An average student finds himself up to his armpits in monsters in Rosario+Vampire, a charming manga by Akihisa Ikeda from Viz Media’s Shonen Jump Advanced imprint. Of course, this being manga, several of the monsters are in the form of sexy young women vying for his attention. I recently obtained a copy of Volume 2 of the series, which was met with great approval from my nine-year-old daughter, who had been following the magazine serialization.

Tsukune Aono is an utterly average high school freshman, in the most literal sense of the word – he fall precisely on the median in many ways, including the high school entrance exams. Unfortunately, this undistinguished result prevents his admission to most of the best schools, but he is accepted into one exclusive academy. Upon arrival, he discovers it’s exclusive because its mission is to educate young vampires, werewolves, demons and other monsters.

Yokai Academy is intended to teach young monsters – who all can appear as human – how to live in human society. But many of the students haven’t learned the necessary impulse control yet, and some just plain hate humans – or consider them little more than a meal. Therefore, if Tsukune’s humanity becomes known, he’s toast.

Fortunately, Tsukune finds a protector of sorts in Moka Akashiya, a pretty vampire in his class. She doesn’t mind that he’s human; in fact, she likes the idea of having him around for occasional sips of his tasty human blood. And strangely, Tsukune reciprocates her attraction. But though Moka is usually cheerful, bubbly and innocent, when the rosary she wears around her neck is removed, she transforms into a more sophisticated, more ruthless and much more powerful vampire. And Tsukune seems to be the only one who can remove it, intentionally or otherwise.

As the story progresses, Tsukune becomes the center of attention for several pretty young creatures of the night, including the bat-winged and busty succubus Kurumu Kurono – who regards Tsukune as her own destined mate – and the 11-year-old witch Yukari Sendo. Yukari initially regards Moka as her object of hero-worship – and thus is jealous of Tsukune – but soon comes to have a crush on the young man as well. The group works together on the school’s newspaper, headed by handsome werewolf upperclassman Gin Morioka, which provides a handy plot device when mysterious happenings need investigation.

As the volume begins, the readers are introduced to Yukari, who is not only a witch, but a young genius who has been skipped ahead several grades (which explains the presence of an 11-year-old in high school). Yukari has just aced the midterms (Tsukune’s rank? Dead center.) but incurs the ire of the student body president and his council, who prove to be lizard men in disguise.

These tough and toothy creatures decide to teach Yukari a lesson. Tsukune intervenes, despite her series of jealousy-inspired pranks, but of course he’s no match for the monsters. Even Moka seems about to be overcome, until Tsukune removes her rosary and unleashes her power. The other stories explore the relationships between our heroes, the school faculty and other students, some of whom prove hostile – of course, they’re monsters, so it’s hardly surprising.

Ikeda’s art is nicely done, conveying with equal aplomb the comedic aspects of his characters, the sometimes spooky atmosphere of the school and the action when the heroes our forced to defend themselves. He obviously relishes drawing pretty girls, but doesn’t shy from a gruesome transformation or two. (The moments when the manga reveals what kind of monster an antagonist really is can be quite dramatic.)

As with many manga, the 180-pages volume is presented in the traditional Japanese right-to left layout. The manga seems to be suitable for more mature younger readers – as can be expected with a harem series, there’s plenty of mild sexual innuendo, and not a few upskirt shots or references to the generous endowment of some of the female characters.

Rosario+Vampire first ran in Monthly Shonen Jump, in March 2002. An anime series based on the manga aired in Japan in early 2008.

Rosario+Vampire is a fun and amusing harem-style shounen manga that offers interesting characters and entertaining storylines. The touch of horror in the atmosphere lends spice to the romantic comedy. And it carries my nine year old daughter’s enthusiastic recommendation.

Rosario+Vampire Volume 2

Written & Illustrated by: Akisha Ikeda

Published by: Viz Media

Related Links:

Rosario+Vampire at Anime News Network

Rosario+Vampire Wikipedia entry

Rosario+Vampire Volume 2 at Amazon.com

Rosario+Vampire anime trailer at YouTube