MANGA REVIEW | "Call of the Night" - Volume Sixteen
Love is complicated. In fact, there’s a whole yuri series I’ve been reviewing that proves just that. But mix in vampiric lore with it, then you’ve got some weird situations to play with. That’s what Call of the Night has been doing since the beginning, where love between mortals and immortals is spun around like an unhinged tilt-a-whirl. And now, in its sixteenth volume, even its current antagonist is having those love troubles eat her up.
Before Kiku takes things over, we first have to deal with Ko and Mahiru. These two friends have since placed a wall between the two, especially when Mahiru runs away to finally get himself turned by Kiku. Finally, after much searching, the two former friends cross paths in the most northern part of Japan. Surely these two will patch things up like mature men and go back to being the best of—
…erm, yeah, that’s not a good way to patch up a friendship.
When the focus is placed on Kiku, we see the female vampire in a river of love. She’s truly head-over-heels for Mahiru, a feeling that she’s never quite felt before. But then, she finds something of his that he swore he got rid of. The situation eats at her, until she realizes that she can use the item to reach Ko. And then, the least-expected thing happens.
Call of the Night does spend some time talking about characters’ feelings. After all, this is something of a romantic horror shonen comedy. But for someone who’s been framed to being a big baddie, seeing Kiku get so much off of her chest is kind of surprising. Since she first entered this manga’s world, Kiku seemed to be the sort of character who did everything just for her sake. So color me shocked when she asks Ko about what it means to sacrifice something for love.
It’s a nice heart-to-heart conversation these two have. In fact, it paints Kiku in a much better light than author Kotoyama has been showing her in the last few volumes. Despite being a vampire, Kiku comes off as human when baring it all to Ko, to a point where even he is sympathetic to her emotions. Granted, he does give her a reality check here, but not too much of one. After all, Ko does see a little bit of himself in Kiku, especially when it comes to doing anything to obtain love.
Of course, this all does come to a splashing end, and I mean that in a literal sense. More shonen-sized fights happen, with Kyoko coming in to finally deal some blows to the vampire who killed her father. This is the moment where closure is supposed to be met for our detective. However, Kyoko’s fight with her is met with unexpected answers to the whys and hows of Kiku’s existence. And in the end, Kyoko is left on her knees, completely in shock.
As this is all going on, Nazuna and Mahiru have a conversation of their own. It’s here when the real story behind how he and Kiku met. Once again, what is revealed here is surprising. There’s no malice, no weird manipulation, and not even anything racy. Instead, it’s a showcase of pure love in its truest form, with a tale that might make Ko and Nazuna envious over how it all came to be.
So what now? That’s the real question I have to ask Call of the Night. Does Kiku’s plan come to fruition? Or will she die by the hands of our protagonists? Or will a new idea sprout that will make everyone happy? Well, I doubt the last thing will happen. I know this is Call of the Night, but I have a sneaking suspicion that someone’s heart is going to be broken. It’s not going to be a pretty sight, but knowing this manga, it’s gonna be one that you won’t be able to look away from when it happens.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
