Rosario to Vampire

complete trash, not worth at all of your time.

Story 3/10: almost non existent, the story is so cliche its not even wothr mentioning, from the get go it gets on an infinite loop of, bad monster, take off mocha's rosario, end of arc, that changes midway into tsukune saving the day instead of mocha, but it still in the same loop, that gets boring and super predictible really fast.

Art 7/10: i guess this is the only part of the manga that its actually not terrible, at the begining it has some problems, but with time the art gets really good.

Characters 3/10: its good enough that it has different qualities and personality for each character, but that's it, there is no developement at all in the 40 chapters, the characters are almost the same in the begining and in the end.

Emjoyment 2/10: started reading it weekly wise on the manga plus app, and it was kinda bearable, but i got bored quick so i was gonna drop it, changed my mind when i saw there are only 40 chapters and im trying to finishit, but i find myself forcing my way through the pages hoping to just end this quick so i dont have to continue reading.

Overall 4/10: as i sayed before the only good quality i find here is the art and maybe the fact that is only 40 chapters long, after that there is nothing that is worth your time, you are better off reading some other manga... Anything from Naoki Urasawa for example.

Rosario+Vampire, in manga form, represents one of my favorite genres that I've self-titled and it sounds pretty harsh by itself but the explanation will make a lot more sense as I go on.

Rosario to Vampire Season I is mistake fiction. This manga is, for all intents and purposes, a ramshackle creation that's very clearly carried by the seat of its pants and a prayer pretty early on into the story. It's amateurish, it's naive, and it's pretty clearly the creator's first full story. And that's amazing, because you get to watch as not only the creator becomes more adept at telling stories and characterizing his characters but he increases the quality of the art.

Something that R+V has on a lot of other harem and harem-esque series is that not only does the main character have a pretty decent drip of personality after some time but the girls all have their own interpersonal relationships that don't depend on their relationship with the main character. So not only is there a genuine sense of rapport built between the entire cast, but it becomes reasonable and even heartwarming when moments happen that lead to the traditional "we're friends aren't we?" moments. Including a genuinely heartwrenching moment in the final volume between the main character and main love interest. Oh, and the 12 year old character isn't constantly sexualized. Like, holy shit, got it in one there.

The way the story starts is incredibly vapid. It's typical harem trash, monster of the week, heterosexual to the max. But as time goes on, they add a few interesting layers, including some genuinely interesting commentary on othering, the idea of blood purity, and how racism can fester even within groups hated by others.

And the art, oh god, the art. Ikeda goes from this admittedly charming, cutesy style to this gripping, realistic, and incredibly breathtaking and eyecatching artwork that has an incredible sense of kinetics in fight scenes and a great eye for detail. The way this man shades with his pen will make my loins quake for decades to come.

It's still got some issues, the story can be a bit bog standard, the characters don't get a ton of depth compared to in the next half of the manga, and it has some big tone problems on occasion BUT all things considered, this could've turned out far worse from how it started. But, as I said earlier, it's mistake fiction. And it's amazing what kind of quality can come out of works made by the seat of your pants and with the mind of a newcomer.

Story:
I find this manga a little cliche(which i don't really mind about much) with all the harem, ecchi and average high schooler with a hidden potential and all that. I really like how the beginning wasn't rushed and quickly brought to action without knowing the full detail of what's going on. I also liked how there were a few rest spots where it would step out of the main plot and maybe add a small fight with another student or so forth. As the story progresses more you begin to want to find out what happens next and it just gets you more excited.

Art:
The art at the beginning started out pretty nicely.I liked how Ikeda Akihisa made Moka look like the main female out of all the others as this shows who has the most popularity and they made Tsukune look like some average guy who has no relation to this manga whatsoever(sadly he does). After reading it again, i was able to notice how much the art has changed from the beginning to the end and i must say, it had definitely improved.

Character:
Firstly I'd just like to say, I LOVE IT WHEN MOKA SAYS "Know your place"(I know you guys'll love it as well :D). It gives her a bad ass aura around her. I like how everyone especially Tsukune progresses and becomes stronger. I feel that they've gone a long way.

Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed this manga as had its epic, hilarious, romantic and sad moments. Although i kind of found the ecchi a little annoying.

Overall:
This manga was completed very nicely. I'd find this manga in the middle of perfect and average. I think this would be even better if it weren't too cliche and ecchi but that would probably change the whole entire manga altogether.

tl;dr: A story that develops the bonds between a likable cast very well and has a lot of amusing moments, though it feels like both the characters and combat need more depth. 

This starts off as basically a gag manga with some serious type moments, though ones centered around really small conflicts that were resolved pretty much instantly. This portion is used to introduce the various characters and such. As it goes on, the stories start getting longer and more serious with a stronger emphasis on combat, but with the comedy still very much intermixed with the serious aspects. It starts off with the protagonist being someone who’s heart is very much in the right place, but who in terms of actually being able to do much was completely useless. He was good in terms of helping others deal with their inner conflicts by talking to them, but in terms of actual combat his only role was to pull off Moka’s Rosario.

As it goes on, he becomes powerful and the story building up to that is pretty well told. However, in the end combat is still pretty shallow. It’s basically just a pure competition of pure strength generally, with Moka and eventually Tsukune having power states that instantly win. There are a few exceptions to that to a degree, but not much. The rest of the cast also ultimately feels like they have very little involvement in the combat. So although combat and power growth are a pretty major aspect of the latter half of the manga and it does feel like its headed in the direction of being a battle manga, it doesn’t really feel like it’s there yet. Ultimately the fights are there to look cool and serve the story than to actually have good combat.

