Hynavian

I was deceived by the picture on the cover page and thought that Blood Alone might be one of those boring manga with a Victorian setting and plot. I read chapter 1, felt that it was rather classy (but I continue reading nonetheless) and by the time I got to the end of chapter 3, I’m hooked! I marathon from volume 1 to the latest volume in a day and I conclude that it’s not “classy” which I first thought it was.

Blood Alone is intriguing because it involves the supernatural but yet it has a mediocre setting, almost like a slice of life plot. We have a lead that’s gifted with supernatural powers to see “death”. Don’t be mistaken, he doesn’t have the ability to see “death lines” like Shiku from Tsukihime. Instead, the lead has the ability to spot the dead; he can differentiate the dead from the living so non-humans cannot fool his eyes even if they take on human forms.

Kurose Kuroe is a novelist who works from home but he’s also a part-time PI¹ who deals with supernatural cases. It’s pretty common to have a plot where characters with supernatural abilities investigate bizarre happenings; we have Shiki from Tsukihime and Melinda Gordon from the Ghost Whisperer. How about living with a vampire who’s younger than him? Yes, Kurose is living with a vampire of the opposite gender (they even sleep together on the same bed) and they get along very well. XD

Meet vampire mistress Misaki.

I first thought that Blood Alone was “classy” because of the stereotypical characteristics of vampires found in the manga. Reiji Misaki is unable to walk in the day, she first appears in an antique Gothic style bed and the first volume touches on Renfields². Did I forget to mention the lolitha fashion of Misaki? Because of all the prior points, they seem to point to some classic Gothic plot like Bram Stoker’s Dracula but Blood Alone is nothing like that. In fact, the plot revolves around how Kuroe copes with his relationship with Misaki and their day to day happenings while he tackles the supernatural, almost like a slice of life series.

Besides having to tackle bizarre cases, what’s more mysterious would be their history and character development. Blood Alone is mysterious not because of the supernatural cases that Kuroe is investigating, instead, the characters’ history are what kept me going. Readers know little of them from the start and unwrapping their past would be the gist of this series. With each case and each chapter, we learn a little more of both Kurose and Misaki. Don’t expect smooth sailing chronological chapters as the plot bounces back to flashbacks for one of the volume³ and though readers are aware of the result, they need the missing pieces to get the big picture.

Misaki helps Kuroe in one of his PI work…

…and helping herself to an appetizing murderer later. XD

I like the character Kuroe. He’s friendly and helpful to everyone, but more importantly, he’s gentle to Misaki and protective over her. He’s hardworking and would push himself to the limits just to complete his work and to keep his promise to go out with Misaki. To sum it up, he’s good boyfriend material.

Misaki is an innocent vampire with kind intentions, making her a likable character though some of her actions might seem silly at times. She’s trying to be independent and does not want to trouble Kuroe as he’s over protective and showers her with lots of love. Though she’s a vampire, Misaki has nil intention of harming Kuroe and doesn’t abuse her powers.

No worries, Kuroe is not Misaki’s food. XD

There are also other interesting characters that support both Kuroe and Misaki. We have Sainome Sayaka, a female forensic doctor, who befriends the duo and seeks their help whenever a supernatural case arrives. She also has some “6th sense” ability where she can read the last few moments of the dead by touching the corpse. Misaki also has non-human friends like Higure⁴ and Maria⁵ and they all come in handy when crisis arise.

The boyish figure above is Misaki’s friend, Master vampire Higure.

Rejoice! Infinity Studios has released 4 top notch volumes of Blood Alone. Great cover page, color pages, good quality paper etc but it’s rather costly⁶. Hopefully we’ll get to see volume 5 soon as the raws are out since end April. A cheaper option would be the traditional Chinese version by Taiwan Kadokawa if it’s around in your neighborhood and if you’re comfortable with traditional Chinese.

Related Posts By Moi

• Blood Alone Volume 5 – Kidnapped!

1. Private Investigator [↩]
2. Renfield is the term given to a man servant of a master vampire in Blood Alone [↩]
3. Volume 4 [↩]
4. A powerful master vampire that has a boyish physique, he’s also leader of a huge vampire clan [↩]
5. A female Renfield whom she befriends [↩]
6. Each volume cost approximately S$18-20 [↩]