I love vampire stories! You name a vampire story I have seen it, read and loved it! From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Vampire Princess Miyu; Forever Knight to Nightwalker; Van Helsing to Underworld (get the point?), if there are vampires, I have to own it! Just when I thought I saw it all, TOKYOPOP takes the whole vampire mythos and turns it on its ear with its latest manga import Lament of the Lamb.
Lament of the Lamb follows Kazuna Takashiro, high school student, who cannot escape the pain of his mother's death. Ever since that day he has been plagued with nightmarish dreams and visions. His biggest plight is a sudden thirst for blood when he sees a certain shade of red. Tired of living his life in fear Kazuna sets off to learn more about his past and hopefully the root of his problems, so he returns to his home. Kazuna soon discovers exactly why he was sent away after his mother's death when he meets his long-lost sister, Chizuna, and discovers his family's dark secret. Both his father and mother passed away from a blood disease that he too is infected with--a disease that turns people into vampires! The reunited siblings soon realize all they have is each other and together they must fight the cravings that keep them from living normal lives.
What I liked about Lament of the Lamb is that it brings the whole vampire mystique into every day situations. Vampires in this story suck blood, but they do not turn people into vampires. They are not scared of sunlight, nor are they freaked out by crosses, however the most important fact about vampires in Lament of the Lamb is that they cannot live forever.
Lament of the Lamb truly put a human face, if you will, on of being a Vampire. In fact Lament of the Lamb is like a documentary on the hardships of Vampire life in the 21st Century. The manga opens with readers following Kazune's pain and loneliness then the relief of finding his sister, only for the two of them to becoming isolated from friends and essentially a human existence.
Lament of the Lamb is a character-driven drama that is well paced and unique. Keri Toume, creator of the series, captures the imagination and emotions from the very first page. There are not too many characters, but the ones that are presented serve a purpose and their contributions are not wasted on anything meaningless.
Lament of the Lamb comes together with graceful art that maintains a classic yet modern take on the manga style that really creates an aura of reality around the characters and their struggles. More than a vampire story, Lament of the Lamb is an allegory on the struggles many people end up facing in their lives. Lament of the Lamb is an emotional ride that presents something different but at the same time familiar--fundamentally the formula for a classic!
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