Manga Review: Millennium Snow, Volume 3, by Bisco Hatori

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 3, 2014

Volumes: 4

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1 & 2. 4.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Chiyuki Matsuoka was born with heart problems, and her doctors say she won't live to see the next snow. Toya is an 18-year-old vampire who hates blood and refuses to make the traditional partnership with a human, whose life-giving blood would keep them both alive for a thousand years.

Review:

I have been excited for this book ever since I heard it was being released. I’m a huge fan of Hatori’s Ouran High School Host Club series, and have rather enjoyed the first two volumes of this series. I was really excited to see how it had changed, storytelling and art and character, after such a long hiatus.

Firstly, I particularly liked reading the author’s comments in this volume. It was nice to see how the process of getting back into this series was, and how fast Ouran took off and how that changed things for her. Also, I completely understood her horror at reading her own work over again.

Secondly, the artwork was very different. Much better, much prettier. The cover alone shows the difference. The humor was different, almost a little more exaggerated than before, sometimes a little unneeded. The story was also more thoughtful than the first two volumes, which I was surprised by, but really liked. The characters were a little different, particularly Chiyuki—she seemed a little more outgoing and open about her feelings than I thought she was in the first books.

The plot took a much more direct point of Chiyuki and Toya having a relationship than it did before. We met a new character in this volume (although I’m not sure if she’s going to stick around), but mostly the chapters and plotlines seemed more specific for developing the characters, which I liked. There was a lesson for them to learn, and that was obvious, but also not over-done. We also didn't really see as much of the other characters as we did in the first two books; there was some Satsuki and Yami, but not that much. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I did miss them a little bit.

There was also a bonus chapter at the back, written before the hiatus, which really shows the art difference. It was cute, giving some character background for Yamimaru and Toya, and that was nice.

This was a really good volume. I enjoyed reading more of Hatori’s work. There were a lot of changes, and most of them were for the better. I really look forward to seeing how the series wraps up.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!