Surprise! Well, either I’m a little messed up with the time zone differences, I missed a lot of submissions, or people got theirs in just after the deadline, but the moral of the story is there are quite a few submissions to the vampire MMF that didn’t get covered in the last roundup – enough that I felt they merited their own roundup! So, without further ado, here is (I promise) the last vampire MMF roundup post:

Lori posted a review for Vampire Knight volumes 12 and 14 over at Manga Village much earlier in the week, and I’m embarrassed to say that I missed it in my previous roundup posts (sorry, Lori!). I love how she is candid about not really liking the series, though I’m sure that statement might offend not a few fans. Personally, I never really could get into the series aside from its gorgeous art and a few drool-worthy male characters… Well, do volumes 12 and 14 renew her interest in the series? Head over to her review to find out!

Kate wrote a lovely piece called “The Manga Critic’s Guide to Vampires” over at The Manga Critic. She’s compiled all the vampire-related manga she’s personally reviewed over the years, breaking them down by “the story,” “the low-down,” “demographic,” and “recommended for.” She covers everything from popular titles such as Blood+, Hellsing, Trinity Blood, and Vampire Knight to lesser-known series such as Lament of the Lamb and some single-volume titles like Cowa!, Crimson Cross, and How to Seduce a Vampire. It’s definitely a must-read for anyone looking for a quick vampire manga suggestions.

Anna at Manga Report took a look at Record of a Fallen Vampire volumes 1-3, and though she felt that it wasn’t quite as good as some of her other favorite vampire manga, she thinks “inexhaustible vampire manga fans” would probably enjoy the series. She does have a request to anyone who’s read past volume 3 to let her know if it “gets better,” so if you are familiar with the series, do head over to her review and share your thoughts!

Lori was quite busy this week – she also reviewed two Chibi Vampire spinoff volumes, Airmail and Bites, at Manga Xandu. As a big fan of the Chibi Vampire manga, she wanted to see if these side-stories were up to snuff. It sounds like Airmail is pretty close to being a must-read for fans, and while her reaction to Bites was a little less positive, she still would recommend it to those who’ve read the original series.

Michelle and Karen got together to chat about CMX’s 90’s shojo series Canon over at Soliloquy in Blue, and I’m oh so glad they did! Their lengthy chat does contain some spoilers for those who haven’t yet read the four-volume series, but even if you haven’t read the series yet, definitely go have have a look at the first couple of paragraphs – their enthusiasm will certainly make you want to put this on your to-read list! Michelle also announces their intention to start a monthly feature called “The CMX Project” in January 2013, where they’ll be covering some lesser-known gems from the CMX library.

Last but not least, Johanna reviewed Twilight: The Graphic Novel Collector’s Edition at Comics Worth Reading (can’t have a proper vampire discussion without Twilight in there somewhere!). The recently-released hardcover contains both previously-released volumes of the graphic novel, but we’re going to count in the vampire MMF since it was drawn by a Korean artist (meaning we can fudge and call it manhwa, right?). Johanna notes that though she doesn’t like Stephenie Meyer’s story, she felt that “[t]here’s something very seductive about the idea of a super-powerful, perfect lover whose only weakness is how much he adores an otherwise normal girl.” You have to admit, that does sound compelling!

Well, I dare say that’s the last of the submissions! I was really surprised to see so many come in towards the end, and I’m really happy we got so many varied posts! Thank you everyone for your submissions, and remember, if you have something I’ve missed, please do let me know via Twitter, email, or in the comments of this post and I’ll be sure to add it. Hope you enjoyed the feast!

Remember, be sure to check out the archive for some great older reviews and links to all previous roundup posts!

The last couple of days of the vampire Manga Movable Feast saw some really interesting and varied submissions!

Tony from Manga Therapy took a look at a slightly different kind of vampire that first make their appearance in volume 14 of Gantz. These nanomachine-infused humans are Vampires in that they are both weak to UV radiation and need to drink blood to survive, but they also have emotional “vampiric” qualities. Manga Therapy writes, “When asked about the creation of the Vampires in an old interview, Hiroya Oku said he wanted human enemies and that the “vampire” character exists naturally.” What an interesting spin on traditional vampire lore!

Lori over at Manga Xandu has another review, this time for volume 2 of Dracula Everlasting, an OEL title published by Seven Seas. She writes: “I was under the impression that Nick was to be the protagonist, but this volume proves that isn’t the case. Cate and to some extent Jill are the ones to really move the story” and appreciates the strong female characters, but laments that she still expected the story to go in a slightly different direction. She does note that “it’s nice to have a ‘prince in distress’ for a change,” so perhaps new readers going into the three volume series with the knowledge that Nick is not the main character will have different initial impressions?

