Creator: Toy(e)
Writer & Artist: Nykken
Editor: Louis Yamani:
Designer: David Colderley
Translator: Cynthia Caraturo
Letterer: Tom Williams
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $12.99
Release Date: April 23, 2025
Kazuki Kisaragi is a psychologist. He has seen media coverage of Super Beasts arriving amid the fog on Kibitsujima. These mountain-size monsters appear and vanish. Each appearance brings destruction and death. An organization formed by the government to rescue the islanders requested his aid.
Kazuki doesn't know what to expect. Nor does Kazuki understand how he can help. Still, the psychologist has sailed five hundred miles from the mainland. What will he find when he arrives? And can Kazuki help the government protect those endangered by these mysterious monsters? Let's grab our gas masks, leap into Toxic Super Beasts Vol 1, and find out!
Story
Sumire Hasegawa meets Kazuki when he disembarks his ship at Kibitsujima. The Security Division Supervisor drives him to The Ward Office headquarters. Sumire tells him that their primary role is protecting citizens and rebuilding. Kazuki is stunned by the devastation. He also wonders how Sumire can carry a gun so casually. Then, buildings crumble before his eyes. When they reach headquarters, Kazuki watches soldiers load ammunition onto vehicles and pull out of the converted school.
In Toxic Super Beasts Vol 1, Kazuki Kisaragi observes those in the control room send people to their deaths. He hears Tomohiko Munehiro state that casualties are inevitable. Kazuki has worked hard to become the youngest researcher at the Center for Humanities and Science's Criminal Psychology lab. He never expected to work for the military. Despite The Ward Office's Security Department Chief's apparent coldness, Kazuki recognizes that Tomohiko calmly orchestrates efforts to take down a Super Beast. Then, he discovers the woman Tomohiko calls a witch.
Miko Mikoshiba is an exceptional Section Four Agent. She fearlessly attacks Keibaku, the Super Beast named for "constraint." Miko demonstrates astounding battlefield prowess. Yet, as Kazuki discovers, there is a reason she is so capable. Miko dislikes being called a witch. Yet, she interacts with others awkwardly. Tomohiko declares that Kazuki will be the Section Chief for Security Section 4.
In Toxic Super Beasts Vol 1, Kazuki's first responsibility is to be Miko's handler. He discovers why the exceptional soldier has trouble getting along with others. Then, Kazuki learns how The Ward Office controls the living weapon.
Art
As Kazuki sails to Kibitsujima, he remembers seeing soldiers directing crowds of people. The roaring kaiju dwarfs the people and tanks. These Super Beasts come in different shapes and sizes. Some resemble giant humans with shark heads. Others evoke dragons of myth and legend. One thing is clear as Kazuki rides through the deserted streets with Sumire. The remaining skyscrapers and tower blocks that fill the abandoned city seem only fit for demolition in Toxic Super Beasts Vol 1.
While Kazuki and Sumire show their youth and amiability, Tomohiko is better suited to directing the people in his control room than smiling. Those who wear headphones, relay field reports, and direct the war reveal their fright and concern for the endangered. The soldiers cover their features with helmets, goggles, and gas masks. Instead of riding in tanks, they race around the kaiju’s giant feet in nimble dune buggies. But whether on foot or inside a vehicle, the soldiers fall before Keibaku, the giant horned mammalian beast with fearsome jaws and spines jutting from his spine.
Kazuki’s thoughts and the characters’ dialogue are easy to read, thanks to Cynthia Caraturo’s translation and Tom Williams's lettering. As Kazuki discovers different types of kaiju, Nykken provides dossiers assessing the danger the Super Beasts represent to humanity. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
When the Super Beasts spark a war with humanity, some scientists view them as an opportunity. With civilization under threat in Toxic Super Beasts Vol 1, psychologist Kazuki Kisaragi vows to defeat the Super Beasts while protecting us from ourselves.
Rating 9.8/10
