MANGA REVIEW | "Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite" - Volume Four
It’s been hard to figure out Hina’s mentality in Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite. On one hand, it’s clear she’s smitten by her 2D love for Mao. But on the other hand, Kyuta has become a very important person in her life. Does Hina have any stronger feelings besides friendship for Kyuta? For that matter, how does Kyuta really feel about Hina?
Volume Four doesn’t exactly give us a straight answer on those two questions. With that being said, there’s something brewing in their hearts. It’s Hina that starts feeling it when Kyuta is pushed into dating a woman who’s smitten by his cosplay photos. All of it seems pretty harmless, with the woman even admitting her preference for 2D over 3D due to a lack of complicated feelings from faux men. But as all of this is going on, Hina watches from afar, her heart aching with a strange sensation she’s never had before.
Kyuta, meanwhile, begins to wonder why he goes out of the way to save Hina every time she’s in trouble. This thought plays strongly during a Halloween night out in Shibuya, where everyone is cosplaying to their hearts’ content. When Hina is separated from the group and is nowhere to be found, all of the sirens in Kyuta’s head go off, to the point where he’s legitimately worried about her. Is the panic he’s experiencing on the level of a friend, or is this Kyuta realizing something about how he truly feels about Hina?
Julietta Suzuki is obviously pushing Hina and Kyuta towards being a couple. I mean, this is a rom-com, so having neither of the two leads in Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite would be a big mistake. (Granted, it would certainly be a different take on the genre!) These two stories in Volume Four show that those feelings of adoration are bubbling in both of them. The question is, when are they going to figure it out for themselves?
This isn’t the only thing that happens in the fourth volume. Viktor acts like a troublemaker when he attempts to bring Hina back home in a wild and crazy way. His plan to get Kyuta to go to Romania goes belly-up, resulting in a hilarious change of plans. And after Viktor tries to convince Hina that Kyuta has gone to Romania, her reaction isn’t exactly what the assistant had in mind.
Then there’s the moment Hina meets the voice actor for Mao at a meet-and-greet. Her bag with the event merch is stolen, and Kyuta comes to the rescue again. Only this time, the duo finds themselves in a special bar, where it appears the patrons have something big in common with Hina. With everyone wanting a taste of Kyuta’s blood, it’s Hina that has to be the one doing the rescuing.
But the whole Mao thing becomes all the more interesting when we see the voice actor. His look and silhouette seemingly appear a few more times throughout these two chapters, as it hints at what he really is. And if that’s the case, will that spell good news for Hina, or will it lead to a tumultuous situation? With what occurs in the last couple of pages, it appears this voice actor will have a much bigger presence very soon in this series.
Volume Four of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite builds some steady progress in the romance department. Hina and Kyuta may not realize their feelings for one another yet, but it’s bound to happen somewhere down this manga’s lifespan. But the most interesting thing about this chapter is the reveal of Mao’s voice actor, who may be more than what he seems. Is a new kind of trouble brewing in Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, or is Suzuki cooking up something else?
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
