Manga 20843

I loved this manga so much, and highly recommend it for people who will read it through to the end. Shouoto sensei's art has always held up to my sky-high expectations, and the story is so beautifully woven and has such a heartbreaking ending (no spoilers). It starts out light but has a dark twist in the twentiethish chapter, that wonderfully depicts the character Aki's pain and longing. Also is very educational for people interested in Japanese culture, as it has little tidbits of very cultural aspects. For example, the Hanafuda cards that tell a very grim story, as well as the characters' trip to ... the Onsen. One of my favorite aspects was the characters, who made a lasting impression on me. Everyone has their own painful backstory, some more painful than others. My all-time favorite character was Kirito Aki, whom I really rooted for to the end. He was childish and crude but at times showed a beautiful side of selflessness and unlimited love for his childhood love. As is typical of a shoujo manga, he was really devoted to Kana (main character) and went through a lot of pain and insecurity wondering whether he was worthy of her, having pined after her since he was like ten. He makes a lot of sacrifices, and I cried while reading the last chapter. I felt so sad it never got an anime, but this manga was definitely worth it. I really want to spread this manga to others who have never read it, it's really REALLY worth it!!!!

To review this story I'd like to say that at the beginning it was very interesting. The art was spectacular, as always with Shouoto, and the story line started of so great that i couldn't sand waiting for chapter 2. Then chapter 2 comes out and its okay but the story continues. Its around I'd say maybe chapter 4 or 5 i don't really remember, that it started straying from mysterious vampires and stuff to a cheesy school life thing. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the school life stories they are very interesting at times but with this story it was very ... disappointing because i was expecting action packed mysterious type of story. That's not what I got. So what I'm trying to say, and no one hurt me for this, is that though the artwork is beautiful the story line isnt that great. So if you appreciate the art more then then the actual story behind it its perfect for you but if you don't then i suggest something else. That's just my honest opinion. So don't hurt me fangirls because i have a race on Monday and cant afford injury.

Apologies to fans: the reasons for my harsh critique
Honestly speaking, I want to firstly say that I am not a fan of the reverse harem. In shoujo manga like we have the male lead stereotype. To be fair I do read a combination of both Shounen and shoujo manga and both genre have their fair share of stereotypes.

Most of Shouoto sensei's characters are heavily stereotyped and fan service oriented but then most shoujo manga is. I am by no means dissing shoujo manga, just explaining what to expect. I have followed skip beat for the last 8 years! I found this while trying to ... fill in the hole left behind by the completion of Vampire Knight (I love you forever zero *fan girl squeel*)

Story
The entire story is centred around a school girl that becomes a vampires servant ie. immortal and with powers. The concept was ok and I did give it a few chapters to actually sink into the story but it comes off as superficial and fan serviced.

Art
Sensei's work has always been drawn well. The designs are great but heavily stereotyped. Have you wondered if vampires in shoujo manga shared their wardrobe? Lol.

Character
Bleh! Unoriginal characters... Boring design. Poor character development.

Enjoyment
Dreadful. I've dropped this already and I do had dropping series midway but it irritated the crap outta me.

Overall
My advice... Don't waste your precious time. Unless you really liked heavily fan serviced and reverse harem sort of thing.