Ranked #474

Blood Alone (Manga)

Ever wanted to read something captivating and alluring, while similar to "Kure-nai"? Readers, i bring forth to you, Blood Alone... a romantic mystery fantasy drama that merges sweet romance and vampires, which are obscured from society.

The story revolves around two protagonists, one being Misaki Minato, a newly turned vampire, not out of choice but as a result of an attack on her and her father, which left her parentless and alone. The other protagonist is Kuroe Kurose known by society as an upcoming author. At the same time he is the guardian of Misaki and has a part time job as a private eye. His intricate past has many secrets but as the story unfolds, we learn a bit more of him and his background... as a "vampire hunter".

To some, what i've already written and will write may appear to be spoilers but on the contrary, it is merely a template for which i can elaborate further on this highly entertaining and intriguing story... after all, the journey of these two has only just begun.

I do acknoledge that the concept of vampires has been used numerous times and you would probably anticipate a myriad of action scenes followed by blood thirsty vampires roaming the city but you would only be half correct. This manga diverges quite a bit from this "expected" storyline by making the relationship between misaki and kuroe a main part of this chronicle.

As you continue to read this manga,you would probably be reminded a lot of the anime called Kure-nai (for those who have seen it) in which a young girl has feelings for her guardian who is significantly older. Kuroe so far only thinks of Misaki as a child and wants to protect her from the dangers of vampires with malicious intent.

Another enjoyable part of this story is that as a viewer you would "sometimes" get to see the thoughts of Misaki and her feelings for Kuroe, which are further implied through her actions. I personally find this really enjoyable as her character is like a tsundere... acting independant and throwing tantrums yet deep inside she wants someone to depend on and someone who cares for her.

Besides the romance, there are quite a few action scenarios, which are intense, clearly portrayed and very easy to follow. The art is detailed and aesthethically pleasing. The panels are nicely separated but at times also merges different panels together without borders thus creating something new (to me) and creative. This innovative style gives you as the reader, an enjoyable feel as you're eyes follows the flow of the story through those merged panels.

One small thing i did notice over time is that when Kuroe is dressed for a mission, he looks exactly, if not almost like a splitting image of Hei from Darker than BLACK (a bit down the story), which just adds as a bonus for me because i admire Hei as a character.

Overall Blood Alone proves to be a truly remarkable manga, which ingeniously surpasses other mangas of its genre, one notably being "Vampire Knight" (yes, you heard that statement correctly) and it exhibits a realistic feel of romance, while providing a great fantasy storyline for us readers to enjoy.

N.B. The main story is yet to be revealed therefore this review may change as the story develops and also i hope that you enjoyed my thoughts of this manga. read more

Mangaka: Takano Masayuki
Serialized in: Dengeki Comics (Media Works)
Genre: seinen, supernatural, romance, slice of life, mystery
N. American license: Infinity Studios
Rating: 13+

Blood Alone revolves around a shoujo vampire (13+ years old) named Misaki, and the man she lives with, Kuroe. His age is indeterminate so far, but he’s clearly past school age, a writer and part-time private eye. Despite this May to December situation, their relationship is a chaste one, even though they sleep in one bed together. Compounding the oddness of their arrangement, she has not made him into a will-less slave, a “Renfield” — which makes them unique in this milieu.

There is a lot more to Kuroe than meets the eye, however. Mysteries in his past and regarding his abilities are revealed slowly throughout the chapters. Although Misaki is “newly-turned”, a young vampire, she is protected by Higure, another child-vampire but one who is extremely old and powerful. Sainome, a police pathologist, is an old friend of Kuroe’s who sometimes asks him for help with odd or difficult cases.

This story is fun because it doesn’t focus solely on the action, nor does it sacrifice the action and mystery for the love story. Both are used effectively, sometimes one side in one chapter, sometimes the other, and a couple of times both are wound together in the plot. Volume three is almost totally about relationships and almost nothing to do with vampires or action, but volume four brings back the intrigue in spades.

Takano’s artwork is obviously influenced by shoujo style, but unlike some shoujo it is graphically clean, both when it confines itself to panels with borders and when it shifts to border-less pages. I thought this shifting quite innovative. Too often in shoujo manga, I find some scenes — especially action scenes — drawn too densely to see clearly what is happening. This is not a problem here. Misaki is always shown with a hint of her fangs, never letting the reader forget what she is. I would likely continue with this manga for the art alone, even if the story weren’t interesting.

Infinity’s production of the book is quite good, with no typesetting problems that I could see and the binding is top-rate — they didn’t skimp on the binding glue! I also appreciate that Infinity took the trouble to make a dust cover like the Japanese tankoubon have. The full-color cover and frontispiece add delightful touches. Blood Alone employs one break with manga tradition: black background borders do not indicate the past or flashbacks, but rather nighttime. Those borders fade from white to grey to black as the sun sets and vice versa in the morning, highlighting the danger to Misaki when she is inevitably caught outdoors.

I recommend Blood Alone highly. If I have any complaint, it’s perhaps that the 13+ rating might be a bit young — not due to violence or sex, but simply the subtlety itself. This runs in a seinen magazine, after all — a college-age men’s publication. The story is delicate and most issues are handled subtly. Despite the lolicon situation, it is not played up at all, with zero use of fanservice whatsoever, which I appreciated. The action is actually exciting and Misaki is completely adorable. read more