The Record of Fallen Vampire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Record of Fallen Vampire
ヴァンパイア十字界
(Vanpaia Jūji Kai)
Genre Drama, Supernatural, Mystery
Manga
Author Yuri Kimura, Kyo Shirodaira
Publisher Flag of Japan Square Enix
Flag of the United States VIZ Media [1]
Demographic Shōnen
Serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan
Original run Flag of Japan December 22, 2003 – April 21, 2007
Volumes 9


The Record of Fallen Vampire (ヴァンパイア十字界 Vanpaia Jūji Kai?) is a modern-day vampire-themed manga illustrated by Yuri Kimura and written by Kyo Shirodaira, writer behind the popular manga and anime series Spiral - Bonds of Reasoning. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and has been collected into nine tankōbon published by Square Enix. VIZ Media has also confirmed that The Record of a Fallen Vampire will be available sometime during spring 2008.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Having cast aside his Kingdom of the Night a thousand years ago, the vampire king Strauss wanders the lands in search of the place where his queen was sealed. Dogged by the dhampirs who are out to kill him, Strauss is fighting against time as he must continuously face humanity's curse, the Black Swan.

Initially, the story focuses on introducing Strauss and his quest for the seal, the Black Swan, and the dhampirs. The main plot, which gradually emerges after volume two,[2] revolves around repelling an alien invasion. The humans plan to use Strauss' powers and Adelheid's powers to repel the invaders before having the Black Swan finally dispose of them.

Bridget, Strauss and Adelheid use flashbacks to convey their perspective on the events a thousand years ago. The writer, Kyo Shirodaira, indicates that this method of deriving different truths from the same set of facts was inspired by Christianna Brand's storytelling techniques.[3]


[edit] Characters

[edit] Vampires

Vampire King Strauss
Vampire King Strauss

Rosered Strauss (ローズレッド ストラウス Rōzureddo Suterausu?)

Age: ~1300
Strauss is the fearsome Vampire King Akabara (? lit. Red Rose) who cast aside his kingdom a thousand years ago and went to search for Adelheid's seal and free her. While the dhampirs believe him to be searching for his loved one, and Bridget believes him to want to take revenge on Adelheid for Stella, Strauss actually needs Adelheid's help with the last stage of his secret plan. Strauss is usually somber, but is compassionate and does not kill without reason.
Before becoming king, Strauss was a general of the Kingdom of the Night. During that time he adopted and raised Bridget, a dhampir girl. He was also in love with a human girl, Stella, whom he presented with a pendant made from lunar rock which he collected himself.
Strauss has impressive magical powers far outmatching those of the dhampirs. Nevertheless, he choses to limit his power and fight in close combat in order to avoid damage to the surroundings. He is usually seen fighting with a vibrating edge of magic, although he can also summon a sword and is an expert swordsman. At range, Strauss can cast vibrating magic arrows or destroy missiles with a single gesture of his hand. Although pure blooded vampires perish when exposed to sunlight, Strauss has overcome this limitation long ago.[4]
Queen Adelheid
Queen Adelheid

Adelheid (アーデルハイト Āderuhaito?)

Age: ~1200
Strauss' queen and purportedly Bridget's sister, Adelheid was sealed a thousand years ago after she went berserk and unleashed her power, the Moonlight of Corrosion ( Fushoku no Gekkou?). This power of mass destruction is rumored to be even stronger than Strauss' magical talents. She is eventually released from her seal when humans and dhampirs work together to free her.
Adelheid was a first hand witness to Stella's murder, as she was coming to visit Stella when the crime took place.


[edit] Dhampirs

Bridget Irving Frostheart (ブリジット アーヴィング フロストハート Burijitto Āvuingu Hurosutohāto?)

Age: ~1200
Bridget is the leader of the dhampir community. She has been fighting Strauss for over a thousand years. Later on, once the truth behind events that happened a thousand years ago comes to light, she apologizes to Strauss and returns to acting like his daughter.
Bridget was adopted by Strauss when he was still a general, and raised like his own daughter, later serving as one of his most trusted generals. Nevertheless, Strauss left her behind when he abandoned his kingdom.

