To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (Japanese: かつて神だった獣たちへ, Hepburn: Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e, lit. To the Beasts that were Once Gods) is a Japanese dark fantasymanga series written and illustrated by Maybe. It was serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from June 2014 to June 2023. The manga is licensed for English release in North America by Vertical. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by MAPPA was broadcast from July to September 2019.
Plot
100 years after settlers on the continent of Patria established a democratic nation, the discovery of an energy source called Somnium ore sparked a conflict. The nation of Patria split between the industrial Northern Union and the mining towns of the Southern Confederation, and began fighting a civil war. While the South had greater numbers, the North had a secret weapon: The Incarnates, soldiers who could transform into giant mythical beasts and single-handedly destroy enemy emplacements. However, when the war ended and a peace treaty was negotiated, the Incarnates were supposed to be destroyed. Instead, an officer named Cain betrayed his superiors and fled with the surviving Incarnates across the continent. Two years later (in the anime changed to two months later), an Incarnate named Hank has made it his mission to hunt down the surviving Incarnates, assisted by a young woman named Schaal who blames him for killing her father.
Former Captain of the Incarnates who led the Incarnate forces to assist the North in victory before. Two months after the end of the war, he became a beast hunter and also hunted down all the Incarnates who lost their humanity throughout Patria to complete his oath when the war was not yet over. He is capable of transforming into a werewolf under moonlight, and fights with a giant spear.
She is the daughter of John William Bancroft, who became an Incarnate , she fights with the elephant gun her father gave him, she follows Hank to find out why he kill her father and the reason why many of the Incarnates were became insane lost their humanity. she also tries to find a way to make all Incarnates can turn back into a human and also live peacefully with humans.
Formerly a nobleman named Cain Withers, he was Vice Captain of the Incarnates, he released all the Incarnates who turned into the Beast to world after the war were ended. He has a different view than Hank and others as to why all Incarnates lose their humanity.He is called the vampire Incarnate, the immortal king of blood and the night.
A doctor whose research gave birth to the Incarnates, and keep to sure Incarnates can to make the war to be end. She also previously worked as a physician for Incarnate troops to ensure that emergencies were prevented. However, she grew guilty and responsible for the fate of all Incarnates after the war were to be closed to end.
A human and the Captain of Coup de Grace, an Incarnate Extermination Squad authorized by the government. He took his mission very seriously, and what most people don't know is that he was Cain's brother. Unforgiving of the rebellion his brother Cain started, he hunts every Incarnate beast. to find out the truth.
Schaal's father, a man who runs a local orphanage. In order to enable his daughter Schaal and the children in his orphanage to live a good life, he volunteered to join the army and became a Incarnates. Even though he turned into a beast form at the end of the war, he still maintained his humanity and came back to take care of the children. After a while, he suddenly started to lose control for some reason and randomly hunted many domestic animals in the village, forcing Schaal to transfer the children in the orphanage to other orphanages. Therefore, considering the safety of Schaal and the villagers, he voluntarily let Hank kill him.
A former Incarnate soldier with chameleon abilities who used his power to rob people's house after the war is over, as well as killing people who lives there, he was the first Incarnate to be killed by Hank after took an oath.
A relatively easygoing young man that has a rhino appearance. He attempted to return to a normal life in his hometown of Barn Wood, but actually he was suspected of robbing nearby caravans to provide for his family.
A cowardly young man who joined the Northern Army before he was inspired by Hank. After returning home to Rogue Hill, he grew increasingly paranoid and turned the town into his personal labyrinthine fortress to defend himself from all perceived threats.
A soft-spoken soldier who rarely talked about himself and followed orders without question. As the Behemoth, he wanders East for reasons unknown, while trying to avoid heavily-populated areas.
Christopher Keynes (Gargoyle) (クリストファー・ケインズ (ガーゴイル))
A young man who often found solace in the teachings of the Church before joining the Army. Currently stuck in Gargoyle form, he metes out his own version of justice to the "sinners" of White Church.
A female Incarnate who were stand with Cain after the war,and very concerned about the hatred and conflict between Cain and Hank.Her ability is use the tough spider silk is used to block and restrain the enemy's movements. Its spider silk can even block the lethality of "Godkiller bullets" to reduce damage.
A former lounge singer whose joined to end the war quickly so people can enjoy songs again. Her ability puts people to sleep making them incapable of resisting. One of the few Incarnates who tried to avoid hurting humans after the war.
Known commonly as "Roy", he was formerly a field soldier for Northern Union of Patria on the front lines of the Civil War where his platoon was wiped out with him as the only surrivor. Sometime later,he survived on the battlefield and was rescued by Hank and Cain. Soon after, he followed them and transformed into a Incarnate and admire Hank and trust his leadership.
A Former military doctor who treated soldiers on the battlefield, but face that many soldiers who had been treated by him died on the battlefield again, he decided transformed into a Incarnate in order to prevent many soldiers from losing their lives.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by the duo Maybe, To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts started in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on 9 June 2014.[18][19] The series took a one-month break in August 2015 (it was not published in the September issue on 8 August) before resuming serialization in the October issue on 9 September 2015.[19] The series is set to end on 9 May 2023.[20] Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on 9 December 2014.[21] As of 7 October 2022, fourteen volumes have been released.[22]
North American manga publisher Vertical announced their license to the series in August 2015.[2][1][23] Before they selected the series' current title, Vertical was originally going to publish the manga as The Abandoned Sacred Beasts.[24][2] The first volume was published on 17 May 2016.[25]
An anime television series adaptation was announced on 5 February 2019. The series is animated by MAPPA and directed by Jun Shishido, with Shigeru Murakoshi handled the series composition, Daisuke Niinuma designed the characters, and Yoshihiro Ike composed the music.[3][51] The series aired from 1 July to 16 September 2019 on Tokyo MX, BS11, and MBS.[52][53] The opening theme song is "Sacrifice" (サクリファイス) by Mafumafu, while the ending theme song is "HHOOWWLL" by Gero×ARAKI.[53]Crunchyroll streamed the series.[54] It ran for 12 episodes.[55] On 1 October 2019, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub.[4]
Reception
The first volume of the series reached 39th place on the weekly Oricon comics rankings, with 22,468 copies sold;[56] the second volume reached 31st place, with 18,638 copies sold;[57] the third volume reached 39th place, with 28,018 copies sold;[58] and the fourth volume reached 24th place, with 32,728 copies sold.[59]
^ abかつて神だった獣たちへ（１） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (1)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
^ abかつて神だった獣たちへ（１４） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (14)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（２） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (2)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（３） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (3)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（５） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (5)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（６） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (6)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（１１） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (11)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
^かつて神だった獣たちへ（１３） [To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (13)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
