I Reads You Review: TRINITY BLOOD, VOL. 11

Creators: Kiyo Kyujyo (cartoonist) Sunao Yoshida (original story) with Christine Boylan (English adaptation) and Beni Axia Conrad (translation)

Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 188 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1638-2

Action; Rated “OT” for “Older Teen Age 16+”

Trinity Blood was a series of science fiction novels by author Sunao Yoshida who died at the age of 34 before he could finish the series. Trinity Blood takes place in a distant future, after Armageddon and during a time called the Second Moon. A seemingly perpetual war rages between vampires and humans. Using character designs by Thores Shibamoto, manga-ka Kiyo Kyujyo created the Trinity Blood manga.

As Trinity Blood, Vol. 11 begins, Esther Blanchett, the Lady Saint, has joined forces with the rebellious vampire, Scheherazade (“Schera”) al-Rahman. But wait! Schera just attacked Esther! Why has the Lady Saint betrayed the Vatican?

Now, the Vatican is using this supposed betrayal to create another martyr and has sent Monica Argento a.k.a. the Black Widow to the city of Istvan to kill Esther and Schera. Father Abel Nightroad (Trinity Blood’s star), at the behest of the young Pope who loves Esther, races to Istvan to save Esther. Many other players, however, plan on joining the chase, but whose side will each new player take?

Some years ago, I read a Trinity Blood manga for the first time. Back then, I’d already seen a few episodes of the Trinity Blood anime and had also read two of Sunao Yoshida’s original novels. Although I enjoyed the manga, Trinity Blood, Vol. 1, I found it wanting compared to the anime and novels. However, I find this 11th volume of the manga to be a huge improvement over that first volume.

First of all, the four chapters found herein (Chapters 39-42) are actually coherent, which is a bit unusual for a franchise that seems to suffer occasionally from narrative wanderlust. While these chapters have the usual palace intrigue and court conspiracies, there are also cool fights and cleverly staged action sequences, including one that is right out of a Hollywood action blockbuster. Plus, Kiyo Kyujyo (who also uses the name Kiyo QJO) creates kinetic art that is as beautiful as ever.

The first time I read a Trinity Blood manga, I didn’t feel the need to read more. Now, I have to hope that Vol. 12 isn’t out of print.

A-

I Reads You Review: ALICE IN THE COUNTRY OF HEARTS, VOL. 1

Creators: Soumei Hoshino (art) and Quinrose (story) with Lianne Sentar (English adaptation) and Beni Axia Conrad (translation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 190 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1769-3 (ISBN-13)

I’m assuming that you, dear reader, are aware that the new Disney film, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (starring Johnny Depp), is not another film adaptation of the original Lewis Carroll story. The people involved are calling it a sequel, although it looks like a sequel of a re-imagined Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The manga, Alice in the Country of Hearts, from writer Quinrose and artist, Soumei Hoshino, is also a sequel of sorts slash reimagination. Once again a girl named Alice goes down the rabbit hole, but that’s not quite the way it goes in Alice in the Country of Hearts, Vol. 1. Alice Liddell finds herself abducted by Peter Rabbit, a man with rabbit ears, who takes her down a giant, dark hole in her family’s backyard. Their destination is Wonderland.

This Wonderland is a place where a mafia boss (Bloody Dupre and his “Hatters”) feuds with the head of an amusement park (a man named Mary Gowland or Merry-Go-Round). The Queen of Hearts is named “Vivaldi” and speaks of herself in the first person plural. The master of the Clock Tower, Julius Monrey, may be involved in a bloody business involving corpses. Everyone loves Alice, but they also carry guns, which scares her. Alice wants to go home, but can she when so many people have plans for her, even diabolical plans?

While it is both imaginative and an imaginative take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice in the Country of Hearts is a bit too quirky, believe it or not. The oddness is not in the concept, but rather in the storytelling. The pacing and characterization are awkward, which is a shame because this has potential. This is less a story than it is some weirdness acting like a narrative. This manga does have a nice edge to it, like a razor blade with a dark candy shell. Problems aside, readers looking for a manga take on Alice in Wonderland should try Alice in the Country of Hearts.


Buy Alice in the Country of Hearts Volume 1