Chibi Vampire

The vampire genre on a whole is just down right over used and over served to the point that it now has it's own genre, but that doesn't mean there's no creativity left in it. STORY: The basic set up is of the school life/romance set ups, girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, happy ending, the end. Though, as over used as this set up is, a lot of us still keep coming back to it. Why? Cause coming back over and over again may end us up with precious worth while gems. I consider Karin (Chibi Vampire in the US) one of these gems.While following the set in stone way of romantic comedies, it also throws in an original spin on the vampire genre. The heroin, Karin Maaka, is a typical manga highschool girl, she's well endowned, pretty clumsy, yep, normal every where you look at her. But, she has quite a secret, she's a vampire (Surprise!) but that part of her anything but normal. You'll see her walk around during the day time, just like a human, she's unaffected by the typical vampire banes like garlic and water, and she doesn't even need to drink blood. But instead, she gives blood once a month by biting people's necks and injecting it through her fangs that appear only during that time. The male lead, Kenta Usui, is the new scary looking class member at the school Karin attends. Despite the fierce look on his face, which isn't on purpose, he's quite the nice, hard working guy who's working towards a normal life, though he and his mother are quite poor. In fact his life is really unfortunate, and that in itself is the catayst of the events in the manga. Because their paths cross instantly (By instantly I mean as soon as Karin lays her eyes on him) and one of Karin's only normal traits as a vampire in this manga makes him her "blood type" (Horrible pun). But their eventually soon to be romance isn't brought together by that nearly alone, the plot setups, character development, and nearly everything is written very well, and not much of it is lacking in most aspects. The romance does not begin immediately though, as the beginning is more focused on comedy that ranges from hilarious to amusing, especially if clumsy characters is your type of humor, if they are, you're in for a hoot. The pacing of the story is very comfortable, with each event coming very naturally. Good story twists, and even extremely powerful cliff hangers depending on your pacing on reading this series. At times the story can be quite addicting, making one eager to continue onwards, and kinda makes you realize it may be too short (Almost sixty chapters, but with pletly of bonus chapters that explore and expand the world of the manga). The supporting cast consists of the titular characters friends and family members: Anju Maaka, Karin's solemnly spoken little gothic lolita sister, Ren Maaka, their cool older gigolo brother {And bully to Karin), Karin's parent's Henry Marker and Calera Marker, and Fumio Usui, Kenta's mother, whom looks too young to be his mother. Though, of all of them, Karin's best friend Maki Tokito, may come across to a lot of people of being rather annoying, but overrall, a very strong cast of characters each getting their adequate spot light. And their relations are full of strong chemistry as each of the main characters families act just like families would, making their relations a little more realistic and believable. But even with my high praise of this manga, there is one obvious flaw from the get go; at times it can be very generic and predictable, especially to those who fancy themselves to be fans of the comedy romance genre, it really offers nothing new to that genre. Instead adding more to romance comedies, it honestly makes other vampire stories look very uncreative by comparison. ART: While this is comedy romance for the male audience, the art work has very strong shojo over tones. The character designs are very diverse and not many look alikes are found (Aside from the ones that are on purpose). However, the style is very artsy, and can be obnoxious at times. So the look overall is potentially hit and miss, but it doesn't look bad it all. OVERALL: The Good: + Offers a much needed twist on the over served vampire genre. + Progression of the story feels natural and hardly rushed. + A cast of strong and likable characters, great support characters that are not ignored. + Has a good balance of comedy and romance. The Bad: - As a comedy romance story, it really adds nothing new, and can be generic and boring. - Aimed at male audiences, yet it feels more like a shojo story for female audiences. - Art can be a bit over obnoxious at times. Of course this manga will never appeal to the Hellsing crowd, you want badass vampires? Karin is completely out in that department.

its a cool manga very cool and better than anime it has : romance,action,vampire like i said its story is different than anime so u must read it couse its better.in manga there isnt a vampire hunter (will),instead there is a half breed(half vamp half human)tachibana.so its story is different.our guy kenta usui learns maaka karin is a vamp but she doesnt suck blood she spills it out so its very interesting we always see vamps sucking blood but this one spills it out and blood is life to a vamp so its interesting.so kenta learns karin is a vamp and promise to keep it asecret between him her and her family.

Karin isn't your typical romantic comedy nor is it your typical vampire story. (my first review! Yay!) ~Story~ The "story" of Karin isn't exactly anything special. In fact, this type of story of forbidden love is common in manga. What makes it "good", or I should say, "sets it apart from other manga" is the fact that it doesn't take itself seriously.Sure, there are serious moments, but the comedy always manages to shine through. There's never a dull moment in Karin, and you'll always be wanting to read more. ~Art~ The first volume's character designs are vastly different from the latter volumes. That's not a bad thing, but the earlier volumes seemed to have more individuality in the artwork, such as the thick lines, a heavy usage of black, and the varied facial expressions. The latter volumes seem to change to thinner lines, more usage of screen tone, and a much, much heavier use of filters. One of the things that really annoyed me was how the artwork seemed getting consecutively worse around volume 11 or so. Not sure if the author was rushing on the drawings because of deadlines, but it's very noticeable. ~Character~ Karin is what made vampires interesting to me again. Never in any other manga will you read about a daywalker vampire that is unable to suck blood and only injects blood. Another great thing about the two main characters in Karin is that they don't act like the typical shonen romcom couple. Usually, couples in shonen romcom get embarrassed because they're thrown into crazy sexual situations involving panty shots, groping, and what have you. These scenes rarely happen in Karin (and really don't ever happen again after volume 4). Instead, the two characters are embarrassed just from being around each other. This sense of awkwardness of neither of the two ever have been in a relationship before in addition to both being extremely naive and inexperienced makes for a much more realistic portrayal of a teenage relationship, one you won't see in most manga, and most especially not in shonen. ~Enjoyment~ Karin will definitely entertain anyone who's into vampires, romance, or comedy. For those wanting something serious and thought-provoking, look elsewhere. A good read for anyone, regardless of age or gender because of the universal themes. ~Overall~ Great manga. One of the better romcom shonen out there. One of the few you'll want to reread over and over and will leave you wanting for more after you've finished it.

Basically I recommend the manga here 1000% The story of Karin is actually quite moving and quirky from beginning to end. I actually dislike the anime because it is so much filler and the characters don't really grow as much. In the manga you actually learn about Kenta Usui and his mother. You see the struggles and the romance that builds between him and Karin. You actually learn some history of the Maaka Vampires and even meet other families. You learn about Karin's condition of releasing blood and what it means to the vampires as well as to her future among them. It's a muchmore solid story and leads you through the roller coaster of the developing relationship and eventual sacrifices that must be made. I loved the whole of it. The anime was weak in comparison stripping a lot of the dramatic and familial tensions for cheap filler and stripping some characters and plots out entirely. I feel that the characters don't really grow at all there. So if you engage with this wonderful vampire story please just read the manga. You'll be glad you did.