Handsome Usahara Kunio has no shortage of women falling for him, as a competent career man with a well-tuned physique, all his coworkers are left wondering; why is this catch still single? Truthfully, Usahara is not looking for a quick fling, instead, he is looking to find a soulmate to build a life with. Complicating his quest, the salaryman suffers from a condition where any woman that flirts with him transforms into a ferocious beast embodying their flaws. Navigating the horny office environment and dipping into the animal kingdom is the meat and bones of Ikkado Ito’s lewd office comedy.

*This Review Covers Volume One of the series

I’m Not Meat is a series that largely does just enough to entertain and titillate without pushing any boundaries. Furthermore, the humor stays relatively surface-level giving the book a playful tone over a ‘laugh out loud’ absurdness that would be easy to build off of such a premise. For such a boastful premise there is not much bite to match the bark. However, when digging into I’m Not Meat, readers will discover some unique ways in which Ito intrigues—dragging his readers into the atmosphere of an office turned sex jungle.

Notably, Ito’s exploration of the animal kingdom in characterizing the women that flirt with Usahara is a delightful mix of silly and informative. The story is, undeniably, at its most impactful both visually and narratively when it is flashing between real-life flirting (sexual harassment) and Usahara strategizing an escape as if he was tangling with a wild beast. In the first volume, Usahara fights both an alligator and a hyena in two separate instances. These struggles are where the lewdness drips onto the pages, such as the wrangling of a reptile’s mouth shut showing him hiking up the panties of his advancer to use discomfort to dissuade her groping. All the while, the commentary from Usahara during these interactions imbues humor out of the perception of a flight for survival to keep his virginity in check.

These showdowns are a blast and definitely elevate the work, an essential component given that the characters themselves are rather bland. Certainly, Usahara Kunio has his quest for true love, then there is his jealous friend there to crack jokes, and (of course) the romantic interest that does not take on an animalistic persona. Yet, none of these personas offer enough to make them stick in the reader’s mind. The sexy scenarios are bound to stir up some memories, but after a few weeks removed from the series, readers will have a difficult time recalling anything remarkable about the characters. Thankfully, this is a shorter run series and the positive elements will be enough to lure readers into buying up all the volumes.

As mentioned, I’m Not Meat excels when exploring animalistic urges and indulging in anthropomorphic silliness. The art in these moments is an ideal balance of entertaining, lewd, and comedic. However, the direction outside of these scenes is kind of uninspiring and often feels stilted. It is obvious that Ikkado Ito excels (and probably prefers) illustrating action-heavy narratives, as comparing static versus frenetic movement the book is at odds in quality. Granted, this is not a huge detriment that spoils the overall experience, but the lack of consistency is off-putting in its inability to create a concrete aesthetic throughout.

One of the book’s more nuanced strengths is how it handles the material with a modicum of maturity. This will come as either a positive or negative (depending on if you enjoy a celebratory yiffing), as the line between sex and animals is blurred to the point that they are not even remotely synonymous. Essentially, Ito depicts human interaction as lustful and the animals as an overwhelming terror for Usahara Kunio. Furthermore, the series avoids the vapidness of teenage fantasy bait by having a strong female counterpart for Usahara—it really helps avoid the portrayal of the other women in the office as sex predators only interested in that sweet, tasty, well-built, Kunio meat.

Undeniably, I’m Not Meat has its inconsistencies and just barely skirts mundanity with Ito’s approach to ‘sexy creature combat’ keeping the work exciting enough to warrant a read. At a total of three volumes, it is one of those titles that is convenient to collect and consume for a quick bit of escapism. A flawed series, for certain, but one that will entertain many and is still worth picking up.

I’m Not Meat is available through Ghost Ship, an imprint of Seven Seas Entertainment

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