Article date: February 14, 2002

Hitsuji no Uta Created by: Kei Toume Manga book series: Volume 1-6 (still running) Anime Movie: Release date - March 30, 2002 Anime series: (not yet) Radio drama series: started February 10, 2002

"T he Sheep's Song". No just for a change there are no cute fluffy animals in this one.

There's a bit of a vampire trend going on in Japan once again - "Hellsing", the last volume of the Miyu chapter of the "Vampire Miyu" manga series will be released next month, there's the "Vampire Kids" anime on TV and of course "Blood the Last Vampire" is still popular.

If that wasn't enough and you are looking for another vampire series to sink your teeth into (sorry I couldn't help myself) then definitely check out "Utsuji no Uta".

This series, which has been ranking in the top 30 manga for a few weeks now, is not your average vampire story.

Kazuna Takashiro is a High School student. There doesn't appear to be anything too remarkable about him - he falls asleep in class, hangs out with a couple of mates at lunch time, hasn't quite decided what to do after he finishes high school...but this is all about to change.

You see Kazuna doesn't come from your typical family. He has lived with his Aunt and Uncle since he was a little boy and they treat him like their real son, in fact at the time of the story they are starting the proceedings for legally adopting him. He hasn't meet with any of his immediate family since he went to live with his relatives. However he's never known the reason for this.

Until now...

Kazuna isn't well. He is feeling weak and has had a few dizzy spells. His appetite has gone. And he has been having many dreams about the house he and his family used to live in.

He decides after school one day to go back to the old house. He is surprised to find the house still standing and in good condition - even more surprisingly he discovers that his older sister is living there. She isn't all that pleased to see him and tells him not to come back. He does return of course, the dreams and his symptoms become more intense and he (correctly) believes that she can help him with what is happening to him. Which she can and does. It's a family condition that has surfaced in him, which the family had hoped he'd escaped from. This is why he was sent away.

This Takashiro family is a family of vampires. The thing is that none of them want to be vampires. Kazuna's mother passed away when he was still a child and his father recently committed suicide because he couldn't take the vampire lifestyle any more. His older sister Chizuna survives without killing for blood through regular blood donations and medicine from Dr Minase, a childhood friend (who also happens to be desperately in love with her). Chizuna started showing her vampire tendencies from 3 years of age and the older she gets the harder it is for her to resist killing to satisfy her cravings for blood.

At first she resisted helping Kazuna, hoping vainly that his symptoms weren't the beginning of the family trait starting to come through. However when it becomes obvious that he is a vampire she evens gives him her own blood to help restore him.

Naturally there has to be a love life dilemma or two in there as well. Apart from the heartbreak of his Aunt and Uncle losing him and him withdrawing from the usual kind of teenage life, Kazuna develops a bizarre relationship with one of his classmates. Yaegashi is a painter and quite a dark character, she has friends who try to keep her in touch with reality (i.e. by trying to stop her cutting her own hair and have it styled), but she prefers to be by herself painting. She likes Kazuna and the feeling is mutual - except that during the time of his change, when he is modeling for one of her paintings she begins to feel that she doesn't want to paint him all of sudden. The painting sessions become torturous for Kazuna as she likes to use a lot of crimson coloured paint in her work and he collapses a few times during them. Yaegashi becomes very worried about him and he tells her what is happening to him. Naturally she doubts him at first but after seeing him collapse in the park she decides to offer him her blood...which he refuses...

Chizuna is determined to keep Yaegashi away from Kazuna. For reasons which are not all that clear - except she is concerned that Yaegashi may trigger Kazuna's fainting spells. However there may be another reason behind her efforts to keep Kazuna and Yaegashi apart (trust me your jaw will drop to the floor at the end of Volume 4)...and as Minase observes bitterly when their father was alive no-one could come between them...is there more to this family relationship than meets the eye?

Then again Chizuna seems determined that the Takashiro bloodline will end when they do...

This is the most serene vampire story that I've ever read. But trust me serene does not mean boring by any stretch of the imagination. This is a fascinating portrayal of the vampire situation in which it is treated as a sickness, which can't be cured. Unlike typical stories the "sick" characters in the story lead roughly normal lives - they eat normal food, sleep at night and generally conduct themselves in a normal way. However the craving to drink the blood of another drives them to isolation, as does their loathing to kill another person, leading them to resort to other means to satisfy them. Their isolation attracts people to them however and the relationships in this series are quite tangled and confused.

I can't wait until volume 7 comes out!!!

46) Akkera Kanjinchou

44) HELLSING