"This is the last time I get wasted in the morgue." |
Manga-wise, the only vampire series I thoroughly enjoyed was Hellsing. But that's not a Shoujo. I also loved reading Vampire Game. But I was twelve years old. I didn't care that the male lead was a vampire reincarnated into what appears to be Einstein kitty. Or that he falls in love with the fifteen year old descendant of the man who killed him. Or that in the end, she gets together with her much older bodyguard so when the vampire gets killed again, making me weep tiny twelve year old tears, he gets reincarnated as her son.
I even have this poster from Vampire Knight. |
Also read Model by Lee So Young (that's a fun name), but I don't really remember much except the main girl hires a vampire so she can draw him and that they end up together. And I don't feel like reading it again to give a proper review.
Vampire Knight has pretty art. Insanely beautiful art. And that's about it. Don't get me wrong, I was really into the series until I found out Yuki, the main character, was a vampire princess and that she's her vampire love interest's baby sister. And after finding out, her childhood friend love interest begins to hate her because he was forced to become a vampire by a ruthless monster who killed his whole family and so understandably, hates all vampires. (Don't get me started on the reappearance of a missing twin who later dies to save his vampire-hating brother.)
And now to the main event--Black Rose Alice.
Black Rose Alice is a beautiful abomination.
And I say that because the only elements this manga's vampires have that follow mythology are that they drink blood and can infect other people. They're like a different species, stamped with the label so people will read it. I love the author's creativity. But they aren't vampires.
Her vampires can walk in the sun. Big deal, so what? That's a new thing. Vampires don't have to worry about wearing sunscreen SPF a million.
They also get their blood by regurgitating bugs and insects, including whole tarantulas who collect the blood for them (maybe even while they're sleeping) then hop back into their mouths. And maybe sometimes they'll drink from the source. Yeah, that's cool.
Her vampires also aren't immortal. They die. They all die eventually.
This was when I folded my arms and laid my head on the desk quietly.
I thought the point of being a vampire is getting to terrorize people until the world ended (unless vampires can survive in space...like maybe have a to-go blood supply space rocket). Or in many stories, enduring loneliness and eternal solitude until a teenager walks across your Victorian mansion lawn.
No, not this manga. You get an x amount of years to live determined by how long it takes for the rose torn tattoo to fully wrap around your neck. Could be fifty years, could be a hundred. The lead male outlives one of his friends who was turned into a vampire decades after. Oh, and the best part--when they die, they turn into fucking trees.
"Yeah that's right, now you know why paper cuts you!" |
All those butterflies you see? They go out to create a new vampires. Apparently, the vampires in this manga reproduce by sending their butterflies to infect the best corpses around. And as you can guess, to get those butterflies, they have to die first. But that's not all! These vampires have to reproduce like any other normal human being--by having sex.
And they only get to have sex once.
The newest craze in vampire mythology: the hundred year old virgin. |
The first three chapters are set in Vienna, largest city in Austria, 1906. After those chapters, it switches to modern day Japan where we meet the female lead.
So
- It's Agnieszka's sixteenth birthday; her fiance, Theo, gives her a concealed dagger necklace in the shape of an angel.
- The male lead appears to serenade her with a song. Girls in the background are squealing, "Oh em gee, it's Dimitri!"
- We find out Dimitri's a famous singer going on tour. And that he's in love with Angieszka; he's known her since he was around sixteen years old (they have a ten year gap). But he was sold to his best friend, Theo's, family because he has a talent in singing. And because of his lineage, he can't marry her.
I wish it was this Dimitri. I'd jolly fat man dance with him with flowers in my hair too. |
No sweetie, that's not how Shoujo works. |
- But Theo's a playboy. The day after the party, Theo starts a casual conversation about how he deflowered Angieszka, and Dimitri gets angry because his friend's treating her like one of his mistresses.
- During his angry walk, Dimitri gets run over by horse and dies.
- A butterfly lands on him, and Dimitri wakes up in the hospital to a frantic best friend and his crying sweetheart; he's fine enough to go to his concert rehearsals later on.
- The next few pages depict a number of people who have committed suicide in various ways. Everyone who attended the rehearsal has died.
