Chibi Vampire

What's this? ANOTHER review about a manga staring vampires? What can I say, I just eat this stuff up, and Chibi Vampire by Yuna Kagesaki offers something different for those looking for a story that isn't all about a mopey emo vampire. Chibi Vampire is actually about Karin, a vampire who is cheery, clumsy, silly, and love-struck over a boy named Usui. Karin can also go out during the daylight, eat garlic, and can't suck blood. Yeah, you read that right, Karin is a much different kind of vampire (to the frustration of her family) she actually has too much blood! If she doesn't bite a human and give them some of her blood, she suffers massive nose bleeds.

Karin is the kind of heroine I can fully enjoy reading about. Mainly because she falls into the classic cliche of "beautiful but clutzy" that I find so endearing. Her breasts are the size of beach balls too, perhaps that is what makes it so hard for her to be a stealthy vampire (you try to be stealthy with beach balls strapped to your chest).

She's really not a vampire at all, except for her fangs and needing to bite people. Her family is extremely worried, expesially her overprotective father, and her younger sister. I love Karin's family, they create such a dynamic family unit and also do their best to support Karin despite her weirdness. She has a brother named Ren who fills the "handsome wominizing vampire" sterotype (quite happily, I might add) and he's also tall, dark, and handsome. Her youngest sister is the "cute but dangerous superpowerful vampire that has creepy eyes and likes to sit in dark places" sterotype. Karin and her sister are particularly close because before they come of age they can go out into the daylight just fine, so her young sister is always keeping an eye on Karin with the power of her bats.

Chibi Vampire has a cute big-eyed style of art. It's clean and crisp and usually pretty easy to tell what's going on. The manga has a great sense of humor, milking Karin's clumsiness for all it's worth and coupling it with Usui's awkwardness around women. While it is mostly a comedy manga, there are some great drama scenes involving the boy she falls for, Usui, and the conflict with her family.

There are currently 13 mangas out right now with the 14th (and final) volume releasing September 29, 2009. The over arching storyline is tying up neatly so far and I don't forsee there being any loose ends left (except maybe any the manga-ka leaves purposfully to be able to work a sequal series?).

Chibi Vampire has also spawned an anime series that is called "Karin". I have not personally watched it so I couldn't tell you how good it is...but now you know it's out there, so go check it out!

I recommend Chibi Vampire for people looking for good laughs, heart-pounding drama, and a fasinating storyline. It's something original in the vampire story genre, and I think that needs to be rewarded. So go forth! Go forth and check out Chibi Vampire! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF HER BREASTS!

Chibi Vampire:
Published by: Tokyopop
Price: Was 9.99 for older volumes but 10.99 for newer ones
Volumes: 13 out of 14
Next Volume Release date: September 29, 2009
Finished: Not in U.S.
Rating: 10/10


That's the Logical Assumption

Salazar

Millennium Snow

I'm sure any respectable anime/manga lover has heard of the wildly popular Ouran High School Host Club, but did you know about Bisco Hatori's first work, Millennium Snow? If you haven't than you're missing out! I read Millennium Snow before ever reading Host Club and it was that story that got me to read the rest of Bisco Hatori's works.

Let me tell you about it.

The story is about a very sick girl named Chiyuki who has a heart condition. She has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals hoping to live long enough to see the next snow, and the snow after that. The manga's name comes from the main character's desire to see, "A thousand years of snow".

Our story starts with Chiyuki seeing a boy fall from the roof of the hospital. Freaking out she rushes out of her room to find the boy and see if he's okay, she finds him laying on the ground and fears the worst. However when she goes to touch him he calls her vile among other things and a badmouthing session begins. Through this verbal abuse of Chiyuki we learn that the boy...is a vampire. And then that's all we learn before he runs away. Like a vampire Cinderella though, he leaves behind a shoe which Chiyuki takes with her back into the hospital.

The next day he comes back for his shoe as Chiyuki sits outside on a bench. The boy has no problem with the sun it seems but Chiyuki taunts him with some garlic. Some more insults fly and he grabs his shoe back from her.

She passes out.

She wakes back up in the hospital with the vampire still there, he introduces himself as Toya and his bat familiar is Yamimaru. Chiyuki gets him to agree to hang out tomorrow. She finds out that Toya doesn't drink blood, making him weak, because he fears forcing a human to live a thousand years with him. Chiyuki wants him to bite her, so that she'll get to see her thousand years of snow. However while out on the town she has another heart attack. A fatal one. Toya reacts with desperation and gives her a small bite, renewing her life for a little bit longer.

With Toya's bite, Chiyuki is healthier than she's been in a long time and is let out of the hospital to go to school again, she gets to meet a werewolf, and live the normal life of a teenage girl. Mostly normal...as normal as you can get with a vampire named Toya and a bat named Yamimaru and a werewolf.

Millennium Snow has what any good manga needs, an interesting story, hilarious characters, and gorgeous art. If you come from reading Host Club first, you'll see the difference because Millennium Snow is Bisco Hatori's old work. Unfortunately there's only two volumes and the story isn't finished! Hatori states she wants to finish Millennium Snow, but her main priority is Host Club (makes sense, that's the money maker). Since there's only two volumes out, it'll be easy to buy them and catch up on the story! I recommend Millennium Snow for manga readers that love cute guys, sweet romance, hilarious shenanigans, and the occasional bit of drama. Sometimes the art is a little crowded and you have a hard time figuring out what happened if you don't look it over a few times. Despite being full of vampires and werewolves, it's no horror story, but a really sweet read that'll have you saying, "D'aaawww!" and also, "Take off your shirt Toya!"

Millennium Snow:
Published by: Viz
Price: 8.99 US
Volumes: 2
Finished: No
Rating: 9/10

That's the Logical Assumption

Salazar

Let's start off with a hello

Hello! The name is Salazar! I'm new to this site but I'm an old time blogger...though I admit I am extremely lazy on average I hope to give you guys some great manga reviews! I have a collection of over 200 mangas so there's a lot to get started with. Most of them are from Japanese artists...some are from Korean artists...some are American manga!

Hope you enjoy my reviews very much very much, ho ho ho ho!

That's the Logical Assumption

Salazar