There’s a new adaptation of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast and this time it looks quite different. Belle was born with violet hair, making her different from anyone else. She goes out into the woods to look for a red rose, the only flower that will match her hair. Her mother follows her, trying to stop her as the beast wonders the woods. The beat hunts and kills people, removing their faces. The beast finds Belle and her mother sacrifices herself to save Belle. 5 years later, Belle goes back out into the woods to find the truth to what actually happened and discovers that there is more to the truth than she could possibly imagine.

This is a dark take on the fairy tale, with some horrific elements. There are moments that edge this closer to a horror story. When Belle eventually gets to the Beast’s castle, she finds herself locked in a room full of Idoles, the faceless people that have been left to die. One they die, eyes and mouths grow in the void on the head, where their face should be, and they hunt the living. It’s a creepy scene and the artwork is great, the faceless people look demented.

The story is really interesting and I did find myself wanting to know more and not wanting to put the book down. It has enough of the story we all know to feel familiar but enough new stuff to keep it interesting. I have a feeling it’s only going to get better as it goes on. It’s full of imagination in the best way possible.

The story does feel a little rushed at the beginning. When Belle gets back to town it’s a lot to take in, it would have been nicer to spend a little more time with the plot being set up. It’s a quick paced manga throughout the first volume and one it finds its pace in chapter two it does settle in quite nicely. Sadly, there are a couple of bits where it isn’t 100% clear what’s going on and you just have to continue and piece it together. I find that to be a common problem with some comics and manga and it’s not that big of a deal here, but it’s worth mentioning that some of the panels don’t flow into each other very well.

Some of the dialogue is laughable. When Belle’s father finds out his wife is dead, he shouts at Belle that it’s her fault and ‘it’s because you’re so ugly’. He calls her ugly and vile at all times and plot wise it makes sense, but I still found it funny when reading it from time to time.

I did enjoy this book and I will keep an eye out for volume 2 when it comes out. I like interesting adaptations of fairy tales and that is exactly what this is.

Different more beauty and beast nothing to do with paradise lost. It gets better after the plot warms up a bit. Illustrations are nice.

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 1 by Kaori Yuki

This is totally different than Disney story we know of Beauty and the Beast. It was intriguing and more so when Belle is different or rather her hair color distinguishes her because of which she has had a restricted childhood, staying hidden, being called ugly.

She finds herself in woods wanting answers to her mother's death and meets the beast (Prince Cyril), though it doesn't indicate anything romantic between them, this different plot has me looking out for more.

This is something new and has darkness to it but in a good way. The sketches are pretty good and flow easily which makes understanding quicker. It has a gothic touch to it and being my first manga, I can't wait for more in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for giving me a chance to read this.

ARC Copy...oh yes I very much categorize this as a dark fairy-tale retelling of prominently "Beauty and the Beast" combined with "Red Riding Hood". Promising and intriguing start to the series so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to review this story.

The story revolves around a young girl named Belle, she is adventurous, mischievous, and bright. Yet one thing sets her apart from others in her hometown, which is her mysterious hair color. Her pale violet hair doesn’t match that of her father nor her mother and is essentially the center of all her problems.

One day as Belle and her mother are collecting flowers in a dangerous part of the forest, a woman runs into them pleading for help. A beast that is known for stealing women’s faces has appeared and she is in danger. In brief, Belle’s mother sacrifices herself to save her only daughter. You might think that this is heartwarming, an act of self-sacrifice that demonstrates the tremendous amount of love a mother has for her daughter. Funnily enough, it’s what leads Belle’s father to essentially abuse her, placing the blame on his daughter for the death of his beloved wife. The story kicks off from there, exploring themes of abuse, self-esteem, freedom, and fantastical elements.

This volume had a lot of potential, especially regarding how dark and twisted it became, but ultimately fell flat for me. I’m not entirely sure if it’s the translation or the original writing itself, but the writing felt somewhat juvenile. The writing style didn’t match up with the tone of the story, considering how dark it could get with the manipulation and abuse Belle suffered at the hands of her father. At times the writing felt like it was making an attempt to be witty, but the execution of it was poorly done.

As for the character of Belle, I can understand Belle’s desire to hold onto the belief that perhaps her father was trying to protect her all this time. Yet when he charges after her with an ax, proclaiming that he will never allow her to experience any form of happiness and that she will grow into “a lonely old hag, full of regrets and waiting to die”, I’d assume Belle would realize the severity of the situation. It was infuriating to read Belle try to redeem her father when she was with the beast, by recounting a time when he bought a bonnet for her. Perhaps it’s just a personal preference, but I have never enjoyed when characters are essentially abused but choose to continue protecting their abuser. It does not make the character morally superior or kindhearted, it just makes them into someone that tolerates abuse.

