MANGA REVIEW | "Call of the Night" - Volume Twenty [FINALE]
Nazuna rests on my lap as I type this. No, not the real Nazuna, mind you (we don’t have that sort of technology yet), just a plushie of her I found for ¥300 at an anime shop in Shinjuku. It feels so weird to be writing about the final volume of Call of the Night, a series that began when Kotoyama heard the song of the same name (“Yofukashi no Uta”) by hip-hop kings Creepy Nuts. My journey with this manga first began in May 2021, and yet it feels like it’s been a lifetime following Ko and Nazuna’s story.
Alas, all great things must come to an end. And in Volume Twenty of Call of the Night, Ko deals with having to say a long, slow goodbye to the vampire woman that stole his heart. Even after reading these last few chapters, there’s a part of me that just doesn’t want to say so long yet. Yes, we’ve got Season Two of the anime coming in a little bit, and Kotoyama stated that he’d maybe return to these characters someday. But something about getting to that 200th chapter makes it feel like I’m having to bid farewell to a dear friend.
How do I describe Call of the Night? Honestly, it’s a mood! Walking around Tokyo late at night, I totally get the vibe that Kotoyama was going for. Most of the time, it’s chill, like a good lo-fi hip-hop album playing in a neon-lit club during an afterparty. But when it suddenly went full-blown action shonen with the vampire fights, it started spitting fire like Kendrick Lamar making mince meat out of Drake. Seriously, there may be no other manga out there that has delivered these vibes so perfectly.
I guess I do have to talk about what happens in the final volume, even if doing so will mean I will no longer be able to shower the series with the praise that I have. Ko has one last epic vampire fight with Haruka, as they battle over Nazuna’s feelings. The reason for the face-off is petty as can be, but it does result in an awesome three-chapter balls-to-the-wall fight that’s way past cool to look at. (If LIDENFILMS ever gets to animating the whole series, they’re going to have their work cut out for them!)
Still, the fight is necessary. Ko needs to face the music and realize that being around Nazuna may kill her. So what’s a guy to do? One last trip with the woman he loves. Nothing too special, just to the beach, a place neither has been to. Sure, it may be winter time, but it’s never a bad moment for a swim. Okay, maybe winter time is a bad time for a swim. Shut up.
But then, it’s the time to bid adieu. There are all these things Ko can say, but he hasn’t got the guts to do so. And honestly, can you blame him? He loves Nazuna, and she loves him back. This whole farewell is to save Nazuna, but what’s worse than being unable to stay by the side of the person you love?! And yet, how Nazuna gives her goodbye and makes her exit is captured so perfectly and beautifully, that it’d be a crime not to marvel and appreciate its existence.
Life goes on. Old faces return, and Ko matures a bit more. But even after three years have gone by, that feeling for Nazuna lingers in his heart. Meanwhile, Nazuna travels the world, even going far into the tundra to get away from it all. Ko is also still in her heart, and her travels and experiences often reflect back to those feelings. And as the final pages wind down, readers are reminded that there are times where you can’t stop the cravings of the heart, giving way to an ending that just fits perfectly.
With that, what else can I say about Call of the Night? Sure, it had a couple of bumps on its pathway, but what story doesn’t? Here was a refreshing take on vampire romances, going to far as to be the golden standard of how to do it right. Ko and Nazuna’s story took its time, progressed when it needed to, and it evolved in ways that made it unpredictable at times.
And the best part: nary a single damn sparkling vampire! Okay, maybe that’s too old of a reference. On top of that, Nazuna and the other vampires certainly did sparkle, but in a “kira kira” way and not in the dumb Twilight Saga fashion. Kotoyama deserves a lot of credit for breathing new ideas and concepts into vampire lore, to the point where I hope others take these elements and implement them into their own stories.
If What We Do With the Shadows was how vampire comedies should be done, then Call of the Night is how vampire rom-coms should be followed. It delivered big laughs, plenty of heartfelt moments, and even served up a slice of whoop-ass pie when we least expected it. I feel genuinely sad that my time with Kotoyama’s second series is now coming to an end. And as I look down at my Nazuna plush, the smile on her face tells me, “Be glad that it happened.” And you know what? I think I will be.
But do you know what VIZ Media can do to help ease what’s left of my pain? Bring Dagashi Kashi over to the West. Seriously, it’s way overdue at this point, and the bonus chapter in one of the early Call of the Night volumes should’ve been the thing that got the ball rolling. C’mon, hop to it, VIZ!!!
VOL. 20 RATING:
FINAL GRADE (series):
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
