Customer Reviews

Trinity Blood, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Trinity Blood is the hottest new Anime on Adult Swim and now comes the Manga from Tokyopop, the leader in great Manga. The gorgeous animation of the TV show is well represented by the stunning art in volume one drawn by Kiyo Kyujo and written by Sunao Yoshido. The book is set in the future although it's rather hard to tell that from the gothic look of the characters and scenery. The story opens as a mysterious man runs, literally into Sister Esther and her sworn protector Dietrich. The pair run into the man just a short time later at the Church of Saint Mathias and are surprised to find out the mysterious man is a priest named Father Abel Nightroad, a special agent sent by the Vatican to assist the church in their battle with a local cult of vampires.

The Vampires are led by Lord Gyula who has sworn revenge on the Vatican for the death of his wife. He intends to use a powerful satellite called the Star of Sorrow to destroy the Vatican. We'll soon learn that Abel is not just another man of the cloth but a unique being called a Crusnik, a vampire who drinks only the blood of other vampires and gives him tremendous powers. Loyalties will be tested on both sides as both good and evil have secret allies within the other side's camp.

The story is very well-paced, especially for an opening volume to a new Manga series which often can be a little on the slow side. Abel is one of the more unique heroes, not the brooding silent type like "D" nor a brash cocky hero like so many others. He's powerful yet compassionate.

The art is some of the best I've seen in a long time. Remarkable detail and distinct line work and some of the most gorgeously rendered figures. The action flows extremely well in the action scenes. I am already anxiously awaiting volume two!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

In its original form Trinity Blood was a series of science fiction novels by Sunao Yoshida who died before the series was concluded. From character designs by Thores Shibamoto, Kiyo Kyujo created the Trinity Blood series of Manga. I have not read the original novels but, given the themes and storylines, that is something I would definitely like to explore in the future.


The story opens at essentially an unspecified time in our future after Armageddon during the Second Moon in a world of perpetual war between humans and vampires. The Vatican has assigned Father Abel Nightroad, a priest with a secret, to serve at the parish of St Mathias and battle Istavan's local vampire power, Lord Gyula Kadar. In short order, the church of St. Mathias is destroyed by Gyula and Father Nightroad befriends and aids a young nun, Esther, from the church and together they seek out the den of the vampire Lord only to discover a terrifying plan of Kadar's for his revenge on all humans.

Trinity Blood is an excellent read and definitely will hold a well deserved place in any Manga or Vampire book collection. I have yet to view the anime based on the series but, it is definitely on my list now. Some books are destined to translate well to into animation and this is one. The characters are well written and the action does spark the imagination. Kiyo Kyujo's drawings are wall art worthy and very well done. The quality of art does not, however, overtake the telling of the story like many graphic novels and other books.

I just got the first volume of the "Trinity Blood" manga. (And there was great rejoicing!) I'm so glad Tokyopop translated it into English for those of us who are Japanese language impared.

The artwork is just as amazing as the anime's is, but with a style all it's own. It jumps right in with the introduction of Sister Esther to Father Abel Nightroad (a sweet if klutzy liason from the tumultuous Vatican), and keeps you going with pins and needles from then on! The vampires (or Methuselah, as they call themselves) are nearly all powerful in this post-apocalypitical earth. The only thing that stands in their way is the Holy Catholic Church and the operatives they utalize to bring down any "evil" vampire they can in the name of preserving the human race. Abel preaches peaceful co-exsistance between vampire and human, but his views are not widely received. But the Father has an ace up his sleeve that will leave even the all mighty vampries quaking. I highly recommend this manga series. As far as I have seen (and I am certainly no expert) reading the manga won't jaundice a fan for or against the anime. They are each just as good in their own way!

There is plenty of action to the story, but don't think that fighting and vampire-slaying is the major plot-mover of this series. It's the characters and the socio/political twists and turns that keep you going! We haven't seen much of the Vatican, as yet, but the looming unrest of the holy heirarchy is ever-present, even when not directly addressed. Now I can't wait for volume 2!

I've been told by quite a few people that I should check out Trinity Blood. After reading a plot overview on the internet, I was definately intrigued so I went out to my local bookstore and bought volume 1. Just a few pages into the book, I was utterly confused and found myself re-reading lots of parts. This was mainly due to the artwork which is very elaborate but fails at giving the reader a clear visual explanation. I also felt like I was plunged into the story way too fast and that everything was rushed. The reader isn't given enough time to get to know the characters, so I didn't really care for their well-being during times of impending danger and it wasn't sad or shocking when this person betrayed that person. It was too much too soon too fast. I guess now that I'm already into the series I'll see what happens next, but there are definately better manga series you can read. 3 1/2 stars for Trinity Blood (which rounds up to 4).

