is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Yū Tomofuji. It was serialized in

Hakusensha is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company mainly publishes manga magazines and is involved in series' productions in their games, original video animation, music, and their animated TV ...

's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''

Hana to Yume , also known as , is a semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha on the 5th and 20th of every month. The magazine is B5-size, and always comes with or free supplements, such as drama CDs, pencil boards (shitajiki), manga ...

'' from November 2015 to October 2020. It is licensed in North America by

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

is set to premiere in April 2023.

Plot

The King of the Beasts and Demons regularly receives female human sacrifices to eat in order to assert the dominance of his people over the human race. However, for the 99th sacrifice, the human girl brought to the capital, Sariphi, intrigues the Beast King. In fact she isn't afraid of him or any other beast and even accepts her death without begging or crying as she has neither home nor family to return to if she were released. The King finds her intriguing and let her stay at his side as his consort despite being human. This is the story of how Sariphi will become the queen of the demons and beasts.

Characters

; : :A girl sacrificed to the King of Beasts, nicknamed 'Sari' and future Queen of Beasts. ; : :King of the kingdom of Ozmargo. Born as half-breed from beast father and human mother. ; : ; : :He is Leonhart's most trusted advisor. His real name is . His design is likely based on the

Pharaoh Hound The Pharaoh Hound or is a Maltese breed of hunting dog. It is traditionally used for rabbit-hunting in the rocky terrain of the islands; the Maltese name means "rabbit dog". It is classified by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in it ...

; : :Princess of the Reptile Clan who fell in love with Jormungand. She's very shy and develops a good friendship with Sariphi. ; :Childhood friend of Sariphi and he is in love with her. ; : :Captain of the royal guard. Though he's equally shy to admit it, he returns Princess Amit's feelings. Near they end he openly admits he wanted children with her, to which they both blushed. ; : :A

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. Sariphi's own Holy Beast. ; : :The Queen's hyena personal guard. He's also called Lante. ; ; :Leonhart's Holy Beast. ; :She is the princess of Sarbul. She is the daughter of King Teto and Queen Calra. She had three eldest sisters and younger brother named Calcara. ; : ; ; :His real name is . ;Ocelot ; ;Richard :Son of Sariphi and Leonhart. A very rambunctious and energetic, he switches from human to beast form randomly. He enjoys training with Lante and wants to be as strong as his father. ; ;

Media

Manga

The manga started serialization in

's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''

'' on November 5, 2015, and it ended on October 20, 2020. The manga was part of the initial lineup in Hakusensha's online shop selling series-themed goods.

announced that they had licensed the manga at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

2017, releasing the first volume in May 2018. The manga is also licensed in Germany by

Carlsen Verlag Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier. The branch was founded on 25 April 1953 in Hamburg. The publisher's program focuses on books for children, i.e. ...

. A special edition of the sixth volume of the manga contained a CD of an

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

adaptation of the series. A spin-off manga began serialization in ''Hana to Yume'' on August 20, 2022.

Volume list

=''Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts''

=''The White Rabbit and the Beast Prince''

Anime

television series adaptation was announced in the fourth issue of ''Hana to Yume'' on January 20, 2021. The series is produced by

and directed by

Chiaki Kon is a Japanese anime director. She started her career in 1998 after joining Pierrot. Biography Chiaki Kon was born in September 29, at Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As a child, she used to watch and fan of Toei Animation's anime adaptation works, su ...

, with scripts written by Seishi Minakami, character designs handled by Shinya Hasegawa, and music composed by

Kohta Yamamoto is a Japanese composer, arranger and lyricist. He has provided the music for several anime series, as well as television dramas and video games. His works include the scores for '' Attack on Titan: The Final Season'' and '' 86''—with the lat ...

. It is set to premiere on April 20, 2023, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

and BS11. The opening theme song is by BIN, while the ending theme song is "Only" by

Garnidelia (stylized as GARNiDELiA) is a Japanese pop rock duo, consisting of singer Mai Mizuhashi, better known by her stage name MARiA and Vocaloid record producer , better known by his stage name toku. History The duo first collaborated on the song "Col ...

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

has licensed the series.

Reception

Rebecca Silverman from

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

said that "''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' is alive and well in ''Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts'' – it's almost a by-the-book retelling of the classic fairy tale. That's definitely part of the appeal of this initial volume, because the Beauty of folklore isn't always as spunky as she could be, often winning over the Beast with her gentle ways and calm demeanor." Richard Gutierrez of The Fandom Post saw the story as more than a retelling, saying that the author "has sincerely crafted a narrative which engenders the reader on many fronts", complimenting the pair's relationship and its innocence. Sean Gaffney of Manga Bookshelf noted that the manga has nostalgic scenes that reference other series, liking the characterization of the characters and especially the protagonist, but was wary of her young age.

References

External links

* at ''Hana to Yume'' * * {{J.C.Staff 2023 anime television series debuts Anime series based on manga Crunchyroll anime Fantasy anime and manga Hakusensha manga J.C.Staff Romance anime and manga Shōjo manga Upcoming anime television series Works based on Beauty and the Beast Yen Press titles