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Chibi Vampire: The Novel #1
Chibi Vampire: The Novel, Volume 1
Karin Maaka bites throat like a proper vampire, but where others of her kind need hot red blood, she has too much of it! Every month, she's compelled to inject blood into her victims the way a snake injects venom. And her handsome classmate Kenta Usui makes her feel like she's going to spurt blood like a geyser. Talk about embarrassing!
When Karin's latest victim turns out to be as rich as he is good looking, it causes hilarious chaos at her school. Will she ever live in peace?
The muc talked-about manga is now a supernatural-love-comedy-mystery novel starring our favorite clumsy blood injector, Karin!
When Karin's latest victim turns out to be as rich as he is good looking, it causes hilarious chaos at her school. Will she ever live in peace?
The muc talked-about manga is now a supernatural-love-comedy-mystery novel starring our favorite clumsy blood injector, Karin!
216 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2003
19 people are currently reading
1116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 15, 2014
Chibi Vampire is a popular manga series translated into English by Viz Media. A few years back, before it's closure, Tokyopop translated the light novels based on the manga into English as well and released them in the States. I found online that each novel corresponds to a manga taking place at certain times between them. You could almost read them manga - novel - manga - novel, so on.
Anyways, Chibi Vampire is the story of Karin Maaka, a young girl living in Japan with her vampire family of European descent. But there is one odd thing about Karin - she's a "reverse-vampire". Instead of sucking blood out of a victim, she injects blood into a victim. In the world of Chibi Vampire, being bitten by a vampire is actually a fun experience. When the person awakens, they feel much better with whatever emotional or other problems seemingly resolved. The key is that it isn't really resolved, but the person copes better as their moral or personality flaw is "pushed back" for a time.
All of this is central to the first novel's premise. A young man who is rich, good-looking, and athletic has a really problematic home life right now and so when he falls victim to Karin's blood injection, he only remembers a girl hugging him and then his problems being not as bad. He desperately seeks out this girl and that's where the plot takes off.
I really enjoyed the book though it was a tad disjointed. The first hundred or so pages went by reeeaaaalllyyy slowly, and then the plot picked up and the last hundred pages flew by. I hope the author did a better job in the subsequent novels and I also really hope that some company gets TP's license, so they can translate the last novel that didn't get done when TP went under.
My favorite parts of the novel were getting to see inside the characters' heads, especially Karin and Usui Kenta, her love interest; and also seeing the truth of how much Karin's family really does love her, despite their harshness at times due to the messes she makes. The latter was actually kinda heart-warming, and the former was cool as we saw that Karin and Kenta do care for each other.
Lastly, the illustrations are brilliant and captured the feel of the manga perfectly.
I enjoyed this foray into the universe of Chibi Vampire and look forward to returning sometime.
Anyways, Chibi Vampire is the story of Karin Maaka, a young girl living in Japan with her vampire family of European descent. But there is one odd thing about Karin - she's a "reverse-vampire". Instead of sucking blood out of a victim, she injects blood into a victim. In the world of Chibi Vampire, being bitten by a vampire is actually a fun experience. When the person awakens, they feel much better with whatever emotional or other problems seemingly resolved. The key is that it isn't really resolved, but the person copes better as their moral or personality flaw is "pushed back" for a time.
All of this is central to the first novel's premise. A young man who is rich, good-looking, and athletic has a really problematic home life right now and so when he falls victim to Karin's blood injection, he only remembers a girl hugging him and then his problems being not as bad. He desperately seeks out this girl and that's where the plot takes off.
I really enjoyed the book though it was a tad disjointed. The first hundred or so pages went by reeeaaaalllyyy slowly, and then the plot picked up and the last hundred pages flew by. I hope the author did a better job in the subsequent novels and I also really hope that some company gets TP's license, so they can translate the last novel that didn't get done when TP went under.