As for what the story does focus on, it’s the relationships between characters. It’s a tad overtly melodramatic and some aspects feel repetitive, but it does a good job of establishing strong relationships between the main characters and having that grow due to various trials. It definitely helps that the entire main cast is really likable as well. An issue I had here however, is that despite it developing their bonds well, it doesn’t seem to develop the characters in and of themselves very well and beyond their initial introduction there isn’t really any sort of character arc. Yukari got some development during the witch’s arc. Kurumu and Mizore as of now seem like they’re pretty normal people without anything major in their backgrounds other than the fact that they’re monsters, so there may not be much to develop there. But Moka is the one that stood out the most, in that it doesn’t really go into any detail on her background or split personalities at all.

Still, this is only the end of the first part, so it doing a better job at giving characters depth while also better fleshing out combat is something I’m hopeful for in the second, and not judging on too harshly yet. As for how this part ended, I think it did a really good job with an amusing but very touching ending that was pretty reasonably satisfying under the assumption that there’s more to come. The art is pretty good, with a pretty nice sense of style. 

I love this story I wished I got to it much sooner I came acrossed it before it seemed alright but I just ignored it. While I read other manga's but once I read most other manga's of anime's I've watch and stuff and was bored. I decided to check it finally and once I read the first chapter I just fall in love with this story. I tought it was great that a normal human (Tsukune) pretty much fell in love with Moka the vampire at first glance or in Moka's case first bite hehe. And then he starts collecting other girls on the way Kurumu the succubus. Yukari the little witch genius who technically like both Tsukune and Moka. Mizore the snow woman who is Tsukune own personal stucker and then Ruby who comes to Yokai Academy only to be near Tsukune. Man this story is just awesome and so is part two of it.

So, to start my review off, let's just put out that I watched the anime first. And found that lacking. However, after a several month break, I took it upon my self to start reading the manga, which many people had found better. I was both pleasantly, and unpleasantly surprised.


Story (7/10): This is the area I feel the most conflicted over. It started out pretty mediocre, like the anime, but over time became more complex and interesting. Eventually, I started very much enjoying it. The story arcs were always interesting, and I enjoyed the fact that the main character was not stagnant, like so many other MCs. In the broad range of overarching story, I'd probably have put it at a 8 or 9.

Now, here's why it didn't reach that high: After about the 3/4s point of the manga, I felt like the story structure started to become repetitive. To be blunt, almost every chapter began follow the same script. Without spoilers: MC and Moka have a fight. They decide they aren't going to see each other any more. Bad guy of the day picks a fight with one of the two. The other comes to the rescue. They make up. Done. Every. Single. Time.

The first few times, it was interesting, because it was supposed to convey character development. But... WHERE'D THE DEVELOPMENT GO? You'd think after the 9th time the MC and Moka fight over a misunderstanding, they'd learn some communication skills and try to find what really happened. Especially given that the exact same kind of thing happened last episode and they promised not to leave each other. But nope. No such luck.

Overall, good story arcs, repetitive individual chapter plots.


Art (9/10): The art was mediocre at first, to the point where I didn't really like it. Characters' level of detail fluctuated, shading seemed weird, etc, to the point where it just made me uneasy. But over time, the art style stabilized, and more detail was added to individual shots. Shading was more advanced and consistent, characters had more range of expression, and above all, the backgrounds of each shot became much more interesting, all the while not distracting from the foreground. By the end, I very much liked the art style.


Character (9/10): If I were to rate the individual characters, most of them would be in the range of 6-7, but where the characters shine is in their interactions with each other. On their own, the characters are a fairly classic assortment of harem archetypes, but when they interact, they become interesting and somewhat unique characters.

While I did not love the main character at first (being the wimpy kid he is), he did improve throughout the story (and I mean, he actually did change, not just that I like him better). The girls' interactions with the main character are fairly stereotypical, and not that interesting (why do they like him again?), unfortunately; however, their interactions with each other are usually either emotional or funny, and the humor is well balanced.

Overall, stereotypical characters who become funny and unique through their interactions.


Enjoyment (7/10): Let me start this off by saying: If the chapters had had more unique stories, this would be 2 points higher. It just kept repeating itself for so long, that I got bored and wasn't enjoying myself anymore, to the point where I had to force myself to finish it.

However, earlier on, it was very fun to read and I always enjoyed in when a new part of the plot advanced or a new character was introduced. It was good for a few laughs here and there as well. It was especially fun to watch the main character change and grow throughout the story (unlike half a million other anime/manga MCs). I only wish the other characters grew as well. If it lost half the filler fights, I'd find it nicer to read.


Overall (8/10): Decent manga, with fun characters and good art (at least towards the latter parts), which had a good story, but dragged on too long. I would recommend this for a read, but I would avoid marathoning it due to its repetition.

After years within the anime & manga community, I have come across a particular argument time & time again; "the manga/light novel/visual novel is better". This is usually in a bid to get people to check out the original source material, after witnessing a lacklustre anime/live action adaptation collapse in on itself.

Well Rosario + Vampire is a perfect example of such a case, whether you enjoy this kind of manga or not, the community has come to a unanimous agreement that this particular manga is worlds better than it’s unexpectedly popular anime adaptation. And it’s surprising how serious people get about it, given that it is merely a Shounen Supernatural Harem manga, with a bit of Comedy & Action thrown in for good measure.

Yet there’s no need to come into R+V expecting a fantastic story; as this simply is just your average high school Rom/Com, with some monsters thrown in. Well that’s how it is at first, as Tsukune Aono (a.k.a. Generic Male Protagonist No.91), through some odd circumstances, ends up as the only human in a Monster Academy. Now if he were a sensible human being he would GTFO, but sometimes going to school is more important than one’s well-being. Well it may also have something to do with the attractive girls throwing themselves at Tsukune, giving him less of a reason to leave. And there we have our story, with Tsukune tying to enjoy his Harem Haven, whilst dealing with life-threatening monster encounters, all while trying not to reveal his human nature to rest of the student body.

