Yuiko Kubozuka has a problem.  His name is Leo Aoi.  He's sweet, funny, strong, loyal to a fault, and perhaps a little gullible.  That, and when he smiles he's only the most handsome guy ever.  So what if he's had a very complicated childhood, traveling all over the world.  The problem is simple.  Everyone thinks he's an insane bloodthirsty hooligan who will literally kill them all.  Some days she can't imagine why they would think a silly thing like that?  After all, he only looks exactly like an insane bloodthirsty hooligan when he's… not … smiling.  Unfortunately for Yuiko, he only seems to smile when talking to her.  How can she tame the beast?

Highlights

Leo Aoi lost everything, from his mother to illness when he was young, his father wandering somewhere out there in the wilderness, and finally his humanity when a leopard tried to eat him.  He is covered in scars and has never interacted with people his own age, much less attended school.  On top of that, punks keep picking fights with him because of the look on his face.  Every time he sees blood he goes berserk, fighting until no one is left standing or he himself is knocked unconscious.  He only has one friend (more like a commando-butler) he trusts and Yuiko.  Somehow these two must help him survive highschool.  Yiuko really has her work cut out for her.

Yuiko, by comparison, has led a fairly normal life, surrounded by friends in a normal school in Japan. The only problem is that she wants a pet.  However, no animal in its right mind could ever put up with Yuiko!  Her version of a gentle caress would make Sumo wrestlers tremble, and her enthusiasm has small kittens trying to claw their way free in seconds!  How does Leo do it, befriending any animal he meets?  Why does everyone consider Leo her pet?  Can't they see that he's a guy, and as human as they are?

The only person who seems to believe in Yuiko and Leo is the local head of the gang.  With his help, Yuiko is slowly introducing Leo to such things as normal conversation, normal food, and normal friends.  Will the ill intentions of their classmates cause Leo to permanently revert and kill someone, or will his good nature and Yuiko's love be enough to make it through the entire year without carnage?  And who is his zany caretaker really?  And why in heck was Leo in Africa being attacked by leopards?

Overall

The art of Motomi-san is at times both lyrical and hilarious, as Leo goes from Jekyll to Hyde when threatened.  Yuiko is truly just as scary as he is — particularly from some poor animal's point of view! The story flows sweetly, and the characters are deeply engaging, while still being larger than life.  No one is perfect, and the villains of chapter 1 come back in chapters 3 or 4 as friends and have complicated troubles of their own.  Everyone has the problem of judging by first impression.  Which definitely puts poor Leo at a disadvantage!  Moral for today's lesson:  Learn to look beneath the surface and carry a tranquilizer gun for your friends.  They're probably not going to need it.  But, you never really can tell…

I fell absolutely in love with this little book and can't wait until the second volume comes out in America!  Until then, I'm going to try not to picture Leo in my highschool.  I'm afraid of just how well he'd fit in.

ComicsOnline gives Beast Master: Volume 1, 5 out of 5 kittens