Allow me to preface this by saying I cant shake off the feeling that Yasuraka Monsters is somebodys rejected idea for a western cartoon series turned into a manga. And I dont mean that in a bad way rather it feels like something I wouldve loved to watch as an episodic cartoon back in the 2000s but would then struggle to find any information about on the internet just a few years later. Kinda like Mi Fantazy an awardwinning adaptation of Polish childrens books Ive literally never heard about before watching the show. Or like an animated music video thats a core memory for me yet nobody remembers Lame Immortelles Nur Duhttps://youtu.be/QRJfGcjuxA?si=2P4D1RczVDZgVVv. Its obviously not the case but the feel of this manga especially its artstyle is just something else. A lot of it has to do with how the author clearly loves all sorts of western media the same way we love anything Japanese youll see references to things like FNAF Gorillaz Undertale Papers Please luchadore movies and perhaps most surprising of all Mortis Ghosts OFF in the form of an Enoch figurine on one of the characters shelf. https://files.catbox.moe/ed3jgv.png Most of the chapters follow our protag a bishounen skeleton private detective in Limbo a world where all sorts of monsters freaks and the undead who are neither good enough to get into Heaven nor bad enough to get into Hell end up. The thing is Limbos something of a peaceful paradise so he ends up getting hired for all sorts of odd jobs instead quite often kinda just ending up as a malewifeforhire for random other residents of this strange realm or getting into all sorts of shenanigans that he sees as worthwhile detective work like rescuing somebodys pet cockatrice from a vent. Occasionally hes accompanied by his partner a NEET vampire who kinda just tags along to whine and make snarky remarks on whatevers going on. Gradually were also introduced to a bunch of other charming residents of this world like a terminally online wannabe eceleb zombie with an odd obsession with our protag and/or getrichquick schemes depending on the chapter a biker delinquent angel or a funny twist on the Frankensteins Monster concept whos well both the monster and the doctor herself kinda like how Stein in Soul Eater was. And also happens to have made a monster herself at one point. Theres also a Medusainspired fujoshi who writes spicy WLW doujins about her favourite werewolf wrestler. But perhaps my favourite extended cast members of all were featured in chapter 15 being a trio of ladies that bonded together over their mutual hatred of our protag for extremely petty reasons theyre just born haters and love to complain about what a goodytwoshoes he is. Overall an assortment of adorable freaks all around. Even though this manga is very episodic and extremely comedic in tone it doesnt shy away from some cute touching moments either it may not be the deepest thing ever but I certainly appreciated subplots like one characters troubled family history being explored or the reveal that one of our side characters was an ordinary human all along and needs to be returned to the world of the living. Something about the series style of comedy really works well too which lends itself well to slightly more emotional subplots I certainly cackled a bunch over this one side character working in Hell who obsesses with making eternal damnation as efficient as possible or how Zeus of Greek myth is a public figure apologizing for failing to have an affair this one time. In a world oversaturated with DUDE WHAT IF THE CUTE/NORMAL THING WAS SECRETLY ALL MESSED UP AND WEIRD? ZOMGWTFBBQ11 type media Yasuraka Monsters is a pleasant reminder that the opposite can be more fun hey what if all those weird monsters hanged out and went on silly little adventures that felt straight out of a morning cartoon? and I cant help but recommend it if youre looking for well exactly that. Especially if you watched Nightmare Before Christmas and always wanted to see a spinoff about the Halloween towns residents kinda just hanging out. https://files.catbox.moe/umdtvb.png Also be sure to check out the authors extra doodles on Tumblrhttps://www.tumblr.com/tkysj if you end up liking the series. Hilarious stuff. I was not ready for this official shipping art of the aforementioned fujoshi and her favourite wrestler.https://files.catbox.moe/wpbzeq.jpg