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I read this in one sitting; I was suffering from the loss of having finish Vampire Knight and needed to read a vampire related manga with pretty art. I was immediately drawn to this particular manga because of the beautifully done cover page: two main characters, Gilles and Luna, with a gothic backdrop and colours, it screamed angst and misfortune. They looked so depressed it just needed my immediate attention.

Story 4/10: Reading the synopsis I was ready to read a supernatural, mystery drama. As I read the chapters there was not so much mystery – if there was it was too obvious or explained ... soon after – but it concentrated more on the vampire aspect with a bit of typical drama and some action. It was more of teenager drama - as in Gilles is angsting about his life - set in a more mature world of a vampire hunting company.

The basis of the story is very similar to any other vampire manga out there: vampire hunter society, a bishonen guy with a tragic past (which goes hand in hand with revenge), plus a good looking vampire girl; mix it with hormones and violence, and you have a teen vampire drama (oddly supposed to be a shounen). It's a bit case-by-case story-wise: traveling from one place to the other hunting vampires while stumbling (conveniently) on 'the truth' while on said hunt.

There’s a good amount of blood and violence for this type of manga, and there are battles that are somewhat creative if not a bit cliché (aka specialized weapons/powers). Some fights got too showy for my liking, with end results somewhat reminiscent of Bleach.

After plot twist number one is revealed, there’s a switch of attitude that happens very suddenly in the story that just seems too convenient to help work the romance angle. Which brings me with my main gripe: the plot twists are a bit obvious if not too cliché, things get a tad bit ridiculous as they are revealed, trying to be more elaborate then it probably should. It’s trying to borrow a bit from other vampire mangas.

I’m hoping that this is continuing because if it ends at chapter 12, well, that would be really abrupt with no real closure, like we’re supposed to accept that all the issues are resolved. There would be too much presumption and that would be how NOT to do an ‘open ended story’.

Characters 5/10: Gilles acts more like a boy his age then I would have expected, considering his past and the whole outline of the story. He’s not as revenged filled or angsty as normally expected from his kind of character, he’s more humble, kind-hearted, and somewhat easily flustered. He’s a bit contradiction when it comes to terms or usefulness, since he was supposed to be a genius when it came to his training – while understandable that it’s not always easily transferable to real-life scenario – he tends to easily get tossed around (but he never dies) for someone that’s supposed to be your main guy in a ‘categorized’ shounen/supernatural manga. Gilles tends to act very insecure about himself whether that be about girls (well a girl) or trying to justify his reasons for being an Apostle (elite vampire hunter). He acts more like your typical shoujo heroine.

Luna is your playful, aloof and serious partner that’s a bit of a mix bag. She acts very much like a needy girl but is able to hold her own in a fight and can be quite blunt, but of course she won’t show any full fighting potential because that would defeat the purpose of having Gilles are the main hero.

As of now, I feel no real connection or liking for either characters, even the side characters seemed to be trying too hard to fit their stereotypes.

There’s also an issue with having characters said and supposed to be ‘powerful’ yet they completely bomb when it’s their time to shine. Whether it was intentionally done so to drag out scenes or not make them too mary-sue esk (or outshine Gilles), it’s a bit irksome to have the story tell you one thing and then show you something else.

Art 7/10: The art is good, if not a bit similar to Toboso Yana’s Kuroshitsuji; however, I find it difficult to tell the age of the characters because one moment they look around 14-16 years old and the next they look like prepubescent kids. You also have younger characters that look so much older than they should be (unless that’s intentional which still wouldn’t make any sense story-wise).

Enjoyment 6/10: The action scenes are fun I suppose, and the story is so typical that you kind of wonder if it’ll continue down its mediocre road. The manga is well drawn with distinguishable drawn characters. If you squint you might be able to overlook the predictableness and flaws, and go with the narrative.

Overall 5/10: The cover is a bit misleading; I was expecting an angstier story with more depth to the characters. It’s a bit flat story-wise and the characters aren’t anything you haven’t seen done better elsewhere. For a quick read it’s alright, especially if you want your vampire fix.

