Cirque du Freak

"I don't like it, but my hands are tied. I just want you to know this: if I ever get the chance to betray you, I will. If the opportunity arises to pay you back, I'll take it. You'll never be able to trust me." ~ Darren Shan (the character) Cirque du Freak, also known as Darren Shan, is a manga based off of a popular vampire novel from one of my favorite authors, Darren Shan (yes, he named the character in the book after himself). This isn't your normal vampire manga, however; it is a rollercoaster of twists and turns, and if you can getpast the somewhat awkward beginning, you will be treated to an amazing world. Story (9): Since this is based off of a western novel, the pacing is actually a lot different from most manga. There are a LOT of time skips, but the author plays it out very well and tells us the most important and interesting parts. However, this also makes for a little bit of an inconsistent story. This is compensated by the plot twists and such the author presents to us. As I mentioned before, the first volume is a little awkward. It doesn't reveal everything the story has to offer to the reader right on the spot, which is why the twists are so dramatic. However, some people would probably think that the story is just about a boy who likes spiders, which is where they would go horribly wrong. Art (9): The art is very detailed in most scenes. Sometimes the mangaka leaves out some detail, but this is usually only on insignificant panels. Character (10): There are SO many characters in Cirque du Freak, and not all of them make it to the end. There is an array of personalities and all of them are colorful, although some are more appreciated that others. The main character himself is not very unique, but in this era I don't see many people criticizing that considering the boring protagonists of popular shonens. Enjoyment (10): I loved the crap out of this series. I loved the characters, I loved the time skips, I loved how the volumes are split into 4 trilogies, and most of all I love the dramatic ending. Overall, I recommend this to everyone. Also, if you happen to like this series, check out Darren Shan's other collection of books, the Demonata series. It is a little similar (although a LOT more horror-focused) and also has many similar aspects that are present throughout Shan's writing.

I have extremely mixed feelings on this series, mostly because I'm not trying to be blinded by nostalgia while writing this. Reason being that this is the first manga series that I ever read, and currently one of the only titles that I have completed. I will also not be comparing this series to the books as I have not read them and am honestly not planning on doing so. Anyway, the structure of this review will be in the order of what you rank before writing a review (this is my first review, so I apologize if it's a bit wordy!) Okay, prepare yourself, becausethis is going to be a long section. I have mixed feelings about the story. On one hand, I find it to be very cohesive, and there are some sudden realizations (especially by the end!) and some unexpected character moments that nearly left me in tears. Aside from those, however, there were some points in the story that I had to cringe through because of second hand embarrassment, and some sections that seemed to go on for too long. While I understand why the artist chose to shorten many conversations to keep the pace up, at the same time many conversations went like this: "Here's this crazy story about this vampire war, things called vampaneze, how I almost died (and kinda did), and how I know none of this makes any sense" and then the person hearing this for the first time says, "Oh ok understood i'll fight with you now lol" so that's pretty frustrating. Apart from these couple of instances I think the story flows pretty well from one event to the next, aside from some unusually large time skips. Honestly, it's probably 7/10 because I'm sure many people who aren't new to manga could see a lot of the twists coming and some of the things I described very annoying. The art portrays these characters extremely well. There are many gorgeous panels that really convey a sense of space, and how vast an area is. Something else that I noticed is the artist's improvement through out the 12 volume run. Some panels in the first few volumes are a bit wonky but it really evens out towards the end and gives some amazing fight scenes. Honestly, the art was probably my favorite part about this manga, and is why I keep going back to it. The characters are pretty developed by the end, especially the main cast. Their designs are good and instantly recognizable, however some of the supporting cast doesn't get nearly the same amount of development. Some characters seem to have only one trait, like being evil or loving the main character and that's it, while some others are focused on and explored, showing different sides to them you wouldn't expect. Some are better than others, but I did enjoy reading about them. Like I said in the intro, this was the first series I ever read/finished, so I absolutely adored it, and I still like it. Honestly, if you want to immerse yourself in a world inhabited by vampires and other creatures that's mostly aimed toward a middle school demographic, then you'll probably find something to enjoy. If that doesn't interest you, then I'd skip it or read it online. (Or, wait until the omnibus comes out this month and read the first couple of volumes in it).