Okay, actually creating a thread, since I couldn't find one in a search.
Well, technically, judging by the shelf it was stocked on, and the explanation of where it was published, it's not a manga, but rather a manhwa (sp?).
The summary (as I understand it, and I've tried to avoid spoilers)– a vampire (Deshwithat? A name I won't even TRY to spell right) is defeated in the 1600s, and left where he gets resurrected by accident in 1998. The next six hundred or so volumes are his attempt to get his own back on the original conqueror, who is apparently still around and trying to destroy the world.
My immediate impulse was, given the vampire lead, to compare it to Hellsing. However, if nothing else, it's nice to see:
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'Passive' heroism (he doesn't seem to be trying to save the world for the sake of saving the world, but rather as an aftereffect of his venegance)
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Less Nazis (honestly, that's when the reality check bounced for Hellsing for me-- don't kill me Demon Rin)
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Emotional instability delivered from the beginning. I love the whole OCD counting as he's sealed, and the trying to orient himself in time and space, in the first volume.
! Honestly, about voluem 8 or 9 is where I gave up on Hellsing, because of Alucard's breakdown– you're not allowed to go from badass to sobbing heap in the middle of battle without providing a clear buildup. Unless you're Kumadori and make it HILARIOUS.
- Desh-whatever's snarky contempt towards the religious types.
Honestly, the art is B+ (the representation is better than OP, on par with ES21 or a bit better, but perhaps not as spectacular as Hellsing or Beserk)
It's been quite a while since I bought volume 1 of something and then immediately wanted more; sadly, all I could find at the time was "buy one, get another free" specials on random leftover volumes so I have 1, 4, and 16, and thus very little understanding of the plot.
Has anyone else been reading it?
What I wonder:
-In ALL three volumes I read, they manage to play off the "last day of Desh-whatever's life" events. Do we ever get more backstory or just one day?
-Why does every manga/manhwa with vampires eventually tie into the Vatican?
-Is the series still in progress? It seems that the deal brokered in the first volume eventually implies that there will be a tragic end, or at least a 'ride off into the sunset and never come back' end for our hero, and all in the name of the ultimate redshirt of the series.
-Do any of the volumes feature commentary (like the SBS, or the variety of addons in ES21 volumes)? 1, 4, and 16 didn't to any significant extent, but I've found that's half the fun of the manga experience.