MANGA REVIEW | "Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite" - Volume Six
It is often joked in the otaku community that only anime can save the world. As a follower of the medium for over three decades, I can’t say that that’s entirely true. However, can anime save a person’s life? Perhaps. But in the sixth volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, that live-saving mentality is taken quite literally.
First off, a large number of vampires are now making a trip to Japan to seek out Amanatsu’s tasty blood. That’s bad news for Hina’s neighbor and human friend, whose whereabouts are unknown after one of Rinya’s servants attempts to take him away. But Mao’s voice actor has a plan to fish him out, and uses Hina’s love for his character to do so. Naturally, it’s a plan that makes Amanatsu pop his head out and give away his location. And it turns out Rinya’s servant didn’t need to look too far!
With Kyuta in Rinya’s possession, the vampire seiyuu reveals his plan to the human: he wants to rid the country of the foreign vampires. Although Amanatsu doesn’t like Rinya, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t trust him. In fact, he’s happy to go along with his plan. It even leads to a humorous card game between the two, with Amanatsu winning enough eel dinners to last him…I dunno, a week or something?
Just one problem: Rinya doesn’t just want the foreign vampires to leave; he wants them all to die! It’s the part of the plan that the voice actor leaves out from most of the folks around him. When Hina arrives with Viktor at the big bloodsucking party, and she’s taken aside, she gets word on exactly what’s about to happen. So what’s a shy otaku vampire to do in order to rescue everyone?
Taking a cue from anyone who’s ever run a panel at an anime convention, Hina swoops in, takes over the mic, and shares her love for all things Vampire Cross. It’s a moment that’s both hilarious and visually stunning. The look in the vampires’ eyes as Hina does her thing says it all. However, there’s one other thing that happens when our vampire girl comes in to save the day: a heartfelt love confession!
So now, the ball’s in Amanatsu’s court. Will the next volume of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite have the neighbor return those feelings? Or will Lady Hina deal with the worst heartache imaginable? At any rate, the sixth volume ends things on a darn good note, with the door left open for so many things to come to fruition. Now let’s see what path Amanatsu decides on, and how Hina will react to it…
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
