Monster Lovers: A Selection of Queer Manga

Who has not heard of the term monster romance? If you were to take a look into the romance section at your local bookstore nowadays, you’d be surprised by how creative people can get with their own imaginations.

Vampires, werewolves, even some ghouls—the pretty standard monsters that feature in these fantasies are often incorporated into manga as well.

But what about the rest? What if you were looking for something a bit more…non-traditional? Then we have four titles for your enjoyment, one of which is also getting an anime adaptation this fall! And the best part? They are all queer reads!

This Monster Wants to Eat Me

By Sai Naekawa

Hinako, a high school student with a dark past, lives alone in a town by the sea. Haunted by a constant sensation of drowning, she can barely go through the motions of her tedious life…until the day a monster tries to eat her! After passing out in the struggle, she awakens to find she’s been rescued by a beautiful mermaid. However, salvation comes at a cost—the mermaid’s protection will last only until Hinako has matured into the perfect meal! Hinako’s first instinct isn’t to run or scream, though, and an unlikely relationship between monster and prey unfolds… “I’ve come to devour you."

Nothing screams romance like being devoured by the one you love the most. This Monster Wants to Eat Me will make its big anime debut this season, but we want to encourage you to read ahead to prepare yourself for what is to come. At the center of this Girls Love manga is a duo of a monster and a human, brought together by the despairing last wish of the latter. In all, it is a slow burn that will first make you fear the monster, then deeply fall in love with her as the story progresses and she truly gets to cherish her bond with Hinako. And for those who are wondering, Why is a mermaid being included in this non-traditional list? Shiori’s monster form is closer to a sea snake than your typical mermaid, and we can’t wait to see it animated.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Vols. 1-4 available now!

Common-Sense Monster

Story by Warugi Wanai, Art by Shinobu Shinotsuki

Itou just wants to make friends, but she’s a socially awkward girl who gets called a monster behind her back. If only she were more like Takahashi! That girl is totally ordinary, gets along with everyone, and…eats people?! In a gruesome turn of events, Itou discovers that her classmate Takahashi is actually a monster who’s learned to blend in perfectly with humans. Starstruck, Itou asks to be friends, and Takahashi starts teaching her how to act normal. But what does it really mean to be “normal”? And what is Takahashi truly after…?!

Maybe you have already read This Monster Wants to Eat Me and are still looking for more scrumptious Girls Love manga to devour this fall. Common-Sense Monster is the answer to your woes: An awkward girl gets enamored with her female classmate who then turns out to be a gigantic parasitic worm. This worm’s next meal? Of course, our shy heroine Itou. Mixing the supernatural and classroom intrigue (just who is the supposedly dead professor?), this is not your traditional Girls Love story—making it perfect for the spooky season ahead.

Common-Sense Monster, Vol. 1 available now!

Monster and the Beast

By Renji

Solitary Cavo is a hideous monster with a pure heart. Liam, on the other hand, might look like a gentleman, but he's a beast on the inside, warped personality and all. When Liam ends up in an unfortunate situation in the haunted woods Cavo calls home, it's the monster to the rescue! After the close call, Liam extends a more-than-friendly hand to Cavo and leads the innocent monster out of the woods...and astray?!

One of my favorite Boys Love series, and for select reasons that might be deciding factors for most: age-gap romance, older male protagonist (and we are talking about 40–50 here), and a towering monster with a sculpted body. What is there not to love about Monster and the Beast? Better yet, this is a role reversal story, because the real wolf in sheep’s clothing is Liam, the older gentleman! Sweet, sexy, and at times a tearjerker—a fan favorite among monster lovers.

The complete series of Monster and the Beast is available now!

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju

By Kazuki Minamoto

Bullied for being gay, teenager Takashi Arashiro wishes he could just be somebody else-but who could predict he’d morph into a giant-headed sci-fi creature?! Takashi’s tumultuous emotions become the catalyst for personal and social exploration of the LGBTQ experience in this quirky, profound manga from prolific BL author Kazuki Minamoto.

Throwing a bit of a curveball here, but The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is a fresh take on queer manga featuring a non-human lead. First, you have a kaiju as a protagonist (Godzilla, anyone?). Second, the romance is not the focus of this story; instead, it’s all about the struggle of the self—the queer self. The giant kaiju head that spawns on top of Takashi is but a tragic metaphor for how inhuman he feels in his own body, or rather how inhuman his peers make him feel just because he is of a different sexual orientation. Unsettling and bittersweet at times, The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is recommended to those who are into magical realism but like to have their feet grounded in real-life issues.

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is available now!

It is the spookiest month of all, so why not seek some thrills with these monster-lover recommendations? Dive into uncharted waters, and make sure you don’t drown—Shiori might not be willing to rescue a poor soul who isn’t Hinako!