You've read the synopsis, the story basically revolves around the main heroine, Cross Yuki; however, I think damsel is a far more fitting title.

So what I really think? Pure quintessential BS.

Seriously.

It's so cliché and over melodramatic that it's practically excreting out hearts and tears.

While it might sound harsh I can only be just that: truthfully, bluntly, harsh. However does it mean that I hate it? Well, no.

It’s a cliché and corny romance involving vampires and humans. You have the fluff, the love triangle and the forbidden love. Nothing really new. Simplistic plot pumped on melodramatic steroids with cheesy characters and bishi love interests. Pretty to ... look at and easy to follow along.

The main protagonist Yuki can be quite unlikeable; she’s childish and selfish. Gasping, crying or complaining is not always cute - in fact I want to slap her a few times. Good god, grow a brain cell or two. I understand she was intentionally written to be 'a little dumb', but come on does she have to be one of those stereotypical damsel in distress? The weak demoiselle that has the need for either Kaname or Zero (the male heroes) – like in those classical romance novels, or in the more recent Teen Romance Vampire Novels (*cough Twilight cough*). You have the controlling, stalkerish males and the submissive damsel. This seems familiar. Although most vampire stories follow along those lines... so I guess I shouldn't just single out VK.

The problem with VK is that it can be so painfully annoying at times, drama added on top of the already overflowing melodrama – as I’ve been repeatedly saying because there’s no other way to explain it; it’s just there in your face all the time. Perhaps it’s best if I explain:

Yuki is bouncing back and forth between Kaname and Zero, she constantly thinks about Kaname and moans about feeling inferior. If she isn’t tearing up then she’s so shocked about everything because she’s too dense to see what’s right in front of her. While she's suppose to be a guardian, protecting the students from any impeding danger (aka Vampires snacking on them), she seems incapable and too weak to perform those duties. Instead 9 times out of 10 she's the one getting in trouble.

Zero is a plain broody b@st@r*, ok that’s a little harsh, but everything he does he does it with melancholic dismay (this is me sounding poetic). He's the anti-vampire-angry guy friend, who’s secretly lusting for Yuki.

Kaname, the elusive guy that enjoys sending mix signals – one moment he’s so friendly, next he’s lusty/touchy and then he clams up and becomes reclusive. Despite his supposed friendly persona he's a controlling, manipulative, liar.

Woe is me. Every single scene feels so over the top, the reactions are just so Shakespearean…

There’s so many long winded angsty inner dialogue or people brooding or girls crying or blushing.

Look, I like drama, it’s entertaining but when it’s always thrown in your face it gets trying. Yes I will admit some scenes are exciting, especially the showdowns involving Zero, he just adds to the angsty tense atmosphere. And while the characters are over-the-top they are at least fleshed out and given back stories.

The show tries to stay true to the gothic style, as seen with the architecture of the academy, the secrets, the supernatural element, the toned down colouring (black, white and red being the main colours), the stock characters, the soundtrack, etc, to name a few. However while it dabbles into the genre it fall flat and comes across as unsuccessful.

Because all that supposed Gothic style given to us is background, just background. They could have used it to their advantage, instead you don't pay too much mind to it. Instead it's mainly focused on the main characters - while not necessarily a bad thing - the gothic and supernatural feel just dwindles down to nothingness. A good vampire story would have uncomfortable, suspenseful and omniscient scenes, this does not, the drama and angst overshadows any semblance of mystery or suspense we're given.

But it is what it is; I know I can't really expect a convoluted plot with surprising twists. Sure the story did have some surprises, if you ignore the fact that it was heavily hinted.The story is just so predictable.

I think VK is just genre confused, it doesn't know if it wants to be a romance comedy or a paranormal-romance (mystery, suspense, supernatural). It switches back and forth and tries to find a middle between the two. While I'm all up for having some humor, I find it ruins the atmosphere at times or plain unnecessary. With a tenser atmosphere it would probably appeal to a wider audience and not just vampire-loving-teens (sorry for the stereotype but it is its targeted audience). I find there's little to no build-up of suspense or climax so you're left wanting more.

