I do not typically enjoy stories involving Stockholm syndrome, or stories involving kidnapping and captivity. Just watching the scenes of torture and imprisonment in the film V for Vendetta, for example, sends my mind spiraling if I think too deeply about it. So it’s a bit surprising I decided to give the manga Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts a try. The premise of this story is Stockholm syndrome 101.
This manga reminds me of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, which I’ve mostly avoided for this very same reason. Of course, neither The Ancient Magus’ Bride nor Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is in any way like a film like V for Vendetta. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is a shōjo manga, meant for young girls. It’s meant to be fantastical and romantic, and my younger, more starry-eyed self may have enjoyed this story more, unlike my present-day, grow-up, cynical self.
I mean, weren’t we all enamored by the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast when we were kids? Weren’t we all a little disappointed when the Beast transformed back into a human? There’s something strangely appealing about stories about falling in love with a monster. It’s in our mythology, it’s in our fairy tales, and it’s in our pop culture. And even as a pessimistic adult, I find these stories, like The Shape of the Water, appealing.
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji is a fantastical, romantic, girl-falls-in-love-with-beast sort of story. It’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, but in a slightly different setting. In a world divided into beasts and humans—not unlike Monstress written by Marjorie Liu and drawn by Sana Takeda—the King of Beasts demands an annual sacrifice, to keep the peace, or so everyone is told.
Sariphi, or Sari for short, is this year’s sacrifice, but since she’s realized she has no home to return to—has never really had a home or loving family—she’s resigned to her fate. The King of Beasts takes her in, keeping her in his room for much of this first volume, a lot like a pet. He insists she must stay there, in order for him to keep her safe. But Sari eventually breaks out of her confinement and explores, leading to a number of consequences, including discovering the truth behind the sacrificial ritual she was supposed to partake in.
Regardless of my skepticism regarding whether the plot of Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is worth telling, I will admit, the thing that drew me most to this manga was the cover. Doe-eyed girl being scooped up by the ginormous paw of a lion-like beast, colored in such a way that reminds me of a water-color painting—what’s not to love about such a cover? And there should be nothing wrong with this kind of a judgement. Unlike novels, where you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover—even though we all do—half of what makes a comic book good is the art. And the art inside Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is a lot like the cover. Tomofuji’s drawings hearken back to the shōjo manga I read when I was young.
Tomofuji’s little notes written in the margins reminded me of why I loved Fruits Basket so much. Fruits Basket—it wasn’t just about the story and the art, but also about the creator behind the story and art. This personal touch adds something to manga that I can’t entirely explain, but that I love.
And this is what brought me back to myself and reminded me to judge Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts for what it is: a light, romantic manga. It’s meant to be entertaining and fluffy. It’s meant to stir within the reader feelings of compassion. And it’s meant to make the reader want to ship the King of Beasts and Sari, which I most certainly did, regardless of my mind screaming that I shouldn’t.
Overall, if you read the story that way, it succeeds. It entertained me and reminded me of why I like to read shōjo manga: I like to read shōjo manga for the fun of it.
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is now available in English from Yen Press.
Story: 3 out of 5 stars
Art: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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[coffee]