Laura from Heart of Manga also took a look at Dracula Everlasting, covering both volumes one and two in her review. She mentions that “the short length of the story keeps the characters from being well developed,” and feels that Dracula, the antagonist who seeks to gain full possession of Nick, is the most interesting. She notes what a long wait it will be until the final volume is published in September 2013, so even though the characters may feel a little sub-par, the whole package looks intriguing enough to stick with it until the conclusion.

Finally, Ash of Experiments in Manga reviewed Yashakiden: The Demon Princess volume 3, and though it’s not a manga, but a series of illustrated vampire novels, I think it’s close enough to include in the feast! Unfortunately, Ash finds the series frustrating, as he writes: “Although Kikuchi has a ton of great ideas, and I continue to love Demon City Shinjuku as a setting, he hasn’t been able to pull everything together into a cohesive whole quite yet.” The original series was intended to end at volume 4 (which is included in volume 3 of the English release, as it is an omnibus edition), Ash mentions that it actually extends to eight volumes, meaning he’s just reached the midway point. Though the narrative feels unfocused to him, he’s going to try to stick with it for at least a little while longer. I think, at the very least, it says something good about the premise if Ash has been willing to stick with a disappointing narrative for four whole volumes!

Well, this marks the end of the vampire Manga Movable Feast. I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who sent in submissions over the course of the week. I admit I was a little nervous, given this was my first time hosting, but everyone was very helpful. I hope I did an okay job – do drop a comment and let me know if you have any suggestions for how I could manage it better in the future! Finally, if anyone has any late submissions they’d like included, I’m happy to update this post to include them over the next few days, so keep sending them in!

[Update] There were so many extra submissions that I went ahead and made a forth roundup post! 
Remember, be sure to check out the archive for some great older reviews and links to all previous roundup posts!

The reviews continue to come in for the vampire Manga Movable Feast! I’m happy to see all the shojo titles, but where’s some of the shonen love? I hope we see a Hellsing post or two before it’s all over, because I’ve never read it!

Ash over at Experiments in Manga returns to Vampire Hunter D, volume 1 especially for this month’s feast (thanks, Ash!). He writes, “While I wasn’t overly impressed by Vampire Hunter D, volume 1 when I read it for the first time, the manga has grown on me after subsequent readings.” It’s even inspired to possibly go back and read the novels, which I’d definitely say is a tick in the manga’s favor! 

Lori published a great review of Digital Manga Publishing’s Moon and Blood volumes 1-2 at The School Library Journal (Good Comics for Kids), summarizing her feelings as follows: “Moon and Blood is a supernatural romance that avoids a lot of the pitfalls commonly seen in this now popular genre.” Though she found the male character’s back story more interesting than the romance, which may be disappointing for some, it’s great to see a shojo manga that features such a compelling male lead.

Anna at The Manga Report also reviewed Jiu Jiu volume 2, which doesn’t actually center around vampires, but it features a vampire character as well as a whole host of other supernatural beings. She notes that the series “…flashes back and forth from scenes exploring emotional abandonment to more typical shojo manga staples like trips to the beach.” Sounds like it does a good job of not being too emotionally heavy, but not straying too far into the realm of pure fluff, either!

Finally, I posted a Call for Localization for two vampire shojo manga that are currently only available in Japanese, Poe no Ichizoku and Kuro Bara Alice. If I had to pick between the two, I’d definitely say publishers should go for Poe no Ichizoku first, as it’s a classic that everyone should have a chance to read, but Kuro Bara Alice is likely to be the more easily-accessible of the two. If either should get licensed, I expect full credit! 

I’d like to give a huge thanks to everyone whose contributed so far. I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s post, and I hope you have, too! There are only a couple of days left in the feast, but that’s still plenty of time to get your submissions in!

The first couple of days of the vampire Manga Moveable Feast have gotten to a bit of a slow start, but I’m confident things will get busier as we hit the middle of the week! Let’s take a look at some of the contributions so far:

Ash over at Experiments in Manga kicks off the feast with a vampire-themed Week in Manga post. In it, he covers volumes 1-4 of Blood Sucker: Legend of Zipangu, Devil, volumes 13-16 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Phathos volumes 1-2, Until the Full Moon volumes 1-2, and volumes 2-5 of Vampire Hunter D. With everything from the hardcore shonen title Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure to BL offerings of Phathos and Until the Full Moon, I’d say he’s got quite the selection!

Next, Manga Xandu takes a look at the Blood Alone omnibus, which contains volumes 1-3 of the series. Lori says: “Blood Alone isn’t the typical vampire series with a lot of angst and melodrama. Instead, it is populated with rich, interesting characters and a story that is a mix of slice of life and murder mystery with a sprinkling of vampires.” Sounds like it might be worth checking out!

Finally, I wrote a shojo-centric introduction to vampire manga here at Chic Pixel, which will hopefully provide a few good titles to start from for shojo fans looking to have some vampires with a side (or perhaps a heaping plate) of romance.

Keep those submissions coming! The vampire MMF will continue through to the 27th. You can email submissions to me directly, or leave a link here in the comments.