ROSARIO VAMPIRE SEASON 2 (VOLUME 3)
July 11th 2011 06:16
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 Design: Hidemi Sahara
Interior Design: Ronnie Casson
Cost: AU$14.95/US$9.99
With this particular volume in the ongoing Rosario Vampire Season 2, or RosaVam 2 if you prefer, series the focus is still very much on the other characters within the story but there is also another more significant change that emerges in this particular volume. Initially series creator Akihisa Ikeda said he had intended this particular incarnation of his popular manga to focus more on Tsukune’s friends rather than on the central protagonist Tsukune himself. With the introduction of a new cast member, Moka’s young sister Koko, things look set for more of the same kind of hijinks we’ve come to expect in previous volumes…or is it?
Certainly the opening chapter of this the third volume would indicate that we are in for the same kind of slice of life high school drama, albeit set in a high school for monsters, that has occurred before. Ginei Morioka, the werewolf and womanising president of the News Club seems to be consumed by his darker side apparently attacking a young girl whilst en route to the school campus. His modus operandi matches that of a prankster who has engaged in a campaign of ‘pranks’ against the female populace of the school and when discovered by Koko he makes no attempt to disguise the fact that he is the ‘prankster’.
Although it all seems just a little bit too pat for it to be true, we all know the saying if something is too good to be true then chances are it isn’t. As things pan out it seems that Gin isn’t the culprit at all, although this doesn’t excuse him from being an inveterate womaniser and pervert it seems. And once the mystery has been solved, restitutions made to the victims things fall back into the usual pattern…but even though we are set for more of the same it seems like Mr Ikeda wants to begin to ramp things up a little bit more by introducing a whole new element into the mix.
Previous volumes of Rosario Vampire season 1 and season 2 have been predominantly comedy based and centred on the interaction between the various key protagonists with the girls all vying to being the one to eventually capture Tsukune’s heart. But as we were shown in confrontations between the News Club and the School Protection Committee and the Anti-Schoolers it’s not just romance, laughter, possible unrequited love and generally enjoying life. In fact if anything it would seem that all of this is just a prelude to something far more sinister and darker, something that one suspects has been lurking on the horizon, at the periphery as it were of the audience’s vision…
It seems that the focus in this volume is all about winter and snow, the key protagonist shifts from Koko and her sister complex to Mizore Shirayuki, the snow fairy who in the first season was a serial stalker of Tsukune. She is about to turn seventeen, a pivotal age in the life of a young snow fairy. Apparently at the age of seventeen all snow fairies are required to marry and hopefully produce children. When the heat starts to get unbearable at Yokai Academy Mizore suggests to the crew that they take a trip to her homeland, it seems that the magical barrier that protects Yokai is being adjusted and thus this magical tuning is causing a heat wave. The headmaster has no problems with this and thus the crew rejoice in travelling to a potentially cooler spot. But is all what it seems to be? Does Mizore have a hidden motive behind her suggestion…?
Certainly Mizore views herself as a serious contender for the heart of Tsukune, and her need is not only being driven by her own desires but in a way by biological imperative. As mentioned earlier it’s hoped that once a snow fairy turns seventeen she will find a prospective partners and produce children as the optimal child bearing age for a snow fairy is very short. And considering that the populace of the snow fairy country has been declining over time it’s also imperative that more children are born in order for the people to continue. So our snow fairy protagonist is under a lot of pressure here to try and snag the affection of the main man in her life…what she doesn’t realise is that things are about to get more complicated than she bargained for.
Mizore has been set up for an arranged marriage, to a human from an organisation that seemingly has rather sinister designs on things. All of this is being done by the snow priestess, the oracle and leader of the snow fairy village, she has had a prophesy and feels that the course of action that she’s undertaken is the best for her people and their continued existence. The only problem is that Mizore isn’t exactly enamoured of this course and neither is her mother…still what can you do? Roll over and accept fate? Or gird your loins, borrow a heap of big guns and go rescue the maiden in distress?
