Vol. 8, Rosario+Vampire

Ever since the first book of the "first season", I've greatly enjoyed the "Rosario Vampire" manga series. The adventures of human (eventually turned ghoul) Tsukune, and his monster friends are both at times hilarious, heart-wrenching, and horrifying, and with each installment, the stakes just continue to increase as we learn more about the mysterious history of vampire Moka, and the rosario that conceals her powers.

In this final installment, Fairy Tale's headquarters has crashed to the Earth, smack dab in the middle of a densely populated city in the human world, and thus, reveals the existence of monsters to everyone in the world. Every single major character that has ever appeared in the series, both main and minor, all band together to protect the humans and battle Alucard. During which, Tsukune finally professes his love for Moka, and both the human and monster worlds are saved....but not before we discover one final twist to the truth about Alucard, Moka, and the history and future of Yokai Academy.

I was initially surprised to find this volume was thicker than usual, but considering this is the final volume and end to the story, it's understandable, considering all the plot points the writers had to wrap up. The entire volume is almost nothing but a giant fight against a Godzillia-sized Alucard, and no stone is left unturned, and no plot point or character is left to the wayside. I gasped or laughed more than once at characters who haven't been seen since the earliest "season one" volumes, and went, "oh hey; it's so-and-so--I almost forgot about them". The conclusion wraps up enough that this could be a good ending to the series, but left open enough that there could still be yet another sequel if the creator chooses to keep going. The future of Yokai Academy is left to Tsukune and his friends, and it's made clear that although there's going to be a lot of hardships in trying to peacefully unite humans with monsters, Tsukune has the confidence to make the dream happen. He's clearly grown up ALOT since we first saw him way back in the first volume of the series. Not only that, but we get a hilarious epilogue involving Tsukune and Moka's father...AND Tsukune's ever present harem, serving as one final throwback to the series' early days of being a romantic comedy.

All n' all, this was an exciting and satisfying conclusion to a long running series that, while having it's occasional bumps here and there, I'm still glad I stuck with it. With Tsukune and Moka at the helm, the monster world is in good hands.

the second installment of Rosario Vampire is even better than the first. new characters are introduced without sacrificing anything from the originals. if you're looking for a good story with cute monster girls and panty shots you could do far worse than checking this series out.

This has been such a fun series. Action packed, funny, light-hearted, yet a true show of friendship. There are so many unique characters in this series so far. Everybook brings at least one (not to mention the regular cast). Check out the official summary. Although it is a generic summary for every volume so far, it does a good job of what the series is.

**WARNING-If you have not read previous volumes, this may contain spoilers for you!**

So, like the previous volume, we are still running with the theme of monstrels (a crossbreed: a mutt/mongrel). We meet another few who join in the hunt against Tsukune. Plus we get to learn more about the exorcist and the charm he placed on Tsukune. That guy is headed for trouble! I felt bad for him in this volume. He is really caught between a rock and a hard place. I liked how Kurumu is conflicted with what to do about her love rival, Moka.

This book did not have a lot of direct conflict going on, like in previous volumes, but was more a foreshadowing of what is to come. If left me with questions, but in a good way. Because now I get to go grab the next volume to get started on the answers!

Having introduced most of the cast of "Rosario+Vampire," Akihisa Ikeda has just one more to add -- and the second volume of this comedy/action/romance manga happily trips through a series of fluffy, mythical stories. But there are some distinct hints that Ikeda is getting into darker territory and more intense action.

Moka has a groupie -- a brilliant but immature little witch named Yukari, who uses her pranks to get attention. Unfortunately, Yukari decides to protect her idol from "icky boys"... including Tsukune, who is being tortured with voodoo dolls, attack brooms, and other fun tricks. But Yukari has her own problems -- including a bunch of witch-hating lizard-boys.

And Tsukune's romantic woes continue when Moka embarks on a weeklong modeling session, which means she'll miss his birthday. But to make matters worse, he soon realizes that the art teacher is somehow connected to a series of beautiful girls vanishing -- and Moka might be the next victim.

And Kurumu's succubus nature becomes a burden when she's stalked and blackmailed by a creepy little guy, who then takes the newspaper layout hostage. Then they run afoul of the gangsterlike Yokai Academy Protection Committee -- a seemingly unbeatable gang of monsters intent on destroying the newspaper club.

