No frills? No worries.

The artwork for Beast Master may not be as refined as more mainstream shoujo titles, but this does not in any way detract from the manga. The characters all have their own unique look that prevents even background characters from looking generic. What lacking Beast Master has in dynamic and detailed panels, it makes up for with plenty of emotion and a sweet story. Also, at the end of the volume, Kyousuke Motomi has included one of her short stories “Fly,” which turns out to be almost as enjoyable as Beast Master. It isn’t a side story, but about two completely different characters. It leaves you wanting more, though, as good short stories tend to do. Aside from that, there’s also a very brief author bio at the end of “Fly,” but no other real extra content to the book.

There’s a wolf in the closet.

Beast Master is a wholly enjoyable, slightly fast-paced story that really isn’t like most shoujo manga. The heroine doesn’t start out and fall madly in love with the male lead, and it merely builds up from friendship to puppy love (almost literally in Leo’s case). It’s certainly not the latest epic romance ala Fushigi Yuugi and the like, but it’s enjoyable for an evening read and worth the slot in any shoujo collection. The characters are interesting and the story is very fresh, which can make up for any artistic shortcomings that pickier readers could notice. Best of all, it’s a story that can be read over and over without feeling daunted from drama-induced repetitive stress–the perfect shoujo manga for the casual reader.