Sounds like one heck of a school-life fantasy, but the actual content does get somewhat stale and repetitive; with Tsukune getting into the usual mishaps & misunderstandings. Then closing things out with a monster spawn and having some contrived reason to force an altercation of sorts with Tsukune or the girls… rinse & repeat. So it’s good that the mangaka quickly realizes that this is a stale formula, rather quickly and focuses on developing the characters through more in-depth mini-arcs, which is a welcome change from the previous episodic storylines.

The characters are what help elevate R+V, but even with that said; there’s nothing unique about the character set-up to set it apart from your average harem. We have yet another “loser-kun” as our male protagonist, who somehow happens to attract cute girls like a magnet. The cute girls in question come in a variety of shapes & sizes but I like that there’s more to them than their initial personality traits. Each of them has some depth to their character, to ensure that they are more than just an otaku’s dakimakura (love pillow), which helps make them all appealing in some way. However we come back to Tsukune, who’s even less appealing and less developed than the generic villains, until about the point where the anime & manga storyline splits off. It is from that point on that Tsukune undergoes some surprising developments… for the better.

In my opinion the best as aspect of R+V is the artwork, which comes in 2 varieties. The most prominent being the usual day to day high school occurrences, with fairly simplistic yet serviceable artwork and then there’s the pockets of action, with bloody intense artwork. The characters & monster designs are somewhat imaginative but they tend to lack detail in their features. However when expressing a distinct mood or emotion, the mangaka makes fantastic use of shading. And I must add that the artwork undergoes some dramatic improvements, as the mangaka improves as an artist, along with the story.

Overall Rosario + Vampire is a mediocre harem manga that eventually grows into something that people, who crave more than the odd flash of pantsu-service, can enjoy. Unfortunately it is a manga that has an issue with inconsistencies in the story, creating some noticeable plot-holes, and inconsistencies in character behaviour, creating some questionable moments. Even with its issues and the incredibly repetitive “monster of the week” set-up in the earlier chapters; it is good when the story breaks free from its episodic shackles, to surprise the reader with a fairly in-depth set of stories & characters. Thus allowing me to recommend R+V, to anyone who is not initially turned off by the premise of reading such a manga.

Before doing anything this will be my first review. Also don't kill me for bad grammar English is not my first language or even my second it's my third.


Story - 8
I gave the story an eight because it started out boring and typical (opinion) as a harem, romance, comedy manga which was what I expected at first, but eventually the manga turned into something deep and dark and was great, but it isn't something you expected right? So it was great but not expected which is why it was an 8.

Art - 8
Alright don't kill me here, but I really don't have anything to say about art. Okay next.

Character's - 8
The characters are all basic harem characters. Wimpy guy check, daring girl check, shy and reserved check, flat chested check, Stalker check. Although with all of those basic characters the author presented them in way that you won't forget making them memorable.

Enjoyment - 10
Enjoyment is the biggest part of a manga or anything entertaining. Even if everything is great if the author doesn't present in way that leave a mark on your heart. Then to be perfectly honest the manga would suck. Now with this manga although the characters are generic the story took a long while to become good the entertainment value was always there and kept you wanting to read more.

Overall-9
For me personally I love this manga and is one of my all time favorites even with that. I have to review in a un-biased way making me give it a 9 instead of a 10.

I'm a reader that's fairly new to manga, so these reviews of mine should be read with that in mind.

On the surface, Rosario+Vampire is a lot of why I never got into Japanese manga & anime before; it's chock-full of clichés. The school setting, the unwanted harem, the monster-of-the-week common plot, etc etc. I was pointed to it by friends who told me "It's better than it sounds", and indeed it is. For one thing, it gets better with time. The art improves, the stories improve, and the characters improve.

The story does get darker from about half-way through this first run, and in my opinion it's a turn for the better. Tsukune undergoes significant character development because of it, as does "outer-Moka"; "inner-Moka" not so much in this first series (more so in Rosario+Vampire II)

There is a fairly large degree of fanservice in the manga, though I hear the anime has more. Most of the time, it's not enough to harm the story. It's noticeable that Moka tends to be treated with a little more respect by the artist than the other girls (perhaps because she's the main girl)

Rosario+Vampire could have been so much more, but… This manga has too many problems to be fully enjoyable.

The story is basically, Tsukune, a “human” get admitted to a school of monsters, and meets Moka. Moka is a vampire but she has a “Rosary” around his neck. When removed (by Tsukune) she can release her full power.

The problem is… Moka is pretty. Really pretty. Tsukune will tell you she is pretty at the start of every new chapter (in case you forget). And because she is so pretty, every single “male” except Kurone will try to err… rape her ? Yeah…

That’s the first big problem of this manga. At least 60% of the time of the “plot” is based on the same pattern : Tsukune and his friends talk, a misunderstand happen… then they got separated, someone takes this opportunity to “approach” Moka and try to… well, you know. Of course, Tsukune will show up, magically remove the rosary and… Moka in her power form will destroy them.

Now, I can understand that some « monster » could try to attack someone, maybe one or two times in 10 volume… but not 20 times. When you have to rely on “attempted rape” almost half of the time to have something “happen” in your chapter, this means your story has a serious problem.

The second problem is : There is no consequence. Moka is saved. Monster get knock out. End of the story. The “culprit” is free to stay at school (some even “try again"). Moka does not even care. At tome 3, after almost get raped 5 times (or killed), she says to Tsukune that “she likes this school”. That’s not realistic.

The third problem is that the whole situation (Moka having to have this rosary removed by Tsukune) does not make sense. At one point Moka say something like “I knew it was impossible for a human to survive in this school.” But, by having her rosary… she can not use her power. She is at the same level of power than Tsukune. Why would she go in this school and choose to keep her rosary ? Well, I know… Just a way for Tsukune to be useful… (Plot convenience ? Yeah !).