Not to complete bash the whole thing like some raving flamer, the story does have its moments. It sucks you in like those cheesy Soap Opera your dad refuses to admit he loves watching with your mom. With the overused plot lines and over the top drama, you can't stop yourself from watching with sickening interest, anxiously waiting to see what happens next (even though you know how it will turn out) like some junkie waiting for his next fix. It's sickening but true, I'm guilty of being part of said population. It’s a guilty pleasure; it’s an easy read and fun to watch. I wouldn’t take the series too seriously.

But wait, I must have something else positive to say… like I said: easy to follow, pretty to look at, they are a few select scenes that are good and sometimes the jokes can be funny. It has good parts here and there. The plot isn’t so appalling and the manga does pick up in the later volumes.

The big problem I have with the anime of Vampire Knight is the wasted potential; instead of giving us a heroine that evolves we're stuck with a whiny, weak lead. There's also a lot of potential for darker themes: obsession, self-hate, jealousy, possessiveness and violence. It does dabble a bit in the dark themes but it simply never pulls through. Instead we're given predictable melodrama.

The obsession is downplayed to 'passionate' and 'eternal' love; the self-hate comes across being excessively broody and melancholic; the jealousy card is a main factor in the story but it's more like a high school debacle - which I suppose suits the story considering they are in an academy, but it has to be pointed out that story does involve vampires which I expect a more serious and dangerous tone to said jealousy. The possessiveness of Kaname is well played, he plays the role of the manipulative and controlling smooth-operator well; however, in the end the fact that Yuki is so accepting and submissive to him you can't help but feel the shojo-iness oozing out - it's sexy when a guy is possessive and controlling. :disbelief: Not the best role model for young girls. Finally the violence, well, it's there but it really isn't detailed and as obvious. It's really glazed over.

I suppose you can say it's the Twilight of the Manga world, a love-hate relationship. Albeit personally I find it a cut above - at least the vampires don't sparkle.

In the end you’ll have those who hate it because it lacks substance and its overall predictable cheesiness, and you’ll have the fans who love the lovey-dovey teenage vampire romance (or the angsty drama). Would I recommend it? Sure, why not, despite all the short comings give it a go it can be quite enjoyable if you give the series a chance to grow on you. I give it a 6/10.

VK is not a manga to be taken seriously. After 93 chapters of devotion: hoping that characters would evolve, that you would get some satisfaction or at least closure, you get absolutely nothing - only the bitter taste of disappointment.

Story 6/10:

There’s a great sense of mystery in the beginning, and the relationship between Yuki, Kaname and Zero is so deliciously mysterious and drama-filled that it’s easy to get hooked. You have the basic ingredients for a love triangle and lots of angst. You have the taboo vampire/human relationship and the beauty of longing for something out of reach. There was a sort of self-deprecating ... love/frustration going on with the characters that made you bounce back-and-forth between your feelings for them. So there's initially a lot going on for the story. With that being said, the beginning relied a lot on unknown factors of each character – so their past and motivations – but once that gets cleared (to a certain point) the intrigue drops significantly.

The premise is a no brainer and isn’t too convoluted: vampire school and the stigma between vampire/human relationships; perhaps that’s why it worked. As the story progressed it feels as though the author tried to take her story a little too seriously and added way too many subplots. It became too messy and a lot of characters were lost along the way (no closure) because Hino tried to have too many things happen at once.

After the first arc ends (so approximately after the first 10-12 volumes) that’s when things go completely downhill. The plot begins to become inconsistent with too many plot holes, things are introduced and never fully explained. There are too many scenes that seem to have deeper meaning but they really don’t – they’re for pure ascetic reasons or simply ‘filler’. The last arc until the very end is a complete waste of time. It just became boring and the sense of the mysterious forbidden was practically non-existence, becoming simply ‘a race against time story’. There was too much re-hashing and it became all too glaringly obvious (or confusing since Hino DOESN’T explain). A lot of things took place that seemed to have no impact or significance to the story as a whole.

