28 January, 2004
Vampire Game, Vol. 1-4, Judal (Vol. 1: 194 pp, PB, 1996; Vol. 2: 202 pp, PB, 1996; Vol. 3: 202 pp, PB, 1996; Vol. 4: 191 pp, PB, 1996)
Today is Wednesday. Wednesday is Angel day. So, today's review will be in keeping with the "vampire on a quest" theme.
I previously reviewed Volumes 3 & 4, without having read 1 & 2. (Not my fault--my friend accidentally lent me the wrong books and it was a few weeks before I saw her again.) Now I've read them in order.
As I said previously, this manga is about the vampire Duzell, who tried to take over the world, got killed, and has been reincarnated as a fuzzy baby wildcat. His goal is to locate the reincarnation of his killer and get revenge. Right after he's born, he gets adopted by his slayer's great-granddaughter, Princess Ishtar of Pheliosta. After Duzell uses his magic to save Ishtar's life, and she discovers his shape-shifting ability, the two quickly become fast friends, and Ishtar resolves to help Duzell on his quest by introducing him to all her relatives, one of whom is the individual Duzell is seeking, and none of whom Ishtar particularly cares for.
By reading Books 3 and 4 without having read the first two, I got an incorrect impression of the main characters, Ishtar and Duzell. This is the same problem I had with Lord Peter Wimsey: the characters are established in the first couple books, so they seem a bit spare in the later, plot-oriented volumes. Ishtar acts like an airhead, but she is much smarter than she lets on. She's not dumb, she's just completely bored and disgusted with her life, so she entertains herself by causing problems for her guards and retainers. Similarly, Duzell is not the typical eeeevil vampire lord. Turns out he only embarked on the world domination scheme because he, too, was bored and disgusted with his existence. (As one of the chapters is subtitled, "Love Sucks when You're Dead.") His affection for Ishtar seems to be genuine, and he can be sure that life will never be boring with her around!
We've also got Ishtar's chief bodyguard, the handsome Captain Darres, who Ishtar adores completely. It's not clear how he feels about her; he clearly cares for her, but it could be more big-brotherly affection than romantic. Another interesting character is Ishtar's magic tutor, Yujinn. He's very mysterious (and very girly). The cast is rounded out by a couple of comic-relief guards.
The bulk of Vol. 2-4 deals with a martial-arts competition, which involves three illegitimate princes and a vampire lord who's trying to pick up where Duzell left off. This guy, Sharlen, seems rather more evil than Duzell; he'll probably turn out to be the chief villain of the series. The competition storyline ends with one of the princes joining Ishtar's retinue. Prince Vord, at least, seems to recognize Ishtar's good qualities.
The end of Vol. 4 starts a new story arc, wherein Ishtar uses a magic ring to give her minders the slip, and she and Duzell end up in the mountainous kingdom of Ci Xeneth. It's ruled by Ishtar's uncle (who has tried to have her assassinated), and there is something really dark and ugly going on there.
Ishtar and Duzell make a good team; their outlooks on life (or undeath, in Duzell's case) are disturbingly similar, and their talents complement one another well. This series isn't deep or serious by any means; it's pretty much pure fluff. But, who doesn't like quality fluff every once in a while?