Now, I don’t even want to start thinking about what would have happen if Tsukune did not go to this school. Moka would have probably be raped 3 times a day… That makes me sick.

The fourth problem is that Moka go from “useless” to “OP” in one second. Most of the time a kick is enough to end the fight. As a result, we don’t even get to see a “real” fight. Also, it’s a shame that while it’s a school full of monster almost all fight are just “boxing” or “kicking” and do not take advantage of the specificity of some monsters to have some really nice fight.

Finally, the last problem is that the other mains characters are quickly forgotten… Basically, there is their “introduction chapter” where they are the “star”, then after this chapter, they basically appear with just one “joke” use all the time. Like 20 times. Yeah, this manga is so full of repetition…

But, now, after all this… Why did I keep reading ? Well, because… There is still some stuff which made it readable. When the story focused not on Moka but on the conflict of Monster vs Monster, or Human vs Monster… Or when an organization starts to show up and fight start becoming a little more interesting… And the evolution of Tsukune….

I truly think that if the author did not spend trying to create meaningless “tension” with this “attempted rape” on Moka… and had spent more time creating the universe, creating monster with some nice powers and made worthy battle… and adding the backstory of some monsters, their reasons to hate each other, their reasons to hate humans… this could have been so much more.

But, as it stands, this is not nearly enough. The manga is barely funny. The manga has barely ecchi (except for one scene…). It would be no exaggeration to say there is more ecchi in one chapter of To-Love-ru than in this whole manga. The fight are not spectacular either.

So, basically, if you want any manga with :
- Good fight : You can easily find better,
- Good ecchi : To-love-ru
- Good harem : Love-Hina (art is ten times better by the way)
- Good ecchi with monster : Monster Musume.
- Good Vampire : ???

Seems the Rosario season 2 is better, so I will give it a try. Hopefully it will focus more on the monster element (hopefully vampire ?!!!)

I first tryed out Rosario + Vampire at a sleepover with a friend who happened to own the first volume. I was drawn in by the good art and a plot summary on the back whit sounded interesting. I started reading it and soon learned that it was an ecchi.
However, I was gladdened to learn that, although being an ecchi, it doesn't shoot for bras and panty shots every five panels like some series in this genre tend to. Instead, it often seems to shoot more for action, romance and sometimes even drama.

Story: 6/10
Although being enjoyable in its own right, the plot is very episodic for most of the series with very little underlying plot. Near the end, it seems to start to have an actual plot aside from just "A monster's trying to kill Tukune/rape Moka so Tsukune must pull off Moka's rosary so she can turn into a vampire and kick it's ass". These supposed plots however are resolved very quickly and are practically forgotten about afterwards. This is a shame since I think the series could have gone a lot farther with the Anti-Thesis plot but that's resolved before even the last volume where we instead get a fanservicey school festival plot. The series just doesn't seem to know where it's going.

Art: 9/10
As I stated in my intro, the art is one of the main things this series has going for it. It does turn chibi a fair bit, but this is mainly just in the more comedic scenes and is used to great affect. This is an ecchi series of course, but it definetely has some dignity. The main fighter in this series, Moka mainly uses her legs to fight and, since her school uniform includes a skirt, that would usually result in a lot of panty shots in any other ecchi series. This is not so in Rosario. Though there is a panty shot this way once in a while, most of the time it's shadowed so that you can't see anything. Although some people may be upset about this (you know who you are) I don't think it's really a bad thing since it keep the fanservicey shots more... special? The only character who you can always rely on a panty shot from is the sucubus Kurumu, who seems to get a panty shot everytime she appears, accomanied by her shoving Tsukune's head into her supposedly G cup breasts.

Character: 6/10
I have to say, the characters for this are not very good. There all plenty of fun, yes, but like with a lot of ecchi series, they're underdevloped and predictable steryotypes meant to suit a certain fetish. The lolita, the big breasted girl, the quiet one, etc.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Despite it's flaws, Rosario + Vampire does hold its reader's attention fairly well and manages to remain interesting. It's a lot of fun and I at least enjoyed it. As well, it's really interesting to see all the kinds of monsters the author came up with.

I'd say that if you're looking for a light hearted little fighting series with maybe some fanservice, you'll probably enjoy this. And ladies, I think you may enjoy this too since there really isn't an ungodly amount of panty and bra shots and there's even some manservice!

Oh! And there's a sequel! Let's hope that has more plot!

Overall, I give this monsterous escapade a 7 out of 10.

Warning this review may contain spoilers.

First impressions, so after watching the sub par anime version of this manga that left me with a really bad taste in my mouth it did make me want to know how the manga of was and I must admit that this was quite better. Even though this is a generic battle harem.


Story, 6/10

The story of Rosario vampire starts of with are main character tsukane who has flanked his entry exams into high school but luckily his parents find a flyer for a private school known as yokai academy that will happily take in students regardless of you academics.
So with little other choice they decide to send Him to this school.
Little did he now that this will school change his life forever So on his first day of school he runs into a another student name moka who he befriends after that he finds out that moka is a vampire and that this is a school For monsters so they can fit in with human society and with a no humans allowed rule. So now tsukane must band together with moka and his new monster friends to help him survive in this monster only school.

So you kind of tell this pretty much that this going to be a generic by the books school life battle harem. which for the most part it is and plays out like one.
but what is a bit different about it is that it definitely takes an interesting spin on it.
And I am no saying that it completely different because it's pretty much starts off with the Same formula that you have seem time and time again being milked to death in most battle harems.
You know guy meets girl, guy gets involved in some pretty intense shit , guy will eventually accidentally start developing a harem around him, guy will start developing super natural powers.

