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Squint. Squint hard, darn it.

The story... starts off pretty generic. But it grows. It is classic formula, reminiscent of Love Hina with it's "vacation" arcs. There's a repetition, a monster-of-the-week drama, where Tsukune or someone else makes a mistake and has to do some character-development and apologizing before the villain is defeated.

However, unlike many repetitive formulas, these small, incremental moments of growth pay off. The story and overarching plot sneaks up on you, bit by bit...

Squint hard at the characters: Especially Moka and her inner-self. The subtlety in how she grows to accept Tsukune and the rest of the cast as her friends is... ... well, subtle. Not even fans of the manga recognize it, but there are moments where she breaks down in tears, or grins in admiration, and readers completely miss it. Please, do your best not to miss it!

Moka isn't the only character, though. Even then, the rest of the cast is pretty fantastic... Tsukune, the "typical protagonist", is surprisingly atypical, as the only human resident of Youkai academy. He strikes a balance between the "luckless wimp" and the "destined hokage", not being a pushover who relies on his friends, but not being the "second coming", either. Kurumu is more than just a rival, Mizore is more than just a sweet face. Even Yukari tries to break her mold of being a lil' girl.

The art improves! And then it improves so much it begins to develop an uncanny valley. But even then, the increased definition and quality of the art adds to the subtle maturation of the characters, as they live out their first year in school and begin to grow up... A wonderful mixture of story and art being cohesive and communicating a sense of maturation and the journey into adulthood.

And it fits with the tone. The seriousness of monsterkind, the comedy and restless moments of innocent youth - they seem to contradict one another and make the story seem inconsistent, but it's only through the use of these two opposite ends of the spectrum that you can achieve balance and moderation, and communicate a realisitic story of characters growing up and taking on daunting responsibilities, pursuing reckless, dangerous, but precious love.

...Definitely enjoyable. Hits all of the marks of a good coming-of-age romance story. To see Tsukune grow, to see Moka (especially her sealed side) open up to him, both wonderful storylines and a gratifying romance.

In a sense, Rosario Vampire is a better manga than its sequel, because it actually "concludes" on a conclusive, satisfying note. It doesn't promise so much, leaving the reader satisfied with a nice 40-chapter story that never overstayed it's welcome.

Of course, it deserved and necessitated a continuation with how it ended... but it didn't have to end with more stories on the horizon. Not everything has to be dramatic, not everything has to be emotionally pulverizing. Rosario + Vampire's conclusion is balanced and nuanced, harmonious and easy to read.

Generic is an easy term to use. But let me remind you...squint. With an appreciation to detail, and appreciating the entire context of the story, and the worth of this manga is clear as day.

Booooring choice by me, right? I'd defend this manga with tooth and nail: You can always find something objectionable in a story or piece of art, the point of an overall 10/10 grade is to argue that those failings *don't matter*.

Certainly, the story meanders a bit in the beginning (if only to set the scene and flesh out the characters), but nothing about the story stumbles or makes little sense: every chapter flows logically and accomplishes what it was set out to do. Maybe you don't particularly prefer the subject character or the corny lesson at hand, but this comes with the territory of storytelling. ... Maybe the fights end too quickly, or are schizophrenic in how quickly the tides of battle turn - I've come to accept the predictable + unpredictable aspects of manga, and so... I suggest you remember your favorite manga and how problematic or predictable *its* fights can be.

The story is weak on one aspect: the ending. As effective as the plot is, with an impressive coda going into the last arc, it still feels "too soon". It's an amazing final arc - but did it have to be the "final arc"? No. No no no. Not in the slightest. In fact, reading the first 20 chapters, you can't help as though the story was unceremoniously sped up, resulting in this grand, logical, yet deliberately-quick ending.

The epilogue is amazing... but it commits the biggest sin in media: leaving you wanting more. I'm no longer a child in a bed, satisfied with "that's a story for another time." If you're going to tease me and tantalize me with so much possibility, I'm going to close the book upset and... for lack of a better word, blue-balled.

The characters are amazing? I do understand that some of them don't hold up under scrutiny, because I ended up wanting more from them. Ruby in particular had a lot more to contribute...

...but is it enough to deduct points? If anything, it highlights how every character almost begs for more pages and opportunities to grow and evolve. Even the two major characters, Moka and Tsukune, through all of their changes and tribulations, remain compelling protagonists with compelling futures... even after all of these pages, you still want to see more between the two of them.... something that the epilogue can only tease us with.

You're allowed to not like this manga, mind you. I give this manga a 10 in enjoyment because it's story and focus appeal to me: people maturing and facing an uncertain future. People struggling with what they wish to become in life, what they must sacrifice to hold onto their dreams and idealism. It's a romance at the core, but the humor reminds us to not be so melodramatic.

Melodramatic... You could argue it's schizophrenic in how it switches tones from absolute horror to absolute comedy, how it threatens death only for the sheer luck to save the day. It's almost a stylistic signature of Ikeda's. But by capturing two ends of the spectrum, the creator and this story is able to explore the nuances and entire scope of what stories can be, from despairing to triumphant to back again. Almost as fickle as luck is in the real world - and to see our beloved characters hang on and react to this rollercoaster of hope and hopelessness is uniquely done, and stands apart from a lot of mangas.

Why, yes. I still dream of a sequel, to this day. The material, the potential, is definitely there. The IP of Rosario Vampire barely sets foot outside of its little neighborhood, and when it does, it's almost always to great benefit to the story. With so many dimensions and magical places to discover, it was tragic to only get a peak through a crack in the door. Show me Yukari's hometown, with brooms flying everywhere. Let them become exchange students and visit a monster-school in the heart of a haunted German forest. Show me Succubi and Incubi, print the entire monster dictionary!

So many directions, so much fertile ground for storytelling. Alas...

The story of Moka and Tsukune definitely continues on in my heart... but someday, I hope to see it in print.