Sea Melt Lover Manga Review (Minor Spoilers)

Synopsis

In the future, a species called Luta is born, and their population soon eclipses the number of humans. The Luta, who have the appearance of animals with a humanoid appearance, enslaves the humans for their entertainment, which includes being pets or sex slaves. Jin, a young human man that was enslaved at a young age and fed large quantities of aphrodisiacs, escapes from his tiger captor with the help of the fish-like Elnetis. He awakens on an idyllic island where humans and Luta co-exist peacefully. He tries to run away, but in the end, decides to stay. Jin starts to trust Elnetis as they spend more time together, but something sinister is happening each night after the sun goes down.

The Good

While not my first time riding the wave that is human/creature BL, it was a first to read one with a focus on humans being the enslaved ones, as opposed to the other way around. Yuki Kazami’s art captures the various fur, scales, and other textures that come with drawing the Luta well, and Elnetis’ beauty comes across on all the pages that he appears on, whether in human-like form, or in his full Luta form with tail, gills, and pale skin.

The situation for humans is pretty dire in the world that the manga artist created, but there are glimmers of light. Jin transforms from an angry man that was starved of family and love into something much softer and kinder. The story strives to give the spotlight to Luta who see humans as equals. I have a feeling the author really likes the idea of Luta and humans intermixing just from the number of cute Luta/human children that Jin meets throughout the manga.

The love between Elnetis and Jin survives despite the shaky grounds of how they met, and that is a huge feat. They both seem like closed off people, but they eventually warm up enough to each other to share little parts of their hearts with each other.

I really enjoyed the end notes from the author, as they showed off parts of the world that didn’t make it into the main manga. I particularly enjoyed the notes related to the animals that protect the island.

Somewhere In Between

The opening pages in the manga drops you straight into a scene of humans in chains, lying naked on a large bed. One last human is still awake, and mid-coitus with a humanoid tiger. There are plenty of cross-species creatures on the island that Jin is taken to by Elnetis, but I found it a bit too contrived to have the more animal-like Luta be the main antagonist(s), and have the “good” Luta, like Elnetis and his frog friend, be more human-like in appearance.

After Jin and Elnetis escape, it’s discovered that something is causing Jin to revert back to his sex slave self that is high on the aphrodisiacs that he had been forced to take. Elnetis talks a lot about trust, but completely leaves Jin in the dark about Jin’s other drugged self. I personally think that the two grow a lot after they resolve this point, but I understand that some readers may be uncomfortable because Elnetis exploits the number one thing that he has been trying to gain from Jin, which was his trust. It does pay off in the end when they do get together, because all the pain before that makes the moment all the sweeter.

If you’re having thoughts like “are there any interesting genitalia involved?” since this is a cross-species erotic manga, the answer is no. Elnetis appears human with the exception of his scaly skin and ears, and his legs can become a tail. The censor bars are scribbled white lines, so sometimes it’s a bit difficult to decipher what is happening.

The Verdict

Sea Melt Lover is a story about two people fumbling about with learning to trust each other, and eventually arriving at the destination together, even if it takes them both a long time. Readers that are sensitive to themes of slavery, child abuse, trauma, and lack of consent might want to steer clear from this title, but I think this is genuinely a manga you can read and enjoy if you’re curious about cross-species characters and art. Elnetis is beautiful in both his human and full Luta form, and the island that the main couple live in seems like a warm and beautiful place where they will thrive. The story is complete in one volume, and that is a sufficient amount of time to get to know this vision of a better world that the artist has.

If you like Sea Melt Lover, you might also like…

• A Beast’s Love Is Like the Moon by Guri Nojiro
• The Snake Who Loved a Sparrow by Nna Natsuo

Credits

Story and Art: Yuki Kazami
Translation: Freya Ohara
Lettering: Elena Pizarro
Cover Design: Mariel Dágá
Copy Editor: Vera Klimt
Proofreader: Elliott Santomare
Production Designer: Ria Linn Johnson
Editor: K. McDonald
Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment

Thank you to Seven Seas Entertainment for providing a review copy. Receiving this copy did not affect the reviewer’s opinions as expressed here. 

Article edited by: Bill Curtis