Review by Christopher Seaman
June 4, 2007 

There is a certain romantic notion that has sprung up about vampires in recent years.  Whether it is due to the early works of Anne Rice, a resurgence of interest in the classic Dracula story, a cross fertilization of Goth and Horror fandom, it is hard to say.  However, it is certainly an area of storytelling that has gained many followers among the ranks of readers and writers.  It seems we can infuse many of these stories with varied amounts of humor, too.  Witness BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and various spoof movies that have come out in the last ten years, where jokes are sprinkled liberally as the blood spurts and spatters all over the place.  And, so it seems, there is a place for the vampire story among teen audiences, too.  VAMPIRE DOLL, by Erika Kari, is a cute, funny and very sanitized vampire story for younger teens  published by Tokyopop.  Populated with stock characters, it works nonetheless because of the way a reversal of fortune for many of the normally villainous types actually infuses the story with wit and some surprising sensitivity.

The vampire doll in question is Guilt-na-Zan.  In a previous life Guilt-na was a fearsome vampire lord, hugely powerful and a thoroughly rotten character- or so it would seem.  Sealed into a cross by Kyoeisai Yotobari in the late 19th century, he remained dormant until early in this century until his descendant, Kyoji, resurrects his spirit and casts it into the wax body of a beautiful doll he has made.  Guilt-na-Zan, now a girl in Goth-loli clothes, is ‘hired’ as the maid for this Yotobari, and immediately becomes embroiled in the complicated life of this 21st century exorcist.  Can Guilt-na-Zan revert to his/her original form?  Yes, but only if a tiny amount of blood is sucked from Tonae, Kyoji’s sister.  On occasions when an appearance by Guilt-na-Zan in his classic form is needed, Tonae cheerfully consents to the donation of one c.c. of her blood to facilitate the transformation.

Yes, it all seems very odd, indeed.  Apparently, Tonae was very sickly from birth, (in which her mother died), and did not improve until the wax doll that became the host body for Guilt-na-Zan was created by Kyoji in her image.  Something about this has created a kind of symbiotic bond between the vampire lord and this sweet girl, which seems okay to Kyoji, who apparently made the whole thing possible.  Where this might go in future volumes remains to be seen.  However, it is one of the reasons why VAMPIRE DOLL is such an intriguing read. 

Of course, there are other characters.  Kyoichi, Kyoji’s brother is a thorn in the side of his sibling, trying constantly to steal the cross in which Guilt-na-Zan resided from him.  He is, apparently, not very bright, as he has not yet realized the girl cleaning his brother’s house is the spirit he seeks.  There is also Vincent, Guilt-na-Zan’s closest friend from the previous life.  Once a bat, now a human, he is a devoted but very dimwitted servant to his master in her new form.  Between Vincent and Kyoichi, there are lots of laughs in the story as the characters establish themselves and the basic shtick that propels VAMPIRE DOLL to the conclusion of the first volume.

VAMPIRE DOLL is stylishly drawn and written with a quick wit and snappy timing in the plot.  It is dark enough in the right places not to completely undermine the vampires and demons of the piece.  We know these creatures were in their pasts not very pleasant characters.  However, through transforming them as she has, Erika Kori has made the overall tone light enough to make the story easily approachable even to non-vampire story fans.   The drawing is bound to appeal to Shojo and Goth fans, and Yaoi readers will no doubt find their hearts beating a little faster at all the ‘pretty’ boys with their wild looks.

IN SUMMARY:
Vampires, Goth clothing, comedy and manga mayhem.  VAMPIRE DOLL- GUILT NA ZAN is a new manga with all of the above from Tokyopop.  This is a manga with a bite.  Fans of shojo comedy will love the characters and laugh at all the craziness that makes up their lives and fills the pages of this hilarious tale from the dark side.