“Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign” is entertaining, humorous and so much fun! I look forward to volume 3! Recommended!
© 2012 Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, Daisuke Furuya. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign Vol. 2
STORY AND ART BY: Story by Takaya Kagami, Art by Yamato Yamamoto, Storyboards by Daisuke Furuya
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: SHUEISHA, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC/Shonen Jump Manga
RATED: T for Older Teen
RELEASE DATE: September 2, 2014
Now that Yuichiro has earned his place in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, he prepares to undergo a fiendish test to acquire the most powerful and deadly of humanity’s weapons against vampires: Black Demon Series Cursed Gear.
Meanwhile, the vampire nobility welcome a new member: Mika, the best friend Yuichiro thinks died in their escape but who has his own bitter story of survival.
With the death of his friends, massacred by vampires, Yuichiro has one goal and that is to get revenge on all vampires and destroy them. But first, he needs power.
In order for Yuichiro to earn his place in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, he must make friendships and do well in school.
But unfortunately, he meets a hothead like himself who also likes to fight named Kimizuki. And both of them need to make it into the army…but will they ever get along?
Find out in the second volume of Takaya Kagami and Yamato Yamamoto’s “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign”!
What is “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign” all about?
In 2012, mangaka Takaya Kagami (“The Legend of the Legendary Heroes”), artist Yamato Yamamoto (“Kure-nai”, “Denpa Tei na Kanojo”) and storyboard artist Daisuke Furuya teamed up to work on the dark fantasy manga series “Owari no Serafu”.
The series which has a total of six tankobon volumes released in Japan, has been released in the U.S. courtesy of Viz Media with the title “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign”.
“Seraph of the End” began with an introduction of how an unknown virus brought the world to a sudden end. Only children under 13-years-old survived and those children were enslaved by vampires.
The story introduces us to an impulsive boy named Yuichiro Hyakuya who wants nothing more but to kill vampires. But his friend Mikaela Hyakuya is a boy who is more levelheaded and tries to get his friend to think straight and know they are not powerful enough to defeat them.
For Yuichiro, he wants nothing more but his fellow friends to escape captivity from the underground city of Sanguinem and reach the outside.
And one day, all of them decide to make their escape…but will they be successful?
In volume 2, Yuichiro Hyakuya wants nothing more but to get his revenge on the vampires who killed his friends, especially his best friend, Mikaela Hyakuya, who sacrificed his life in order for Yuichiro to escape.
Fast forward years later and as Yuichiro is wanting to become a member of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, the army responsible for fighting against the vampires, he needs to learn discipline and train for combat. But first he must go through the various tests in school which include being friends with others and being a team player, all are hard for Yuichiro to try and do.
But now is his chance to pass the test to advance, but it means having to partner with another hot-headed teen like himself, who doesn’t mind getting into brawls…Kimizuki.
Will Yuichiro, Kimizuki and Yoichi be ready for their next test?
Meanwhile, what happened to Mikaela Hyakuya after Yuichiro escaped from the Vampire lair has been revealed!
The first volume of “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign” is a dark fantasy manga series that was rather enjoyable as the storyline featured children living underground as slaves of vampires. Literally, as cattle that they can feed upon.
Wanting nothing more but to escape the vampires even though they are not powerful, the main protagonist Yuichiro is your typical headstrong teen who desires nothing more but to defeat them but desperately wants the power to do so.
The second volume continues Yuichiro being the hotheaded teen that he is, wanting to advance but often being put into his place to be patient and to listen before he reacts.
And now, he must work with another hotheaded teen in his class named Kimizuki who enjoys fighting as much as as Yuichiro. Both are hardheaded but both must be on the same page if they are going to advance in their test and move up in their training if they want to join the army.
As the story focuses on Yuichiro and friends training and working as a team (as best they can), we also learn why these other students have the drive to be a member in the army. But also we find out what happened to Yuichiro’s friend Mikaela after he escaped.
So, there are quite a few revelations featured in this second volume of “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign”.
The storyline by Takaya Kagami is enjoyable, humorous and it has its dark, violent moments that easily drives up the ratings to “Older Teen” but for the most part, it’s not a horror manga series, nor is it too dark that it’s twisted or scary partly because of the comedy due to its hardheaded protagonist. The artwork by Yamato Yamamoto is well-done and characters are very expressive.
Overall, “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign” is entertaining, humorous and so much fun! I look forward to volume 3!
Recommended!