I absolutely adore this. As far-fetched as the plot seems to be getting I find myself easily accepting the developments. I love how what I thought was going to end up a sappy love story has turned into a complicated story of betrayal, revenge and politics. The characters are well thought out and even in just 17 chapters a lot of good development on them has occured. The mysteries yet to be revealed have me hooked and I love the Vampire King! The artwork is fantastic as well. Lots if good potential building.

UPDATE: A new scanlating group has just taken this manga up so new releases very quickly. YAY!

... Last updated on January 14th, 2009, 3:11pm

one of the most amazing manga that i'm reading now, although the scanlation is only 13 chapters(too bad). we can really expect many things from it, the storyline has a lot of twists, so you would end up doubting even yourself. LOL

A must read for Shounen fans

I wonder about some of the comments stating it's bad. I mean, most of these are whining that it's full of drama, etc. Well, duh! It's clearly tagged as "drama" AND "tragedy" so it shouldn't surprise anyone that it isn't happy shounen "let's have lots and lots of epic battles and no real plot" kind of manga.

Anyway, what I liked about it?
1) Plot complexity that was handled really skillfully. Let's just say that you can save yourself the trouble of even trying to figure things out. Everything is explained sooner or later and it's almost bound to be different than what you thought.
2) Balance between action and plot, so it's not for people who expect to see action with bits of plot in between, but rather the opposite.
3) The way it ended. Perfectly fitting the character of the whole manga. Even though everything pointed to either an extremely dramatic or just wrong ending. I will only say that it went the dramatic way, but managed to turn out just right with some bittersweet feelings. It's neither a happy nor really sad ending. It's somewhere in between and that's just how it should be.

Basically you should be satisfied with this manga if you like vampires and some good and mysterious plot. And don't mind that's it isn't really a happy story. Don't expect lots of "awesome" action.

this is a great manga, I was hooked the moment I started reading because of the amazing plot twists and the beautiful art...
although if you're looking for a typical shounen manga you'll probably be disappointed.

I've read this in one go and finished it at the time I write this review. Just like the other comments, I agree that this manga have successfully created a character that I called as "perfect" (smart, strong, good looking, and most of all, over-compassionate). Unfortunately, those "perfect" points negatively affect my emotions toward the character and make the story seems unrealistic.

BUT (with capital 'B'), I still call this manga as a beautiful piece that teach us about love and sacrifice. Those points are strongly signified along the story, and was ended with the salvation of all of the characters (not only the MC). As a philosophical story fans, what can I ask more?

So, in brief, I can call this piece as "really recommended" manga... have a nice read

Edit: Ah, I forgot to add... I also falling in love to how the author gives detail on the plot (politics, strategy, psychological warfare, n so on) so that there will be no plot-hole that can be found... really nice

... Last updated on November 4th, 2014, 10:58am

Rating: Excellent

What I loved most about this were the twists; you HAVE to appreciate a perfectly done twist, and this series just keeps lobbing them at you out of the blue.
Most authors give you obvious hints about things leading up the revelation, and I hate that. But this didn't, and every sudden turn just had me staring slack-jawed in awe.

SHIRODAIRA Kyou is truly a master of deep plots and those perfect twists, resulting in series you just can't put down.

Without giving anything away, I will say that if someone gave me a full synopsis (the description of the series given here is only the very initial premise) just off-handedly, I'd toss it in the crack manga pile and never look at it again. But somehow this manga did not feel ridiculous at any point, which is an amazing accomplishment. I will say I felt a little betrayed that it ended up not being about what I initially thought, but I got over it quickly.

This does seriously tug at your heartstrings, as stated in other comments.

But the reason this is not a perfect ten is the art. The art is what I would describe as passable; it doesn't add or subtract from the story. The character designs are original enough and are well-done, but the artist has trouble with anatomy, especially hands.
Again, this doesn't detract from the amazing story, but a perfect ten has everything.

This entire manga is made of win and awesome.
It has an interesting setting and some truly unique characters and the art is great. One of the best I've ever read.

I've been postponing reading this manga for over a year, finally I brought myself to read it yesterday night and I just finished. Loved it.

Normally I dont read tragedies (except Shakespeare, those make me laugh xD), they make feel bitter for days, but this one did not leave me that after taste even with the sadness it left.

I recommend this story if you feel like reading a brilliant development with the proper ending.

... Last updated on October 18th, 2015, 11:06pm

It actually took me a while to "really" read this manga; intermittently trying to read it the last 4-5 years, but the the first chapters seemed to always throw me off in a maelstrom of boredom and maybe a tad too close to shoujo-type manga (nothing against shoujo/josei - considering I do like some - but generally they tend to be not my cup of tea).

No spoilers, but... I am at loss for words... started and finished every chapters in the last 3 days... I am in awe before the brainchild of a mastermind. This work touches so many facets of the human condition even though this was a fantastic story. The levels of half-truths and depth of realities experienced/reminisced by every single character keeps shattering our grasp of the storyline and leave us in a fog of anticipation and amertume.

Only for the art am I keeping myself from giving a 10. Nonetheless, this manga somewhat reminds me of Rourouni Kenshin, also a great manga that I love dearly.

In any case, I'm generally the type to go for the Action/Adventure/Comedy trifecta, yet I'd be lying if I said Akabara and his "opponents" left me apathetic to their plight.

... Last updated on December 4th, 2012, 12:50am

I love sad stories but... this one was just a little bit too much. I read it some time ago and the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about it is an overwhelming feeling. It made me tired but I won't deny that it is beautiful just too sad. For me it lacked any optimism and I think no one could take all of that like the main hero and still manage to keep his sanity... it's just too much.