Huge thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy
About the Mangaka
Darren Shan is an Irish author who has written both adult and young adult novels, as well as scripts for both TV and radio.
No info on Arai Takahiro drop me a line if you have any.
About the Manga
I’m really getting into this series, and this volume settled a lot of issues I had with the series.
I’ve no idea why, but I really got into the art this volume. In the previous two it’s felt a bit off in various ways, however this time I found the unique style used appealing.
Crepsley’s face, which I thought was lacking the presence a vampire should, really looks awesome through out this volume. As does Darren’s, which has a smoother design to it.
I was especially liking the the designs of the support characters this volume, and really loved the bad guy’s design.
Settings wise, again the art had previously felt iffy, but this time I found it appealing. What’s more the art sat well with the character personalities and designs.
The character progression in this volume was amazing, especially between Crepsley and Darren. While it is a fast paced series, it’s not to fast and as the the volume progresses the changes the characters go through, as they misunderstand things and come to terms with their differences.
Once again we have a good story that carries the volume better than anything could. It really draws you into the world that Darren is now living in, the changes he has to face, and the consequences of his actions.
That was one of the elements I loved this volume, Darren’s actions had severe consequences and they almost lost everything. While it was a given he’d win (cause lets face it, third volume of a seven volume series hehe), I loved the way the tension was built up and played out.
I also found the puppy love aspect introduced for this volume really amazing as well. Nothing like adding a bit of romance into the mix to stir the pot a bit.
As always Yen Press did an amazing job, though I am wondering over the cover design. While it’s a nice design, it lacks the darker aspect of the previous volumes. I think it’s the green background that’s muting the feel.
As always with Yen’s releases I’ve no quibbles with the flow of the story. A good translation that keeps the feel of the original but isn’t in engrish. Also no guttering at all in this volume, which gets a big thumbs up from me.
My final thoughts on this are that this is one hell of an awesome series, and it’s earnt and justified a place on my Essential Read list.
Where to Buy
