Time once again to delve into this supernatural (?) mess. Speaking of time, we get to jump ahead four years from where we left off. The setting is an abandoned Shibuya with a lone figure standing amidst the eerie streets. Two guesses who it is. Yes, it's Sasuke 2.0, but while he's haunted by the memories of his escape, he has a calm look to his face tha-
"I live for nothing but revenge against those bloodsuckers!"
Facepalms
Four years, people. This is what four years of training with a army designed to face supernatural threats has done for our... hero (I feel dirty saying that). To further drive the point home, Yuichiro disregards his fellow soldiers and slices a monster called one of the Four Horsemen of John like it was butter. Okay, one, what the heck is a "Four Horsemen of John"? Is it a type of vampire? I mean, we only get two panels of the thing and I can't even figure out where its mouth and eyes are. There's also that name. Yes, you're using biblical etymology, congrats, you like everyone else in the modern world know about the Bible. What does that do for your story? Certainly nothing for this scene because the horseman isn't brought up again in this chapter and thus, I don't care.
Second, wow Yuichiro, wow, your military training must have sucked for you to disobeyed orders multiple times. I'm sorry, but isn't boot camp meant to either beat that disobedience crap out of you or at least hone it into a useable skill in the battlefield? Disregarding that, any military with half a brain cell would know that people need to work together. Its why boot camp is a living hell, so you know who you can count on. Yet, despite training he'd have to have gone through to ya know, cut down hulking monstrosities, Yuichiro is still the brat he was last chapter, only know he doesn't even have the excuse of being a half-pint.
What was the point of skipping ahead four years if the main character wasn't going to change at all? Was 12 too young of an age to start slashing down goals? Who cares? Its a manga, you can get away with stuff like a kid hacking and slashing his way through monsters.
Moving on, at least someone in command realizes (a little too late) the Yuichiro is impeding things and takes him off duty. We then cut to... Shibuya High School #2. What? No, I must have read that wrong. A high school would be so ludicrous in this setting there's no way...
Reads a few more pages
Are you real?! I can't believe we're doing this. There are vampires and, if what the last chapter ended and whats we get later in this chapter are to be believed, demons running amok. Revelations is in fully gear and high school still exists?! What the hell could they teach that would have use now? Unless this manga has the gall to say that enough of human society exists to function on its previous level, taking the piss right out of the setting if so. This isn't even a specially designed school that also instructs people for the demon hunting army or whatever stupid name the smug guy from last chapter calls it. There are regular student here talking about stuff like going to clubs and getting fricking ice cream. If the effects of the virus are genuinely what was described in the first chapter, all these kids parents should be dead, unstoppable beasts are out for their blood, and, yeah, the Apocalypse happened! Jesus, do you see how freaked out the world gets when bird flu is brought up? How about SARS, remember that? Countries went into lockdown from that. Yet, we have a virus that very likely killed every head of state in the world and yet, eight years later, high school.
It's such an unneeded element in a story that already had plenty to work with. Hell, I generally believe a school is one of the worst places to host a shonen manga, because what's the point? Guess what, my ability to slice demons is gonna keep me alive longer than learning integers.
Okay, we need to move on before I have an aneurism. Yuichiro is his normal pouty self, mouthing off to everything around him until bland chick behind him tells him to knock it off. No, I'm not gonna remember her name because she's that dull. She spells it out for him that he has to make friends or he and the reader will be trapped in this ridiculous high scho- sorry, need to stay focused.
Before we can get to finding out what friendship is all about, we get a flashback to the end of last chapter. Smug plot convenience guy explains that aside from the virus something called the Horn of the Apocalypse has sounded, summoning various monsters.
Pause time. What kind of armageddon are we dealing with here? First, we had the virus that decimated humanity. Then, we had vampires rising up like molepeople and enslaving what, one section of Tokyo? Now we also have this horn which sounds like a whole other mess. So, are we dealing with a religious end time, a scientific one, or just whatever the author feels like throwing at us?
Who cares, time to make friends. No, not comrades in arms, just friends. Like pansy guy. No, I can't remember his name either. The fact that he looks similar to Yuichiro just broadens my delight at his introduction. So after stereotypical bullying, pansy admits he wants to join the demon army too, but... failed the application test.
Why? Why is there an application test? Why would you not want every able bodied person in your army. I don't care if pansy is weak, when you are fighting a supernatural war, you get whoever you can in damn boots. Hell, pansy is actually a greater asset than Yuichiro simply by merit of listening to others. Doesn't matter that they're bullies, pansy is still given an order to get drinks and he gets drinks... wait a minute. I know they can't use the actual brands, but he's clearly carrying pocari sweat, seven up, and Dr. Pepper. Man, I'm sure glad that when Hell spills over, I'll be able to cool off with a refreshing soda.
But it looks like no one will be getting carbonated goodness today as a vampire escapes from a nearby lab and attacks the school... in the middle of the day, I think. Um, shouldn't it be well done by now? Yes, it has an anti-UV arm bracelet that got mentioned once before, but why would you keep that on? Just keep the bloodsucker in the dark and use non-uv lights when studying it or whatever you were doing. I'm sure they'll have regular bulbs down at the supermarket. Ya know, the one cerberus used that one time as a fire hydrant.
Oh and look, a bunch of students are now in immense danger. It sure was a smart idea to congregate what has to account for a large percent of the population together. Seriously, might as well have hung a neon sign under the school's name: Shibuya High School # 2 Buffet Opens at Sundown.
So with a vampire close, Yuichiro sports himself a nice hate boner and gets his weapons. Time for another dull fight with speed line limbs. I gotta love how the vampire is still condescending about everything despite wanting to avoid the vampire hunters. What's hilarious about this whole battle is that it goes the exact same way as the last fight. Yuichiro can't do crap on his own and its only through pansy's interference that he doesn't get utterly annihilated. Hell, he doesn't even land the finishing blow like last time.
Smug guy shows up and finishes the battle, all while pointing out that Yuichiro is an idiot. Yet, Yuichiro still says he can go toe to toe with vampires. Yeah, dude, you nearly got stabbed, would have lost had it not been for a complete wimp coming along, and you fell out fricking building, dislocating your shoulder. Again, you didn't even finish the fight and would have died had it not been for deus ex machine. Yeah, you're a real asset.
I at least get a line that pretty much sums up the chapter: "I have brats who don't know what teamwork means."
Oh thank everything holy, the chapter's almost over. Yuichiro wakes up in the hospital with bland girl and pansy at his side. So, apparently carrying some soda and acting like a jerk to pansy constitute him as a friend to bland girl. Bonus, bland girls is now a friend too. Hoo-fricking-ray.
Not that that changes anything. Yuichiro is still a one note bumbling mess of a character, so singleminded in his revenge that his survival over the past four years astounds me. He's arrogant, annoying, and unlikable. This could have easily been resolved by just letting someone else survive among the orphans, that at least would create a duality between protecting a loved one and pursuing vengeance. But no, revenge and only revenge.
So, that is Seraph so far. No, I'm only reading it as its officially released. However, I am open for other manga to read and review. Until then, see ya'll next time.
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