I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet (Volume 11) – A Whisker in Time!
Having just returned from defeating Visago, Aria is instantly called on for another quest. This time, she has been approached by the time-travelling daughter of the Grand Sorcerer and a legendary hero to fight a time-travelling Demon Lord!
I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet (Volume 11) – A Whisker in Time!
What happened?
Things are getting complicated. Mai, the time-travelling daughter of the Grand Sorcerer, has come to seek Aria’s help in defeating a Demon Lord who has travelled back in time to free herself. She’s far more powerful than when she was imprisoned, and if she frees her past self, there’s no telling what she might do. Aria is curious why it has to be them and not Alisha or the Grand Sorcerer himself. Mai explains that they need to avoid a time paradox. She has used a spell to calculate the best possible candidate, and it is Aria and her party. Well, there’s no way she can refuse when the threat of a demon-lord looms overhead. To make things even more exciting, Mai is accompanied by Ciel Celsius, the legendary hero who helped defeat the demon-lord in Ragnarok. The threat is coming from her homeland, which is why she is involved.
It would take them weeks by sea to get to Urscula, however, Ciel has a special trick that she’s willing to show them. Ciel is also the hero who travelled to another world and returned with various treasures. The Ark world is home to a much more advanced society, one that has magic balls with which they can store and transport their companion beasts and vehicles. Ciel summons the King Kraken and then a yacht. They will get there in no time if King gives them a push. After an uneventful trip across the ocean, they arrive at Ur, the capital of Urscula and spend the night at Ciel’s home before heading into the dungeon. The magic beasts are stronger than usual, which is a serious indicator that the demon-lord is already there. The group whittles down as members stay behind to tackle various powerful beasts, leaving Aria, Tama, Mai, and Ciel to face the Demon Lord, Belphegor.
What did you think?
As soon as I saw the magic balls from the other world, I thought of Pokémon, and that’s pretty much what they were. However, I think that was actually a fairly interesting thing to add to this world. We’ve already got time travel, reincarnation, and the Grand Summoner coming from modern-day Japan, so why not throw in another world? I think it adds to the quirkiness of this story. This series has shown that there are really no limits to what you can put together and make work. I also think the lighthearted way that this story is told lends itself to that too. If this were a much more serious story, then it might be seen as trying to do too much.
I must say that this series has an amazing track record of adding new and interesting characters. Ciel Celsius might be the most interesting so far (if you exclude Aria’s mother, who is interesting for entirely different reasons). She has an ability that blesses her with a longer life than normal bunny-folk, and that is a factor in her ability to have been on so many adventures and developed so many skills. That said, I had to laugh when it was revealed that she fights in a bunny girl suit complete with fishnet tights. Ciel casually explained that it was the battle attire of her clan and was actually remarkably easy to fight in. Most of the others are wearing bikini armour, so why not?
What was your highlight?
I am a sucker for time travel stories. I love the complexities they come with, as well as the ways that authors attempt to get around them. The one thing that really stood out to me in this volume was the fact that Aria and her party were selected because they wouldn’t cause a paradox. That says to me that they will not be around in the future… Now, we don’t know how far back Mai has travelled as we have no idea how long the Grand Summoner can live for, but my gut is telling me that something will happen to this group that sends them further back into the past where Aria and Tama will become the actual Sacred Beast and first Hero. I mentioned it in the last review, but this confirms it for me.
Obviously, Mai knows what will happen to them, but she can’t say anything in case she changes time and alters the past. I get the feeling that at some point, she will say something, but Aria will not stop it from happening because she knows that the world needs it to happen. The longer this series goes on, the more fascinating it gets. I love that the author started out with what seemed like a fairly simple premise and has slowly built on it. I can’t wait to see what will happen next, however, I have run out of volumes to read. The next one isn’t even up for pre-order yet, so I will be keeping an eye out for that. Of course, there is the anime that I will be sure to dive into too. I knew I was going to enjoy this series, but I didn’t think it would be this much.
Series Information
Manga
| Author | Nozomi Ginyoku | |
| Artist | Taro Shinonome | |
| Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
| 1 | You’ve Got to be Kitten Me! | 1-6 |
| 2 | Reincarnation is the Cat’s Meow! | 7-12 |
| 3 | Cat-astrophe Strikes! | 13-18 |
| 4 | Is the Cat Finally Out of the Bag? | 19-24 |
| 5 | A Dragon with a Fire in Her Belly… | 25-30 |
| 6 | The Breast of Friends! | 31-36 |
| 7 | The Cat That Got the Cream! | 37-42 |
| 8 | A Behemoth Meets an Elite Order! | 43-48 |
| 9 | A Fur-rocious Battle! | 49-54 |
| 10 | Can They Claw Their Way to Victory? | 55-60 |
| 11 | A Whisker in Time! | 61-66 |