It also doesn't help that for the start is kind of episodeic and very ber bones to say the least.
Even though its dose gets more intense in plot later on.
To explain its pretty much follows this monster of the week formula.
With the main character who is trying to fit in at this monster school with all the school slice of life stuff and every new weeks he gets involved into situations with some of his follow students at first. But as time goes on he starts getting into more intense situations like the sudent police force finding out that he maybe a human and attempted to kill him which didn't work out Because of moka giving him temporary vampire powers which helps him survive and helps gets the Student police off his ass.
But this Does led him to more dangerous situations of monster fighting him with him getting more temporary vampire powers which eventually take there toll on his body and he eventually starts becoming a monster himself and the story basically becomes him trying to protect his friends and aiming for his goal of human and monster coexistence while trying to keep his humanity intact.

Now the ending of this isn't really the ending its just because of reasons they had to brake it up into parts so this is the ending for part one so if you want to see the full story go read part 2.

Now even though I have seen this kind of story telling done before and in some cases better.
I did find this enjoyable and fun interesting to a point.

Like with the different types of monsters with there powers that made the fights quite interesting even though most of the they are pretty repetitive because unofficial girl frend dose most of the fighting for him. Which is kind of a shame because they could have used some tactics but luckily some of the opposition become quite strong and some times they Will have to use team work in order to beat them so that quite nice.

Aother thing that is interesting about it is that it dose tackle some Racal Themes about human and monster coexistence.
Which could been done better If thay really went into detail with it instead of using it for nakama speeches and power ups.

Another thing thing which story wise strong about it is the relationship that starts slowly developing between tsukane and moka. Which is some aspects is kind of forced but they use there relationship to open up more plot lines later on.
And it's not one of oh you a human I am a vampire we can never love each other.
It's more oh we get along its see where this leads to.


Characters, 6/10

The main character tsukane for the most part starts off like most harem protagonist.
You know not much of a personality he pretty much the average joe.

But what is strong about him in particular is that he dose though some slow character development and fleshing out. Which starts turning him from band self inert to him gradually becoming more alpha and becoming more useful.
Another thing that was good about his character was a bit of this inner conflict which they never bring it up again which is a wasted opportunity.
For example there is this one chapter where he starts craveing to drink moka blood. Which they could have brought up a really cool concept of him at times slowly loosening his humanity.

The side characters are quite generic at the start and are pretty much the normal stereotypes you would find in meny battle harem story's.
But like the main character the start having some fleshing out and development which starts makeing them two dimensional at the most.
Also personally are quite fun as well.

For example there is this one character who is a succbus who of corse in love with the main character. And some of you who have herd the world succbus you probably thank that she going to be a stereotypical whore character who will trying every trick in the book to get the D but she doesn't use her powers to win him over because she believes that this isn't fair to the other girls and also the fact she wants to instead win him with love and not use cheap tricks to win him over and I am thinking man that quite deep and a good reason for doing what she doing.

Another thing that kind of sold me with the characters was also the character interaction watch was quite funny to watch.

No one thing that is negative is that Most of the villains are very one note.
So don't expect some good villains.


Art, 7/10

The artwork started off kind of poor at first, it did look very cartoonish. But after a bit it's starts getting more details and it's starts looking very sharp and clear. It also has some pretty good fight scenes as well.

It's has a very shounen art style to it if that makes any sense.
To explain more clearly if you have seen quite a bit of shounen you should get the idea of what I am going on about.

Its character design are kind of fedishy based.

But one thing that really dose stand out is the monster designs.
Because they look very well done.
I can tell that person who made these designs had a lot of fun making and bringing them to life.


Enjoyment, 7/10

so like I have seid before even though I found this to be quite genetic.

I must admit that I did like it because I found this story to have some magic to it.

I also liked the whole school for monsters it was kind of remind me of hogwarts from Harry Potter. I thought for a school battle harem that was an interesting place to have this stuff take place.


Overall, 6/10

So overall even though this is kind a generic harem story. It is probably one of the better ones out there and if you like battle shounen,harem,super natural, you will probably enjoy this one.
Now if your not into haram then you wil probably won't enjoy this as much and there are other story's that doing everything that this has done but done it better.

A good friend first told me about this manga months ago and it various traits; the vampires and monsters, the school setting and the fact it was meant to have a action sub genre instantly reminded me of the American hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was a really cool show that worked really well and I had expectations back then that R+V would be the same. Sadly though I later had a bad experience on how to ruin the same concepts listed above. And of course I don’t think you even need half a brain cell to know what I’m referring to is the Twilight series. God I hate it, with its emo, disco ball vampires, to its laughable werewolves, and just plain god damm awful characters and themes.

So when I made the decision to start reading the manga I was extremely cautious. And by the time I had finished reading it I honestly had mixed feelings about it.

Let's get the sticky question that I had hovering over me when I began reading: is the main character, Moka, actually a vampire? The answer, thankfully, is yes... well kind of. She's definitely no Edward Cullen but she isn't on the same level as Alucard from Hellsing, who I feel is the embodiment of a good classic vampire of the night.

I' m gonna have to go into spoiler territory as to why this is the case so if you don’t won't to be spoiled stop reading right now!

When the two leads, Tsukune and Moka, meet, the writer does this really good gag with how Moka's vampire nature burst through and she bites Tskunene's neck , but rather than doing it in the bloodthirsty traditional way, but it’s done with comic effect making it first appear as though she gonna embrace him. This scene is used again and again throughout the series and forms one of the best running gags I've seen. It not only funny, but it serves as a really good twist of the traits of a vampire.

