Item: Vampire Doll Manga (tokyopop)
Date: from about 2006 onwards
Genre: Comedy/Gothic/Fantasy
Volumes reviewed: 1-4
Rating: 8.5/10
My sister got me into Vampire doll, and it's something i'm really glad for. at a first glance, perhaps you would run a mile at the plot: sexy MALE vampire aristocrat is sealed in a cross for 100 years and then revived by an exorcist into the body of a teenage GIRL's wax-doll body. Hence the title 'vampire doll'.
Before I read I thought: shojo much? transgender capers? constant whining from enslaved vampire? - "run for it!!" I hear you cry!
But wait.
Surprisingly, Vampire doll actually works as a genuinely good manga, and is certainly entertaining. While there are plenty of petty (and funny)arguments among the little family cast (especially coming from the 'vampire doll' Guilt-Na to his/her master at being forced to act as a maid for him), the whole plot does not hinge on it. What at first you could assume to be irritating and cliched actually truns out as very entertaining.
why? becuase the odd situation of Guilt-na's enslavement actually serves as just a background once you get into the manga. what you focus on are the hilarious episodes of the disfunctional 'family' he is forced into. And, eventually, how he fits in as part of the unit.
At first, Vampire doll didn't grab me. I found the art a bit cluttered at times, the humor (often quite slapstick) is a type you have to get used to to fully appreciate, and I didn't initially like the whole transgender thing going on since it could have so eaisly been for giggling little pre-teen manga readers if handled wrong.
But if you open your mind a bit and read more, you begin to really enjoy yourself.
The art -when it takes it time - is great (especially with how the men are drawn), and when it rushes trhough to convey humor, when you're used to the cluttered style you can see all the layers of humor and the great chibi/expression drawings. The humor is lighthearted and often hilarious, and serves as a great character builder. And the whole transgender story thing eventually just becomes an accepted part, and less important overall.
In a way, vampire doll is like a sitcom. While there are serious stories alongside the constant flow of great humor
(often quite emotional too), all 'sections' of the manga are short. In addition to each manga, you also get a bazzillion 4-panneled mini comics that are extra and often even funnier than the main parts, and show more of your fave characters. A fangirl's dream, really :p Vampire doll is written to be read in chapters - like the episodes of a sitcom - each with their own indidvidual story, and each funny. it's a casual read, and always very entertaining.
When I started I expected the characters to be stereotyped and paper-thin, but I couldn't be further from the truth. They're deeper than a lot of manga characters, and the fact that you can learn such depth with them in all humorous stories is quite a feat.
Finally, you get a great sense of the fun the manga writer haves when writing and drawing this. You see it through the energy of the manga, and the little treat sections of her mini-comic commentaries smile
In summary, then: Vampire doll is far more that it seems. it's not a shoujo cliche. It's deeper, and far more funny. It's quite unique, in fact. It's a brilliant manga if you want a lighthearted, entertaining read, but don't want to be bogged down with too much angst and too-long plotlines.
kick back, enjoy the lovely art, and have a good old giggle.
8.5/10
ok, here are a few pages from volume 4 (random pages -in no order), featureing one of my fave characters koyichi - the twin brotehr of teh guy who ressurected guilt-na
http://img04.nj.us.mangafox.com/store/manga/879/004-000.0/compressed/vampire_doll_v4_p_0058.jpg
http://img04.nj.us.mangafox.com/store/manga/879/004-000.0/compressed/vampire_doll_v4_p_0060.jpg
