Call of the Night (2021)

[よふかしのうた]

Volume 6

Author/Artist: Kotoyama
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Mahiru reflects on his relationship with Kiku as he tries to decide whether or not he wants to become a vampire.

Story/Characters:
We get some backstory on Mahiru and Kiku, building up to him making his fateful decision. It's a nice contrast with how quickly Kou initially made his choice. We get a lot of rumors about Kiku but we have yet to see Kiku herself on the matter. After that, Kou and Nazuna go on a trip to Tokyo. After their awkwardness the previous volume, it's nice to see them just hang out and have fun like the good old days. We then have a chapter where the vampire coven brings in Kou for a little chat about his budding romance. Nico seems to have mellowed out a bit, but the coven letting up a bit opens up a new front for conflict, that being our good friend Uguisu. Before she shows up again, we have a bit of a guys' chat with Kou, Hatsuka, Mahiru and Akiyama (Menhera-san) regarding Mahiru's desire to become a vampire. Then Uguisu has to go and spoil the fun. We learn from the encounter a major weakness of vampires in this world, which provides a springboard into exploring Nazuna's past. The hospital they visit makes for a good spooky setting and it's funny how much of a scaredy cat Nazuna, the effectively immortal superpowered vampiress, is. Kabura shows up, the one member of the coven we haven't given any focus yet, and there's a good reason Kotoyama saves her for last. We get quite the cliffhanger that has me eager for more.

Art:
The art is as good as ever, but aren't really any stand-out visuals until the encounter with Uguisu. Don't let the cover of the volume fool you. She's bristling with menace here. The hospital stuff is quite good. It's a good setting for horror and it's fun to have the horror imagery played for comedy.

Other:
We get some sketches of Kou and Nazuna and an afterword from Kotoyama talking about his new sofa bed (what most Americans would call a futon, not to be confused with a Japanese futon) and commenting a bit about Chapter 51.

Conclusion:
There's a lot of character development going on. Mahiru is proving to be a lightning rod for getting things moving. I particularly like exploring Nazuna's past and I'm ready for the next volume. As with the rest of the series, this one is worth getting, so get it.

Rating:
Own It