Jin Renka (刃 蓮火 Jin Renka?)

Age: ~800
One of Bridget's followers and the best swordsman in the group. After Strauss dispatches the 49th Black Swan, Yuki, (Yuki was Renka's love interest) Renka swears to get revenge for her.
In combat, Renka uses two sacred swords, Koryū and Kinyou. Despite having trained for four hundred years, his swordsmanship is still unrefined and lacking compared to Strauss.

Tessenji Fuuhaku (鉄扇寺 風伯 Tessenji Fuuhaku?)

Age: ~600
One of the dhampirs on Bridget's team. He wears a full-body samurai armor suit. In his free time, he runs a food stall.

Ethelbart Takahashi (エセルバート 高橋 Ederubāto Takahashi?)

Age: ~200
One of the dhampirs on Bridget's team. He has the appearance of a school student and fights using a scythe.

Laetitia (レティシア Refisia?)

Age: 68
A dhampir orphan girl that gave Strauss refuge at her mountain home during his battle with the 49th Black Swan. She later accompanies Strauss and becomes his charge and loyal companion.


[edit] Black Swan

The Black Swan is a curse created by humans to seek out and destroy Strauss; it travels from host to host, forcing the wielder to hunt Strauss or die within five years, and carrying with it the memories and spiritual power of all previous hosts. The initial catalyst for the spell was Stella and her unborn child.

Kayuki Hirasaka (比良坂花雪?)

Age: 17
The 50th Black Swan; the first to completely surpass Strauss in terms of power. She wants to protect her grandfather by controlling the vampire king, but is often unsettled by Strauss' enigmatic nature. Her face bears an uncanny resemblance to Yuki's, although their personalities are quite different.
Kayuki sometimes delves into the Black Swan's accumulated memories to gain a better understanding of Strauss.

Yuki Komatsubara (小松原ユキ?)

The 49th Black Swan, and the first to be a nearly equal match for Strauss in terms of power. Her death at the hands of Strauss serves as the catalyst for Renka's revenge oath and deteriorating mental condition.


[edit] Humans

GM Misaki (GM御前?)

GM Misaki is the leader of the human world and Kayuki's grandfather. By his own admission, GM stands for Great Mask. He plans to use Strauss and Adelheid before finishing them off.

Merill Morishima (メリル森島?)

The military person assigned by GM Misaki and in charge of repelling the alien invasion. He has a sharp mind and is the first person to discern the truth behind Strauss' motives relating to the fall of the Kingdom of the Night.

Li Honhuei (?)

One of the scientists working on the shuttle project at the research facility.
Stella
Stella

Stella Heizerberg (ステラ・ヘイゼルバーグ?)

Age: 17
A country girl who could neither read nor write. While Strauss was still a general, she was his human lover. She was adopted by the Heizerberg family. Stella was later brutally murdered together with her unborn child, plunging Strauss into a depth of despair.

Mary Saberhagen (?)

An enemy of Strauss during the time of the Kingdom of the Night. Mary saw Strauss as the Red Rose of Disaster and sought to defeat him. no matter what tricks she had to resort to. Mary eventually created the curse of the Black Swan and lead an alliance of countries against the Kingdom of the Night, demanding Strauss' execution.


[edit] Media

Initially serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan, the series has been collected into nine tankōbon published by Square Enix between 2003 and 2007.

[edit] Japanese tankōbon releases


[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Carlo Santos. Viz Media - Comic-Con International 2007. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  2. ^ In volume three, GM Misaki informs the dhampirs of the crisis.
  3. ^ Volume 3 afterword.
  4. ^ Vanpaia Jūji Kai vol.6, page 183.


[edit] External links

 This article contains Japanese text.
Without proper rendering support,
you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji or kana.
Anime and Manga Portal