My favorite parts of the novel were getting to see inside the characters' heads, especially Karin and Usui Kenta, her love interest; and also seeing the truth of how much Karin's family really does love her, despite their harshness at times due to the messes she makes. The latter was actually kinda heart-warming, and the former was cool as we saw that Karin and Kenta do care for each other.
Lastly, the illustrations are brilliant and captured the feel of the manga perfectly.
I enjoyed this foray into the universe of Chibi Vampire and look forward to returning sometime.
June 4, 2011
This novel is fun, well paced, and cute.
The plot twists aren't completely unexpected and there is a lot of foreshadowing that leads up to them.
Tohru Kai utilizes the character's personalities well, although Karin's clumsiness and embarrassment is turned up a notch.
One of the biggest issues with the novel are all the typos. Obviously this must have been an issue with the Editor whenever they had to proof read it. There are probably over 10 errors in this book and most of them are really noticeable.
As for the writing itself, sometimes things we already know are unnecessarily repeated. The change of perspective from Karin to Kenta is done particularly well and advances the story smoothly.
This is a good novel but is far from perfect or amazing. It's another one of those fun reads that can be read to ease the tension of a far more serious book.
Enjoyment: 4/5 stars
Story Itself: 4/5 stars
The plot twists aren't completely unexpected and there is a lot of foreshadowing that leads up to them.
Tohru Kai utilizes the character's personalities well, although Karin's clumsiness and embarrassment is turned up a notch.
One of the biggest issues with the novel are all the typos. Obviously this must have been an issue with the Editor whenever they had to proof read it. There are probably over 10 errors in this book and most of them are really noticeable.
As for the writing itself, sometimes things we already know are unnecessarily repeated. The change of perspective from Karin to Kenta is done particularly well and advances the story smoothly.
This is a good novel but is far from perfect or amazing. It's another one of those fun reads that can be read to ease the tension of a far more serious book.
Enjoyment: 4/5 stars
Story Itself: 4/5 stars
February 2, 2022
Not to repeat what I wrote in my other review, but Chibi Vampire is about...
Karin Maaka is a "reverse vampire" or an "un-vampire" meaning she comes from a family of vampires except she can walk in the sun, is unaffected by garlic, and she even produces blood that she injects into people rather than sucking it. In this world, vampires have a type of blood that they're attracted to and it turns out Karin is attracted to misfortune/depression. When the new transfer student, Kenta Usui, arrives, Karin's blood reacts to him and the two have to figure out their relationship as an un-vampire and a human ally.
Chibi Vampire is originally a manga that was later adapted into an anime in the early 2000s that I absolutely adored. The anime wasn't great. I thought it was mediocre even as a young teen, but I always loved the manga. I still do after a recent re-read of the series when I started collecting the out-of-print manga series at the end of 2021. During my collecting, I discovered that the manga had a series of companion novels that took place between each volume. I had some loyalty points on an online book site that was going to expire so I thought "why not?" and ordered Chibi Vampire: The Novel volume 1 & 2.
Volume 2 arrived first so I read that and uploaded my review. Now I've finally finished Volume 1.
And it was bizarre.
So one night while Karin is trying to find someone to bite, she stumbles upon some rich high school senior named Youichiro. After biting him and wiping his memories, Yourchiro still had vague memories of Karin and devised a plan wherein his butler would chloroform girls from Karin's high school - because he remembered and recognized Karin's school uniform but not Karin herself - and he would embrace them in search of Karin. So think of Cinderella except it's a dude chloroforming and hugging girls instead of making girls try on a shoe. After realizing his kidnapping plan isn't sustainable or effective long-term, Youichiro transfers to the school and inserts himself into a love triangle with Karin and Kenta.
This story was over the top and weirdly fun at the same time. I can definitely picture something like this happening in a mediocre shoujo anime or manga. It was way better written than the second novelization for sure. Like the writing was pretty decent other than a couple of grammatical errors and an odd simile or two.
