The vampire-romance-comedy-turned-action-manga Rosario+Vampire is back! The battle against Fairy Tale continues directly where Volume 12 left off, spreading wave after wave of ruin from atop the massive sky fortress of Floating Garden.  All the strife that the heroes have endured has led them here, with Moka ready to finally end the horrors of her family's past with Tsukune at her side. Are you ready for some awesome?

No Happy Endings 

The battle against Gyokuro and Kahlua, the villainous mother-and-daughter heads of Fairy Tale, is failing. Both of these deadly beauties have broken all their seals, rapidly proving why they're at the top of Fairy Tale's hierarchy! Tsukune himself has followed suit, breaking his own seals simply to acquire enough power to stand against them. Yet even as his ghoul transformation nears completion, his body continues to deteriorate. He may not even survive long enough to become a monster!

Kahlua also keeps on strutting her stuff on the battlefield. Don't let the fancy white dress and dainty tiara fool you—her getup does not keep her from kicking serious buttocks! (Then again, Moka's got her own formal gown on during the fight... Could it be that vampires also fight hardest when wearing their Sunday best?) 

Not that Kahlua herself isn't basically sobbing through the entire fight. It's hard to blame her. She hates the thought of killing her dear half-sisters, but Gyokuro's got her hooks in too deep for her to resist. After all, her mom's told her to kill so she's gotta kill. 

Gyokuro herself is a serious piece of work. Between instigating a massive war purely for the sake of a petty grudge, turning the gentle Kahlua into a mass-murdering berserker and her constant smug gloating, it’s quite easy to hate her undead guts! Kicking around Tsukune and Moka doesn't help either.

When Worlds Collide

And because things clearly weren’t bad enough, Floating Garden will soon break into the human plane! Gyokuro claims that the impact alone will create a massive crater, flattening several cities instantly. Not to mention that Alucard will devour all life on earth if he gets the chance! Looks like worlds are going to collide...quite literally!

Throughout the fight, Alucard itself continues to be a serious concern as it tears through Floating Garden. It also looks seriously amazing—a massive, ancient vampire that's comprised of pure Lovecraftian terror! All tentacles, teeth and mouths...if this thing was the first vampire, it's easy to see why they entire race is considered S-Class!

Yet even amidst the fighting, we see just how much Tsukune's relationship with Moka has evolved since Rosario+Vampire began. After Tsukune's spent so long hiding behind Moka's skirts, here they both are, side-by-side, on the battlefield! I'm pretty jaded about manga romance, but this was the first time that I actually started thinking these crazy monster kids make a cute couple!

The entire volume is pretty much one massive epic battle punctuated by plot twists and developments. The fight scenes are intense—much more like something out of a mainstream shonen manga. It's hard to believe that this whole story started out as a simple romantic comedy with monsters! I can't wait for the next volume, and who knows, maybe something good will finally happen to these star-crossed lovers!

You can pick up Rosario+Vampire II Volume 13 right here! 

by Chris Turner