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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bloody pretty kisses,
This review is from: Bloody Kiss Volume 2 (Paperback)
"Bloody Kiss" is one of those manga series that is short, sweet, and flutters away before it has a chance to overstay its welcome. The second volume of Kazuko Furumiya's adorable little vampire-romance manga is also the last, but it's a satisfying ending for the tale of a socially clueless vampire and his blushing bride -- sort of the halfway point between "Fruits Basket" and "Vampire Knight."
Kiyo is horrified when a bored Kuroboshi and a lustful Alsh decide to amuse themselves... by going to her school. Unsurprisingly Kuroboshi soon attracts every girl in the school just by existing -- except the snotty Fujiwara, who starts lashing out at Kiyo again. She challenges Kiyo to a mixed doubles match with Kuroboshi, and isn't afraid to use her uncle's influence to win. Then a new exchange student arrives at the school... and he's got a sword, which is not a good sign. Turns out he's Mizukami, a childhood friend of Kiyo's who is now a supernatural hunter and exterminator -- and he senses a presence around Kiyo. She desperately tries to keep Kuroboshi's true nature a secret from Mizukami, even as the vampire becomes jealous of her old friend -- and when they clash, Kiyo must decide who she will protect. And while the school prepares for the "Romeo and Juliet" play (guess who's Romeo), Kuroboshi begins to feel rejected by Kiyo's reluctant to give him blood -- and asks her openly what her feelings are for him. Just as Kiyo is working out her feelings for him, Mizukami tells her about the blood kiss that will officially make her Kuroboshi's bride... and the terrible consequences that might result. Will this split apart the vampire and his bride for good? For a manga about a pair of vampires living in a spooky old mansion with a human girl, "Bloody Kiss" is actually quite a fluffy, heartwarming story. And the second volume is mostly about Kuroboshi encroaching even further into Kiyo's "ordinary" life, going to her school and protecting her at all times -- and the entire little manga is swathed in roses, vampiric mists, and an excessively realistic adaptation of Shakespeare's play. And while there are some hauntingly passionate moments for Kiyo and Kuroboshi, Furumiya keeps things spiced up with some fun comedic moments -- including Kuroboshi cosplaying as an "evil vampire" (complete with cape), and Alsh stealing Kiyo's bicycle and hitting on pretty schoolgirls. If there's a problem, it's that it feels like "Bloody Kiss" was intended to be a longer series but was finished off quickly for whatever reason. Well, at least the ending is a satisfying one. Furumiya also introduces a sorta-kinda-love triangle... in that there's a third party interfering, but it's not quite clear if he's romantically attracted to Kiyo. Either way, Mizukami is a promising, intriguing character who is never quite fleshed out. But the real focus is on Kiyo and Kuroboshi, and how their peculiar bloodsucky romance winds to a natural resolution. Kuroboshi is still rather sweet, naive, and clueless about how the real world works -- although he experiences a nasty spurt of jealousy when Mizukami enters the stage. And despite claiming that she wants him and his fangs to stay home, Kiyo slowly learns that Kuroboshi belongs beside her everywhere in the world, and begins to reconcile herself to her obvious love for him. "Bloody Kiss Volume 2" is a natural, sweet ending to a very short series, with plenty of comedy, romance and a little bit of sword-fighting. Too bad it didn't last a little longer.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light-hearted vampire romance,
This review is from: Bloody Kiss Volume 2 (Paperback)
Ah, high school in Japan. If it isn't robots, it's vampires. At least that's what it seems like if you read too much manga!
"Bloody Kiss Vol. 2" is the second and final volume in Furumiya Kazuko's light-hearted supernatural romance. Originally serialized in the shojo magazine "Hana to Yume" ("Flowers and Dreams") in 2005, "Bloody Kiss" has got to be the most angst-free vampire love story I have ever seen. Continuing from volume one, we have the dhampir (half-human, half-vampire) Kuroboshi sharing a home with average high-school girl Katsuragi Kiyo. Kiyo inherited Kuroboshi along with the house when her grandmother died, and Kuroboshi chose Kiyo as his "bride." In this manga world, vampires only drink blood from a single selected target, who is then the vampire's "bride" for life. Kuroboshi has a servant vampire, Alsh, who has a bit of a panty fetish (of course) and is generally a sweet-hearted trouble maker. The stories in "Bloody Kiss" are more like an anthology than a straight plot. There are a number of minor issues resolved in a few pages, like Kuroboshi and Kiyo facing off in a tennis match against popular girl Fujiwara, or a romantic rival in the form of Kiyo's childhood friend Mizukami Sou who shows up out of nowhere as a vampire hunter. Nothing is too heavy, however, and all of the plots are resolved pretty much how you think they will be, accompanied by flowers and romance. The art in "Bloody Kiss" is almost expressionistic. Artist Furumiya is more concerned with creating a mood than telling a story, and so pages can be given over to simple scenes with no dialog and only passing glances between characters. The panel usage was especially impressive, and the art captivating. The main weakness of "Bloody Kiss" is that the serialization seems to have been only a few pages a week, and so we get a full story re-cap every few pages. That might have been necessary in "Hana to Yume" when readers might have come to the story mid-stride, but it gets annoying when you are reading the collected form. Because "Bloody Kiss" is only a two-volume series, there isn't much space to develop characters or get too heavily into the plot. I think that works just fine, because there isn't much story here for more than two volumes. The length is just right. All in all, this isn't a spectacular series, but it is some fun light reading, and if you are in the mood for some angst-free vampire romance than this is just about perfect.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best, hardly the worst.,
By Asphalt Jungle Guide "njsurfer" (Leading Edge of Nowhere) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bloody Kiss Volume 2 (Paperback)
This manga felt very 'thrown together'. Things were introduced and never resolved--like why being a dhampir would be a problem in vampire society when vampires can only drink from their chosen bride (are there no female vampires?). Nor is the subplot with Kiyo's father ever resolved. The mangaka at least admits the vampire hunter thing is totally random and thrown in for...whatever reason. Even the mangaka's sidebars weren't all that interesting.
The art is kind of blocky, but shows real effort and attention in the scenes where someone 'vamps out'. Kiyo is a bit of a rarity in manga (IMO), a no-nonsense heroine, who is quite capable of standing up for herself and those she cares about, whether it involves unscrupulous land developers (another sub-plot that was never really resolved), or bullies at school. Another complaint is the length, both volumes are 'padded' with unrelated short stories, space that could've been used to develop the characters and storyline. I've certainly read worse manga, and this *is* sweet. I just don't know if I'd buy anything else this mangaka produced.
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