Greets to everyone...first post and all. Glad to be a part of your forum, and look forward to some meaningful discussions (and some not so meaningful ones) with all of you.
Something that your going to learn about me pretty quickly is, I’m not a gusher. That is, I don’t gush. At least not normally. Babies, puppies, services, and especially not about entertainment (movies, books, games, etc.). If it’s good, I’ll say so. If it’s bad I’ll say so a LOT...but I don’t gush.
Ok, I’m gushing. I am just loving Dance in the Vampire Bund. This title is single handedly renewing my seriously waning interest in the entire vampire genre.
I’ve been a fan of vampire stories and movies for as long as I can remember. From the old black and white movies Dracula and Nosferatu (and no I didn’t see them first run), to the 1992 remake of Dracula. I even enjoyed the movie The Lost Boys, and a couple of Ann Rice’s novels.
Having said that, I am sick to the point of disinterest with vampires. Could there possibly be any more (and any worse) vampire offerings in todays entertainment media? If it could be any more (or worse) I certainly don’t want to see it.
Twilight, True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which didn’t always have terrible writing), Angel, Blade, and....well you get the idea. It’s everywhere, and the more of it there is the worse the quality has been getting. I’m not only tired of seeing it happen, I’ve actually begun to turn the channel (or skip the book).
I’m not a perfectionist. I don’t demand the very best every time. I just usually demand more from my entertainment dollar than steep doses of on screen brooding and teen angst, which in my mind is all the vampire industry has become lately.
For crying out loud, we’ve started seeing vampires drinking the blood of animals because they are so conflicted over...over WHAT? Basic survival? Being who they are? I don’t relish the thought of how cows are slaughtered either, but I don’t sit around and brood about it while I’m eating a steak.
And you can smack me for not realizing this sooner, but I didn’t realize that the entire point of vampires was to titillate teen agers and make them wish they could be the object of a monster’s desires too. It’s not? Oh...well you couldn’t prove it by anything we’ve seen out of Hollywood lately.
And for the love of Pete. Could someone make a story with a few original plot devices? Is that asking too much? Obviously not, because that is JUST what Dance in the Vampire Bund has done.
Oh, I was as skeptical as ever about this title but after speaking with a few of my more trusted manga buddies I picked up the first volume. I was amazed. Not after the first two volumes, or after the first fifty pages...but right away. The story dropped me right in the middle of it and then told me the background stuff along the way. It used a clever plot device (in the Queen of vampires making a new home for her people) and it even managed some very good (although different/unique) artwork.
I’ve already read all four available volumes several times (I think I’m figuring some things out), and I already care about what happens to the main characters. I haven’t had that feeling so early in a series for a long time. Not only are the two main characters interesting, but I’ve even decided to like two or three of the background characters already...amazing.
This series has caught a little flack about portraying a late teen boy and a prepubescent looking girl in what could be a romantic relationship. The fact that she uses every opportunity to show her bare self to him and obviously seems to delight in it. Being the father of two young girls I can tell you that this idea doesn’t appeal to me either. BUT, she isn’t young, her body simply hasn’t aged as quickly as a human’s does. It’s all explained for those who care to look. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but it’s an important hair.
Character building has been coming fast and often. Again, I’ve already taken interest in some characters. That usually takes me a while to do. Not only have many of the characters leapt off the page at me, they all have distinct personality traits that make them interesting as individuals (not just as a whole story). There are one or two characters I wouldn’t mind seeing a story made around.
The artwork is very good. It is a bit ‘different’, but that’s part of its charm. I think it almost lends the reader a ‘different’ view of the world it is portraying. And most importantly, I think it does a superior job of telling its story. THAT, to me, should be the best compliment any manga artist could hope for.
I’ve been told that this series is a ten volume run...then it’s over. Part of me hopes that is just a rumor, and another part of me hopes it is absolutely true. Right now I’m enjoying the series so much that I’m not looking forward to it ending, but how many series have we seen ruined because they just wouldn’t stop? I don’t want that either. And between the two...I’ll take a great ten issue story over a so so thirty issue story any day of the week (twice on Sunday).
I don’t know if this is the start of something better from vampire stories or if it’s just a welcome needle in a growing haystack. I can always hope, but very likely it’s the later.
I hope all of you are enjoying Dance as much as I have been, and that volume five brings us back together for some discussion. I know I’ve been getting some ideas about where the story is headed, and would love to bounce them off of everyone.
Oh, and a couple of things related, but not about the story itself. The anime clip looks stunning. I’m very amped up about seeing this released (and released in the States). And I also wanted to thank the folks at Go Manga for keeping their website up to date. Amazon recently sent me an email that said volume five had been delayed until February. Go Manga’s site said differently, and recently Amazon has fallen in line with the October release date specified on the Go Manga website. Don’t get me wrong. I love Amazon (I should get paid for all the word of mouth advertising I do), but I’m glad to see they messed up this time.
That’s it. So, hello and stuff. My name’s Windallion...and I’m a anime/manga addict.
How ever you enjoy it, just enjoy it!
Windallion
Kudos for Dance in the Vampire Bund
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Kudos for Dance in the Vampire Bund
Take care when fighting monsters, that in the process you do not become a monster yourself. For when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
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Yes, that was a bizarre error that we had to spend two weeks getting straightened out, but Bund 5 is indeed printed and shipping now, so you should be seeing it in stores by the end of October.And I also wanted to thank the folks at Go Manga for keeping their website up to date. Amazon recently sent me an email that said volume five had been delayed until February. Go Manga’s site said differently, and recently Amazon has fallen in line with the October release date specified on the Go Manga website. Don’t get me wrong. I love Amazon (I should get paid for all the word of mouth advertising I do), but I’m glad to see they messed up this time.