ROSARIO VAMPIRE SEASON 2 (VOLUME 1)
September 1st 2010 21:01
Category: Manga
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Story & Art by: Akihisa Ikeda
Translation: Kaori Inoue
English Adaptation: Gerard Jones
Touch up art & Lettering: Stephen Dutro
Cover & Interior Design: Hidemi Sahara
Cost: AU$14.95/US$9.99
Picked up this particular volume via the medium of the internet, specifically the Madman Entertainment website (www.madman.com.au) which has a wide selection of various anime and manga titles and without which my reviews would be very sparse. This particular volume starts the second season of the Rosario Vampire saga or Rosa Vam as it’s apparently called by those in the know...at least according to the author who seems a bit puzzled as to how this moniker was coined. This manga series takes elements of high school drama/romance and mixes them with a lot of horror/action and throws in some sauciness and comedy just to spice things up. Certainly it’s one of those works that defies being pigeon holed and attempts to appeal to a wide audience.
A very average, ordinary guy Tsukune found that his middle of the road grades weren’t enough to get him into any high school and he was pondering what was going to happen. His father solved the problem when he found a flyer promoting entrance to a private academy with no need for sitting entrance exams and paying outrageous fees, it was a flyer for Yokai Academy. When he arrives at the academy to commence his first year at this institute Tsukune swiftly finds out that he is as they say not in Kansas anymore; not by a long shot. His first encounter involves in having his blood drunk by a rather cute young female vampire; Moka Akashiya, the lead protagonist in this manga series. That is his first indicator that all is not quite kosher with his new school or his fellow students.
Reading this particular volume you could easily see how this manga could become an anime series – Rosario Vampire Capu 2 is the second season of the series – the chapters of this volume are essentially akin to stand alone stories which could easily be adapted as anime episodes. The first chapter essentially sees our protagonist returning to the academy, this is not only due to the fact that the academic year has commenced but also due to damage the academy sustained in a confrontation with a rather put out former teacher. So as a result of this ex teachers antics the academy had to have several sections rebuilt, that’s what happens when a magical mirror that unleashes a monsters true nature is let loose willy nilly around the school. And all as a result of the ex teachers artistic pretensions; she was an art teacher after all, one who views chaos and carnage having just as much artistic merit as say chiaroscuro and impressionism.
Coming in off a break Tsukune is keen to see his friends again, and some would say it’s all down to most of his friends being predominantly cute young girls his age, what guy wouldn’t want to see such friends again. Still Tsukune views all of these girls as his friends, if he does have a thing for one of them it would be for the primary female protagonist; Moka. Certainly Moka has a lot going for her; she is cute, smart, caring and likely to be anyone’s ideal girlfriend. The only problem is that she is a vampire and she does find Tsukune attractive, although it seems it more for the taste of his blood than his actual qualities as a person. For some reason she finds Tsukune’s blood ultra tasty...more so than the usual tomato juice she drinks. She’s always keen for a sip...
This particular volume there is some focus given to Moka’s past; in particular the fact that she isn’t just a single solitary female vampire in fact she is one of four sisters. And now the youngest of the four sisters has arrived at Yokai and the proverbial hit’s the fan so to speak. With orange brown hair done up in pigtails and looking like something straight of a typical school anime series Koko is Moka’s youngest sister. The fourth vampire female and although she looks like a sweet kid, you know the kind whose cheek you want to squeeze if you’re an Italian grandmother, such is not the case. But I’ve always been a firm believer that cute looking kids are probably the most evil things in the universe just one step behind Dark Lords of the Sith and Dukes of Hell; and this is exactly what Koko is...an evil, homicidal young girl who relishes her vampirism and her ability to cause carnage.
Unlike Moka who has her true powers sealed within the Rosario that she wears around her neck Koko can readily and easily access her abilities...and just to make things worse she has a pet Bat, aptly named Batty, who can morph into various weapons – from morning stars to hammers to baseball bats with spikes. Have to admit that kind of pet is rather handy, I’m just wondering where I could find one, but that aside Koko has been chasing Moka for quite some time. She is keen to fight her elder sister – although not the Moka that is the series mainstay but in fact her other ‘side’, the vampire that is unleashed whenever her Rosario is removed. Silver haired, crimson eyed the true vampire Moka is something that would cause anyone with the slightest bit of sanity to consider not getting in her bad books or drawing her ire. Some people though never learn. Rosario Vampire Season 2 looks like a lot of fun, if you like your manga to be a horror/comedy/romance kind of story then this is right up your alley...
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