After the revelations in volume eight, the world of Vampire Knight goes—please pardon my indelicacy, but this is really the only way to put it—batshit crazy. Pureblood vampire Rido Kuran (our villain) completes his resurrection and summons his followers to him. Said followers feel no compunction about snacking on the day class students of Cross Academy, so the noble vampires … [Read more...] about Vampire Knight 9 by Matsuri Hino: C+
Reviews
Angel: Long Night’s Journey by Brett Matthews and Joss Whedon: C-
From the back cover: An enemy from Angel's past has come to L.A., and enlisted three powerful supernatural creatures to break Angel's spirit before killing him. In one catastrophic night, Angel has to figure out who's after him, and then bring him down, in a climactic battle above the glittering Los Angeles skyline. Review: Wow, this is really lousy. It's written at least … [Read more...] about Angel: Long Night’s Journey by Brett Matthews and Joss Whedon: C-
Kaze Hikaru 9-11 by Taeko Watanabe: A-
Beware: spoilers ahead. I have come to the conclusion that Kaze Hikaru is not only worth owning—as opposed to borrowing it from the library, which is what I’ve been doing up until now—but is also pure evil (in the very best way, of course). Volume nine begins with a reorganization of the Shinsengumi that sees Sei reassigned from active patrolling to a position taking care of … [Read more...] about Kaze Hikaru 9-11 by Taeko Watanabe: A-
Our Kingdom: Arabian Nights by Naduki Koujima: B-
This one-volume spin-off of Our Kingdom stars Raoul, a former supporting character of that series, as he attempts to recover from heartbreak by taking a trip to a swanky Middle Eastern resort. His plans go astray when he is captured by a good-hearted yet foolish prince named Ashif, who plans to use Raoul as a pawn to ensure his sister’s marital happiness. Raoul is naturally … [Read more...] about Our Kingdom: Arabian Nights by Naduki Koujima: B-
The Middleman 1-3 by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine: B
When the TV adaptation of The Middleman was airing on ABC Family in 2008, I watched a few episodes but eventually gave up because the campy plots exceeded my threshold for silliness. I have since wondered whether I ought to have given it another chance—after all, I liked the actors and a good deal of the dialogue—and when I noticed that my local library had in its collection … [Read more...] about The Middleman 1-3 by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine: B