Overview

While at Barnes & Noble catching up on the issues of Hellsing that have come out since the last time I checked, I saw a graphic novel with a rather cute girl holding an equally rather cute cat-like critter. As if that wasn't enough, the title of said novel was Vampire Game, making it something to automatically reach for, as I browsed through the isles. Now, admittedly, at first I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the copy that I grabbed. However, as is always the case when I visit a book store, the stack of potential books to purchase were quickly stacking up - and by quickly, I mean that by the time I actually found the graphic novels that I'd come for, I had about seventeen books, and only $40 to spend. A few minutes of sorting and deciding later, I'd cut myself down to just Hellsing, and this little gem.

Review

The basic storyline goes something like this - two great kings, one a mortal, and one a vampire, fought each other to the death. With his dying breath, the vampire king, Duzell, swears to be reincarnated in 100 years in order to kill the rebirth of Phelios, his opponent. Fast forward a century, and sure enough, Duzell has been reborn just in time for his arch nemesis's reincarnation. One minor problem - he has no idea who in Phelios's bloodline the rebirth is. At the same time, Phelios's great-grand-daughter, Ishtar, just approaching the tender age of 16, is loudly, and rather explicitly describing what she'd like to do to her ancestor if she ever got her hands on him. Needless to say, neither her guardian, Sir Keld, nor her bodyguard, Darres, are particularly pleased with the idea. Not far away in the village of Milan, a series of attacks begin to happen to a group of boys, but oddly, aside from the fact that their bodies have been drained of all blood, the only evidence has been the presence of kyawl tracks all around the corpses. Overhearing about the attacks, Ishtar decides to go into action herself when her guardian, Sir Keld, dismisses the attacks as the work of wild animals.

Heading for Milan alone, posing as a holy knight, she discovers that the attacks are work of a kyawl after all - one avenging the deaths of her kittens, which were tortured and killed by the boys. As it turns out, the person who tells her this is the kyawl herself, shape-shifted. She is being assisted in her revenge by Duzell, in return for giving birth to a body with which to take physical from, and thus his own revenge. Recognizing the sword as that of his arch enemy, Duzell convinces the kyawl to attack her. Before Ishtar can be injured though, Darres arrives and mortally injures the kyawl... Who then gives birth to the reborn Duzell with her final breath. Minor problem... Duzell is just a kitten. Not knowing the kitten's true identity, Ishtar decides to take her new pet back home to take care of it, but, showing a remarkable amount of clairvoyance, names him 'Duzell'.

Thus begins a surprisingly enjoyable, and pleasantly comedic storyline in which we discover that our dear princess Ishtar just might be a greater threat to Phelios's reincarnation than poor Duzell is. Through the course of fifteen volumes, all of which have been translated to English by TokyoPop, Ishtar, Duzell, and the rather sizable entourage they gather as the story progresses, cross from one side of Pheliosta to the other, in search of Phelios's rebirth. Now, something that must be mentioned - this is very, very much a Shonen-ai title. The males are uniformely beautiful, and the Shonen-ai innuendo gets blunter with just about every chapter. If you're not a fan of this, or not able to ignore it, then this is NOT the title for you.

The artwork throughout the series is excellent, as Judal has a fairly advanced artistic style, and it lends itself to the generally humorous themes of the story. The only problem that I've really had is that it's rather tough to tell the guys apart from the girls in spots, but again, that's part of the deal when you're reading a Shonen-ai title. That aside, the artwork is crisp when it should be, expertly soft when it has to be, and overall very well done.

One thing I am disappointed in - the story tends to meander a little too much for my tastes. That might be as much because Vampire Game isn't marketed toward males and Judal is covering subject matter that lends itself better to the female mind as it is because I have an admittedly low tollerance for side paths that are there just for the sake of side paths. Even so, the plotline has been consistant enough to keep me reading - and buying - for ten volumes thus far. It's no accident that a great part of the reason for this is the characters - I very much like the relational dynamic that has emerged between the main set of characters, especially Ishtar and Duzell.

Overall

Alright, so Vampire Game offers a good story, and the artwork is excellent. I will admit that it's not for everybody, though, especially anybody that dislikes the idea of homosexuality, because, while for the most part things are only implied and misinterpreted, there are a couple blatant scenes thereof for minor characters, and Ishtar has a nasty habit of putting Duzzel in sticky situations as well. It has to, as well, be mentioned again that Vampire Game is very much marketed toward girls, right down to the remarkable number of bishonen running around the pages. Still, there's some fun stuff here for the guys as well, if you're willing to look past what might be an uncomfortable subject. A definate read for the girls; a maybe for the guys here.