Originally posted June 26, 2009
By REBECCA P.
Enter Karin, a vampire with “monthly” problems. She’s a vampire with nose-bleeds and an intense blood-gushing reaction to the new transfer student Kenta Usui. This creates several embarrassing episodes for both of them, and even more ‘coincidentally’ they start to work at the same place. Of course, Karin’s life was never normal to begin with as a vampire. Living with her parents, brother and younger sister, she’s the family’s black sheep. Not only can she go out into the sun and enjoy it, but she gives blood instead of taking blood from her “victims,” creating a very positive result. The question is, what will Karin’s reactions to her classmate Kenta Usui result in as well as her life as a vampire?
My thoughts
I picked up Chibi Vampire on a whim (better known as Karin). I had seen it and heard a little about it, so seeing the majority of the series at my local library, I grabbed the first book. Once I picked up Chibi Vampire I was immediately drawn into the story. The dialogue is crisp and moved at a great pace. The artwork isn’t overly complex, but is well suited to the manga as a whole. The artwork is cutesy to an extent, but don’t let it turn you away from a great series (and in my opinion the artwork is great).
Chibi vampire is intended for older teenagers and up. It does have some panty humor (nosebleeds and panty shots), but keeping in mind that the manga-ka is a woman, don’t expect a lot. There are some clichés in Chibi Vampire and it’s easy to read between the lines and see what’s coming, but despite that, it’s a manga that keeps you hooked and something I hope the rest of the series continues to do.
All in all, chibi vampire is a series that will keep you entertained to the last page. With a good story, good dialogue, and just a great overall appeal, it’s definitely a series to check out. Even if vampires don’t appeal to you, if you can enjoy funny, cute and light-hearted manga you’ll probably enjoy Chibi Vampire. Now, if only I didn’t have to wait until tomorrow morning to read the rest of the series.