"Rosario + Vampire Volume 2" is where Akihisa Ikeda really gets into stride -- the monsters become more monstrous (the Medusa, the spider-woman) and creepier (the grotesque slug-boy), the action and comedy are nicely balanced, and we get some really villainous villains rather than redeemable-bully-of-the-week.

Some of the stories are still rather frothy -- in particular Yukari's childish pranks and poor Kurumu being forced to dress in sexy cosplay outfits. Plenty of fanservice, freak-outs, and some comic relief with poor Tsukune being forced to punch himself and grope girls, via voodoo doll. Not to mention the running joke about his blood ("Maybe it's because I haven't had a glass of Tsukune for days and days!").

But the last chapter has an unexpected dark twist, with a gang of very uncomic, very strong monsters attacking the newspaper club. And it ends with an unexpected cliffhanger, wherein the Committee finds potentially fatal info on the club.

Yukari is introduced in this volume, and frankly she's rather annoying -- both for her perky-witch attitude, her heart wand, and her vaguely bisexual crushes on Moka and Tsukune. Kurumu gets the most expansion in this volume, since the formerly shallow succubus is given new selflessness and direction in her life. And yeah, she figures out that sex appeal can be a problem.

The second volume of "Rosario + Vampire" is a better balanced piece of work than the first, and Akihisa Ikeda is obviously aiming at better storytelling heights. Just have the third on hand before reading this through.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2 is the second part of the Rosario+Vampire series. Our very average hero, Tsukane, here meets Yukari Sendo who turns out that she is secretly a witch. Tsukane also has to deal with his growing feelings for Moka. The illustrations are great and the story line is amazing. A definite page turner. Highly recommended. 5/5.

Having introduced most of the cast of "Rosario+Vampire," Akihisa Ikeda has just one more to add -- and the second volume of this comedy/action/romance manga happily trips through a series of fluffy, mythical stories. But there are some distinct hints that Ikeda is getting into darker territory and more intense action.

Moka has a groupie -- a brilliant but immature little witch named Yukari, who uses her pranks to get attention. Unfortunately, Yukari decides to protect her idol from "icky boys"... including Tsukune, who is being tortured with voodoo dolls, attack brooms, and other fun tricks. But Yukari has her own problems -- including a bunch of witch-hating lizard-boys.

And Tsukune's romantic woes continue when Moka embarks on a weeklong modeling session, which means she'll miss his birthday. But to make matters worse, he soon realizes that the art teacher is somehow connected to a series of beautiful girls vanishing -- and Moka might be the next victim.

And Kurumu's succubus nature becomes a burden when she's stalked and blackmailed by a creepy little guy, who then takes the newspaper layout hostage. Then they run afoul of the gangsterlike Yokai Academy Protection Committee -- a seemingly unbeatable gang of monsters intent on destroying the newspaper club.

"Rosario + Vampire Volume 2" is where Akihisa Ikeda really gets into stride -- the monsters become more monstrous (the Medusa, the spider-woman) and creepier (the grotesque slug-boy), the action and comedy are nicely balanced, and we get some really villainous villains rather than redeemable-bully-of-the-week.

Some of the stories are still rather frothy -- in particular Yukari's childish pranks and poor Kurumu being forced to dress in sexy cosplay outfits. Plenty of fanservice, freak-outs, and some comic relief with poor Tsukune being forced to punch himself and grope girls, via voodoo doll. Not to mention the running joke about his blood ("Maybe it's because I haven't had a glass of Tsukune for days and days!").

But the last chapter has an unexpected dark twist, with a gang of very uncomic, very strong monsters attacking the newspaper club. And it ends with an unexpected cliffhanger, wherein the Committee finds potentially fatal info on the club.

Yukari is introduced in this volume, and frankly she's rather annoying -- both for her perky-witch attitude, her heart wand, and her vaguely bisexual crushes on Moka and Tsukune. Kurumu gets the most expansion in this volume, since the formerly shallow succubus is given new selflessness and direction in her life. And yeah, she figures out that sex appeal can be a problem.

The second volume of "Rosario + Vampire" is a better balanced piece of work than the first, and Akihisa Ikeda is obviously aiming at better storytelling heights. Just have the third on hand before reading this through.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2 is the second part of the Rosario+Vampire series. Our very average hero, Tsukane, here meets Yukari Sendo who turns out that she is secretly a witch. Tsukane also has to deal with his growing feelings for Moka. The illustrations are great and the story line is amazing. A definite page turner. Highly recommended. 5/5.