Setting aside how frustrating Belle’s character could be, the overall pacing of this first volume was too fast. This first volume could have easily ended at the part where Belle first wakes up in the castle. Instead, the reader is thrown into a slew of chaos and no strong foundation is truly built for the later volumes to come. Rather it's as if the gas pedal has been permanently pushed down, so you better strap in.

Overall this volume had a lot of potential to take a beloved classic and twist it into something much more sinister but unfortunately failed to do so.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me an eCopy of Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost vol. 1 in exchange for an honest review.

Like many others, the tale of the beauty and the beast intrigued me since I was very young. Mainly because of that enormous library, Belle's amazing dresses, the whole aesthetics of the castle and of course the magic behind fated lovers.

The plot of Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost vol. 1 is nothing like the Disney story that we all know and love. But that's what makes the whole experience of reading this manga so thrilling. This story is fresh, it's new and it's dark. It's dark but not in the way that you'd expect. There's no Stockholm syndrome (at least not involving Belle and the Beast, he never forces her to stay with him). But the story is still dark.

Belle's life hasn't been easy. She was born different. She has strange colored hair and weird rose birthmarks on her skin. All of her life she's been told that she's ugly, that she should stay hidden. She has witnessed her mother's death when she was young. Her father keeps her locked away at home while he's out spending all the money that she's earned.
Belle still thinks that her father is a good man, Belle still loves him.

Nevertheless, she finds herself in the woods. That's when she meets him, the Beast. But he's not the scariest creature that she has to encounter in the story.

I didn't sense any romantic sparks between Belle and Prince Cyril (the Beast). And honestly, I think that Belle is annoying. She definitely isn't the smart Belle that we are used to. Despite that, the plot is still intriguing. I'm anxious to find out what will happen next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Beauty and the Beast with some gore and gothic dynamics. It was dark with a crazy plot and characters, let's be honest about that, I don't know what inspires Kaori Yuki for her stories like Angel Sanctuary. This is not your usual shojo cute romantic Beauty and the Beast kind of retelling, nope this is a complete horror kind of retelling with more insane and disturbing other things about beauty and appearences. It's darkly odd and I'm not sure how to feel about this book right now, I'm confused because I would read any retelling of B&B because it's my favorite tale but this one was very....strange.

(ARC received in exchange for honest review at www.netgalley.com)

‘Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost Vol 1’ (the first and last time I’m typing that monstrosity of a title out) wasn’t what I expected it to be. That’s primarily because I’m an idiot, of course, and inexplicably failed to realise that this was a manga. However, fear not - I have varied tastes. Written and inked by Kaori Yuki, a rather famous Japanese manga artist who you may recognise from her work on ‘Alice in Murderland’, has again taken one of our favourite childhood stories and tainted it - for the better. We follow our young protagonist, Belle, as she wanders the forest, picking roses and chatting to her mother, or Maman, as she prefers. Naturally, a passer-by is she then eviscerated by a grotesque monster, Maman appears to have her face torn off and poor old Belle gets locked in her house for the rest of time by her insane father, who blames her for her mother’s death. Charming, right? Of course, things get interesting when said monster reappears in town years later, and Belle escapes her cage to discover what really happened to her mother - but will what she finds save her or destroy her?

So, as I mentioned, right off the bat, I hadn’t the foggiest what I was sitting down to read. I’d spotted the gorgeous cover art and really hadn’t thought too much more about it. Now, usually I’m rather more selective about what I read, but this turned out to be for the best. By going in with no expectations, Yuki pleasantly surprised me with just how inventive her subversion of expectations was, given the obvious implications of the title, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Make no mistake, this is no Disney story. Yuki’s art is brutal and disturbing, and suffering is a constant from beginning to end. The abuse Belle endures at her father’s hand is heartbreaking, and that shocked me, because I’ve rarely known manga to be so evocative. Naturally, Belle herself is largely a composite of manga tropes, her personality heavily leaning ‘tsundere’ if I were to label. However, Yuki’s decision to use Belle’s abuse and shape her personality around it is really fascinating to read; she’s visibly damaged and haunted by her father’s words and actions. As a result, she wears her bangs over her face and hides away from the world, believing that nobody could ever love her, and when we see her meet the Beast, her emotional scars become even more pronounced. For example, her early interactions with the Beast (his real name’s Cyril. Like, for real.) are prime examples of her fear of others, her inability to express herself acting as a barrier to genuine conversation. It isn’t until the closing pages we see Belle cast off the chains, both physical and metaphorical, that have bound her for so many years, and that gradual character progression is very much appreciated, adding depth to all the despair and misery on offer. Equally, it helps that the Beast himself is wonderful to behold, his pages usually some of the most interesting. Yuki mixes horror and humour to great effect and never wallows for too long, striking a great tonal balance that compels the reader onwards, the story forever moving at a comfortable pace. Truly, she never feels like she moves either too fast or too slow, and consequently her work is a delight to read.

