Chibi Vampire vol. 3 - Yuna Kagesaki
As Kenta helps Karin study for her school exam, the two start becoming closer. But when Maki catches sight of them and asks if they are going out, Karin protests! She needs time, especially when she feels like she's starting to overcome her blood issues around Kenta. But a new problem is about to surface...and the odor is enough to make a vampire run to daylight! (courtesy of Goodreads)
Review
*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.
Kenta knows that Karin is a vampire! He's pledged to keep her secret...not that he really had a choice. It decreases some of the awkwardness between them. Unfortunately, the awkwardness quickly comes back when people start speculating that they're dating.
But let's forget about Kenta and Karin. They're the least interesting part of this volume. There are two big subplots in volume 3. Both are really strange - continuing with a theme.
Subplot one: Kenta's mother is a maid at a Love Hotel (hourly rate hotels that are quite common in Japan). She finds Miharu, a high school girl, living there as a prostitute. Kenta's mom tries to convince Miharu to return home to her father and stepmother or at least to help her out.
Subplot two: Anju left her talking doll Boogie in a park when she rescued Karin. One of her classmates picked it up and refused to return it. Turns out karma is on Anju's side. Boogie-kun comes to life and attacks the little girl's mother with a knife. Then he goes after the little girl because she refused to give him back to Anju. Anju gets there just in time to keep Boogie from killing her classmate. Boogie-kun the doll is the embodiment of the ghost of a guy who killed 13 people with a kitchen knife. See what I mean about weird and creepy? Yet oddly intriguing.
One thing (well, one of numerous things) that irritated me about this volume was that Karin's chest looked huge. It wasn't a focus of the previous volumes. It's hugely disproportionate to the rest of her body. Looks more silly than sexy.
Thanks for reviewing this series. I think I said before my daughter ADORES it, so it is good to know what is going on in it (without having to read it myself! :).
ReplyDeleteThis series is good for its subplots. It's one of the only reasons I read it as much as I did. Although I am a sucker (ha, no pun intended) for the romance between Karin and Kenta. And the doll? Super creepy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! :) I like how you focused on other aspects of the manga for this post.
♥ Trish
I've never even heard of a love hotel before. Pretty sure I could have gone my whole life without knowing that's what they were called:) I can see how a hugely disproportionate chest would be distracting while reading, sometimes you just can't not notice something like that!
ReplyDeleteThe disproportionate chest and body for women very distracting and irritating too. It's one of the main reasons why I dropped "Soul Eater", a really popular manga series.
ReplyDeleteI love this series for all the silliness it has. It's not one of my favorites or anything, but it's very entertaining. And I agree with the disproportional body thing. It's so bothersome to me. I used to read shoujo manga books by a particular mangaka back in my high school days, and the bodies she drew were so unrealistic. It was something I would see in shounen not shoujo. Very weird. :/
ReplyDelete