![Naruto vol 1 & 2]()
Yoake no
Vanpaia
(Interview with the Vampire)
By Udoh
Shinohara
(based on the novel by Anne Rice)
Published
by Chara Comics, 1994
reviewer: Michiru
date: Mar. 30, 2002
The Basics
In the 1790's a young
plantation owner named Louis is indirectly responsible for his
brothers death. Wracked with guilt, he begins acting suicidal,
and unwittingly attracts the attention of a vampire named
Lestat. A newborn vampire, Louis struggles to retain his
humanity and ultimately fails. This is a manga adaptation of
the popular American novel by Anne Rice.
The Characters
![Naruto]() |
LOUIS DE POINTE DU LAC Our hero, Louis (French
and pronounced "Louie," by the way), finds his wish
for death granted, but not in the way he hoped for,
when he's turned into a vampire. Hating the whole
world, Louis prefers to remain passively detached from
things when he can. |
![Sasuke]() |
LESTAT DE LIONCOURT A French aristocrat, Lestat
is a true high-bred snob, expecting the whole world to
do exactly what he wants it to. When Louis does not
bow to him as he wishes, he gets rather
nasty. |
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CLAUDIA In an attempt to keep Louis under
control, Lestat turns a six-year-old child into a
vampire, only to find that she is more than a match
for his will as well! Brilliant and bloodthirsty,
Claudia knows what she wants and is willing to step
over anyone including her "parents" to get
it. |
![uruka]() |
DANIEL MALLOY: A.k.a. "The Interviewer." When
Louis, in 1975, wants to tell the story of his life,
it is Daniel that allows him to do so. Young and not
very bright, Daniel spends most of the manga listening
in horror to Louis. |
![Kakashi]() |
ARMAND: Over four hundred years old, Armand
falls in love with Louis's humanity, and is willing to
do anything to claim it for his
own. |
This is definitely not a story for fans of fluff; you
can tell from the first few pages that the ending isn't going
to be happy. Anne Rice, the author, originally wrote
"Interview" in order to deal with her grief over the death of
her six-year-old daughter by having Louis lose his own
daughter, Claudia, and simply never get over the pain it
causes him. Likewise, though the characters Lestat and Armand
both seem to hope that Louis' humanity can drag their tainted
souls out of the darkness, it is instead Louis who is dragged
down to their level. Though Udoh-sensei is forced to condense
several scenes from the original book in order to make it fit
into one volume of manga, the same gist of intolerable loss
remains.
The Review
There are two ways to
review this manga: as a fan of the book, and on its own. I
will attempt to do both.
As
a fan of the book, I can say honestly that the book is
certainly better. Being so limited to one volume of manga
forced Udoh-sensei to knock out some good scenes of dialogue
and action, and this made some parts of the story seem very
rushed, and also left some characters rather underdeveloped
(Armand in particular). Fans of the slash/yaoi elements in the
book will be satisfied, however; Udoh-sensei did a very good
job of keeping those scenes in, and with her lovely visuals to
boost the effect, Louis and Lestat's relationship takes on a
whole new level.
Judging the manga without the book as a starting point,
I can honestly say I enjoyed it quite a bit. Udoh-sensei has a
very shoujo style of drawing, yet she adds her own unique
spin; characters have nostrils and hair, rather than the usual
"cartoony" faces and features. Claudia, the child killer, is
wonderfully drawn and comes across as frightening in one scene
and adorable in the next. The artist's use of color is also
worthy of note; bold colors replace the usual shoujo pastels,
giving a striking look to vampire skin and hair. The visual
effects alone are worth the money.
Yet
even without the original book, some scenes are very obviously
rushed to the point of confusion. Udoh-sensei clearly wanted
to focus on the more personal aspects of the story, which
isn't bad, except that it leaves climatic scenes such as a
slave rebellion to inhabit a single panel, giving the entire
book a cluttered feeling.
Still, given that Udoh-sensei was limited to only one
manga volume she truly did an excellent job. This book is hard
to find as its old and not very famous, but it's worth
searching for, whether you're interested in the art, the
story, or just a different view of Anne Rice's novel.
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