Servamp Volume 1

“I’m just your… friendly neighbourhood vampire.”

High-schooler Shirota Mahiru – a kind-hearted young man – finds a stray black kitty, calls it ‘Kuro’ and takes it home with him. Imagine his surprise to find that his new pet has metamorphosed into a sleepy-eyed vampire with a fondness for cup noodles and lazing around in front of the TV. Instantly suspicious (there have been some scary rumours about vicious vampires taking victims in the neighbourhood) Mahiru is keen to eject the free-loader. But when he and his friends are attacked by a manic vampire masquerading as a street magician, Kuro wakes up and – after a swift taste of Mahiru’s blood – defends his new master. And so begins a complex partnership between Mahiru and his kitten/vampire; Kuro, it seems, is a Servamp, a servant-vampire whose real name is Sleepy Ash. He and his six siblings each represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins (yes, those again in a manga) and, no prizes for guessing Kuro’s identity: yes, he’s Sloth. But in taking on the magician-vampire, Mahiru has drawn the attention of a far more sinister vampire: Tsubaki. And Tsubaki, whose main complaint is that he is horribly bored, wants to cause as much mischief in Mahiru’s area as possible – if only to stave off the deadly boredom. What on earth – or hell – has Mahiru got himself involved in? And can he get out of this pact with Kuro?

Vampires. Yet again. But, before you shrug and walk away from another outing for this well-worn urban fantasy trope, it should be pointed out that these vampires are neither the gorgeous high-schoolers of Vampire Knight, nor the cruel but glamorous blood-sucking warriors of Seraph of the End. Strike Tanaka’s servamps provide an intriguing variation on this well-known blood-sucking monster theme. This, her first josei manga to be translated into English, looks good; she’s produced an attractive array of character designs for humans and vampires alike and, when called upon to do scary, she can pull out all the stops in a Soul Eater-ish way. (She also does BL under the name Ball Tanaka.) The new variation on the vampire mythos she’s created could prove to be a little over-complicated (seven servamps, their masters versus Tsubaki’s vampires, all with back stories to be revealed…) But I’d rather have a rich back story, as long as it doesn’t settle down into a formulaic pattern; time will tell with six more volumes to go so far (the series is ongoing). And she can handle emotional moments well (Mahiru’s relationship with his uncle) alongside many nice little comic touches including the bonus 4-panel gag strips and the ongoing ‘dance’ on the inside of the covers, front and back (which continues into subsequent volumes; yes, I peeked!)

Sometimes the storytelling doesn’t flow as successfully as it might, in spite of an imaginative and dynamic use of different panels; it’s more often the dialogue that slows things down, rather than the imagery. This is not a criticism of Wesley Bridges’s translation which captures the laid-back high school banter well – or of Janet Gilbert’s adaptation for Seven Seas. It’s more the way the mangaka uses character interactions to reveal what’s going on; I found it quite difficult at times to extract important information from what seem like throwaway exchanges.

In Summary

An intriguing and attractively drawn first volume with plenty to like (especially Kuro in his cute black cat form). Worth a try if you’re bored with traditional vampires and appreciate a mangaka with a light, dry sense of humour.

7 / 10

Sarah

Sarah's been writing about her love of manga and anime since Whenever - and first started watching via Le Club Dorothée in France...

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