Dracula like any good undead regularly returns to the front of the stage but did you know that there are also bloodsuckers in Japan? Follow one in the first volume of Shigahime published by Mangetsu.
The other land of vampirism
In Shigahime, Osamu Hirota is a quiet high school student but doesn't know what he wants in life. In search of meaning, he is spotted by a classmate from a nearby high school, Soîchi Tachibana. The latter introduces him to an older woman, Miwako who seems attracted to young men. In fact, this mysterious woman hides a secret: she is a vampire. Osamu is quickly bewitched by Miwako and must find prey to preserve his humanity. But will he accept the constraints of his new life? Through novels or films, the France knows Dracula, the Count of Eastern Europe, well. The series showed that these creatures also exist in America but Japan seemed for the moment little affected… until you read Shigahime. The reader discovers the specificities of these creatures of the shadow of the archipelago. She is just as haughty and manipulative as the Carpathian nobleman and adopts an aristocratic lifestyle in her lyrics and her very luxurious residence. Through Osamu, the reader discovers the extent of the powers of these demons. Miwako feeds on blood but crushes a human heart. We are far from the small bite. She likes to make people suffer physically and psychologically.
A terrifying tale
Shigahime is a five-volume short series written and drawn by mangaka Sato Hirohisa. Its extremely fine drawing makes violent or creepy scenes even stronger. He is as comfortable in realism as he is in madness. Indeed, the designer also represents two birds on a tree, a dirty alley and a heart expelled from a chest. He installs from the first boxes a gloomy and dark atmosphere. We are directly in the heart of the action. Shigahime introduces us to the backyards of metropolises: dirty alleys but also beings lacking affection or seeking violence. Tachibana has the physique and outward attitude of the nerd of the class but he hides a deep sadness since his mother fell into depression. Feeling deep frustration, he is an ideal victim to serve Miwako. Yet he is only one of the many characters in this dense and extremely breathless story. As in Death Note, everything can change into one box. As in most Gothic stories, Shigahime's vampire is a sensual being. She attracts (very) young boys by promising free sex. Sato Hirohisa does not hesitate to illustrate it with explicit images. Shigame is therefore a raw narrative that is not suitable for younger readers. Blood is a bodily fluid but, by its use in the series, it evokes much more another liquid… However, sexuality is not happy. Romanticism does not exist but gives way to an impulse to satisfy leading the boy to his doom. However, this dark side is opposed to pure love and it is not said that Shigahime's fate is so desperate over the volumes… Mangetsu hits very hard with Shigahime, a scary and dark series. This blow to the heart – and elsewhere – never lets you go. No human is untouchable and the twists provide a reading as breathless as dark. It's hard to reveal the depth of the narrative without spoilers but don't expect a modern version of Buffy, Shigahime is bloody and violent. You can find in these links other chronicles of Mangetsu with the slayer woman of Butterly Beast II and the fallen samurai Keiji.
