feel like some of the reveals would have had a greater emotional impact if the story had taken a moment to breath.

All and all, Beauty and the Beast of the Lost Paradise presents an enchantingly gothic spin on an old fairytale. I just hope that the story remembers to hit the brakes every once in a while.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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