So the comic relief concerning the vampire lead is good, because it actually funny but also stopped me worrying about the issue I mentioned earlier. Oh but we aren’t nearly done yet, because the best is yet to come. You see, Moka' true vampire form is actually sealed away in the form of a rosary. Vampires are weakened by crosses in their mythology, even more points scored for her and the writer in my book. Though not many as I will now sink my teeth into the other issues of this manga

The other main characters, is Tsukune who is the only human in a school full of monsters , and said monsters often try to kill him or his other classmates . Interestingly despite being human, he seems to think he would make an adequate hero or even human shield when trying to save or protect others. If I didn’t know better I would have thought he had some kind of death wish. I mean, here he is, the only human in a school of monsters, and on a daily basis seem to try and kill him. And he just shrugs off any attack. If I was in his shoes, I would run home crying to mummy. But no, simply having a gorgeous vampire potential love interest who likes to feast on your blood will make it all better. In writing it appears funny, but really it’s just stupid.

But of course Tsukune’s idiotic behaviour has a rather unwelcome effect on other female characters, which make up a harem. Yes, a monster harem! Now this could have worked, if the other girls had been even likeable. We have to contend with Kurumu, who’s a succubus or the term slut would be more accurate. She forms the vast majority of the ecchi genre; by often getting her tits out whenever she sees or even thinks Moka and Tsukune are have a cosy moment. Then, there is Yukari, who’s a witch, but sadly also, the loli of the harem. And last there’s Mizore a yukki- onna, which is a being with ice powers. But again she would be better described as a stalker. Though to be fair to her, this attribute of her is actually rather funny, as she would often appear in the most random of places, so she always made me chuckle.

The odd thing is that even though they oppose each other at first, they do come together as friends. But this doesn’t change the fact they all want Tsukune , the human shield, and will just bitch at each other. Never mind the bonding we share throughout the series. Let’s just bitch about a man rather than do the honourable thing and just get over their feelings for him. It seems clear as day that Moka and Tsukune will get together, so much that the other characters do is just hindrances to these two least annoying people getting together. I could try to see that the writer was trying to be funny with the concept of harem, but I barely laughed at any of these scenes.

And now finally there’s the plot, or the lack of it be precise when you do read the first chapter, expect almost the exact same thing to happen almost endlessly. It’s so formulaic and repetive down to the scenarios, to the generic school bully villains, the really frustrating combat, that just so dull. Inner Moka just seems to get an instant knockout with a single kick, in fact sometimes I would feel she just wants the reader to see up her short skirt rather than fight generic henchmen.

Now that I got the bad stuff out of the way, I will admit that the design for many of the monsters is very good, many of them ranging from many different mythologies all over the globe. This I quite liked, making it only one of the few things I liked about this series. I mean even when this series does slightly improve along the way it only really very average, and just very predictable. Moka was the only one I actually liked, both her true vampire form and her general personality. It a real shame it’s not enough to compensate for a manga series which at its best is average and at its worst is terrible and frankly rather annoying.

So, a show that's been plagiarized by none other than our great ecchi lords Gonzo, yet everyone keeps praising the manga for not being the same battle harem. Well... too bad, because that's exactly what it is! Rosario to Vampire at its core is a school harem with battle shounen elements. It is Season II where the battle shounen elements take precedence and overshadow the harem so much that you will forget it's entire first season aside from ONE key event.

RECOMMENDATION: Read this as a school harem with supernatural elements and you'll have an okay time. The structure is largely episodic building up to a shounen style fight for the climax of the chapter along with a trademark friendship lecture that is expected of Shounen JUMP manga. You won't feel disappointed and you don't have to rush through either. You'll have fun with the likable cast and their quirks, but don't expect much of them as realistic characters, since a lot is covered up by the plot elements, but there is catharsis and tidbits of proper development to be found here. It may be worth your time, but don't expect much, this isn't THAT different from the Gonzo adaptation, it's better, but not by much.

And with that... The STORY:
An episodic school harem where almost every chapter we encounter a jerk villain in one sense or another building up the relevant conflict until the climax where the main character is hurt and enables the One-Shot fix-it plot device to march in and stomp over the problem. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum. Be sure to add some other girls in order to have harem catfights, you always hold off your most badass character. The villains are irredeemable one-time caricatures of school bullying, stalking, obsessions and the like... and you have yourself a "great" story.

Well... until the author gets a hang of how to build up an arc, add some intrigue, change the setting to the contemporary world, have villains with ulterior motives and themes to them. Including Light Yagami wannabe because why not. It's not handled extremely well either, but it was certainly a step forward from the episodic throwaways. Though I wish it had a more proper climax for an ending arc, but it was an awkward enough time for the publisher as well to close one of its serialization magazines.

The ARTWORK is serviceable. It can be attributed to the old scans I was reading, but it just looks plain. But the simple thing is that the mangaka had to appease his edit. No panty shots of the badass, despite her signature move being a kick while dressed in a short school uniform skirt. Comedy is relegated to being a chibi background on small panels.
But it also shows that there is a sense of style when it comes to the villains, they are all drawn as horrors, beasts, heck, even Eldritch abominations later on. Too bad on the heroic side the most stylish thing we have are ominous eyes and a goth girl. The focus on the eyes when important was extremely good, as it is important both aesthetically and thematically to establish the thought process of the characters and what they're feeling. The framing is excellent and adds to the mood of the climactic scenes.
Alas it isn't until Season II where the mangaka goes crazy with well composited, detailed two-page scenes. Here it's like flexing his creativity to get a feel for how they would look like and there are still present here.

The CHARACTERS on the other hand... ugh. The protagonist is your generic shounen harem lead - Tsukune who is always standing up against injustice and putting himself in unnecessary danger... Look you fucking idiot, just call in your overpowered friend and have her deal with it for you, she won't mind, it's not like she cares about irredeemable villains either, I doubt she would listen to your stupid shounen lectures about the importance of others.

