Blood Alone

Reviewed by Angie Quidim
August 18, 2006

Artist: Masayuki Takano Author: Masayuki Takano Publisher: Infinity Studios Genre: Action/Suspense/Romance Website: Click Here Review Rating: 8 out of 10

Misaki is a sweet innocent young girl with a quiet disposition. Her demeanor is quite sincere and she walks with an elegant air about her. The last thing anyone would believe is that Misaki is a vampire with the power to make any human do what she wants. But unlike most vampires, Misaki chooses not to use her dark powers, especially when it comes to Kuroe. Kuroe is a young author with a dark past that involves him with the creatures of the night that puts him in situations close to death. He has a distaste for the vile creatures and seeks only revenge for the past. Misaki has grown fond of Kuroe, and Kuroe himself has started to fall for Misaki. The story of their unlikely relationship grows from there. Readers will enjoy the character development of Misaki as she tries to keep their relationship pure and innocent rather than vampiric and dark. She would rather have a mutual love relationship with Kuroe than his vampiric master.

The artwork is quite reminiscent of the old anime style ( Galaxy Railways 999 , Spaceketeers , or Starblazers ). Since the manga is set in old world Europe, the artist takes the style of traditional European art and uses it to present some frames of dialogue. It has quite an effect as it brings more realism to the story as well as properly depicts what it would be like to exist during that time period. The artist also switches back and forth from the traditional framed artwork with non-framed artwork. The dialogue runs well. There seems to be no translation problems and the story is easy to follow. The story flows between action and comedy sequences with no abrupt changes in story.

Blood Alone is a wonderful read but may run a bit dry for those who really aren't into the gothic, romance side of vampirism. The story is a good love story without any issues that parents might have with some manga (nudity or adult situations). The packaging is well-done with a full color jacket and art inserts that make the $9.95 price point very attractive.