Lament of the Lamb

by Kei Toume

A Graphic Novel/Manga Series of 7 books. Genre is Horror/Drama with a bit of mystery thrown in.

Enter Kazuna, a young teenage boy just discovering his first love. Unknown to him he has a dark past which is about to disrupt his life completely. He is the carrier of a rare blood disease which causes him to crave the blood of humans. While struggling with his dark desires he is reunited with his older sister, Chizuna and discovers his long lineage to a family that that has given in to their darker desires and proclaims themselves Vampires. Can Kazuna stave of his dark desires long enough to save his older sister and find a cure for their disease? Well you will just need to read the books to find out.

My Thoughts:

I found the series over all a good read. Each of the books had a good tie in with each other stopping just at a point that makes you want to read on. There is a subtle hint of darker love between the two main characters which intrigued you to wonder where it was going. The art work was very lifelike and beautiful to study. I found the story ending to be very satisfying and it did not end the way I thought it would, which pleased me since i don't like predictable. Though I thought their fear of prosecution and fear of others turning on them to be a bit unbelievable since it took place in modern times where medical rarities are not reasons to be killed but researched. I don't think people would react as badly as they eluded to in the book. I mean I could see them being prosecuted if they went out and killed for the blood but the way they were handling their blood thirst it would probably not caused much more of a stir then a raised eyebrow and maybe a bit grimacing from the thought of craving blood. Weirder things are happening everyday.

Individual Book Summaries:

Vol. 1: We meet Kazuna as he is discovering he is falling in love with lovely Yaegashi. He discovers he is ill and reacts badly to anything that looks like blood, in fact he reacts so badly he craves it violently. Enters long lost older sis Chizuna, who offers Kazuna salvation from his pain through her own blood...but she has reasons of her own to help him.







Vol. 2: Kazuna tastes blood for the first time and his sister tells him the story of their past. Yaegashi is desperately trying to help Kazuna but he won't let her close. Chizuna gives him some medicine to help curb the craving but Kazuna must decide how much he wants to sacrifice in order to stay "normal" and how much is his salvation worth.







Vol. 3: Yaegashi confesses her love to Kazuna only to discover the truth of his behavior toward her. Chizuna revels more on the family's past. Kazuna makes a decision he may come to regret in regards to his friends and family.








Vol. 4: Kazuna and Chizuna grow closer...perhaps too close for siblings. Chizuna's dark obsession with her father takes on a new light. Kazuna is discovering difficulty in controlling his urges to feed as new darker dreams plague his vision.








Vol. 5: Kazuna and Chizuna dedication to each other grows as Kazuna comes to depend on Chizuna to feed his blood thirst. Chizuna health is failing and she is refusing to feed. She discovers the truth behind her feelings toward Kazuna and comes to terms with what she needs to do to fulfill those feelings. And to top it all off someone is snooping into the families past trying to ferret out the family's dark secrets.





Vol. 6: As Shinobu digs deeper into the Takashiro family history trying to discover why the siblings father committed suicide she discovers a revelation. Kazuna and Chizuna both return to school attempting a normal life. Yaegashi and Kazuna come to terms with each other and why it is best Kazuna keep his distance. Chizuna's illness grows worse and with it comes dreams revolving around her mother hinting that her memories of her may not be true.




Vol. 7: As darkness descends upon the siblings. Chizuna health collapses sending her into a coma in which she discovers the truth to her mothers disappearance and her father's death. Kazuna discovers the only way to control the disease. But will his decision be the correct choice can they both finally rest in peace?







Reviewed by Tesse aka Blissful2beme