Manga Review: Trinity Blood Volume 1

[Floating_Sakura]

Title: Trinity Blood Volume 1
Story by: Sunao Yoshida
Art by: Kiyo Kyujo
Character Designs by: Thores Shibamoto
Publisher: Tokyopop
Serializes in: Asuka (Kadokawa Shoten)
Genre: Shoujo, Action
Rating: Older Teens; 16+
Price: $9.99US; $12.99 CAD

Consider this:
If humans lives on the flesh of cows and birds,
and vampires live on the blood of those human,
follow that..
something must be behind the vampire's blood.

Trinity Blood tells the dark story of a distant future, a time when civilization and technology are in decline, where vampires and humans are in an ongoing war of survival. In Istavan, Esther encounters Father Nightroad--a priest who is appointed by the Vatican State Special Service to her church, St. Mathias--to help battle the overpowering vampires. As more tragedies befall Esther, she becomes more dependent on this friendly and enthusiastic stranger, who seems to possess some sort of luck that pulls him through any dangerous situation. However, when fighting the immortal vampires, is luck the only thing that helps him overcome each conflict, or is there something else? Something special that qualifies him as the candidate the Vatican Special Service chooses to fight this enduring battle for the sake of the human race?

The artwork is definitely one thing that I should emphasize in Trinity Blood. The elaborate and detailed artwork, where everything from background designs to character expressions are carefully laid out, is embellished by extravagant toning and inking. The different situations are well conveyed to engage the readers and situate them in the story. For example, all the action scenes are emphasized by powerful speed lines, while close-ups and soft tones are applied to the emotional scenes.

The genre of this series is quite conflicted; aren't "shoujo" and "action" the biggest oxymoron when put together? No doubt a gothic vampire story appeals to most girls, but to highlight that with remarkable action scenes means that the series can be appealing to both boys and girls. On top of that, the character design is also extremely noteworthy. Abel Nightroad's clumsy and caring personality contrasts greatly with his dark and mysterious identity, while Esther's naiveté and innocence secure the sympathy of the readers.

Finally, on Tokyopop's adaptation; the effort put into the translation and English adaptation is obvious and is greatly appreciated, but the font choices are questionable; I feel very uncomfortable about the fonts even after reading the entire volume. In particular, the "normal dialogue font" seems extremely unfit and gives the impression that it should be used in a more comedic series. As for the sound effects, they are the same as in all other Tokyopop's series, which means they are neither translated nor edited.

I find the series quite recommendable to anyone, whether you are someone looking for gorgeous artwork, a dark bewitching shoujo manga or intriguing action. The end of volume one also comes with sample pages of Trinity Blood: Rage Against the Moon, a novel that has also been licensed by Tokyopop and will be in stores sometimes beginning of April.

Reviewed by: Floating_Sakura
Proofed by; Iliana
Edited by: Jiji

Support Manga jouhou and Buy Trinity Blood, Vol. 1 off Amazon.com