Nimosaku Shimada's story collection How To Seduce A Vampire is a new release among the staggering number of boys' love manga that have become available in English translation in recent years. In brief, boys' love is known variously as "yaoi," "shounen-ai," or simply "BL," and is a subgenre of shoujo manga, "manga for girls," in which the emphasis is on character and relationships. BL is, quite simply put, about romances between boys and/or men. I've read more of these than is probably good for me, but I found this one refreshing on several levels.

The first two stories in this volume, the title story and "Demon Armor," concern Masatsuna Watanabe, an attractive, good hearted young man who doesn't seem to be long on brains or sophistication, and Kureha Mizuo, a hair stylist, a remarkable beauty, and a vampire. Watanabe first discovers Mizuo collapsed on a bridge and, at Mizuo's insistence, takes him to a near-by beauty salon instead of a hospital. It's Mizuo's salon, and although he was a bloody mess, it seems the blood wasn't his. He does, however, need a transfusion: Watanabe wakes up the next morning next to him, with a small wound on his neck; Mizuo is surprised he's still alive. It turns out that Watanabe is rather more than he seems. The second story tells of their encounter with a four-hundred-year-old suit of armor. The armor still has a warrior inside who wants nothing more than Mizuo's blood – and after four hundred years, he's pretty hungry.

"Autumn Leaves" is back story for Mizuo: in it, he meets Watanabe's ancestor, a village smith. Mizuo offers to help the smith, Soichi, complete a commission from the Emperor left incomplete by his father's untimely passing. However, a rash of deaths plagues the village, and it seems that Mizuo may be involved.

"Tiger & Dragon" is another period piece, a brief tale about a young nobleman, Yue Lan, rescued from a tiger by a wanderer, Wei. Wei at first demands Yue Lan's blade in payment, but finds other compensation: aside from being big and seemingly fearless, he's an accomplished swordsman. (And given that this is BL, do I have to point out that I'm not talking about his skill with the katana?)

The final story, "Strobe Lights," is a modern-day tale about two cosplayers on the gaming convention circuit. One, Takamiya, is a well-known maker of costumes and model weapons who has more or less retired from conventions for "personal reasons." By chance, he finds himself in a mock battle with Hayabusa, who comes down with a severe case of hero-worship that becomes something more. Takamiya offers to help Hayabusa with his costumes, and Hayabusa talks Takamiya into one more convention.

One reason I find these stories so refreshing is the way Shimada handles the romantic aspects of the story. In the overwhelming majority of BL manga, the story is about the romance. The attraction, the courtship, the fear of discovery, the doubts and hesitancies, the "but we're both guys!" obstacles are the usual motivating forces and points of conflict. Shimada fits the romance into the spaces between the events in stories that are about something else: the relationships just appear, quietly and unobtrusively, with both men as willing participants. There's an undercurrent of humor that hinges on this device, stemming in part from the juxtaposition of the visual narrative against that in the dialogue, but also from the dialogue itself, in which one character doesn't quite have all the pieces and has to scramble to catch up. She leaves a lot to inference, which for those readers who enjoy connecting the dots is a definite plus.

The drawing itself is delightful. Manga are done in black and white, and I've found the feel of the page, particularly in shoujo manga, much more open and inviting than in most Western black-and-white comics. Shimada's style is somewhat denser than many, with more attention to backgrounds, but her apt use of tone, shading and pattern serves to provide body without crowding the image. The style is loose and somewhat sketchy but nevertheless catches a full range of expression in what for cartoon characters are some very appealing men, rendered with an economy of means that is surprising when one stops to look at it.

Although it's not really typical of BL manga, How To Seduce A Vampire wouldn't be a bad place to start exploring the genre. It's a group of charming stories, romantic comedy of a high order, that bends the conventions in delightful ways.

[Juné/Oakla, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-56970-137-9, US $12.95]

 

Robert M. Tilendis is an artist and writer living in Chicago and traveling the world by means of the Internet. He is a reviewer of just about anything that can be reviewed, but focuses mainly on books, music, and art. He is grossly overeducated, and somehow manages to find more to learn. He spends entirely too much time thinking. He is very happy at this point to have found a job that stays put when he leaves for the day.

His online presence is multivalent. His photographs and bibliographies (alas, sadly in need of an update) are at a/k/a Hunter, his political and social commentary at Hunter at Random, and his online journal at Booklag. His reviews of books, music, and the occasional frying pan can be found at Green Man Review, Epinions, and Rambles. He can be reached via e-mail.

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