If you have invested this much time in reading the first eleven volumes of “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign”, you will no doubt want to check out this latest twelfth volume. More action and more revelations! Check it out!
© 2012 Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, Daisuke Furuya. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign Vol. 12
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: June 6, 2017
Three months have passed since the invasion in Nagoya and Yuichiro, Mika and Shinoa Squad are all on the run from both the vampires and the humans! Just as they resolve to ask Krul Tepes for help, Ferid Bathory and Crowley Eusford intercept them with a suspicious proposal to become the group’s new best friends, bringing with them a special hostage for good measure and the secret of the true purpose of the Seraph of the End project.
It was revealed that humans were experimenting on people to create the weapon known as “Seraph of the End” and Guren Ichinose is revealed to be one.
As Yuichiro and his friends are able to escape and literally become fugitives of the Army, they find themselves being wanted by both sides.
But meanwhile, two top vampires, Ferid Bathory and Crowley Eusford are trying to meet up with them. But why?
All this and more in the twelfth 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!
In volume 3, as the team has trained and learned to work together, Yuichiro, Yoichi, Kimizuki and Shinoa Hiragi are assigned a new leader named Mitsuba Sangu. An impulsive girl who is also the rival of Shinoa.
As the team goes on their first major mission to fight vampires in Harajuku, will they be ready or will their impulsiveness get in the way?
In volume 4, the Japanese Imperial Army are fighting in a losing battle against the Vampire nobles, a group that includes Yuichiro’s childhood friend Mika, who was changed into a vampire on that fateful day.
As Yuichiro and friends come to join the Japanese Imperial Army on the front lines, Yuichiro comes into contact with Mika for the first time.
But with Mika now a vampire and Yuichiro a vampire hunter, what will happen when these two friends see each other for the very first time since they were separated?
In volume 5, learning that Mika is alive and has been transformed into a vampire, Yuichiro wants nothing more but to help save his friend. But still, he must go through a interview to find out what happened that day he confronted Mika and if he has the resolution to slaughter vampires. Also, factions within the Japanese Imperial Demon Army want Yuichiro to join their faction.
Meanwhile, Yuichiro and crew learn more about their abilities and whether they are possession or manifestation type.
In volume 6, Yuichiro still trying to learn more about his special abilities, must find a way to get his cursed gear Asumaru to work with him.
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes, interesting partnerships or rivalries created within the ranks of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the vampires.
In volume 7, the Japanese Imperial Demon Army plans to launch a sneak attack on the vampire nobles and Yuichiro’s team must be ready to go into battle.
The problem is that they continue to work as individuals rather than a team and are not taking the attack as seriously as they should.
So, will they be ready to partake in this sneak attack?
In volume 8, the Japanese Imperial Demon Army goes on the offensive. And while Yuichiro’s team fared well, the other teams lost many of their soldiers in the war against the nobles.
But in order to make a strong statement of human vs. vampires, they must now launch a battle against the Thirteenth Progenitor vampire Crowley Eusford and nobles, Chess and Horn with whatever soldiers are remaining.
But will they be enough to defeat these powerful vampires?
In volume 9, Lt. Col. Guren Ichinose and Major General Shinya Hiragi were hoping to take down the powerful Thirteenth Progenitor vampire, Crowley Eusford and vampire nobles, Horn and Chess. But they never realized how powerful a vampire he truly is.
And now Guren and Shinya are on the losing end, can Yuichiro save Guren and what bond does Yuichiro have with Guren?
In volume 10, Lt. Col. Guren Ichinose and Major General Shinya Hiragi were hoping to take down the powerful Thirteenth Progenitor vampire, Crowley Eusford and vampire nobles, Horn and Chess. But didn’t realize how powerful he truly is and now Guren has been held captive.
Yuichiro and his team tried to pull off a rescue but Crowley, Horn and Chess showed their true power. In the process, the demon inside Yuichiro came out when he saw his team nearly being decimated.
Now, his family member turned vampire, Mikaela is determined to rescue him from the humans and vampires. But with the Japanese Imperial Army surrounding him, can he save Yuichiro?
And Mikaela reveals the truth of the “Seraph of the End”!
In volume 11, despite the revelation, Yuichiro wants to save Guren, as he feels that his humanity is still in tact. Meanwhile, Ferid Bathory and Crowley Eusford are up to something.
Yuichiro and his friends plus Mikaela must team up as the battle ahead will be deadly.
In volume 12, as Yuichiro, Mikaela and friends try to find a safe spot to evade both the army and the vampires, they are unaware that two of the top vampires are homing in on them.
And as Yuichiro and Mikaela try to put up a fight, Ferid (the vampire who is responsible for killing Yuichiro and Mikaela’s family and also transforming Mikaela into a vampire) pulls out the decapitated head of his family member, Akane.
This sends Yuichiro to demon mode once again and everyone is knowing that Yuichiro is losing his humanity the more he gives into the demon power. What will happen during and after this confrontation?
As Mikaela continues to distrust humans, with Yuichiro convincing him to fight alongside his friends, who will also be his friends and that vampire and humans can co-exist, Yuichiro’s inner-demon is starting to consume him.
We have seen how bad it could get but this time, Ferid and Crowley are toying with Yuichiro for some apparent reason of trying to bring the demon out but also trying to give them a chance to survive.
But most importantly, Ferid reveals of who was responsible for the virus nearly killing all of humanity.
An action-packed volume, the latest twelfth volume of “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign” shows us the battle between Ferid/Crowley vs. Yuichiro and friends. 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.
If you have invested this much time in reading the first eleven volumes of “Seraph of the End – Vampire Reign”, you will no doubt want to check out this latest twelfth volume. More action and more revelations! Check it out!