Blood Alone

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Blood Alone
Genre Mystery, Romance, Supernatural
Manga
Author Masayuki Takano
Publisher Flag of Japan MediaWorks
Flag of the United States Infinity Studios
Flag of Germany Carlsen Comics
Flag of France Ki-oon
Flag of Italy J-pop
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Dengeki Daioh
Original run February 2005 – ongoing
Volumes 4

Blood Alone is a vampire manga with crime fiction undertones, written by Masayuki Takano (高野 真之 Takano Masayuki?), author of Boogiepop Dual. It was originally published as a dōjinshi.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Blood Alone is a story of a romance between a vampire girl and a human. The private investigator Kuroe lives together with the vampire girl Misaki.

[edit] Characters

These names appear to be in Western order, given name first, family name second.

Kuroe Kurose
An author, private investigator, and former prolific vampire hunter. He takes care of Misaki and on some quasi-legal basis is her guardian. Unlike most humans, Kuroe is a match against a vampire in combat, and is immune to farumek (see characteristics and abilities below). He is very affectionate with Misaki but seems unaware of her deeper feelings.
Misaki Minato
A young girl, about twelve years old, and recently-turned vampire whose vampire nature is mostly not yet awakened. Most of her pre-vampire nature is still intact. She lives with Kuroe, and seems to be in love with him. One time, when Kuroe was sick and Misaki was anxious over his condition, she crawled into his bed to cling more closely to him. In another chapter Sayaka pokes fun at Misaki for sleeping in the same bed as Kuroe. Misaki answers that it is because his bed is so big and comfortable. Kuroe then says that Misaki is still afraid of monsters and ghosts.
Sayaka Sainome
The daughter of a rich doctor (deceased), currently working as head of a police forensics department. She has known Kuroe since they were in school together. She sometimes asks him to assist her in her work, because of his special abilities. She herself has the special ability of "seeing" (walking through) the last memories of the recently deceased. She is familiar with Kuroe and Misaki's situation. She may have feelings for Kuroe.
Higure
A master vampire. He looks like a little boy younger than Misaki. Higure seems to have an attraction towards Kuroe.
Maria
A young girl described as a "renfield", a slave to a vampire. In volume 2 she had been ordered by her "blood parent" to kill her biological father. Kuroe stopped that. Since then she lives with Higure and is just about the only same-age friend that Misaki has.
Sly
A vampire associate of Kuroe who occasionally brings him jobs and helps both him and Misaki. He uses French honorifics (Monsieur, Mademoiselle) and has stated that he hates vampires.
Jessie
Kuroe's partner/supervisor while he was hunting vampires in London. She is proficient in hand to hand combat and uses knives that can discharge electricity. She has appeared only in flashback so her current whereabouts are unknown.
Kuroe
Kuroe Kurose's master, also named Kuroe. She is a very powerful magician and is even known among the aruhiek (elder vampires) as "Sinistre Femme" ("the woman with the forbidden name"). She granted Kuroe some of her power and appears to him from time to time to berate him for not using his abilities. She has appeared only in flashback so her current whereabouts are unknown.

[edit] Representation of vampires

If a human drinks vampire blood, that human becomes a renfield. Higure has said that a human becomes a vampire when a vampire drinks that human's blood and the human then drinks the vampire's blood. It is not clear how Misaki did this to her assailant in volume 1, or how Kairdolf does it to Misaki in volume 5.

When a vampire turns a human, that vampire is referred to as the "blood parent" of the newly-born renfield or vampire.

[edit] Straruda

"Straruda" is what is within the blood of each vampire which makes him or her a vampire. Each vampire's straruda possesses its own "will" and special properties, and contains the primal nature of vampires.

The more a vampire lives through serious injuries, the more he or she will want to drink blood, and the stronger the straruda will become, eventually causing that vampire to lose all memories and the personality he or she had as a human.

[edit] Characteristics and abilities

[edit] Vampires

Vampires cannot go out under daylight. They do not physically age, and seem to possess increased speed and healing. Normal injuries, such as a broken neck, will not kill them. An "aruhiek" (elder generation vampire) such as Higure is much more powerful than an ordinary vampire. Vampires have an intense thirst for blood which requires them to consume it regularly, and must do so to survive when they are injured and lose a lot of blood. They possess fangs which allow them to drink blood from humans, but can also, as Misaki does, drink blood from a glass.

They possess a power called "farumek" that is similar to hypnosis which allows them to temporarily verbally control humans through eye contact. For instance, a hostile vampire once tried to use it to make Kuroe stab himself, and Misaki could have used it to make a man let her inside a club to see Sly.

They can also use "absorbire" (vampire cannibalism) to drink another vampire's blood and absorb that vampire's straruda. A vampire who consumes a straruda is influenced by it. To an aruhiek with a thick blood line, absorbing a straruda would at most alter his or her personality, but younger generation vampires with a thin blood line may be taken control of by the straruda and become half-crazed. A vampire which consumes another vampire's straruda will be able to satisfy that vampire's renfields' blood ties and serve as their blood parent, and could possibly obtain the special powers of that vampire.

Some vampires belong to the "Einseigrad Sparuda", called a guild of assassins.

[edit] Renfields

A renfield possesses partial immortality but loses his or her will and is completely loyal to his or her blood parent: the renfield's feelings and memories are all controlled by the blood parent. Renfields often do the work of vampires in the day, when vampires cannot.

If a renfield is completely separated from his or her blood parent, he or she will experience extremely intense pain. Only a vampire of the same blood line, or a vampire which possesses the same blood as the renfield's blood parent by absorbire, will suffice as a substitute.

[edit] Special powers

The "adivuarat kurai" (eyes that see the truth) are an ability possessed by a certain vampire and his blood clan. That vampire injured Kuroe's eyes, and ever since his eyes healed from the injury, Kuroe has been able to see differently. In particular, his eyes will always recognize the living undead which pretend to be humans. He is also immune to farumek. The term is used as if it were the name of that certain vampire, who was once the head of the Einseigrad Sparuda.

[edit] Books

[edit] Japanese

[edit] English

[edit] German

[edit] French

  • Volume 1, July, 2006 (ISBN-10 2915513244, ISBN-13 978-2915513240)
  • Volume 2, November, 2006 (ISBN-10 2915513368, ISBN-13 978-2915513363)
  • Volume 3, February, 2007 (ISBN-10 2915513457, ISBN-13 978-2915513455)
  • Volume 4, October, 2007 (ISBN-10 2915513740, ISBN-13 978-2915513745)

[edit] Drama CD

The cover of dramaCD BLOOD ALONE. Kuroe and Misaki
The cover of dramaCD BLOOD ALONE. Kuroe and Misaki

Drama CD - BLOOD ALONE, July 21, 2006

[edit] Main cast

[edit] External links