Chibi Vampire Vol. 1 -- Yuna Kagesaki

Author: Yuna Kagesaki
Title: Chibi Vampire Vol. 1
Publisher: TokyoPop
Publication Date: 2006
Age range: 13 - 17
Genre: Graphic Novel / Horror
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Plot summary: Karin Maaka is a high school student in Japan and trying to live as normal a life as possible – except that she's from a vampire family. The only one of her family who can stand to be outside during the day, Karin is considered pretty abnormal. Rather than wanting to take blood from humans, Karin has a disorder that increases the amount of her blood once a month – and if she doesn't give it to someone, she suffers terrible nose bleeds! When she does find someone to give her blood to, rather than being a victim, the human benefits from a temporary increase in energy and productivity. When a new student starts at Karin's school, she finds that her blood reacts to him, making her symptoms uncontrollable, and most of this book centers around their interactions, as both are utterly confounded by Karin's reaction to him. Eventually, with the help of her family, Karin starts to understand why she suffers this reaction and the type of human blood she is drawn to.

Comments: This book is pretty strange! The concept is interesting but the sparseness of the text makes it hard to follow conversations and reasoning. Karin's family members are all very sexy in the vampiric tradition – her parents are European (though Karin appears like a Japanese teenager), her brother is of the effeminate boy-band build the Japanese have popularized, and their youngest sister dresses like one of the Harajuku costumed teens who favor gothic lacy Victorian gowns. Karin is always tripping over things and almost blowing the Maaka family cover by revealing herself as a vampire, so at least readers will connect with her on the awkwardness level. This volume tells only half of an introductory story, leaving the reader hanging at the end, but the characters are not compelling enough for me to want to seek out the next book. It is interesting to see a Japanese take on the vampire story.

Dates Read: 16 – 17 February