- Dimitri is beginning to be aware of his heightened senses. He finds a rose mark on the back of his neck.
- And some random guy named Maximilian calls out to Dimitri while he is walking down a street.
"But it's daylight and I'm not a nine year old boy." |
- During the ride in his carriage and at his house, Maximilian explains everything about their species.
Dimitri: I listened to everything you said, even followed you to your house, learned a little bit about your personal life, but I still don't believe I'm a vampire. I R NORMAL. You can STFU, crazy homo sapien. Why don't you put the bottle on a higher shelf next time?
Maximilian: When you sing a certain note, anybody who hears it has to surrender their life to you within twenty four hours. Not every vampire gets this super amazing gift. But your sire possessed it and now you do too.
He should have done a hair flip to seal the deal.
Maximilian: But I want to build a nest with you!
Dimitri: Da faq you talking about?
Maximilian: Other vampires will want to claim you as their master. I won't let anyone else have you.
Dimitri: ...Don't worry, I won't follow strangers into shadyvanscarriages anymore.
Maximilian: Oh btw, don't have sex with any women. Once vampires breed, they die. (Oh would you look at that. Great news, BL fangirls, gay sex it is!)
- Dimitri leaves, perhaps even rolling his eyes at how much smarter he is for wasting his time at a stranger's place listening to the man's crazy stories. And visits one of his casual flings at her apartment.
- And he tests his amazing so-called rare gift.
- She smiles and dives out of the window. He freaks the fuck out. Dimitri runs away, encounters his best friend who's got his arms over some ladies like the player he is, and winds up at a church.
- He decides, "Well, I'm an abomination to God. Might as well kill myself by having sex with my sweetheart." And he heads over to his best friend's place, demanding Theo give Agnieszka to him. (Dude, no. What the fuck, she's not a sex doll.)
- Theo gets angry. "The hell, man, you're a commoner and she's a nobleman's daughter. I'm not letting someone like you steal my fiancee. Snap out of it! Know your place! Gawsh, I hate it when I have to say things like this to you. Don't ever make me do it again."
- Dimitri has a deranged look come across his face. "Of course not. You won't ever have to. You will sacrifice yourself to me."
- Theo: Of course I will, Dimitri. Because I love you so much.
- Flashback of an opera director using Dimitri for sexual favors in exchange for parts in his play, and Theo rushing in to punch the pervert, telling the man not to look down on Dimitri because Dimitri is a fantastic singer and should have gotten the lead anyway.
Theo: 'Kay, thanks for nothing, asshole. |
Why don't they ever run away? |
- Dimitri starts crying but he still drinks the blood. (Guess he didn't want it to go to waste.) And he looks up to see Agnieszka has just witnessed her crush drinking up her fiance's blood like fine wine.
- He tries to rape her. Agnieszka looks over at Theo's dead body, asks God to forgive her, and kills herself with the dagger Theo gave her.
- Next scene, Dimitri's banging at Maximilian's door, begging him to save his beloved.
- Maximilian: But she has no soul.
- Dimitri: I don't care. This is an order.
- Maximilian: Gawddammit.
- Maximilian pulls out a hax blade which makes a human's body immortal. Her soul's gone but Dimitri can use her body for breeding. They decide to leave Vienna because of the shitstorm Dimitri has caused.
TO TOKYOOOOO! Herp-da-derp! (I just really wanted to use this pic.) |
- You find out Maximilian died during the time skip and the three new guys (cute dude with glasses and a pair of twins) are his offspring.
- Leo (dude with glasses) dies even though he and Alice were just starting to like each other.
- The twins have a fucked up past where Twin A raped Twin B's girlfriend. And when Twin B finds out, he thinks his girlfriend betrayed him and kills both her and his brother.
- The teacher's ex-jailbait lover comes back after two years and is convinced that Alice is his "dead" lover because she plays the piano the same way.
- Alice sleeps with her old lover.
- Dimitri throws a bitch fit and leaves to find the back-up girl whom he rescued from being raped to breed with (huh, quite a number of 'almost rape' scenarios in this manga).
