Thus Spoke the Rabbit, Vol. 1

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Today I have something completely different from last time. Man-eating rabbits. From the moon.

That's the pitch. That's the actual pitch, and I want you to sit with it for a second, because I did — and then I read the whole thing in one go.

The book is Thus Spoke the Rabbit, Volume 1, by Satori Kounosu, out September 22nd, 2026 from Yen Press. And a big thank you to Yen Press and Edelweiss for the advance copy — this is an ARC, so I've read it before release, which means if you're reading this on release week, you can go get it right now.

Non-spoiler summary first, for anyone who wants to read it and come back. Then my five faves, and then Kitty Questions. Spoilers start right after the summary and I'll flag it very clearly, because nobody else has read this yet and I'd feel genuinely bad.

The non-spoiler summary

Okay. Shibugaya used to be a bustling, chaotic city of youth. And now it is a ghost town — because man-eating rabbits have taken up residence underground.

Our main character is Izuko. She's the wolf-eared warrior. And here's the thing I love immediately: she's not actually a wolf. She's a human wearing wolf ears — and that's a statement. In a world where rabbits eat people, she's walking down there announcing that she's the predator. I think that is such a cool piece of design, and honestly the publisher's own blurb calls her a wolf girl, which slightly misses the point.

She goes underground because six years ago she lost her friend — her big sister figure — in an underground train station. And she has never stopped looking for her.

With her is Kyuoka, who is a bunny girl, who loves snacks, and who is doing her absolute best to help. And the villains are the killer rabbits.

Now, the world-building. There's a whole rabbit den underground, full of these man-eating rabbits, and they came from a meteor from the moon. Which — again — sit with that.

And the way they eat people is genuinely one of the strangest, most memorable things in the book: when a rabbit bites you, that part of your body turns to stone. And then they eat the stone. Which is weird! But alright! And apparently the petrification wears off if you attach the part back on, which raises a lot of questions I am delighted to have.

That's the setup. It's 202 pages, it's rated 13 and up, and it's the first volume in a series.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves sci-fi, supernatural or fantasy themes, and who also appreciates action and mystery. It gives me Jujutsu Kaisen vibes — which is one of my favourite manga series of all time — but more toned down. So if that's your thing, this is going to work for you.

My faves

Five favourites — favourite character, favourite animal, favourite scene, favourite inanimate object, and favourite line.

Favourite character — Inaba

So I want to say Izuko. Izuko is incredible and we'll get to her. But my favourite character in this volume is Inaba.

Inaba is the boss of the construction rabbits. She is so cute. I love the construction worker outfit — like, she's got the whole thing. She's kind of tiny. Hehe.

And here's my problem. I am pretty sure I'm supposed to be angry at her. She kills humans. That is her whole deal. That is objectively bad.

But then there's Banri, who's now under her care, and Inaba clearly appreciates Banri. And then when Banri asked her to come above ground with her — the stutter. The little blush. Ooooh, so cute.

So I'm building another ship. I'm sorry. It's happening. The cute blushes are adorbs and I am fully invested.

And actually, this is the thing I think the book is doing on purpose, and doing really well. Even for the "villains," I feel a stark sense of humanity in their thoughts. I feel like I'm meant to hate them for ethical reasons — and I can't really disagree with their passions and their opinions sometimes. That's a hard thing to pull off in a first volume and this one does it.

Favourite animal — the rabbits, and I'm annoyed about it

This slot is normally where I talk about something adorable. And this time the animals are the ones eating people.

But that's exactly what makes it work. The relationship between humans and rabbits here is so different from anything I've read. It is a genuinely weird feeling to think of rabbits as predators eating humans when they are drawn this cutely — and are also, at the same time, so scary.

It makes you think. Which is not what I expected going in from a premise that is, and I cannot stress this enough, "man-eating rabbits from the moon."

Favourite scene — Izuko versus Inaba

The whole fight sequence is beautiful. Genuinely, beautifully designed.

Izuko is so badass when she fights. And the look on Inaba's face when she realises that Izuko is no normal civilian human? Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

But the reason it's my favourite scene isn't just the action. It's the conversation running through it — the whole thing about fighting, and beautiful things, and artistry, and everything. I need more of that. I need to know so much more.

And I want to talk about the art here for a second, because this is where the book really shows off. The details are beautiful. This is one of the biggest fight sequences in the volume and the use of different weaponry through it is so amazingly designed that it makes complete sense for there to be pages with just art and no words at all. It earns that. A lot of manga tries that and it doesn't land — here it absolutely does.

Favourite inanimate object — the lunar gear

Obviously.

The lunar gear is so cool and I want to know more about all of it. The pick axe. The electric-shock-generating stick. Everything.

I want a full technical breakdown. I want to know where it comes from, how it works, who made it, what else there is. This is the kind of world-building detail that makes me want the next five volumes immediately, and we get just enough of it to be tantalising and not nearly enough to be satisfying, which I assume is deliberate and I am choosing to be angry about it.

Favourite line — Kyuoka, mid-threat

“I'm gonna smash you into ooey gooey mochi!”

Which is a threat! That's a threat she's making! And it's perfect, because it tells you everything about her character in one sentence — she's snack-motivated even when she's fighting. And I love her for it.

Kitty Questions

Named on behalf of my kitties, who love to chirp and ask me questions.

These are the questions I'd ask Satori Kounosu after finishing this volume.

What happens to Inaba? Because that cliffhanger. Is she alive? Is she not? Her hands, her arms — what actually happens there? What happens next? I need to know and I need to know soon, and this is the single biggest reason I'll be picking up Volume 2 the day it's out.

How many volumes is this going to be? I need them all. I'm asking sincerely. Tell me the number so I can prepare emotionally.

The lunar gear and the meteor. Where did the meteor come from? Is there more to the moon connection? How much of the gear is reverse-engineered from it? I have so many questions about the mechanics of this world and I would happily read a whole volume that's just world-building.

Thank you

Thus Spoke the Rabbit, Volume 1, by Satori Kounosu, translated by Meredith Singer, lettered by BYONG JE CHUN, out September 22nd, 2026 from Yen Press.

Thank you again to Yen Press and Edelweiss for the advance copy. Getting to read something before it comes out is still a novelty to me and I'm very grateful for it.

I'm excited. The cliffhanger has me genuinely excited to read more. And I would love — love — to see an anime version of this, even if it's with English subtitles. Somebody make that happen.

If you'd like to reach out, my email is thepaperbackhour@gmail.com. I'd love your thoughts on this one, and your recommendations for what I should read next.