Then we have the main love interest- Moka, who is sweet, altruistic, caring and harmonizing. She's likable and the shadow character complimenting her presence make for a good dichotomy from a reader standpoint. But romance wise she just feels disconnected in a sense, just being sweet doesn't cut it for me. A romantic relationship, establishing and going through one takes a lot of effort, compromise and one has to accept the faults of the other. It's just how it is even if we feel something indescribably wonderful and sorrowful at the same time. Yes, yes, the complimentary personality of hers, she's just the badass, but there's nothing more to her, she's cold and distant, but yet so cool and is shown to be compassionate at times, but that's not played up to any significance whatsoever here because the status quo of shipping every girl of the harem must be upheld!

This is where the main contender for the romantic relationship comes in- Kurumu. She's a succubus, she's a creature of deviance and yet she wants Tsukune to truly love her without any cheap tricks she would use in her nature to devour men's souls through intercourse.. ahem... sorry, but that's the essence of her monstrous nature really. Alas it's only an ecchi, there is nothing that resembles sensuality or sexual frustration here, it's all just a high school romance. Kurumu joins as a rival to Moka for Tsukune, she's energetic righteous, emotional, upbeat, her main quirk is loving to throw herself into Tsukune with her (supposed) G-cups suffocating his face. Her monstrous nature get sidelined and she's only able to fly... such a badass!

Yukari, the loli witch. She also likes Tsukune, but she also likes Moka, she ships them, or at least doesn't mind their romance. In the harem, she's just the quirky loli. There isn't much to her, she has her quirks to add to the group, along with being the "school genius" which gives her the power of exposition dumping the reader and the cast at what they're facing.
Mizore is the ice girl stalker... that's it. Her quirk is to always be stalking behind a bush, table, pillar... you get the point. What she adds to the harem catfights are the straight man comments which I personally love. Pointing out the stupidity of of Kurumu's outbursts, and her arguments with Yukari.
And lastly Rubi who is introduced later and just makes appearances here and there not really playing any role as a part of the harem. She's mostly a decoration because she has the most distinct character design out of everyone.

So with that I'm just not impressed. Aside from Rubi, no one is fleshed out significantly to understand where they're coming from. The rest are just social exiles for whatever reason accepted by Tsukune so they can obsess over him for arbitrary reasons in order to have comedy skits, yaaaay! There is catharsis to be found in some villain arcs, but they are so few and far between, and in some cases rushed so it lacks impact. But it is a good showcase of spectacle coupled with catharsis. Not great, but serviceable at least, if not for the shounen lectures. Alas I could care less about these archetypes, it's the presentation on the panel framing that makes them powerful, not my dedication or intimate understanding of the characters or their themes. I simply can't empathize with them outside those extreme scenarios whose purpose is spectacle first, not personal drama. And as I mentioned the villains are all irredeemable with a few exceptions, one of them which gets retconned for extra salt.

Thus hindering my ENJOYMENT of immersing myself in these characters' lives and struggles, which are sidelined immediately for the next episodic chapter. The world had potential, but it's just concepts thrown in to add an artificial layer of drama to make up for the lack of actual character drama in order for the reader to root for the good guys. I don't like harem jinks either, there is no focus on each character, all we see are binary relationships between a pair. Moka is the peacekeeper, Kurumu is the bashful, reckless tomboy, Yukari is the smart one, Mizore is the observant straight (wo)man, Tsukune is the self-insert blank slate until the shounen switch in his brain is activated for his death wish each time, but at least that still gives him a character trait.

So in the end it was a chore to read through most of the time and thinking about it, it has ignored quite a few elements, not to mention most of the episodic characters never had significance all throughout Season II, which is what most praise this series for.

STORY :

The story is what lacks for Rosario + Vampire. It is very good for the first couple volumes, but then the fights get boring and extremely repetitive. To be honest, there is no "real" main story line. It's like a bunch of filler and random monsters fights put together, and then a short story line, and then more filler fights.


ART :

While I can't say anything bad about the art in this manga, nothing was special about it. Needless to say, I did just come from reading the Berserk manga which has absolutely stunning artwork; due to this, I might be a little harsh :P


Character :

This is where Rosario + Vampire truly shines. The character development is very good, however, at some points they do irrational things. The whole love story between moka and tsukune is well done, however, I do wish they would progress it... faster? I mean come on, he easily should have kissed her by now


Enjoyment :

Same as the overall. The character advancement sucks you in, the repetitiveness of the story pushes you out.

Sometimes I wonder how any series on MAL gets anything below 7.00 score.
Rosario + Vampire is a fine example of a manga which suffers from wrong tagging.
It has ACTION tag, but all the action is done in the first chapter, and all the following chapters are reenactments of that one fight. Oh wait, the villains were different each chapter, so there's that. Honestly though, I believe there's no lower low for action manga.
It also has COMEDY tag, and I don't remember laughing, smirking, or reacting anyhow beside cringing at hearing Tsukune point out ONCE AGAIN at the beginning of the chapter that "moka, while a cute and pretty girl, actually is a... VAMPIRE!" .This is the moment when retarded kids are suprised at the big font, since even they caught up by now who moka really is. Anyway, back to comedy. THERE's NO COMEDY, STUPID.
Well, if there's nothing for people seeking action, or wanting to laugh a bit, maybe FANTASY, magic or paranormal in general fans will find something worthwhile? WhaaaaaAAAT? You already know I'll say fantasy here is shit? c'mon now, let me at least elaborate! So. From this manga, I've learned that witches are actually monsters. AND lycanthropes are monsters also, not diseased/cursed/whatever humans. The werewolf form is their real shape. Yup. Bullshit explanations of phenomena taking place, ways new monsters are introduced and explained(half of them are, of course, one-time appearances of bully monsters, and the other half: the bullied monster girls, whom tsukune rescues by siccing his faithful vampire-dog at the bullies, and the girls fall for him because of his selfless heroism. oh, that's the harem tag done as well, i guess), and overall the understanding of mythology is so pathetic it's like listening to japaneese speak english.