For anyone who was a fan of the manga, many feel disappointed and angry (such as me) because we invested in the story only to be left with utter BS. So many questions are not solved and there are a lot of things you are left to presume.

It had potential and it started off well enough; however, it feels as though Hino gave up after the first arc ended and didn’t know what to do with the second part. It’s a bit of a mess, but the beginning is worth a look.

Characters 5/10:

This is where disappointment hits you the hardest. I can initially accept characters’ faults in the beginning, so Yuki is a naïve and helpless girl that seems to be a little too clueless. She has a contradicting mix of selflessness and selfishness that sometimes leaves you mind boggled at her daftness. Initially it works for the story; however, when the story progress and the plot ‘thickens’ there has to be some character development, so some maturity on Yuki’s part. Well there’s little to none that happens. Instead I would say Yuki becomes even more transparent, selfish and desperate, to the point that you forget that she’s even the main protagonist and not a crutch for the main male leads to fight over or protect.

The focus turns to the only decent character in the story, Kaname, and you wonder if VK is truly about Yuki. Kaname is a redeeming quality of the manga; he’s vastly superior because he’s such a complex and contradicting character. His manipulation, intelligence, obsession, selflessness and mystery, is what drives the story. He’s really the only character that is never fully predictable and every decision he makes impacts the story and all the other characters. The other male characters are not as engaging or interesting as Kaname. Zero constantly remains the broody, revenge-driven emo that remains very much pathetic until the very end. Everyone else remain the same predictable stock characters, they’re there for exposition sake.

Art 10/10: It is a truly beautiful manga, perhaps it’s one of the reason why I stuck around reading the story until the end (without counting Kaname). All the characters are beautifully drawn and there's a lot attention to detail. The scenery and the character design is a real treat.

Enjoyment 5/10: Beginning is all good but the second part is pure rubbish. It will leave you ripping your hair in frustration and end with great regret or disappointment.

Overall 6/10: The first arc is worth the read but the enjoyment drops significantly that once it ended, it left me feeling sad and frustrated. There’s little closure, the character development is poor and it leaves you hating the manga more then you should.

Story:

The plot is nothing that hasn’t been done similarly before (ie. Inuyasha); however, even with that being said it’s still compelling and interesting. Unlike in other shoujo manga where the romance is practically shoved into your face in the beginning, or a few chapters there’s epiphanies of feelings going on, this takes its sweet time to develop the characters and their feelings. While Nanami falls for Tomoe at a regular interval, as expected, however the feelings aren’t immediately reciprocated. Which brings freshness to the story, instead we’re given banter between the two main protagonists (border-lining hateful resentment from Tomoe in the beginning), and a ... slightly one-sided pairing, we see the relationship of two characters unfolding slowly in front of our eyes which is great to read. There is very much a master-servant relationship and the idea is how to breach such confines, especially concerning a human god and a fox yokai, a relationship that would be taboo.

The romance is a slow build-up interweaved with the character development. Little by little the past is unravelled and we learn more of each character. There’s a lot of hesitance and unwillingness coming from Tomoe while Nanami completely accepts her feelings and respects Tomoe’s decision in the matter. She isn’t afraid to show affection yet doesn’t expect Tomoe to jump into the bandwagon. Tomoe’s feelings are very much implied and slowly shown (acts of kindness or jealousy).

The plot itself has a slice-of-life feel, while there is an over arcing story it isn’t fully detailed or explained yet (so an antagonist is revealed but his motives concerning Nanami isn’t clear as of yet) . As of now we see the protagonists in a sort of event-by-event manner, sometimes it’s simply school drama or personal issues, others it revolves around demons or spiritual manners. The story doesn’t completely revolve around deities and demons, while it is a significant and predominant aspect, we are given more issues about each characters.

Characters:

The character growth is at a good pace alongside the romance. Tomoe is regarded as a cynical, spiteful and distrustful fox that slowly softens as he spends more time with Nanami; however, his quick tongue is always maintained in the story and he never loses his cynical view on life.

