Read #1
Started on March 2, 2017
Finished on March 4, 2017
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this one! I rated it lower because it was a pretty standard (but well-done) YA/new adult-esque romance. The "devil lust" crap was stupid, but I think, again, pretty standard with a lot of manga. It definitely felt like it was only added as a subplot to excuse any hyper-sexualization of the female characters, but surprisingly, it didn't detract too much from the main bulk of the story because you don't see that happen very often, in my opinion (one little part at the end that involves a younger girl, but it doesn't go beyond the vampire commenting on her appearance in a creeper way... but this adds to the character's history with the vampires, if you want to look at it that way).
Although, the story was very reliant on Anzai and Tsukasa's relationship, and might be considered by some to be too insta-love, I think they work really well together as a couple. I personally just... liked their relationship? Might be a "it's only me" thing. (And side note: I'm starting to weigh that a little more with manga. I don't mind a little bit of insta-love because it is very common in a lot of shorter manga series, and based on the plot/titles of the manga, you sort of know what you're getting into anyway... so I forgive it more easily. But I do feel like it shouldn't overtake the story's main plot -- if you're forcing the two love interests to make out as much as possible over general plot development, that's obviously a problem.)
The vampire lore was kind of cool? But it will definitely need more development in future volumes. In fact, I think that's another reason I rated it lower. The dialogue/story jumps between chapters were a little confusing, and I can't tell if it was because of a bad translation, or the writing itself. But I think the characters definitely make up for it -- Anzai especially! (He just hit all the right notes for me -- I'm excited for more of his story!) And I got attached to Anzai and Tsukasa pretty easily. Even though Anzai was the "white knight" to Tsukasa's damsel-in-distress a few times, he wasn't patronizing about it, which was very refreshing. You can tell Anzai is aware of how hard a human/vampire relationship will be, but that he wants to be with Tsukasa if he can/she wants him to be. He cares for Tsukasa in a way that allows her the choice to either continue or stop the relationship. I just like that he basically starts hanging out with her because they both know they're lonely. It was sweet.
The setting was nice, too -- the story occurs mostly during winter/Christmas, additionally with very minute character interactions, so it's very soft and quiet. Mixed with the plot's slight darkness, it created a really great atmosphere that played on the loneliness of Anzai and Tsukasa, as well as their time together. (I feel like the Japanese just really understand this concept of "winter loneliness" so well! I notice a lot of mangaka use winter in their stories in this way, and it's one of my favorites styles.) The action sequences always seemed to come at the end of each chapter, so we were allowed some downtime in-between to appreciate the "stillness" of the world.
I also didn't dislike the artwork, at least as much as other people apparently. It was a little awkward in certain spots, but I liked the weirdness of it.
So basically, Anzai/Tsukasa and the general atmosphere/setting are where it's at for me, but stars knocked off for the confusing writing. Already picked up the rest of the volumes in this series, so I'm sure I will get to them soon!