As far as issues go, there really isn’t too much to pick at. In terms of audience, it’s fair to say that you’re probably going to need some level of interest in manga to enjoy this. Like all manga, it’s just not something deeply ingrained in Western culture, and I’m sure the thought of reading right to left alone will be enough to put some off. That being said, it absolutely shouldn’t, because by doing so you’d miss some really great writing here, and the way Yuki utilises her art alone is worth the price of admission. Her work on Cyril The Beast is probably her biggest triumph here, at varying moments terrifying, regal and even attractive. The vividity with which she realises brutality is equally remarkable, and some of her more warped creations have a decidedly Junji Ito-esque quality to them. Unfortunately, her art was also an area I struggled with, to an extent. While unquestionably detailed, it can feel like she overextends occasionally, her illustration thus obscuring the story. Alas, on more than a few pages, her intricacy resulted in lost meaning, with a few panels so complex that I couldn’t entirely figure out what was actually happening. Though the general structure of the plot meant that I never became lost because of this, it’s still worth noting, if only because it slightly detracts from what’s otherwise an amazing piece of work.

To conclude, Kaori Yuki really impresses with ‘Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost Vol 1’ (I copy/pasted, I didn’t lie), lending a new lease of life to an old tale and taking it off in a new and sinister direction. Whilst occasionally she overreaches artistically and produces some confusing panels as a result, the quality of her work more or less compensated. Some of her creations are magnificently creative, uncanny blends of folktale, mythology and bone-chilling horror, and it works because of the tone she sets right from those opening pages. I highly recommend this to those that enjoyed A. C. Wise’s Wendy, Darling, because the two works are very similar in terms of tone, albeit in a different format. Regardless, the strength of Yuki’s writing alone makes this an easy book to endorse, so give it a chance - if not for me, then for Cyril.

This was fun. I can't speak to how much it does or does not conform to the original folklore but it does deal more with fey and shapeshifting than the versions I'm used to. I enjoyed it, art was solid. Will purchase.

Interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast. Belle is a girl badly abused by her father for getting her mother killed and for not being his daughter in the first place, as evidenced by her purple hair. He keeps her locked up and tells her she’s too ugly to love.

When the beast that killed her mother returns to the village, she finally leaves her prison to confront him. He’s drawn to her strenght and takes her with him to his castle. The place is filled with servants cursed along him to look like animals. But instead of trying to make her fall in love with the beast to break the curse, they try to kill her and make her leave. Because there’s already been Belle in the castle, and they don’t want her replaced. The first volume ends with the beast making Belle his servant.

I liked this for the most part. Drawing style was nice and the story was easy to follow. I didn’t much like Belle, however, for being so easily persuaded with a little niceness. But she was determined to learn what happened to her mother, and I hope she finds it out.

There wasn’t any romance building between Belle and the beast in this first volume, though he was intrigued by her. And he was an interesting character, much more so than the Beast usually is. There’s an additional storyline too, about the witch that cursed the beast. I look forward to reading more about her and her collection of beautiful faces.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, Volume 1 is Kaori Yuki's latest series, and it is an absolute must-read for any manga fan. I have read all of Kaori Yuki's manga, and I am a huge fan of her work. Fairy Cube is one of my all-time favorite series. Thank you again to the publisher for the opportunity to support this author/artist!

The story is a brand-new take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, but it is done in Kaori Yuki's standard dark gothic style. Beauty and Beast retellings are very on-trend in the Young Adult and Adult Fantasy book worlds right now, and I can see readers who are fans of Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses or Raven Kennedy's Gild series enjoying this book.

The plot revolves around Belle, whose mother is taken by the Beast of the woods. Her corpse is returned later, and her heartbroken father decides that he needs to keep Belle inside his house at all times to protect her. 5 years pass, and Belle wants to know the truth about her mother's death. She decides to confront the Beast who took her mother. Will she find the answers that she seeks? Or will she find a lot more than what she expected?

Overall, Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost is an amazing gothic fantasy manga, and it is just as good as Kaori Yuki's previous manga. I enjoyed reading it so much, and I will definitely be looking for the next volumes of the series when they come out. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you're a fan of manga in general, you won't regret checking out this book, which is available in bookstores now!