Manga Review: Midnight Secretary, Volume 7, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2014

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaya Satozuka prides herself on being an excellent secretary and a consummate professional, so she doesn’t even bat an eye when she’s reassigned to the office of her company’s difficult director, Kyohei Touma. He’s as prickly—and hot—as rumors paint him, but Kaya is unfazed…until she discovers that he’s a vampire!!

Kyohei has been banished from his clan because he refuses to renounce his love for Kaya. But a lone vampire is a dangerous thing to be, and Kyohei finds himself cut off from the vampires' power and protection. He doesn't even have access to blood substitutes anymore! Kaya wants to support him through this crisis, but arranging "dinner dates" for him again might be more than her heart can take!

Review:

I am happy that this series is over, but I’m also satisfied with the ending.

It left me feeling like there could be more story to tell, but I’m overall satisfied with how everything wrapped up. It was a nice conclusion for Kaya and Kyohei, if a little showdown impending with the vampire community, I believe that they can handle it.

I enjoyed that Kaya stayed his secretary, and took her job seriously, as well as being good at it. But it also got a little annoying—like, she can be his secretary at work but also his wife/girlfriend/whatever outside of work. That’s okay, too. 

Overall, I’m happy with this series. It was good throughout, and the ending was very nice. I also enjoyed the extra chapter focusing on Marika. I’m liking her other series, Spell of Desire, although I hope it picks up more. There just seems to be something missing in Ohmi’s series to really grab me.

Manga Review: Midnight Secretary, Volume 6, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2014

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: Some.

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

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaya Satozuka prides herself on being an excellent secretary and a consummate professional, so she doesn't even bat an eye when she's reassigned to the office of her company’s difficult director, Kyohei Touma. He's as prickly - and hot - as rumors paint him, but Kaya is unfazed until she discovers that he's a vampire!!

Kyohei has finally admitted that he loves Kaya, and he's even stopped feeding on other women. But even though they've worked out their personal issues, their dual roles as boss/secretary and vampire/human are still a huge hurdle to overcome. Can Kaya and Kyohei stand up to the disapproval of the business world and the vampire world?!

Review:

The next volume is the last one, so the climax is coming. Things are getting serious, so the next volume should be good.

There was a pregnancy scare in this volume, between Kyohei and Kaya, but then between them and the vampire clan. Kaya’s not, and the possibility doesn’t sound horrible to her, but it would cause trouble with Kyohei, his being a vampire and everything. He doesn’t want that. Which might be good for now, but I hope that they actually talk it out in the next volume. They need to talk about what they both actually want in the future.

The vampire clan is getting serious and causing problems for them, and I’m interested to see how it wraps up in the next volume, since I really am not sure.

There was also an extra chapter at the end featuring President Takasu. It really just showed that he’s a sweet, good guy. It made me actually like him, too, and really see what’s so good about him. And now I want him to have a happy ending, too. 

I’m looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up. I’m also looking forward to Spell of Desire, Tomu Ohmi’s other series being released soon.

Manga Review: Midnight Secretary, Volume 5, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2014

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: Some.

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

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaya thought she had found the perfect job when she became the private secretary of Kyouhei Touma - the director of a tableware company of the same name. Kyouhei is a capable director, but his arrogance and sluttish behavior are almost legendary. Kaya is doing her best to prove that she is capable in her work, but one night, by accident, she discovers his secret... of him being a vampire!

Review:

The first chapter or two of this volume was much like that last few: not very good. It just hasn’t been making me want to read it. I almost even put off buying this volume.

I think the main reason was that I was just not feeling the relationship between the characters. Nothing big was happening between them, it seemed like they both knew Kyohei’s feelings and yet neither were doing anything about it, and their chemistry had just disappeared. At one point in this volume, I was even wondering why Kaya likes him. He was just showing absolutely no likeable characteristics, he wasn’t being nice to her or even welcoming, and yet she was following loyally behind him. It was starting to drive me insane.

But about halfway through the volume, they were finally taking a step forward. Their romance was finally admitted to, Kyohei finally bucked up to his feelings, and even did it publicly. I was finally feeling their relationship, their chemistry, again. It was almost a relief, I was so happy.

Now it seems like they get to become more comfortable romantically with each other, which I look forward. The vampire community, and Kyohei’s family, is what seems to be the next problems. There are only a couple volumes left, so I look forward to seeing how the series ends.

Manga Review: Midnight Secretary, Volume 4, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2014

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: Some.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaya thought she had found the perfect job when she became the private secretary of Kyouhei Touma - the director of a tableware company of the same name. Kyouhei is a capable director, but his arrogance and sluttish behavior are almost legendary. Kaya is doing her best to prove that she is capable in her work, but one night, by accident, she discovers his secret... of him being a vampire!

Review:

I really, really want to like this series. I did at first. But at this point my interest in it is just dwindling, sadly.

I think maybe I’m just not caring for the characters. Or maybe it’s that the plot progression, or at least the romance progression, hasn’t really advanced much. Maybe it’s even that the series is taking itself so seriously, and yet nothing has really moved forward much yet.

A second guy took an active interest in Kaya in this volume, but Kaya turned him down. I do like that Kaya doesn’t dawdle much—she makes up her mind and is honest about it, most of the time. Then we got some personal info on Kyohei, kind of.

There was one point in the volume, though, where Kyohei pissed me off. He practically called Kaya a prostitute, and it got her mad in that scene, but later they just seemed to ignore it. He was just such an asshole about it, a few times throughout the volume, and I just think Kaya isn’t doing enough about it. She just lets it slide by, and I really don’t think she should. It got me a little mad at one point. And really made me want to smack Kyohei.

I will be reading the next volume, and probably seeing the series through to the end, but I’m just not enjoying it as much as I would like, sadly.

Manga Review: Midnight Secretary, Volume 3, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January, 2014

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaya thought she had found the perfect job when she became the private secretary of Kyouhei Touma - the director of a tableware company of the same name. Kyouhei is a capable director, but his arrogance and sluttish behavior are almost legendary. Kaya is doing her best to prove that she is capable in her work, but one night, by accident, she discovers his secret... of him being a vampire!

Review:

This series is going a little slow for me, but I’m still rather enjoying it.

I still like Kaya, and am looking forward to seeing where her stance is in the next volume. I want her to realize Kyohei’s feelings, and I want her to stay firm about her job. I’m looking forward to seeing where that goes in the next book.

I mostly enjoy the interactions between Kaya and Kyohei. There’s quite a bit of sex, and I’d like to see them just getting to know each other some more, although there was a bit of a dry spell between them in this volume. I don’t want to get too into that, but it looks like things will be looking up in the next volume.

I’m not really sure where this is going, mostly. I’m hoping it surprises me. I am liking the growing feelings between the two, though. How Kaya at least admits to herself how she feels, and how it seems like Kyohei is starting to accept his feelings. There were a couple of cute moments between them in this volume. I hope there’s more in the next one. 

I’m looking forward to reading the next book. I want some more development between the two, and I hope it comes soon.