Holiday Review #11: THE TITAN'S BRIDE

BL manga also continued to thrive, and you could only imagine my surprise when THIS got licensed.

THE TITAN'S BRIDE (Kyojinzoku no Hanayome), by ITKZ.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

Koichi Mizuki was just enjoying some quality time to himself in his bedroom, but without warning he found himself transported to a world of giants.  It turns out that Caius, the prince of this realm, brought him here as his prophesied bride.  Caius is charmed by Mizuki and eager at every turn to savor his body, even if Mizuki isn't entirely convinced at first.  Alas, an accidental poisoning and a dangerous journey will put their nascent relationship to the test.

STORY:

I'm surprised that it's taken until now to start seeing some manga that combined BL and isekai (and this won't be the last one I cover this month).  That being said, the isekai elements here are like everything else in this story: an excuse for more smut.

This is not a story you read for compelling characters or intricate plots.  Caius is much more positive and gentle than your usual seme, while Mizuki makes the usual uke protestations about Not Being Gay and making a token resistance to Caius's attentions.  Admittedly, he has more reasons than most to be freaked out.  After all, he did get transported to a fantasy world against his will, finds himself surrounded by beings that are twice his size who treat him like the daintiest, most adorable maiden, and endures a poison that makes him increasingly horny every night.

This is all just set dressing for a lot of sex.  Seriously, this volume can barely go more than 10 pages between them, stringing them together with just enough plot to be coherent.  It certainly never lets you forget the size difference between these two.  Your tolerance for that particular kink will determine just how much you can tolerate this manga in general.  As for me...well...

Forgive me if I have to get a bit blunt about the mechanics of these scenes, but it's something that distracted me throughout the whole volume.  Quite frankly, I could not get past that Caius's dick is literally the size and length of Mizuki's thigh.  I understand that penile size kinks are A Thing, but no amount of lube could allow a person to ride such a thing on the regular without grievous bodily harm.  That poor boy is getting spatchcocked every time he has sex!  Mizuki would not have a butthole anymore!  It would be obliterated!  Understandably, that kind of kills the mood of the whole volume.

ART:

ITKZ is fairly talented as an artist, but their talent is tailored more for ero-manga than anything else.  The character designs are handsome and muscular, not to mention lovingly detailed when undressed.  We don't get much of a sense of this strange new world, seeing as most of the time is spent inside various bedrooms.  We certainly don't get anything like the Utena references in its animated adaptation.  Most of the time and care is put into the sex scenes themselves, which I should note are completely uncensored.  The Titan's Bride has dongs for days and it's gonna thrust them all right into your face!  This is definitely not a manga one should read in public.  At least Ray Steeves clearly had a good time lettering the many colorful sound effects.

RATING:

The Titan's Bride will appeal to those who don't mind a size kink (and everything that comes along with that) and enjoy a bit of hardcore BL smut.  Otherwise it might simply be a bit much for readers, especially since it doesn't have much to offer beyond that.

This series is published by Seven Seas.  This series is complete in Japan with 4 volumes available.  1 volume has been released and is currently in print.

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