- Alice and Dimitri both realize they love each other.
Can't have vampires without homo-sexual tension! |
I think my main issue with this manga is that the plot's all about the romance (yeah, what did I expect from a Shoujo). It's argue, argue, argue, quirky thing, holding hands, argue, oh we love each other. There are no plots where another vampire tries to steal Dimitri like Maximilian thought would happen or new vampires entering the nest (other than one chick who Leo knocks up with his vamp seed before he dies), or even a vampire slayer in sight. Nope, they're off in their little world. All compressed in their little mansion in the middle of Tokyo. And sometimes go to their cafe that Dimitri owns (one of the twins can bake, the other can cook).
"One is a rapist, the other's insane." |
The chocolatier one wasn't that memorable to me. The main character is the 'mistress' in his relationship, and he becomes the best chocolatier ever because of that girl. (Thankfully, he realizes later on that it's his passion anyway so when she breaks up with him, he goes off to France to hone his craft.) Not my type of main character. And I'm not even going to touch After School Nightmare. That was a dip my brain in egg, bread crumb it, and fry it series. Concept--> Weird but okay. Ending--> The fuck?
It's like when Maximillion Pegasus had a laser beam battle with Bakura. |
Anyway, Black Rose Alice, very creative take on vampires, high school drama llama even though Dimitri's 128 years old (died when he was 26) and Alice is 28 (though she is in a 16 year old's body).
Just send me back to the French vampires. At least they take action when one of their own is killed. Seen below, Brad Pitt taking a scythe to strike down the vampires who killed his "daughter".
Fire background, guaranteed to make scenes 1000% cooler. |
I read Vampire Knight until it was revealed that she was her crush's baby sister and the evil twin comes back...It just got too Grey's anatomy for me, without the sex. I just felt sorry for Zero, Poor Guy.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read a shojo in which the girl is the vampire and she "hunts" for her "prey". THAT would be different.
So I read the recent chapter, somehow Yuki and Zero don't hate each other anymore. And it looks like they're getting ready to confront Kaname as a final boss. Huh..yeah, Vampire Knight took an odd turn then stumbled down the rabbit hole.
DeleteI've read a shoujo like that once. It was a one-shot, but one of those "Quick bam, thank you, ma'am" mangas. Not much substance.
I couldn't have described that manga any better.
ReplyDeleteD= No substance, no good.
but then I'm being a hypocrite b/c I have a male vampire character who is in love with a "human" female too.
Haha Vampire Knight or Black Rose Alice? Vampire Knight at least has some sort of external conflict going on (even if it's one of those political "white knight vampires" versus "I still hate humans vampires"...I don't know what's going on with them).
DeleteIt's fine to have male vampire character who is in love with a "human" female. Just make it believable.
Actually, you can write whatever the hell you want however you want. ^_^; (As evidenced by Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey...which originated from Twilight) You never know how popular it will get.
I do wish there were more vampire stories that kept the "creature of the damned" element at least balanced with a romance plotline. I'm definitely a sucker for shoujo manga but I don't want to sacrifice the essence of the vampire either. My issues with Vampire Knight, though, more lie with the "subtle" pairing of Yuki and Zero; it's not believable to me and I get a little tired of being hinted at all the time. I'm still collecting the story because I like Matsuri Hino's work, but I'm waiting for the series to be completed before I take the whole story in.
ReplyDeleteI want to see vampires like Kain and Raziel more often. I suppose I should finish more of those games but they were interesting characters if nothing else.
Mostly I wanted to comment on how well written and entertaining this blog is. ^-^ You are very gifted in writing.
I still haven't found such a vampire story that kept the element and balanced out the romance. I'm sure it exists. Maybe it's not as popular. I haven't read Vampire Knight in years. I don't expect love triangles to be straightforward with the romance. It is the only way I keep my sanity.
DeleteMy favorite work of hers so far is MeruPuri (I never got into Captive Hearts or Wanted).
I've never played the game but the character designs look very interesting indeed.
Thanks again (said it so many times on Shoutbox it's ridiculous)! :D I hoping this blogs lasts longer than a carton of milk.