There is only one tag that I'd let this manga have, a GARBAGE tag. It'd at least prevent the people looking to read something interesting from trusting the score entry in question has. If this trash gets GOOD/ VERY GOOD score as a MEAN from all the deadbrains AND people angry for wasting their time(the unlucky ones money), then anything can get 8.
Once again, if you didn't catch it. This manga is trash. And moka is a... VAMPIRE!!!

This series felt like something that was just good enough to pass the time, but was also frustrating, because it had pieces to be something phenomenal, which it ended up not living up to.

If I had to give you one word to sum up most of my issues when reading, I wouldn't do it, because that's stupid and would never work in a good review (a review which actually helps people decide on what to read). But, right now I'll sum up a few of the main thoughts I had while reading this series: "Why does every chapter end the exact same way?" "Why are some characters being discarded?" "And why do some potential arcs end almost as soon as they become interesting?"

I wouldn't recommend this to harem fans, nor would I reccommend this to other readers, but, however, I would say that if you really want to try it, you'll probably be able to finish the whole thing and find something worthwhile out of it. This series could have been a great harem, but the author never did enough to bolster relationships. It also could have been a great shonen that's a bit more romantic than normal, but the author abrubtly ended each problem face with the same solution in every chapter, thus preventing any possible story cohesion that could have made it worthwhile to read.

PROS:

The artwork is very good, and during the more serious moment the author show's of their abilities to the fullest.

The characters are very likeable, and they also make this series somewhat painful, because it feels like they could also be so much more than they are.

Cons:

The characters are going to be placed in both pros and cons, because they're both my favorite and least favorite things about the series. I truly loved meeting new people, and seeing how they interacted in this stories universe, but, with each chapter ending the same way, and no real problems being solved without using a cheap trump card, the level of development and bonding between the characters was lackadaisical. It never truly felt like there was a reward for investing into the characters.

The plot is also a con, because every time an arc would begin to bud, it would suddenly end, and then a new plot teeming with potential would appear, only to suffer the same fate as the ones before.

Final Word:

I should probably give this series a 4 or 5, but there were moments within the series that deserved a 9 or 10, and that deserves some credit in my eyes. However, if you know that hunting for morsels in a manga will cause you pain, then don't read this series, because there's more to dislike than to like.

When you think about vampires now a days, it's probably those piece of crap Twilight movies you think of. The vampires that shine in the sunlight, the vampires that don't get killed with a wooden stick to the heart, the vampires that now have fans fighting over Team Jacob and Team Edward. Well Japan likes the old vampires just the way they are. And Akihisa Ikeda likes to put a twist on a vampire, but keeps a lot of their classic species just the way it is. Rosario+Vampire is a great read. It is about a boy named Tsukune Aoto, he flunked the eigth grade and now no high school will take him. His parents however, find the perfect high school for him. At first, Tsukune is super excited. Then he realizes he has entered Yukai Academy, a high school exclusively for monsters. Tsukune is about to leave the academy, until he meets Moka Akasiya. She becomes Tsukune's friend and Tsukune feels kind of protected. Then the monster boys start getting jealous, and then we get a perfect adventure fighting all kinds of crazy things. Rosario+Vampire is awesome, while the story isn't superb and Moka doesn't have all the classic problems of a vampire, the art is amazing, the characters are funny and lovable, it is an enjoying monster manga. I recommend this manga to all you otaku's out there. It's an enjoyable funny manga that any otaku can enjoy.

Squint.

The story is generic. But it grows. It is classic, reminiscent of Love Hina with it's "vacation" arcs. The story and overarching plot sneaks up on you, bit by bit...

Squint hard at the characters: Especially Moka and her inner-self. The subtlety in how she grows to accept Tsukune and the rest of the cast as her friends is... well, subtle. Not even fans of the manga recognize it, but there are moments where she breaks down in tears, or grins in admiration, and readers completely miss it. Please, do your best not to miss it!

Moka isn't the only character, though. Even then, the rest of the cast is pretty fantastic... Tsukune, the "typical protagonist", is surprisingly atypical, as the only human resident of Youkai academy. He strikes a balance between the "luckless wimp" and the "destined hokage", not being a pushover who relies on his friends, but not being the "second coming", either. Kurumu is more than just a rival, Mizore is more than just a sweet face. Even Yukari tries to break her mold of being a lil' girl.

The art improves! And then it improves so much it begins to develop an uncanny valley. But even then, the increased definition and quality of the art adds to the subtle maturation of the characters, as they live out their first year in school and begin to grow up...


...Definitely enjoyable. Hits all of the marks of a good coming-of-age romance story. To see Tsukune grow, to see Moka (especially her sealed side) open up to him, both wonderful storylines and a gratifying romance.

In a sense, Rosario Vampire is a better manga than its sequel, because it actually concludes on a conclusive, satisfying note. Of course, it deserved and necessitated a continuation with how it ended... but it didn't have to end with more stories on the horizon. Not everything has to be dramatic, not everything has to be emotionally pulverizing. Rosario + Vampire's conclusion is balanced and nuanced, harmonious and easy to read.

Generic is the best term to use. But let me remind you...squint. The details, and the worth of this story is there.

Plot. Substance. Two words you can say that this manga, without a doubt, has none of. In fact, this manga has nothing to be proud of except for its babes. Character development has gone AWOL for this poor guy. RV revolves around an indecisive loser who seems to have accumulated a flock of bombshells, yet, being the loser he is, manages to score cero. And although it may seem like there is a plot and substance, they are mere mirages of suspense.

If you ever find yourself bored with only manga to accompany you, and you are male and interested in PWP without the first P, then this manga is perfect for you.

I read RV and began reading the second one: it took me one whole series to realize that nothing is going to happen, and nothing will ever happen. The same thing seems to happen ever chapter, which I found more that a little repetitive. "Know your place..."