Call of the Night (2021)

[よふかしのうた]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Kotoyama
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Kou confronts Kabura about Nazuna's past.

Story/Characters:
Without going too much into spoiler territory (which admittedly makes it nearly impossible to talk about most of the contents of this volume), I'll say that I was as surprised as Kou and Nazuna for the breadcrumbs to lead us somewhere completely different than the most likely probability. The exploration of Kabura's past is quite nice and the truth about Nazuna has some major implications not just for the character but also for worldbuilding.

Once we tie all that up, Kou and Nazuna then go to help Midori find any personal items of hers from when she was human and we meet her progeny, LoveGreen. Not only is LG about the last person you'd imagine someone like Midori to have sired, but it's adorable how fangirly she is about him. It is a nice touch how the sire-progeny relationship is different for each of the vampires we've encountered so far.

We then transition into Nazuna's new goal of going on a journey to find herself (as her experience with Kabura has raised about as many questions as it's answered), leading us to a night school that sets up the next arc of the story, to be continued in the next volume.

Art:
The art is as good as ever. I'm particularly amused by a panel of an angry Haru that's almost identical to one from the previous volume from the Tokyo trip. Blood will tell, as they say. The spit-takes from Kabura in Chapter 63 are amazing. LG has a rather unique character design that adds to the humor of his scenes and I like that he brings out reactions from Midori we don't typically see.

Other:
We get an afterword from Kotoyama talking about his transition to digital (mostly because he wants to work while relaxing at cafes) with a sketch of Nazuna. We also get a bonus chapter of Dagashi Kashi with all-nighters as the topic to thematically connect it to this series. It's nice seeing the DK cast again. Not expecting the Dagashi Kashi characters, I will admit that when I first saw Hotaru, I was asking myself how Nazuna's figure managed to fill out all the sudden. ^o^

Conclusion:
Kabura's backstory was rather touching. We learn quite a bit about Nazuna and then the Akiba two-parter is a nice little lighthearted bonus. Nico's the last member of the coven to be explored, so we've got that to look forward to next time. If you've been enjoying the series as much as I have, then there's no question. This one's worth having.

Rating:
Own It