Creative Staff
Writer: Saki Okuse
Artist: Aki Shimizu
Translated /Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say:
Three centuries ago, a vampire by the name of Migiri was running a reign of terror across Japan when a hero named Naonosuke Kobayashi cut off his head and sent him to eternal rest… until now. Migiri has been resurrected, and the only thing standing in the way of his vampire army and salvation is Yusuke Himukai, who has a special connection to the warrior who defeated Migiri centuries ago . . .
The Review
Contents:Â (Oh yes, there may be spoilers)
Three hundred years ago the vampire Migiri, and his second in command Kuraha, tore a bloody gash of terror across Japan. But then a band of samurai dealt Migiri what should have been a killing blow by decapitating him. Unfortunately, a vampire must be stabbed through the heart to destroy him completely. Kuraha was able to steal his masters’ body away and hide it until he could recover. Because of the extent of Migiri’s injuries, it took him three hundred years to fully recover, but when he did Kuraha was waiting for him in modern-day Japan with a woman sacrifice at the ready. But the girl Kuraha is offering up for sacrifice is Yusuke’s girlfriend and he’ll be damned if he’s going to let her go without a fight. Unfortunately, Yusuke proves to be no match for Migiri. Not only does Yusuke lose his girlfriend but he also loses his right hand and nearly his life.
Two years have passed and Yusuke has fully recovered from his injuries. During that time he has been locked away in a hospital by the government. Then a woman, Maezono, from the National Public Safety Commission comes to retrieve Yusuke to work for them. It turns out Maezono is a vampire, who along with her team are trying to hunt down and destroy Migiri and the other vampires. This theme isn’t necessarily a new concept in vampire stories, but it does set up the possibility for a lot of inner conflict between Yusuke and Maezono.
The vampire hoard is quick to strike against Yusuke and his new comrades to protect their master. Good fight scenes and more dead vampires and humans than you can shake a stick at, sets up this story of revenge. Will Yusuke ever find his girlfriend Migiri stole from him? Can Migiri be defeated? Will Maezono continue to fight for the humans, or will she succumb to the desires of a true vampire?
Aki Shimizu does an impressive job creating a sense of movement and power in her characters. She does use a lot of speed lines, but at the same time, she puts a lot more effort into adding a sense of movement to a character’s limbs. This sense of power is important for a title like this with lots of action and supernatural characters. The character design is good with a ‘men-in-black’ feel to the government agents and a ‘thrasher-punk’ style for the young vampires. The two more powerful vampire leaders are over three hundred years old and still dress in traditional clothing so there is a nice dichotomy between the two vampire classes. The backgrounds are about average but the shading is quite good and varied.
In summary:
I enjoy Saki Okuse’s storytelling, for this title and Twilight of the Dark Master, the latter of which he also illustrated. But I think Aki Shimizu is a better artist than Okuse, so I’m glad to see them teamed up with each other for Blood Sucker. Together they turn this title into an interesting tale of feudal era vampires in modern-day Japan depicted by powerful and pleasing artwork. Personally, I like the idea that the main character loses his right hand early on and has to go through the rest of his life with such a disability. As far as the story goes, I’m already enjoying the sparks between Yusuke and his vampire partner Maezono. The creators also do a good job displaying the angst Maezono must be experiencing with the scene where she has to drink blood from a blood bank. She obviously hates it, yet afterward, her face and body are torn between ecstasy for the life-sustaining properties of the blood and disgust for what she has become.
After the opening chapter Migiri is left to the shadows, so I’m excited to see where volume two will take us. As the story progresses, I think it will be interesting to see both Maezono battle her inner demons and Yusuke battle his when he is inevitably forced to make the decision between killing his old girlfriend and joining her. That is, of course, if he can live that long.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: TOKYOPOP
Release Date: June 13th, 2006
MSRP: $9.99