Nanami is very interesting; she’s a poor girl who happens to stumble upon a man who makes
her a deity. From the get-go you know she hasn’t much fortune in life but she fights her heart out to do what is best. She has an independent attitude but because of her naivety of her duty she has to rely on Tomoe a lot. While she is not physically strong she has a strong will which is shown brilliantly in the manga. Her certainty in her feelings is what drives the manga, in the beginning she’s confused but as the story progressed she became confident in her own heart.

For the two main characters they might not be unique in originality but they are presented in a dynamic way which makes the reading all the much better. We get to know them more and more as the story progress and we see them grow – and they don't simply maintain the same outlook or personality that they had from the beginning.

Overall: 9/10
The art is gorgeously drawn, each character’s emotions are conveyed beautifully on page and we’re given many locations and not simply one backdrop. Enjoyment wise it’s easy to get sucked into the story, it does lull at some chapters, but overall it’s worth the slow pace. There’s a good amount of hilarity and drama to keep anyone going. This manga skips the melodrama and it gives us two individuals coming from two very different backgrounds trying to figure each other out. That’s really the crux of the story: two people getting to know each other and making sense of it all.

Naruto Shippuden: Lost Tower Movie Review

**WARNING SOME SPOILERS**

Oh how I hate trailers, well actually I’ve come to hate them, I use to enjoy watching movie trailers now I can only watch them with a skeptical and critical eye. They’re deceiving and often times will regurgitate the best scenes in one mash up with dramatic background music: it’ll get the audience intrigued and excited. Lost Tower followed the same routine.

The movie trailer truly looked exciting, while I have seen the past Naruto movies – a few being quite disappointing – I was crossing my fingers for this one. I saw the trailer and had a fangirl ... moment once I saw a glimpse of the Fourth Hokage and a chibi Kakashi: it had time travel written all over it. I was so excited at the prospected that for a year I patiently waited, imagining how epic this movie was going to be.

Once I was finally able to get my hands on a subbed version I eagerly started watching it.

The beginning was nothing special, if anything it felt rushed as it tried to cram whatever nonsensical explanation the plot needed to get it going: this happened in the short span of 5-10 minutes; but I didn’t let it deter me from the rest of the movie.

Finally after a cliché opening Naruto is thrown into the past, this is where the excitement and adventure begins. Sadly it doesn’t.

For a movie that showcases team seven with Yamato in the beginning we only get Naruto thrown in the past with Yamato, and Yamato is only shown for a few minutes. So that was one big glaring disappointment, but I was hoping that would mean the story would concentrate on Naruto and Minato... well to disappoint all of the Minato fans the movie zeros in on Naruto and some new princess; Minato is left in the dust. Yah.

So Lost Tower falls into the predictable niche with its routine formula – Princess, Villain and Hero - with under developed princess and villain, forgotten side-characters and boring plot.

We'll start with the Princess, how I detest this character. Sara is another unlikeable and one-dimensional damsel in distress who has a creepy resemblance to Kushina. She's naive, arrogant and likes feeling sorry for herself. Obviously there's a plot, coup d'état would be an inappropriate word for such a movie, against her and she is obviously saved by Naruto. Then it's her boring adventure of self-discovery and it comes to the predictable climax of self-epiphany.
I don’t know why they can’t have a movie with no new helpless character, simply the same old people in a crisis trying to fight a villain (I suppose don’t mind new villains).

The Villain, Mukade, is the usual crazy type that wants to rule the world and gain copious amount of power. He somehow gains incredible regenerative abilities, incredible puppet technique that allows him to control an army of puppets and of course he has unlimited amount chakra so he never tires out. Really this amount of power, despite his physical weakness, would put Sasori, another legendary ventriloquist, to shame and Sasori was awesome and at least had a back story. Not much is known about Mukade beside the fact that he's a power hungry a-hole. He's a forgettable villain that makes you wonder how he can have so much power.

The Hero, well Naruto is Naruto. Typical speeches, absentmindedness, predictable jutsus and saves the day. Nothing new really in that department except I will point out how immature and childish he was, we all know Naruto isn't necessarily the sharpest pencil in the box but in Shippuden he had at least matured somewhat and calmed down since his 'genin' days. It seems like the producers decided to revert his personality and made Naruto so goofy and inattentive.

