Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 3 manga review

Manga
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 3 manga review
By Leroy Douresseaux
December 1, 2014 - 21:46

Viz Media
Writer(s): Takaya Kagami, Adrienne Beck
Penciller(s): Yamato Yamamoto
Letterer(s): Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7152-2
$9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K., 192pp B&W, paperback
Rating: T+ (Teen Plus)

Seraph of the End Volume 3 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

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Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

The reign of the vampires' rule over Earth begins in 2012 after the trumpets of the apocalypse proclaim the fall of humanity. A mysterious virus kills almost all adult humans, sparing those younger than 13 years of age, who are subsequently enslaved as livestock for food. In 2016, the orphan Yuichiro “Yu” Hyakuya steps forward, determined to kill all vampires.

As Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 3 (Chapters 8 to 11) opens, Yu finds himself tempted by his cursed gear, the advanced demon-possessed weaponry used to kill vampires. The sword, Asuramaru, Yu's cursed gear, wants Yu to use the darkness within himself to really let loose some revenge.

Yu is now a member of humanity’s most elite Vampire Extermination Unit, the Moon Demon Company of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. Yu, Shinoa Hiragi, shy Yoichi Saotome, and Shiho Kimizuki form the Shinoa squad of the Moon Demon Company, under the command of Mitsuba Sango. Sango is hard on the talented Yu, but she is about to discover that he is indeed special, during a mission to fight a vampire invasion of the walled city of Shinjuku.

THE LOWDOWN: The Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga continues to be an intriguing and imaginative read. I say that while admitting that I did not hold out much hope for it when I first heard of it Yamato Yamamoto (artist), Takaya Kagami (story), and Daisuke Furuya (storyboards) deliver in Seraph of the End an action-packed, post-apocalyptic, vampire battle manga.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 3 reveals some recent back story about the fate of Yu's “brother,” Mikaela “Mika” Hyakuya. However, some readers will get the vampire battles for which they've been waiting. That makes this volume a quick read, and while we wait for more secrets to be revealed, the fight scenes will do.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Fans of vampire manga will want to try the Shonen Jump Advanced series, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign.