Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 4 manga review

Manga
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 4 manga review
By Leroy Douresseaux
March 1, 2015 - 20:12

Viz Media
Writer(s): Takaya Kagami, Adrienne Beck
Penciller(s): Yamato Yamamoto
Letterer(s): Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7153-9
$9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K., 192pp B&W, paperback
Rating: T+ (Teen Plus)

Seraph of the End Volume 4 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

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Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

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

As Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 4 (Chapters 12 to 15) opens, Yu recalls a moment in his life when he lived as livestock. He was happy, however, because he had a family. He comes back to reality. Yu and the rest of the Moon Demon Company of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army are in the walled city of Shinjuku fighting a vampire invasion.

Yu, Shinoa Hiragi, Yoichi Saotome, Mitsuba Sangu, Shiho Kimizuki, and Lt. Col. Guren Ichinose form the Shinoa squad of the Moon Demon Company, a Vampire Extermination Unit. They are in the city, spoiling to fight vampires, but they may not have taken into consideration the full power of vampire nobles. It looks like a route until the monstrous appears.

THE LOWDOWN: As I have previously written, the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga continues to be an intriguing and imaginative read. I have been expecting something big, something that would move it beyond being merely intriguing...

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 4 is the series' first big climax. I do not want to be a spoiler, but creators Yamato Yamamoto (artist) and Takaya Kagami (story) begin to add layers to the humans versus vampire story. Now, there are factions within factions, and within the light, there is dark. The dark might even have some light within itself. I like this first climax.

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

Rating: A/10