“Couldn’t you hypnotize her or something?"
ReplyDelete"It doesn’t work like that."
"I thought vampires were all sex gods with the ladies."
Cade looked at him. "What gave you that idea?"
"Uh ... late-night TV, mostly ..."
"Humans are our food. Do you want to have sex with a cow?”
Quote from Blood Oath.
Enough said. I dont believe in romance between vampire-human anymore. I'm dropping Vampire Knight ep vol 4. Forbidden love? Blah. I want more:
1. vampire x vampire.
2. vampire x werewolf.
3. vampire x any creature other than human
Haha That's awesome. Finally a book where a vampire thinks of the obvious. Humans are their food. Not the person who will warm their ice cold unbeating heart.
DeleteI was very enthralled with Vampire Knight in the start. Then it became overly dramatic for my taste.
I don't remember reading any vampire x vampire romances. But I'm sure they're out there. Vampire x werewolf reminds me of Underworld. And vampire and any other creature other than a human would be amazing. Vampire and zombie--both undead, both feast on humans.
The only vampire x vampire couple that I know is antagonist from Twilight. Too bad they're killed by the protagonist. They're the only "tolerable thing" at Twilight.
DeleteVampire x zombie will be aswesome. Both are scary and nasty. It will be R-rated shojo manga.
Not counting vampires turning their human lover into a vampire, I can't think of any vampire x vampire couples either. I tolerate Twilight because of the parodies. Oh the parodies have provided me with hours of enjoyment.
DeleteHaha Maybe if the violence isn't so graphic. Anything heavy would probably throw it into josei.
I love supernatural parodies too ~ (thumbs up for making the guys hot)
ReplyDeleteVampire manga wise...I don't think I've read too many vampire shojos myself. Let's see:
I remember...
-Bloody Kiss (I need to finish that one...I read the one chapter that was out at the time and promptly forgot about it. I remember the art was cute)
-Mad Love Chase (one of the three stooges was a bishi vampire. Omg, I remember he ran around naked wearing a superhero cape at one point xD Love that manga).
-Vampire Knight (I took one look at the series and said no. I knew something bad was going to happen. Something just told me, VK is going to be some fucked up shit...and my gut turned out to be right...)
-Crescent Moon (he was just a BG character but there was a vampire! ...a playboy vampire)
-Vampire Doll (love love love Vampire Doll ~ great comedy ~ Main dude is the vampire and he gets trapped into the body of a wax doll...did I mention the doll is female?)
-Heaven's Will (but the vampire in HW was a dick so he can go fuck himself. He got his just desserts in the prequel - yeah, I'm a spiteful bitch like that xD)
-Trinity Blood (Abel ~ you're so cute x3 And can kick major ass o__o)
Hiiro Ouji (a cute comedy about a vampire who lives off blood from IVs. Dumb ending tho)
-Midnight Secretary (basically about a horny vampire banging his secretary...don't judge me)
...
Okay, going to stop my list there. Turns out I have read a lot of vampire shojos/josei xD
Oh man, Black Rose Alice. So much wtf. I'm happy you wrote a post on it. We need to spread the word of Alice...so people can also go wtf why did I read this xD
I'm both interested and not interested in seeing the ending. If it's anything like After School Nightmare though, I'd probably end up flipping a table in the air and rolling around until I got over the wtf-ness xD
I remember Crescent Moon. haha I was thinking, "What vampire?" xD Main male transforms into a giant goblin nosed looking creature if I remember correctly.
DeleteLol Midnight Secretary. Fun stuff. (Even though I've never read it, Ha, me judging you? You're one of the few people I openly showcase my love for BL.)
I read a one shot where the vampire was the girl. It veered off into "ughhhh" because the male lead was a sweet gentle servant, given to her during his youth for the sole purpose of being her food. hah
I read the latest chapter. They have sex in a dream. Since...they would die if they did it in real life. Dimitri and Alice finally admit they love each other and they're now just hanging out, trying to spend as much time as they can together before Dimitri's neck tattoo kills him. Though one of the twins has this creepy look so I'm guessing he's going to be a homewrecker or a major asshole before all's said and done.