P.S. I found the artwork to be really overrated. Of course, I am really hard to please when it comes to art. :)

I was not captured by the story at all. It seemed too cliche and the story was not immersing. There is a vampire who feeds on vampires and is employed by the Vatican. However, if vampire wars and Vatican is your deal then I suggest Hellsing. It is not the story but it is how the story is told, and I was not impressed by this manga.

When a character dies in this book, you don't really care. the dialogues, character development makes you want to flip pages,- but without reading-. The art is beautiful but in some action scenes you don't really understand who is hitting who. 3 stars for the artwork. I am only reviewing the first book, mind you, perhaps the series get better but I am not planning to pick up volume 2.

Personally I have to say this is very good. I am a Trinity Blood fan myself and since I know the story line very well I didn't mind it jumping into the plot so quickly. It was easy for me to realize which episodes from the series on [adult swim] it was going over. I can see how someone who has just been introduced to the series may get confused and therefor may need further explaining than this manga offers. In addition, this manga is one of the most beautiful I have seen yet. The art on the back and front cover is amazind and I love how there is a lot of attention to detail, but at the same time there are those hilarious anime expressions we all know and love. This manga was also one of the funniest, I found my self going from giggling to bursting out in laughter as the characters communicated.

I gave this manga a 5 out of 5 stars because of the beautiful art, how funny it is, and the storyline altogether. I will, however, warn you that if you are someone who is just going to read the mangas and not watch the shows or read the novels this may be hard to understand.

I really enjoyed reading this book, The story starts off well and I recommend it too anyone who loves action

Most of you anime otaku will be familiar with the story of Trinity Blood by now. It centers around a Catholic priest named Abel Nightroad, a crusnik (a vampire that feeds off of other vampires), Tres Equis, a super cyborg controlled by the church and designed for combat, and Sister Esther, a [mostly] innocent young nun caught up in the sweep of world affairs.

In the U.S. the anime has been out since September 26, but the manga was released five weeks later on November 7. Although the stories are similar, there are some key differences between the two that make the manga superior.

The comic starts where episode three of the show begins. Father Nightroad is ostensibly a visiting priest in the city of Istavan. In actuality, he is an elite agent of the Catholic church investigating the activities of the cities ruler, a vampire named Count Gyula. Gyula is bent on destroying the Catholic church, which he blames for the death of his terran (that is, non-vampire) wife.

The manga is worth your time if only for the expanded story elements. Mother Vitez, Esther's mentor and mother figure, features prominently and Tres Equis is a Vatican spy in Count Gyula's personal army. The plot hasn't changed, but the story is refreshingly different.

The art is at times impressive and at other times confusing. The action can be enthralling, as when Abel first reveals his crusnik powers, or impossibly hard to follow--without a second or third reading--such as the opening scene when Abel first meets Esther.

Despite these flaws, the story carries the whole manga admirably. That should come as no surprise as the comic and anime are an adaptation of a series of novels written by Sunao Yoshida in 2003. Unfortunately Yoshida died in 2004 at the age of 34 and left the novels unfinished until his friend and Ragnarok author Kentaro Yasuri completed them in 2005.

Tokyopop has done a fine job with this manga.

Trinity Blood Manga I opens with The Star of Sorrow (anime episodes 3-4). Even it you have seen the anime version of this story you should read the manga. If the anime had followed the manga The Star of Sorrow would have been a three part story.
Sister Esther is more observant and inquisitive in the manga than she is in the anime. Tres is an undercover agent in Giula's army. Bishop Laura is still alive. Giula's late wife Maria seems to have been human. In the anime I got the impression she was a Methuselah.
The manga presents a fuller, more detailed story with better developed characters than the anime version. I am not slamming the anime. I love it and am in the process of buying the series. However, few film versions ever show all or the same aspects of a story as it appears in print.
One word about manga: If you've never read one before, the story starts at the back of the book and reads right to left. It takes a while to get the hang of it.

Okay, for anyone who doesn't know, Trinity Blood started out as a science fiction novel, of the same title. The funny thing is, unlike most people, I started with reading the novels, then watched the show, then read the manga. I recommend reading the novels and manga after you watch the show, because each starts in a different place in the story, and the show is easiest to follow. An observant reader would notice the the titles of the chapters in the novels are also names of episodes, which follow these storylines. In the first novel, it starts with the two first episodes "Flight Night" and then "Witch Hunt", but then skips to "From the Empire" and then skips back to "Sword Dancer". So the story and what is and isn't revealed varies between each series.
Not Jeff but his kid