Twenty and The Beast / 二十と成獣, Volume 1 : Manga Review and Thoughts

If you’re looking for a slightly clumsy office romance, you’re going to love this series~

To get to the point..:

Do I recommend this manga? Yes, but only if you can prioritize vibes over all else.

Who do I recommend this manga to? Fans of office romances, fans of romance stories that play on power dynamics.

Will I be reading on? Yes! I have the first 3 volumes.

Information About the Manga

Who wrote Twenty and The Beast?

This manga was written by Soragami Sei!

You can check out their X here.

You can check out their instagram here.

How many volumes are out?

This series is complete with 6 volumes in Japanese.

There is an English digital translation!

Where can I buy it?

For those looking for the Japanese digitals…

For the English digital, you can check it out here!

What genre? What are the vibes?

Office romance.
FL unaware of her feelings.
More experienced ML.
Power imbalance (he’s older, she’s his trainer).

First Impressions and thoughts

I’m always on the lookout for a new office romance, and I really enjoyed this one! I read a little snippet of it online prior to purchasing, and I enjoyed the sample so much that I bought the first 3 volumes all together!

I did enjoy the relationship between our main couple right from the start, however there were a few times throughout where I found the FL to be a little bit unrelatable. I enjoy office romances specifically because the characters are meant to be a little bit more mature, so having a 20 year old FL who acts like a 15 year old high school student at times was a bit frustrating.

For the most part though, I did enjoy watching her try and juggle her feelings for her new trainee and her need to be a good mentor. I am excited to continue reading on!

What’s it about?

During her third year at her company, Aya gets her first trainee. Even at first glance it was pretty easy to tell what kind of person this new trainee is: he’s agreeable, handsome, and very kind.

Even then, as he’s Aya’s very first trainee, she’s all sorts of nervous.

They get to talking, where Aya asks the new employee, Higa, how old he is. Though he is her trainee, he’s a whole 6 years older than her.

This sends Aya down a bit of a spiral, as she really doesn’t think she has much at all to teach a 26 year old, but nevertheless she puts her all into teaching him about the job.

Though she’s rather clumsy at her job as a trainer, she’s rather cute in Higa’s eyes. She does things like purchasing one of every drink in the vending machine as she doesn’t know his preferences… sticking motivational phrases on her computer monitor… and is just an overall clumsy-but-cute trainer to him.

During their first post-work drinks meeting after Higa joins the company, he’s somewhat secretly looking out for Aya the entire time. When he notices she’s not enjoying her beer, he drinks the entire glass for her and orders her something she would enjoy more. He also takes care of her when she drinks too much, making sure she also drinks a lot of water.

After the meet is over and everyone is heading back home, Aya, rather drunk, comes onto Higa. Though it seems like she doesn’t realize she’s coming onto him, she says things like how she finds him handsome, how she wants to hold hands with him, and is just generally sharing way too much of what be drunk thoughts.

Higa, at first playfully playing along, ultimately takes her home.

This sets the tone for the rest of this volume: Aya being unknowingly awkwardly flirty with Higa, Higa playing along, and Aya eventually realizing and getting flustered.

My Favourites

Higa’s teasing Aya – I find him to be a very fun character, however I do wish he was portrayed a little less innocent.
Aya coming to terms with her feelings – I found pre-realization Aya to be rather annoying, so I was very glad when she accepted her feelings.

My Least-Favourites

Aya before coming to terms with her feelings – IMO there’s no way to confuse the feelings of “I like this person romantically” and “I want to be a good trainer”.
The body proportions – Sometimes I felt like the characters heads were too small for their bodies 😦

The Main Characters

Momoi Aya

20 years old.
Is on her 3rd year at her company.
Is very close to a male coworker who started at the same time as her.
Seems to have 0 experience with relationships.

Higa Yamato

26 years old.
Studied abroad.
Has a masters degree.
Clearly has experience in ~all~ sorts of things.

Maddie’s ratings

Plot

Is the plot constantly engaging? – I was more or less entertained throughout the whole volume.

Is it original? – Somewhat.

Am I excited to continue reading? – Yes!

Art

Do I personally like the art? – At times yes, at times no.

Does the art match the vibe of the story? – I think the mangaka does such a fantastic job of drawing facial expressions that match the vibes…however… I really don’t like how they draw bodies. It feels like the proportions are very much off at times, and I found it distracting.

Is the artstyle unique? – Somewhat.

World-Building

Is there a lot of lore? – No.

Personal Enjoyment

Would I re-read it? – Yes.

Would I add it to my physical collection? -I already own it!

Would I recommend it? – Yes!

Maddies Manga