The Beast Player
#3384.34 adjusted 4.06 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2006–2009 Reading commitment Medium Nahoko Uehashi Last reviewed 2026-10-29
Overview
Nahoko Uehashi’s four-volume Japanese fantasy (2006 to 2009) follows Elin, the daughter of a beast doctor in the Lyoza Kingdom, where the realm’s power rests on two kinds of creature: the serpent-like Tōda, bred as weapons of war, and the Ōjū, the royal beasts. Elin finds she can reach an Ōjū in a way no one else can, a gift that draws her into the kingdom’s politics. The first two volumes form one story and the last two, set years later, another; in English they were published as two books, The Beast Player and The Beast Warrior, translated by Cathy Hirano. Uehashi, a winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for writing, is also the author of the Moribito series, a separate world.
Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Beast Player Nahoko Uehashi
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Kemono no Sōja I: Tōda-hen; Original title 獣の奏者 I 闘蛇編. Published in English together with volume II as The Beast Player (tr. Cathy Hirano, 2018). | 2006 | 1 | core | 4.28 (173 ratings) |
 | Kemono no Sōja II: Ōjū-hen; Original title 獣の奏者 II 王獣編. Published in English together with volume I as The Beast Player (tr. Cathy Hirano, 2018). | 2006 | 2 | core | 4.35 (121 ratings) |
 | Kemono no Sōja III: Tankyū-hen; Original title 獣の奏者 III 探求編. Published in English together with volume IV as The Beast Warrior (tr. Cathy Hirano, 2019). | 2009 | 3 | core | 4.44 (62 ratings) |
 | Kemono no Sōja IV: Kanketsu-hen; Original title 獣の奏者 IV 完結編. Published in English together with volume III as The Beast Warrior (tr. Cathy Hirano, 2019). | 2009 | 4 | core | 4.43 (56 ratings) |
Four-volume Japanese novel sequence (Kemono no Sōja), Kodansha, 2006 to 2009.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Beast Player? The Beast Player's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Beast Player? Publication order, starting with Kemono no Sōja I: Tōda-hen. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Beast Player finished? Complete (2006–2009).
- How much reading does The Beast Player take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is The Beast Player ranked? #338 in this site's official ranking, based on 412 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #338?
Ranked #338 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.34 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (412 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #337, Symphony of Ages (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 4 books · Complete · 412 ratings · Ranks #338 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Kemono no Sōja I: Tōda-hen (2006)
- Kemono no Sōja II: Ōjū-hen (2006)
- Kemono no Sōja III: Tankyū-hen (2009)
- Kemono no Sōja IV: Kanketsu-hen (2009)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.34 across 412 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: Island of Whispers (Hardinge), The Beast Player (Uehashi, 4 books), Orcs (Nicholls, 6 books) accepted 2026-10-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-29
Rule: Core Canon = the four original Japanese volumes: I Tōda-hen and II Ōjū-hen (2006), III Tankyū-hen and IV Kanketsu-hen (2009). The 2010 side-story volume Gaiden: Setsuna is not included. Reader ratings are those of the original Japanese editions; the two-volume English translation is not counted separately.