I have to say that the funniest inconsistency is when Youichiro explained how his dad has been in a coma for the last few months and his mom has been in Europe the entire time. Well, at one point, Youichiro said that he was desperate to find Karin because after their embrace in the park, he felt happier and that his luck improved. If you recall or know anything about Chibi Vampire, it's because Karin is attracted to depression and she temporarily sucks out a person's depression when she bites them. Anyway, Youichiro goes on a whole spiel about how he was so happy after the embrace that he was able to make amends with his friend... and get his parents to talk even though they were estranged. HOW is it possible that he got his PARENTS to speak to one another if his FATHER has been in a COMA FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS?!
"'If you must know, my father's in the hospital. [...] He's been in a coma for months'" (page 156).
"'[...]I was able to get my parents talking to each other again. Is it so wrong to want that type of good fortune again'" (page 157)?
What?! XD
And keep in mind that Karin only bit Youichiro a month a go so based off of that timeline, there's no possible way his parents spoke to each other if his father has been in a coma and his mother has been in Europe.
The most unsettling part of this novelization is when Karin is kidnapped by Youichiro's scheming uncle and backstabbing butler.
It's especially weird to read about when you go to the author's note in the end where the author discussed how she disagreed with a bunch of high school girls who sat cross-legged in their skirts and yelled at men who leered at them. She said how "cute girls" are the ones who blush and get embarrassed about stuff like that. Pretty weird to write about the author's opinion on proper young girls' behaviour towards leering men after she wrote a scene where the main character was almost raped by a man.
Another complaint that I have is that Anju's character is off. In both novelizations, Anju is pretty mean towards Karin, which would never happen in the anime or manga. Anju adores Karin and would never treat her older sister like she did. Just had to get that off of my chest.
This is the second Chibi Vampire novelization in a row where Karin is kidnapped and saved by Kenta by the way. Like if I had a nickel for every time Karin was kidnapped and saved by Kenta, I'd have two nickels (so far since I don't plan on reading the other novelizations), but it's still weird that it happened twice.
Karin Maaka is a "reverse vampire" or an "un-vampire" meaning she comes from a family of vampires except she can walk in the sun, is unaffected by garlic, and she even produces blood that she injects into people rather than sucking it. In this world, vampires have a type of blood that they're attracted to and it turns out Karin is attracted to misfortune/depression. When the new transfer student, Kenta Usui, arrives, Karin's blood reacts to him and the two have to figure out their relationship as an un-vampire and a human ally.
Chibi Vampire is originally a manga that was later adapted into an anime in the early 2000s that I absolutely adored. The anime wasn't great. I thought it was mediocre even as a young teen, but I always loved the manga. I still do after a recent re-read of the series when I started collecting the out-of-print manga series at the end of 2021. During my collecting, I discovered that the manga had a series of companion novels that took place between each volume. I had some loyalty points on an online book site that was going to expire so I thought "why not?" and ordered Chibi Vampire: The Novel volume 1 & 2.
Volume 2 arrived first so I read that and uploaded my review. Now I've finally finished Volume 1.
And it was bizarre.
So one night while Karin is trying to find someone to bite, she stumbles upon some rich high school senior named Youichiro. After biting him and wiping his memories, Yourchiro still had vague memories of Karin and devised a plan wherein his butler would chloroform girls from Karin's high school - because he remembered and recognized Karin's school uniform but not Karin herself - and he would embrace them in search of Karin. So think of Cinderella except it's a dude chloroforming and hugging girls instead of making girls try on a shoe. After realizing his kidnapping plan isn't sustainable or effective long-term, Youichiro transfers to the school and inserts himself into a love triangle with Karin and Kenta.
This story was over the top and weirdly fun at the same time. I can definitely picture something like this happening in a mediocre shoujo anime or manga. It was way better written than the second novelization for sure. Like the writing was pretty decent other than a couple of grammatical errors and an odd simile or two.
