Vampire Hunter D Vol. 7

After an electrifying weekend, I was thrown back into the mayhem called work. It's been a gruesome long-short week and I haven't had a chance to blog since I left for Cali for the wonderful J-rock Revolution Festival (report coming soon!).

This trip entailed quite a bit of waiting (7 hours back and forth spent in airports and planes, and 5 hours waiting in line on both nights of the concert -- in short, 24 hours of having to wait patiently). Having to endure these long hours of waiting would've been quite pain-stakingly nerve wracking, but thankfully Kikuchi was able to relieve most of the pressure with the seventh and newest installment of the "Vampire Hunter D" novels.


Kikuchi is back and better than ever and unlike my past 2 novel reviews, volume 7, "Mysterious Journey to the North Sea: Part One," screams perfection. After a downward spiral away from his true caliber, I must say, it is good to have him back.

The elusive Vampire Hunter D finds himself face to face with a girl on her death bed and one special dying request -- to return a strange and priceless gem back to her sister in another town. Only problem is, ofcourse, everyone seems to want it in their own possession. D is later hired by the dead girl's sister to protect the gem and cut off its many pursuers. Just what is the mystery behind the gem and what is it's connection with the Nobles? As the mystery starts to unravel, a battle is put on hold, only to be continued in volume 8, tentatively to be released August 8, 2007. Trust me on this, if you've had the misfortune of never reading or seeing any "Vampire Hunter D" novel or movie, you'll want to pick it up now.

"Journey to the North Sea" is dynamic, flawless, and detailed in a way only Kikuchi is capable. The story is so well developed and definitely inticing that it comes to no surprise that an anime movie based on the 2-part novel may be in the works. But the hype doesn't stop there. "Vampire Hunter D" is also getting the manga treatment. Now if only Yoshitaka Amano would illustrate it, everything would be just right. But I do realize that's asking for a bit much. Volume 8 comes out later this year.