Manga Review: Chibi Vampire Airmail by Yuna Kagesaki
Karin Maaka is descended from a long line of vampires. That’s supposed to be a secret as vampires want the world (and especially the Catholic Church’s vampire hunters) to believe they were all wiped out decades ago. Her parents, the Markers, moved to Japan with most of the remaining vampires to hide. Karin was unusual, though. Instead of sucking blood, she over-produced it and needed to inject it into human beings to remove the excess.
Things became more complicated when Karin’s new classmate Kenta Usui, turns out to be just her “type” despite being a mostly normal human boy. Romantic comedy and supernatural shenanigans ensued. The story ended mostly happily, but there are a couple of extra chapters….
The Karin manga ran from 2003-2008, with an animated adaptation from 2005-2006, and some associated light novels. It was adapted into English as “Chibi Vampire” by Tokyopop, and “Cheeky Vampire” by other companies.
This volume of extras starts with two stories that are apparently set in the same world, but are otherwise completely unrelated.
“Reverse Babysitting” is about Marimo Sakamari, a ten-year-old fourth grader. She arrives home to her crummy apartment one day to find that her parents have disappeared. But before she can process this, she hears wailing from next door. Her next door neighbor, nineteen-year-old Takuma Toi, is screaming and carrying on as though he were a baby. Subsequent events bear out that he isn’t faking, but won’t let Marimo leave, and with her parents gone, the little girl has to try to handle the problem on her own.
Eventually, there is an explanation of the events and things resolve peacefully. Content note: child abuse.
“Searching for My Beloved” follows fortuneteller Carolina Haruko (stage name). She was hot stuff in her home village, but her supernatural senses seem to have been on the fritz since she moved to big city Tokyo. When a boy named Sousei asks her to find his missing girlfriend Aya, Carolina can sense that Aya’s in the neighborhood, but no more definite details. With no other customers in sight, Carolina decides to dig into the case.
This one’s straight up horror. Content note: child abuse, [spoiler redacted, approach with caution].
“Chibi Vampire Side Story: The Vampire of the West Woods” is about Karin’s second cousin Friedrich Marker, from the part of the family that stayed in Europe. He makes periodic visits to Sister Rosary, the sole remaining nun at a remote religious outpost. Problem is, Sister Rosary is also the sole remaining member of the Catholic Church’s secret vampire-hunting order. She doesn’t realize who Friedrich is, but the other vampires would just as soon see her dead. He has his reasons for the friendship.
“Chibi Vampire Bonus Story: Maki-chan, the Helping Angel of Love” follows up on Karin’s best female human friend Maki Tokitou. She’s been accepted into college as a physical education major, but before she goes, she wants to help her childhood friend Yuuji Kikuchi confess his feelings to his first crush. Complication! That crush is Fumio Usui, Kenta’s mother. (Who is, admittedly, single, but there is a fair-sized age gap.) All ends mostly happy. Content note: peek-a-boo nudity.
“October Illusions” is a melancholy two-pager. Every October around her birthday, Karin gets a little sad, but because of events at the end of the main manga, she no longer remembers why.
Then it’s time for a series of 4-koma strips about the creator’s trip to an American anime convention. It includes a Junji Ito homage panel. There’s also a 25-page preview of the Ratman manga. Even if the license for Karin is rescued, this probably won’t be in any other printing, so this volume is unique.
The stories have wildly varying tones, though there is a bonus panel establishing the first two stories are in continuity with each other. It allows the author to show her range. The second story in particular has an effective ending. The art is passable, though I want to give most of the characters a hair trim.
On the other hand, the three stories specifically tied to the main plotline won’t make a lot of sense without having read the primary storyline of the manga.
Primarily recommended for fans of the Chibi Vampire manga or the Karin anime, to see favorite characters one more time.
Here’s the opening of the anime…which has rather more nudity than the show itself.