I have to say that the funniest inconsistency is when Youichiro explained how his dad has been in a coma for the last few months and his mom has been in Europe the entire time. Well, at one point, Youichiro said that he was desperate to find Karin because after their embrace in the park, he felt happier and that his luck improved. If you recall or know anything about Chibi Vampire, it's because Karin is attracted to depression and she temporarily sucks out a person's depression when she bites them. Anyway, Youichiro goes on a whole spiel about how he was so happy after the embrace that he was able to make amends with his friend... and get his parents to talk even though they were estranged. HOW is it possible that he got his PARENTS to speak to one another if his FATHER has been in a COMA FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS?!
"'If you must know, my father's in the hospital. [...] He's been in a coma for months'" (page 156).
"'[...]I was able to get my parents talking to each other again. Is it so wrong to want that type of good fortune again'" (page 157)?
What?! XD
And keep in mind that Karin only bit Youichiro a month a go so based off of that timeline, there's no possible way his parents spoke to each other if his father has been in a coma and his mother has been in Europe.
The most unsettling part of this novelization is when Karin is kidnapped by Youichiro's scheming uncle and backstabbing butler.
It's especially weird to read about when you go to the author's note in the end where the author discussed how she disagreed with a bunch of high school girls who sat cross-legged in their skirts and yelled at men who leered at them. She said how "cute girls" are the ones who blush and get embarrassed about stuff like that. Pretty weird to write about the author's opinion on proper young girls' behaviour towards leering men after she wrote a scene where the main character was almost raped by a man.
Another complaint that I have is that Anju's character is off. In both novelizations, Anju is pretty mean towards Karin, which would never happen in the anime or manga. Anju adores Karin and would never treat her older sister like she did. Just had to get that off of my chest.
This is the second Chibi Vampire novelization in a row where Karin is kidnapped and saved by Kenta by the way. Like if I had a nickel for every time Karin was kidnapped and saved by Kenta, I'd have two nickels (so far since I don't plan on reading the other novelizations), but it's still weird that it happened twice.
September 17, 2022
One of my favorite mangas ever!
I read it last summer and I remember how addicted I was to it even after I finished.
So vampires are pretty cool as long as they don't look like diamonds in the sunlight, am I right?
Well this is like that. Karin is a vampire and the rest of her family is too. However Karin has the ability to walk in the sunlight and because of that she becomes the only member of her family that is awake during the daylight hours. She meets a human boy that she falls in love with. THe4 only problem is that is she does not bite a human to give them blood then Karin will have a really explosive nose bleed.
I read it last summer and I remember how addicted I was to it even after I finished.
So vampires are pretty cool as long as they don't look like diamonds in the sunlight, am I right?
Well this is like that. Karin is a vampire and the rest of her family is too. However Karin has the ability to walk in the sunlight and because of that she becomes the only member of her family that is awake during the daylight hours. She meets a human boy that she falls in love with. THe4 only problem is that is she does not bite a human to give them blood then Karin will have a really explosive nose bleed.
August 13, 2020
It was way darker than expected...
OK, so... I bought this novel back in January 2017. I was curious about Karin but I didn't want to read the manga: I wanted to read my first light novel. The book arrived in February 2017 and it rested nicely on a pile on unread books till two days ago. You know, last week I bought the whole manga series online. The add promised the complete series but I realized the sixth volume was missing. The seller reimbursed me but I wanted something to read while waiting for a new number six coming to my place. And I saw this novel on its pile.
I had to tape it together because it's a rather tattered copy but it still can be read.
I didn't like the fact that Karin is way clumsier in the book: she always falls down showing her panties to the guys around her. But I like the story and the new protagonist, whose name I can't remember exactly.
I thought it was something funny but it deals with kidnapping and raping young girls.
Too many typos and if I noticed them (in English), the editing must be bad.
I'll try to collect the other novels if they aren't too expensive.
OK, so... I bought this novel back in January 2017. I was curious about Karin but I didn't want to read the manga: I wanted to read my first light novel. The book arrived in February 2017 and it rested nicely on a pile on unread books till two days ago. You know, last week I bought the whole manga series online. The add promised the complete series but I realized the sixth volume was missing. The seller reimbursed me but I wanted something to read while waiting for a new number six coming to my place. And I saw this novel on its pile.
