This volume starts out with some serious drama centered around the fallout from the recent vampire battle. After seeing his childhood friend Mika as a vampire, Yuichiro kinda went beserk and turned into a scary monster for a bit. And now that’s he’s reverted back to his normal human form, people have questions. And not just regular folks, people of power—the much-feared Hiragi Family.

Although the volume is pretty talk heavy, the interview with the Hiragi Family, specifically Kureto, yields some juicy bits. Kureto comes off as cold, arrogant and almost sadistic, yet by the end of the interview, it’s hard not to like him (at least a little bit). And Yuichiro continues his unwavering love and desire to protect his friends, which may put off some, but it’s played well here and makes him seem cooler and less of a hero who yells about protecting everyone all the time.

In the next story segment, Yuichiro gets some much-needed training (and explainin’) with his Cursed Gear. But his lesson is cut short when Guren arrives and lays down some harsh words. It’s more talking, but we get to find out more about the world overall, and Yuichiro’s place in it. And we get to see some really cool Cursed Gear weapons.

The art in this volume is a eye-pleasing as ever. It really stands above many other manga in this regard. That may come from the fact that the artist has more time to concentrate on the art, since other contributors do the story and storyboards. It’s very stylistic and meticulously detailed. Great texture use too, especially on the Cursed Gear weapons. It gives them a truly demonic look that stands out from the stark backgrounds.

The volume comes with a beautiful color pull-out poster of Kureto Hiragi, his blonde handsome brother Shinya and Yuichiro. As for other extras, there are some character descriptions in the back.

This is definitely a story-driven volume of Seraph, but it’s got some dramatic moments and opens up the world a little more.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign volume 5 is available here. 

by Ryan Green