Vampire Game Volume 3

Things are getting nasty in La Naan in the third volume of "Vampire Game," which reveals plenty of new mysteries and dirty secrets. While one of the developments is a bit weird, Judal's sumptuous art and twisting plots keep things interesting -- and they promise to keep getting that way. The Martial Arts Tournament is getting under way, with Darres tearing through most of his opponents, as are the three princess of La Naan. But no one knows that prettyboy Seilez is getting some vampiric help, which gives him immense strength -- and almost leads him to kill his brother Laphiji (who has more-than-brotherly feelings towards Seilez). Meanwhile, Yujinn has set Darres on the hunt for the princes' real birthrights -- and a hunch takes him to the real birth mother of Seilez, who may be the only legitimate heir to La Naan's throne. But when a bunch of undead monsters attack, Darres must live long enough to save Pheliosta from a vampire plot -- and without Duzell, who's been abandoned with a family of kyawls! It only really comes home in the third volume of "Vampire Game" just how messed up the royal families all are, with all these little plots and counterplots. It doesn't advance the actual plot much, but it gives us some new insights into the characters, although the revelation that Laphiji is in love with his "brother" is a bit too icky. It's more or less split between action scenes and plot twists, with lots of rapid-fire fights in the competition, including a nasty magic-sword duel between Laphiji and Seilez. But Judal also provides some new twists in the story of the La Naan princes, as well as lots of opulant artwork -- ornate jewelry, flowing gowns and pretty men with earrings. Duzell gets somewhat less attention in this volume. But Judal reveals some new dimensions to Ishtar -- she may be ditzy and sometimes oblivious, but she also rushes into a magical whirlwind to be with Darres. Additionally, she is the only one to show real, unpitying kindness to Seilez, who begins desperately falling in love with her because of it. The third volume of "Vampire Game" eis mostly made up of background info and detective work, but ends on a taut cliffhanger. So have the fourth volume on hand.

In this volume it tells alot about the princes of La Naan, expecially Seiliez. What I love most about this series is that even in the midst of danger there is still a bit of comedy (and the extra mini-mangas in back are hillarious!) I just absolutely love this series! If you love comedy, vampires and a bit of yaoi then this is definatly for you! I hope they translate Carbuncle, another of Judals work ;.; (I requested it at Tokyopop lets hope they do! if you like Vampire Game then you should too ^_^)

I only picked up the first book of this series on a whim, and I'm glad I did! The antics of Duzell and Ishtar continue in this volume as our favorite reincarnated vampire tries to find out who Phelios has reincarnated as. Things get even more confusing when the princes aren't who they seem to be, and Duzell runs into a few problems. The only downside is it seems volume four won't be out till January, which is quite a wait to see what happens!