I had to tape it together because it's a rather tattered copy but it still can be read.
I didn't like the fact that Karin is way clumsier in the book: she always falls down showing her panties to the guys around her. But I like the story and the new protagonist, whose name I can't remember exactly.
I thought it was something funny but it deals with kidnapping and raping young girls.
Too many typos and if I noticed them (in English), the editing must be bad.
I'll try to collect the other novels if they aren't too expensive.
August 8, 2019
This was a book that I had read back when I was in middle school. I love it the first time I read it and it really stuck with me, probably cuz it was my first light novel. I was at a friend's house and he had the book and told him how much I had loved it when I first read it. He sad to give it another read and with older eyes and an older mind I can tell you why I loved this book so much.
I love it because of the "awkward" drama and over the top anime antics. When I read those parts I smiled because I remembered the enjoyment I had of reading it for the first time. Giving it a second look those over the top anime antics got annoying by about the fifth time of her being clumsy. This is also by no means a word smiths work. The translation is bare, you know what's going on just nothing imaginative about word choice or visuals. The story itself was very feel good and entertaining with a nicely wrapped ending. I would describe this book as a silly anime that makes you smile.
I love it because of the "awkward" drama and over the top anime antics. When I read those parts I smiled because I remembered the enjoyment I had of reading it for the first time. Giving it a second look those over the top anime antics got annoying by about the fifth time of her being clumsy. This is also by no means a word smiths work. The translation is bare, you know what's going on just nothing imaginative about word choice or visuals. The story itself was very feel good and entertaining with a nicely wrapped ending. I would describe this book as a silly anime that makes you smile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2019
Cute story, easy to read, a few glitches with odd typo's/wrong words picked in the translation. Be warned though that it gets a bit close to the knuckle if you are thinking about letting a child read the book. Maybe read it first, then decide if its suitable reading for a teen/youngster.
October 9, 2011
Review: One day, Karin is out in the park when she feels e need to inject her blood into a passer by(because otherwise it'll all come out of her as one giant nosebleed). And so she does. In the next few weeks, the girls from her school start being kidnapped. And at the same time, rich senior Youichiro comes along, and everyone starts fawning over him. And it's up to Karin and Kenta to find out what's going on.
This is a light novel to accompany the Chibi Vampire manga series by Yuna Kagasaki. It helps if you have you've read the manga or seen the anime, as there are no character intros so you may be a bit lost at the start. The whole book is short and sweet, introducing and writing out Youichiro. On top of this, there are kidnappings, mystery and a bit of romance, so something for everyone.
Youichiro throughout seemed a little boring. I didn't get very attached to him and in the brief love triangle, I was rooting for Kenta throughout.
The writing meant that this novel was really easy to skim without missing anything. With that and the length of the book, this is easily a one-sit read.
The characters from the manga were kept in character, with Kenta and Karin continuing their awkward almost-romance, and Anju and the rest of the Maaka/Marker family staying the same as ever.
The new characters, we got a good idea of their backgrounds and motives. The twists and turns and the sub-plot with Youichiro and his staff was very interesting and while I didn't mind that he was written out by the end, I think their characters developed a fair bit.
Overall: Strength 3 tea to a must for fans of the Chibi Vampire/Karin franchise. Anyone else should read this if they want a quick, lighthearted vampire novel.
This is a light novel to accompany the Chibi Vampire manga series by Yuna Kagasaki. It helps if you have you've read the manga or seen the anime, as there are no character intros so you may be a bit lost at the start. The whole book is short and sweet, introducing and writing out Youichiro. On top of this, there are kidnappings, mystery and a bit of romance, so something for everyone.
Youichiro throughout seemed a little boring. I didn't get very attached to him and in the brief love triangle, I was rooting for Kenta throughout.
The writing meant that this novel was really easy to skim without missing anything. With that and the length of the book, this is easily a one-sit read.
