Toujuushi, Bestiarius
(闘獣士, ベスティアリウス)
Manga-ka: Kakizaki Masasumi
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Historical, Shounen, Tragedy
A.D 70, the Roman Empire had nearly overtaken all human civilisation. The imperial empire soon ventured across the lands of the orcs and Albion, the land of Wyverns. As one Roman soldier is defeated by a great Wyvern, his encounter with the being changes the life of his son forever.
Published by Shogakukan in Shonen Sunday, 2011. Split into part 1 & part 2.
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Okay, making up for last weekend’s one-shot post. I didn’t really know what to expect when I began reading this one-shot. This was totally out of my range I mean, yes, it is shounen manga but it’s art was also very different since its sort of old school and seinen-y(lol) with that impeccable eye for detail (maybe like manga like Berserk?).
Anyway, this was a very nice read. You’ll probably know where the story will head but it reads a bit like an epic piece (I mean the term ‘epic’ as oppose to meaning ‘mindblowingly awesome’ that’s used colloquially). It sort of follows the epic hero plotline which is why it may feel so familiar. 
What I really liked about it was the clever of marriage between history and old folkloric fantasy which made it seem so real. It can almost convince you that Wyverns do exist and they were just slaughtered to extinction by the Romans. It reminds me of stories like King Arthur or Gawain and the Green Knight for example. This one-shot promises a bit of adventure and is very heart-warming as we see a human and intelligent being share an incredibly close bond that one might only imagine between a father and son.
Rating: 3.9/5
manga weekend 