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REVIEW: Chibi Vampire GN 14




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ConanSan



Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 1818
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:56 am Reply with quote
Quote:
As teen human/vampire romances go it will probably always be overshadowed by Twilight and the Angel-focused seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but it makes a nice alternative.


And that's all Tokyopop's fault for choosing to favor Kamichama Karin over this and give it a pedotacualr title that ensures that I never buy it.
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Blackwolf0925



Joined: 03 Jun 2009
Posts: 67
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:12 am Reply with quote
I bought it and love it. I have collected all English licensed work from this. I'm not to much into the vampire lore but this story I give an A because it was unique and did not drag out like other vampire series. If only they made PVC figure I would so totally collect that too. Very Happy
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Avarice_WP



Joined: 05 Jan 2009
Posts: 44
Location: Northrend
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:12 am Reply with quote
I never did read the manga, but I watched the anime and thought it was ok. Is the manga better than the anime?
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1341
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:09 am Reply with quote
A well-deserved review for what turned out to be a wonderful series. I'm so glad I trusted my instincts to try out the first volume so long ago and stick with it. And the love that the members of the Marker family feel for each other just felt so genuine. While I heard the anime may not be as good as the manga, I'm very much set in getting the thinpak just as a collector.
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1232
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:10 am Reply with quote
Avarice_WP wrote:
I never did read the manga, but I watched the anime and thought it was ok. Is the manga better than the anime?


The anime is fine with a few characters that don't show up in the manga and the ending being something new. The manga just blows it away if you ask me. Great love story, some nice action and drama with (sorry if I diagree with the reviewer) great artwork Smile
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1232
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:11 am Reply with quote
pachy_boy wrote:
A well-deserved review for what turned out to be a wonderful series. I'm so glad I trusted my instincts to try out the first volume so long ago and stick with it. And the love that the members of the Marker family feel for each other just felt so genuine. While I heard the anime may not be as good as the manga, I'm very much set in getting the thinpak just as a collector.


My heart melted for the Markers Crying or Very sad
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18493
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:49 am Reply with quote
Avarice_WP wrote:
I never did read the manga, but I watched the anime and thought it was ok. Is the manga better than the anime?


The anime version, while sharing some common scenes, takes a decidedly different direction from about its halfway point on, includes one major character who doesn't appear in the manga (Winner Sinclair), and changes Elda's background a lot. Of course, the anime was made well before the manga version finished.

As to which one is better? The anime version has its own charm, but its artistry wasn't impressive, either, and its English dub was laden with problems. (I've been told some behind-the-scenes stories about the dubbing, and it sounds like the blame more heavily falls on the directing in this case.) The soundtrack makes up for a lot of that, however. A story comparison isn't really fair, begcause the manga has more time to explore some things that the anime didn't, like the nature of Karin's peculiarity, the structure of vampire society, and the bit with Kenta's father. In terms of how they execute their respective story stuctures, I think they're about equal, although the manga has a stronger ending.
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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1535
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:52 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Just about every major story thread resolution which doesn't involve Maki.


Actually I think Maki did get resolution in a chapter that for some reason wasn't in vol. 14. She ended up with her childhood friend I believe.
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Raoh



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 357
Location: Florence, OR
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:33 pm Reply with quote
I thought the ending was pretty good, but also a bit depressing.

To me, though, as far as the dramatic emotional impact the ending had, I felt the part where spoiler[Ren said he never hated Karin, before erasing her memories], had almost as much impact as the Henry and Calera's choice.

It had been established many times before that he finds her annoying, but I knew something was up when that scene happend. It did also get established that he cares for his family deeply, but he's not the type of character that shows it very often, so I found that scene odd, and knew something big was going to happen.

It should be noted that the end of this has two time jumps (which are both really good). The first one occurs at the end of the final chapter, and is just a few pages long. The second one is the previously mentioned twenty years later one.

The first time jump is around ten to fifteen years later. I got this the day it came out and finished it that day, so I can remember exactly how long the time skip was, it was good, though.

I agree with the reviewer on many aspects of this. While I do feel the art is in no way truely unique, I find that it works well for this story, and it helps many to enjoy it.

I like the vampire world the author has created, in many ways more than any other vampire world, because it truely does have a feeling of uniqueness to it. Good stuff, kind of sad to see it end, but hopefully Kagesaki moves on to another good series, and decides to revist this for a one shot or something later on.
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Ari-chan



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 215
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:02 pm Reply with quote
I was waiting for this review. I agree pretty much on everything, except I adore Kagesaki's art. I loved this series from start to finish. I'm not a big fan of vampire stories, but Karin was so fresh I fell in love with it's take on vampire lore. Also has to be one of the sweetest romantic comedys I had the pleasure of reading.



Raoh wrote:
I like the vampire world the author has created, in many ways more than any other vampire world, because it truely does have a feeling of uniqueness to it. Good stuff, kind of sad to see it end, but hopefully Kagesaki moves on to another good series, and decides to revist this for a one shot or something later on.


There are actually a few oneshots for Karin out already. Well, not by Tokyopop but in Japan. It can all be found in an extra volume published after vol. 14. I have no idea if TP will bring it over, but I hope they do. That's where Maki's conclusion comes, and a "Karin of the Western World" oneshot about another person like Karin but male, as well as other unrelated to Karin oneshots and a very small extra about Karin's birthday at the end.

As for new works she's already started on two, though both are big steps away from Karin it feels like. One is Hekikai no AiON, a action shounen kind of series, and Oniichan Control, an ecchi incest comedy so far.
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3495
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:37 pm Reply with quote
Conan-san wrote:
and give it a pedotacualr title that ensures that I never buy it.


You won't buy it because they changed the title??? That's fandumb beyond anything I've ever heard. You can always order it offline and then hide it under your bed if you think people might get the wrong idea.
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ConanSan



Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 1818
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:46 pm Reply with quote
It's my right to not purchase something on the smallest whim, it's a shitty right to excise, to be sure, but it's one that we all have.
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kgholloway



Joined: 05 Aug 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Conneaut, Ohio, USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:17 pm Reply with quote
I for one am glad that I got over the title and bought the first volume of the Manga. You have to bear in mind that English titles of Japanese works frequently have little in common with their author's original designation.

Also I hope Tokyo Pop does bring the additional volume to these shores. I had hopes of "ChibiVampire" lasting as long as Ranma1/2 or Inu Yasha. It really was a refreshing take on vampire/human romance.

===KGH
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