The characters from the manga were kept in character, with Kenta and Karin continuing their awkward almost-romance, and Anju and the rest of the Maaka/Marker family staying the same as ever.
The new characters, we got a good idea of their backgrounds and motives. The twists and turns and the sub-plot with Youichiro and his staff was very interesting and while I didn't mind that he was written out by the end, I think their characters developed a fair bit.
Overall: Strength 3 tea to a must for fans of the Chibi Vampire/Karin franchise. Anyone else should read this if they want a quick, lighthearted vampire novel.
August 14, 2007
This book is definitely worth checking out if you're already a fan of the manga or anime series. The novels are set between the manga volumes so having knowledge of them is a requisite. This was actually a fairly well written book. Not literary reading of course, but definitely worth the few hours it takes to read. The characterization was right on with the manga and the increased interaction that you see between the characters is a definite plus.
June 28, 2009
Gaa! I love it! The novel is way better than the manga! It's at much at a faster pace! Tohru Kai took Chibi Vampire and reinvented it. Made it more fun and adventurous. She really grasped all the characters personality's. Maybe went a little over board with the whole "Karin-Is-Embarrassed" thing, but besides that the novel is eye gluing.
January 2, 2013
I would definitely recommend this novel if you are looking for a romantic-comedy. It's very cute and it does contain some drama, but not too much. It's about a not-so-average teenage girl surviving life as a normal person, but has to deal with her vampire urges. Thankfully, She got her family and her "friend" backing her up. Overall, Its a pretty good novel.
Read
February 23, 2016I think that the book was really good. It's much different than other story that I have read, I actually like it and would like to recommend it to people who likes reading manga but everyone like their own type of manga so it really depends. The story have funny twist to it, its very interesting. If you need a break from work this would be a fun book to read and relax.
June 18, 2016
Karen's life takes a real fun turn he a boy mistakes her as Lady Luck after she bites him one time. Usually when Karen bites someone her sister or other members of the family erase any memory of Karen. This boy was able to partially break that memory erase spell. I will not go any further. This book just gets too good that I do not want to spoil it completely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2007
So far i like the book. Karin and Kenta are a lot more real in the novel. This is because their thoughts are more visible. So I don't exactly have to book with me, but when I do get the book I would like to finish reading it.
March 16, 2009
I good story of an reverse vampire teen called Karin who has to bite someone in order to her blood flow and Kenta, a new student, causes her blood flow to loss control. And a new boys comes in sreach of her to find out if she is his love match or not.
Want to read
December 8, 2010I really want to read this one because if it's as good as everything else then this has got to be just as good. It's a different story than to the manga. It has new characters and plot. It's a novel which means that I won't take as long.
June 4, 2007
Cute book and a quick read.
May 6, 2008
I loved it. I love how it iw backwards. Plus what is better then a manga turned into a novel? i can read the manga, novel, AND watch the anime. YAY.
October 23, 2008
I like this book it's really funny so far. ^^
November 29, 2008
Preety good book I would have liked if the hot guy stayed I forgot his name
Read
January 31, 2010About a odd vampire girl who falls in love with this boy who she can't help embarrassing herself in front of.
August 12, 2017
this is one of the coolest vampire novels ever made;aside from vampire academy of coures.it had a litle of everything but I wish and hope theirs a countinuation.
August 31, 2010
Despite myself, I am a fan of the manga. I will be trying to get my hands on the second volume.
Read
December 27, 2010F TOH cvtn bk.1
January 21, 2011
This girl needs to get over her issues because the constant embarrassment, especially when it's not embarrassing at all, is annoying.
November 13, 2011
it was Different then the mangas... but it was like its own STORY!!!! loved it!!!! have to read the others
August 16, 2012
karin is soooooooooooo cute
October 5, 2012
A fun read and I enjoy the side story compared to the manga. It's nice to get a different perspective instead of following the exact storyline from the manga.
December 11, 2012
gross and messed up but still funny.
April 29, 2015
Great book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews