For many of those who love monster romance, everything started with Beauty and the Beast, and its tale of a beastly being taking a human girl hostage in his grand manor. Despite everything, you could see he had layers, like an onion. Layers that you wanted to rip apart to see what was inside. And then, once he fell in love with the human girl and wanted to be more, he wanted to be able to give her what she deserved. Isn’t that beautiful? In this list, you’ll find five monster romance manga and manhwa that will make you fall in love with beings you never expected to.
Most of the time, when you encounter a monster in a story, they are the bad guy. They tend to be shoved into a box of “not possible to be the hero,” but if you encounter a monster in a monster romance, the monsters are center stage. They are the protagonists of their own stories, and you get to peel back those onion layers that hide so much about them, like their goals, their dreams, and their history. They happen to be complex creatures that people have been misunderstanding for centuries, and the story becomes so much more.
The monsters in the romance manga and manhwa below are beings with dreams. Most of them, if not all, are beings that are too scared to fall in love, fearing that the other person will reject them because of their monstrous appearance. These stories are also about people who can’t help but love them as much as they can.
Monster and the Beast by renji
When a lonely monster saves a middle-aged gentleman, their lives quickly merge. But with secrets and things left unsaid, it gets harder and harder to hope for a future between them. They’ll have to figure things out first before they take that next step!
Think of Beauty and the Beast, but the beauty is a “hideous” monster, and the beast is a mysterious man with too many secrets.
The Sacred Serpent’s Seduction by Dagom
Snakes freak me out in real life, but when it comes to this snake monster, I can’t help but cheer him on. In The Sacred Serpent’s Seduction, Taesun is working multiple jobs to pay his grandfather’s hospital debt. One of those jobs takes him to a mountain where he encounters a dying serpent looking for water. Taesun saves it, not knowing that it’s actually the mountain’s god.
When the divine being appears to Taesun one night, he proposes an exchange: Taesun would bear the serpent’s child, and the god would save his grandfather’s life.
Equal parts adorable, emotional, and smutty, this manhwa is a required read for every monster lover fan.
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The Invisible Man and His Soon-To-Be Wife by Iwatobineko
If I’m talking about monsters, I have to mention the invisible man, right? Mysterious, stealthy, and often overlooked, this invisible man is ready to fall in love!
This romance manga follows a blind woman named Yakou who works at a detective agency alongside her boss, Tounome, who happens to be an invisible man.
Kaiju Girl Caramelise by Spica Aoki
Kaiju Girl Caramelise tells the story of high school loner Kuroe Akaishi, who turns into a kaiju—a giant monster like Godzilla—every time she feels any type of love or heart-warming emotion. When the popular guy at her school, Arata Minami, starts spending more and more time with her, her transformation soon threatens her peaceful life and her hopefully-maybe new love…?
If you also love anime adaptations as well, heads up! The anime adaptation of Kaiju Girl Caramelise is currently streaming weekly on Crunchyroll and will have 12 episodes in total.
Love of Cloud and Rain by Okdong and MOSCARETO
Love of Cloud and Rain is a fantasy BL romance manhwa that can easily turn into your favorite read.
When Jung finds a tiny lizard appearing to be on his deathbed, he takes him to his vet clinic. There, he magically awakens a being after passing along his “life essence.” The lizard turns out to be the arrogant Dragon King’s son, and he just offered Jung to lie with him as thanks.
Looking for more romance manga featuring creatures and magic? Check out these paranormal romance manga you’ll quickly fall in love with.
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