Rosario + Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda

Poor Tsuknune. He’s a C student whose sent off to a monster school in the boondocks by his ignorant parents.

Rosario+Vampire starts out great, with a spooky bus ride complete with freaky bus driver spouting out inside jokes and warnings. Tsukune is let off in a desolate area where the leave-less trees are full of crows. As he follows the bone lined path towards the spooky looking haunted castle, a girl on a bike slams into him. Moka is a vampire girl who happens to feed on him five minutes after they meet. Once Tsukune makes it to school grounds, he learns Moka is not the only vampire.

Yokai academy is a school for monsters, but there’s not a goth in sight. These monsters are all pretty preps with hidden powers and vicious tempers. Tsukune must hide the fact that he is a mortal if he wants to stay alive.

There are werewolves, succubus, and different types of vampires in this tale, but the most terrifying monsters at the school are the mermaids. Yes, you heard me right. Normally beautiful buxom blonds and redheads with alluring eyes and undeniable beauty, the mermaids in this manga are devils in disguise. The seemingly innocent girls sprout fins from their ears and their months expand to cover almost their entire face with two rows of shark teeth intent on sucking the life force from whatever they latch onto in the water.

Vampire lore in this manga states that water (even swimming pool water) makes vampires weak because of its purifying quality. To take a bath, vampires must add an herb mix to neutralize the purifying effects. The vampire Moka also wears a “Rosario” necklace which when removed, unlocks her vampire powers and she turns into a mega hot super bitch.

Favorite moments:

• Tsukune: “Where did you get this (school) flyer?”
  Mom: “Well, there was this scary looking monk and…”
  Tsukune: “I don’t want to go to some bizarre monk school!”
  (But a school with hot vamp girls is alright?)

• A kid in class pipes up and asks his cat woman teacher a smart alack question. She in turn, scratches his eyes out, giggles, and then continues with her class.

True horror fans will adore this manga for its artistic detail in the haunted house-like school, raven filled trees, and elaborate monsters. There is an awful lot of chibi content. Luckily most of it makes you laugh, not groan. Rosario + Vampire is rated older teen, I suppose because of its panty shots and big chests rather than for violence.

Get your copy from Amazon here:  Rosario+Vampire