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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane I didn't have a chance to read vol. 6 of Rosario + Vampire, but since a) the series helpfully includes detailed recaps before the story properly resumes and b) the story itself includes plenty of references to what's just happened, I didn't feel at a loss when reading volume 7. Our Everyman hero, Tsukune, hasn't been having an easy time of it since I last saw him in vol. 5. He's had a brief stint as a flesh-eating ghoul (the side effects from vampire blood are hell!) and has been returned to mostly-normal by the "spirit lock" that's been chained to his wrist. Unfortunately, the monstrels are still determined to see him dead, and have a variety of ways to go about reaching that goal in this volume. One of them takes the straightforward approach of injecting Moka with a controlling serum and dispatching her to kill Tsukune, which has the added bonus of making the other characters distrust her, especially since she later can't remember what happened. While Tsukune spends the book trying to stay alive, he also has to deal with his own sudden craving for blood, not to mention the shadowy figures who're conducting a smear campaign against the News Club. It's a very busy volume, even when Tsukune himself isn't on the scene; he's almost completely absent from a chapter halfway into the book, which gives a couple of the female characters more of a chance to shine. (Although given the sort of book this is, their motivations and conversations center almost entirely around Tsukune. There's some superficial lip-service to the girls having some degree of friendship, or at least a relationship that doesn't revolve around their collective interest in Tsukune, but...it's a harem manga. As characters, they basically exist so that he can have an array of pretty girls who're unreasonably fascinated by him.) As I said when reviewing vol. 5, this series is clearly not aimed at me, but it's a decent, readable example of its genre. Tsukune and Moka are likable and the rest of the cast is generally pleasant enough (and would probably make more of an impression on me if I'd read more than two non-consecutive volumes). Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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