You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
animelove24 's review for:
Honey Blood, Vol. 1
by Miko Mitsuki
I really enjoyed this short lived series(if out can call two books and a prequel of sorts a series.). It was your typical vampire, falls in love with a human story that has been written since vampires were invented but it was still a nice read.
Hinata was funny. The part where she talked about her virginity in front of her parents had me really trying not to guffaw in the middle of the break room(I should really read more somber books when I'm at work.). And I liked that she wasn't the typical protagonist who's first thought goes immediately to vampires as if to say 'Of course they're real. There can be no other logical explanation other than vampires.'. I liked that she tried to reason it out first and called the whole idea of vampires being real ridiculous as most people would...or at least she did for a hot minute and then a few pages later did the exact opposite of that which I did not like. Especially since she went back to not believing a few pages after that. The back and forth of a character trait didn't really make much sense. Stick with one and got with it.
Junya really didn't do much for me. I liked the way he was drawn, I love wavy hair in manga and anime, and he had his funny moments like the fact that he's hundreds of years old a yet doesn't know how to make tea. And the way he and Hinata interact was very cutesy with the footsie and the going out in the sun even though it made him sick, just for a date with her however...he's still twenty years old and hitting on a high school student. Vampire years(aka the over a hundred years old thing) don't bother me in vampire stories because I get it, they're trapped at that age forever so might and probably not going to find another vampire to love, let alone one they like and likes them back so might as well go for humans. But, he is still twenty and she is in high school and that's creepy and gross. I don't know if this is an okay thing in Japan but here in Canada that's messed up. Especially since he also calls a guy who looks about twenty a pervert for hitting on Hinata! So are you Junya! Just 'cause you're hot doesn't make you less perverted and I will say he does mention it, but in a sarcastic way which makes me think he doesn't really care. Another part that bothered me with Junya is when he was on top of the roof, with blood around his mouth, holding a passed out Hanazuka. Like why? What was the point? There was no need to go on the roof other than having Hinata see that he was actually a vampire which he didn't want her to know in the first place and that's not a good enough reason. If your character does something that important that pushes the story forward there's got to be more of a reason than picking the story forward. It could've been done other ways. Maybe Hinata walks in on him feeding on Hanazuka, maybe he accidentally kisses Hinata anything really, other than pointless roof standing.
Speaking of kisses. I did like that Honey Blood made up some new vampire lore with the kiss thing. To have the vampire only being able to drink the blood of the one person they kiss makes it both romantic and bleak, considering the human half of that relationship can't live forever. It's always refreshing to see new lore pop up.
When all that's said and done, Honey Blood is a cutesy, boy-meets-girl, vampire love story that you've seen a million times before, but that being said, the characters are charming and funny, there's a bit of mystery at the end there to keep you guessing, the drawings are well done and I did buy the last book and the prequel so it must be doing something right.
Hinata was funny. The part where she talked about her virginity in front of her parents had me really trying not to guffaw in the middle of the break room(I should really read more somber books when I'm at work.). And I liked that she wasn't the typical protagonist who's first thought goes immediately to vampires as if to say 'Of course they're real. There can be no other logical explanation other than vampires.'. I liked that she tried to reason it out first and called the whole idea of vampires being real ridiculous as most people would...or at least she did for a hot minute and then a few pages later did the exact opposite of that which I did not like. Especially since she went back to not believing a few pages after that. The back and forth of a character trait didn't really make much sense. Stick with one and got with it.
Junya really didn't do much for me. I liked the way he was drawn, I love wavy hair in manga and anime, and he had his funny moments like the fact that he's hundreds of years old a yet doesn't know how to make tea. And the way he and Hinata interact was very cutesy with the footsie and the going out in the sun even though it made him sick, just for a date with her however...he's still twenty years old and hitting on a high school student. Vampire years(aka the over a hundred years old thing) don't bother me in vampire stories because I get it, they're trapped at that age forever so might and probably not going to find another vampire to love, let alone one they like and likes them back so might as well go for humans. But, he is still twenty and she is in high school and that's creepy and gross. I don't know if this is an okay thing in Japan but here in Canada that's messed up. Especially since he also calls a guy who looks about twenty a pervert for hitting on Hinata! So are you Junya! Just 'cause you're hot doesn't make you less perverted and I will say he does mention it, but in a sarcastic way which makes me think he doesn't really care. Another part that bothered me with Junya is when he was on top of the roof, with blood around his mouth, holding a passed out Hanazuka. Like why? What was the point? There was no need to go on the roof other than having Hinata see that he was actually a vampire which he didn't want her to know in the first place and that's not a good enough reason. If your character does something that important that pushes the story forward there's got to be more of a reason than picking the story forward. It could've been done other ways. Maybe Hinata walks in on him feeding on Hanazuka, maybe he accidentally kisses Hinata anything really, other than pointless roof standing.
Speaking of kisses. I did like that Honey Blood made up some new vampire lore with the kiss thing. To have the vampire only being able to drink the blood of the one person they kiss makes it both romantic and bleak, considering the human half of that relationship can't live forever. It's always refreshing to see new lore pop up.
When all that's said and done, Honey Blood is a cutesy, boy-meets-girl, vampire love story that you've seen a million times before, but that being said, the characters are charming and funny, there's a bit of mystery at the end there to keep you guessing, the drawings are well done and I did buy the last book and the prequel so it must be doing something right.