Minoru has spent his life attracting demons, but he's learned to live with their unwanted attention. That is, until the night he rescues what appears to be a sickly stray dog--only to discover it's actually a demon in disguise. Stripped of his true name, the demon has been left powerless, a shadow of what he once was.

To regain his strength, the demon binds Minoru into an unholy pact--one that demands more than just blood. Their nights together should be nothing more than transactional, yet as the demon's touch grows more possessive and Minoru's defenses begin to wane, something unspoken stirs between them.

Demon Under the Waxing Moon has art and story by Fumi Tsuyuhisa. English translation is done by Margaret Ngo and lettering by Rebecca Sze. Published by Seven Seas (October 28, 2025). Rated M.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Demon Under a Waxing Moon hits at least two of my weak spots: it's set during the Taisho Era, and it involves yokai. It's also explicit BL, but that's more a take it or leave it for me; however, if you really enjoy stories where sex and food are inextricably intertwined, that might add another layer of appeal. And really, although this suffers from being a single volume rather than at least two, there's nothing to warn against here.

The story follows the whirlwind romance of Minoru and Maru. Minoru is a writer (nominally; that mostly serves as an excuse for him to be around the house all day for plot reasons), and he's been able to see spirits since he was little. Maru is a demon who shows up in dog form at his door, having followed the scent of Minoru's soul to his house. Minoru is the descendant of a nun who sealed Maru's power and true name away, and Maru claims he's there to feed on Minoru and regain the strength he's lost. As you might have guessed, this is all a very convenient excuse for the two of them to have sex, because apparently “drinking blood” and “having sex” are basically synonymous.

Sarcasm aside, it's a decently cute story. Minoru likes having Maru around because he fends off the little annoyance spirits, but both men enjoy each other's company as much as their bodies. Minoru at first passes it off as being about getting inspiration to break his writer's block, but it's really just a way for him to get to know his new housemate. Maru does a slightly better job at pretending that he just wants Minoru's body, but his devotion still comes across clearly, in no small part because the zashiki-warashi who lives with Minoru never acts like Maru is a threat. In fact, it's the childlike spirit who first alerts Minoru that Maru needs help. The art has a vaguely dreamlike quality that helps create a sense of quiet unreality. The only really odd bit is that the names of all of the yokai are translated, so “zashiki-warashi” is called a “parlor child.” It does make the text sound more old-fashioned, but it's still a bit awkward and took me out of the story every time. Still, it's a nice book, and I'll never turn my nose up at a yokai tale in the Taisho Era, even if it really needed more space to tell its story.