Light spoilers and vague discussion of the conclusion ahead

This is the first manga where I’ve felt the need to give an in depth review to collect my thoughts. Reading the first 70 or so chapters, I was convinced that this would be one of my favourite manga of all time. The story takes place almost entirely at night, and the artwork beautifully captures the feeling of peaceful melancholy I feel when I’m up late alone; this story had me walking around my local park at 3am, drinking in the feeling of peaceful solitude evoked in the first chapter. The night truly feels like its own world, an escape from the mundane stresses of the daytime. This dreamlike feeling feeds into the supernatural elements of the story perfectly.
The pitch for the story is refreshingly simple, and lends itself to fun shenanigans and character interactions. The dynamic between the two main characters (Ko and Nezuna) is one of the best I’ve ever read, and the greatest strength of this manga. For the first 60 or so chapters we primarily view the story through the eyes of Ko, with minimal insight on Nezuna’s perspective on their relationship. This provides great insight into Ko’s psyche, how he views Nezuna, and how his feelings are evolving as their connection continues to develop. I loved what Nezuna brought to the story in this period. On the surface, she is a mischievous, fun-loving vampire outcast that wants to suck Ko’s tasty blood. However, the author sprinkles in just enough panels and dialogue that allude to something deeper beneath the surface for her character that left me wanting more. Once Nezuna’s feelings towards Ko are explored in depth for the first time, it beautifully recontextualizes the beginning of the story and their relationship until that point. Had the series continued in this slice of life/romance direction for another 30 to 50 chapters and concluded with the main characters coming to terms with their feelings in a meaningful way, this would have been an all-time great story for me.

Unfortunately, the second half of this manga loses what made the first part so special and unique. It steers too far into the battle shounen formula which I found to be much less interesting than the simple, character based storytelling present in the first half. The relationship between Nezuna and Ko is the heart of this manga, and it often felt like I was skimming through chapters in order to get back to the slice of life fun that drew me into the series to begin with. The author gives too much attention to the specific mechanics of vampirism. For example, a chapter is spent explaining how difficult it is to phase through walls. This was not only unnecessary, it detracts from the otherworldly feeling of the supernatural present earlier on in the story. Less is more in this case, and the vampires ended up as more of a fantasy race than a mysterious, bewitching part of the night, existing in the shadows of human society. The second half also introduces several characters that, while generally likeable in their own right, failed to meaningfully expand on the themes and main character dynamic which cluttered the story somewhat.
Finally, the ending. I was prepared for the ending to be bittersweet, but what we got felt incomplete and unsatisfying. The story spends time emphasising how love between vampires and humans is always doomed to fail. At the same time, it is also built up that Nezuna and Ko are exceptions to many of the rules that normally apply to the natural and supernatural in this world. Instead of these elements coming into play to provide a satisfying conclusion, they go mostly ignored. As such, I can’t help but feel that many plot points were pointless in hindsight. Why bother breaking the established rules of the world if they are ultimately inconsequential?
The juxtaposition between the heartwarming and melancholy, and the ethereal and tangible in the first half of the story is so striking, and will stick with me for a long time to come. The characters, artwork, setting, and dialogue blend together exceptionally for a spectacular reading experience. I should note here that the story was never outright bad- the characters remained endearing, and the artwork was consistently great. However, it is truly unfortunate that the series lost what made it so special to become a more generic and bloated battle shounen with an unsatisfying conclusion that disregards many of the key details previously established with respect to the supernatural.