Now this might seem typical to a Naruto movie, but the whole package came apart and it failed to deliver. Too many transitional scenes, plot holes and not enough explanation adds to the many other lacking aspects of the movie.

Maybe I should explain in more detail why this movie totally sucked:

One big thing that took away from the movie were the boring fight scenes. This is a shonen series about shinobi's, I'm expecting some kick-ass action, instead Naruto is tossed around like a rag-doll and uses the same two jutsus: rasengan and bunshin, over and over again never deviating to anything else and he gets his ass handed to him. At least in the series he tries to use deception; and he has other jutsus that he doesn’t bother to use: Odama Rasengan, summoning or shadow shuriken technique. He uses the Rasenshuriken once but it’s easily overcome by the villains ‘godly’ powers, so it’s another bust in the jutsu and excitement category.

Then there’s this chakra blade business that was ridiculous to watch, another excuse to introduce a new and useless power that Naruto will never use beyond this movie. Naruto looked awkward wielding the blade, he could have used a simple kunai. They should have incorporated some nine-tail action or sage mode (although apparently this takes place before he goes to Mount Myoboku, so he wouldn’t know sage jutsu. They should have moved the timeline after the Pein Arc). The only nine-tail power we see is Naruto using some of its chakra to overwhelm the villain but that was poorly done – usually Naruto’s eyes would have turned red, his nail would grown longer and sharper, and his whisker marks would have widen and thicken, in the movie all aspects were absent.

I’m not even going to talk about Supreme [Lame] Ultimate Rasengan , the name says enough.

Then enters Minato who always saves Naruto in the nick of time, teasing the audience with a few neat parlour tricks and making us want to see him in full action, the only thing he seems to enjoy doing is talking cryptically and disappearing. The scenes he’s in usually goes along like this: he utters Naruto’s name, asks if he’s alright, tells him to protect the princess and then subsequently disappears to who-knows-where for the next 15 minutes. He never really explains his mission or how it correlates with the current events. Heck we see his two team members, Chouza and Shibi, do more fighting.

And since when does Naruto immediately obey any order? I don’t care if that was their way to ‘subtlety’ wink at the whole father/son bond, Naruto wouldn’t have easily obeyed Minato without an argument or disobedience, father or not.

The movie had so much potential that was wasted on repeated jutsus, boring dialogue, and failed fighting scenes.

The movie is extremely lame and boring, I feel disappointed. This has a ‘filler’ feel to it: annoying and naïve damsel that gets saved by Naruto and is subject to Naruto’s many speeches; uninteresting and overpowered villain that is subsequently defeated by a cliché new rasengan created at the last moment; important and powerful characters (Minato, Kakashi, Yamato) only show up at the last minute and disappears when most needed.

This is what I was hoping to get out of this movie:


• Have Sakura, Yamato, Sai and Naruto all thrown into the past;
• More scenes and interaction between Naruto and Minato – so more tag teaming;
• No cliché princess or new female character that shows subtle feeling towards Naruto near the end (and has an epiphany thanks to Naruto’s speech-no-jutsu);
• Kick-ass fighting: collaboration fighting with Sakura, Sai, Yamato, Naruto, and Minato. And Naruto actually showing his true fighting potential and not this BS that was spewed to us, Naruto can do better, this is Shippuden;
• Minato and Naruto bonding in an indirect way (the movie attempted to do this but failed miserably), so through tag teaming, good dialogue (banter, imitation, avoidance of revealing future yet it accidently slips little by little);
• More scenes with Minato in it! Seriously I thought he was going to be a main character, I mean he’s even on the poster! He’s hardly in the movie and enjoys disappearing when he’s actually needed;
• See more of chibi Kakashi, that was seriously a tease he only gets a small cameo, what was even the point in having him there;
• Naruto learning more about Minato and Minato passes on some good wisdom/advice.

Of course there’s none of that, or little itty bitty hints to tease the audience with – cruel movie producers. I can only hope Bloody Prison will be better, but then again trailers are misleading.