Much mayhem and hilarity ensue as Tsukune and crew decided not to let their good, if somewhat odd, friend end up as a sacrificial victim to some nameless and sinister group. This interesting plot development makes Rosario Vampire Season 2 move into what looks to be an interesting and promising direction. From the looks of it the creator likes all the comedy and romance but he’s also happy to give his manga a healthy dose of action and intrigue to spice up the mix. If you’re a fan of this manga you can’t go past this particular instalment in the series, do yourself a favour and get your hand on this volume…
Story & Art by: Akihisa Ikeda
Translation: Kaori Inoue
English Adaptation: Gerard Jones
Touch up art & Lettering: Stephen Dutro
Cover Design: Hidemi Sahara
Interior Design: Ronnie Casson
Cost: AU$14.95/US$9.99
With this particular volume in the ongoing Rosario Vampire Season 2, or RosaVam 2 if you prefer, series the focus is still very much on the other characters within the story but there is also another more significant change that emerges in this particular volume. Initially series creator Akihisa Ikeda said he had intended this particular incarnation of his popular manga to focus more on Tsukune’s friends rather than on the central protagonist Tsukune himself. With the introduction of a new cast member, Moka’s young sister Koko, things look set for more of the same kind of hijinks we’ve come to expect in previous volumes…or is it?
Although it all seems just a little bit too pat for it to be true, we all know the saying if something is too good to be true then chances are it isn’t. As things pan out it seems that Gin isn’t the culprit at all, although this doesn’t excuse him from being an inveterate womaniser and pervert it seems. And once the mystery has been solved, restitutions made to the victims things fall back into the usual pattern…but even though we are set for more of the same it seems like Mr Ikeda wants to begin to ramp things up a little bit more by introducing a whole new element into the mix.
Previous volumes of Rosario Vampire season 1 and season 2 have been predominantly comedy based and centred on the interaction between the various key protagonists with the girls all vying to being the one to eventually capture Tsukune’s heart. But as we were shown in confrontations between the News Club and the School Protection Committee and the Anti-Schoolers it’s not just romance, laughter, possible unrequited love and generally enjoying life. In fact if anything it would seem that all of this is just a prelude to something far more sinister and darker, something that one suspects has been lurking on the horizon, at the periphery as it were of the audience’s vision…
It seems that the focus in this volume is all about winter and snow, the key protagonist shifts from Koko and her sister complex to Mizore Shirayuki, the snow fairy who in the first season was a serial stalker of Tsukune. She is about to turn seventeen, a pivotal age in the life of a young snow fairy. Apparently at the age of seventeen all snow fairies are required to marry and hopefully produce children. When the heat starts to get unbearable at Yokai Academy Mizore suggests to the crew that they take a trip to her homeland, it seems that the magical barrier that protects Yokai is being adjusted and thus this magical tuning is causing a heat wave. The headmaster has no problems with this and thus the crew rejoice in travelling to a potentially cooler spot. But is all what it seems to be? Does Mizore have a hidden motive behind her suggestion…?
Certainly Mizore views herself as a serious contender for the heart of Tsukune, and her need is not only being driven by her own desires but in a way by biological imperative. As mentioned earlier it’s hoped that once a snow fairy turns seventeen she will find a prospective partners and produce children as the optimal child bearing age for a snow fairy is very short. And considering that the populace of the snow fairy country has been declining over time it’s also imperative that more children are born in order for the people to continue. So our snow fairy protagonist is under a lot of pressure here to try and snag the affection of the main man in her life…what she doesn’t realise is that things are about to get more complicated than she bargained for.
Mizore has been set up for an arranged marriage, to a human from an organisation that seemingly has rather sinister designs on things. All of this is being done by the snow priestess, the oracle and leader of the snow fairy village, she has had a prophesy and feels that the course of action that she’s undertaken is the best for her people and their continued existence. The only problem is that Mizore isn’t exactly enamoured of this course and neither is her mother…still what can you do? Roll over and accept fate? Or gird your loins, borrow a heap of big guns and go rescue the maiden in distress?
Much mayhem and hilarity ensue as Tsukune and crew decided not to let their good, if somewhat odd, friend end up as a sacrificial victim to some nameless and sinister group. This interesting plot development makes Rosario Vampire Season 2 move into what looks to be an interesting and promising direction. From the looks of it the creator likes all the comedy and romance but he’s also happy to give his manga a healthy dose of action and intrigue to spice up the mix. If you’re a fan of this manga you can’t go past this particular instalment in the series, do yourself a favour and get your hand on this volume…
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