Movies - Karin

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Karin (manga)

	Movies - Karin

is a manga by Kagezaki Yuna, which has also been adapted into an anime. The series is a romantic horror-comedy.

The story revolves around the main character, Karin, the middle child in a family of vampires who emigrated to Japan two centuries earlier. However, Karin is different from the rest of the family in that she produces blood instead of feeding on it. Because of her unusual condition, Karin lives her life just as an ordinary teenage girl would, despite being considered something of a freak by her family. She is able to venture outside during the day and attend high school, and follows the sleep pattern of normal humans. However, the general peacefulness of her life is disrupted with the arrival of a new transfer student.

Karin is something of an anomaly in vampire literature, in that it depicts vampires as positive forces rather than evil beings. In the series, each vampire has his or her own blood preference based on the prevailing trait of the human beings on whom they feed. For example, Karin's preference is unhappiness, so she is attracted to unhappy people. If a vampire feeds on a person with depression, that person will temporarily develop an optimistic personality, although the effect wears off over time. Karin also refers to countermeasures against vampires as mentioned in classic vampire mythology, attempting to explain their efficacy.

The manga is serialized in Japan in Dragon Age magazine, and has been licensed by TOKYOPOP under the name Chibi Vampire . The anime series began airing in November 2005 on WOWOW. Despite the fanservice-style nature of the opening credits, Karin should not be confused with the OVA adult-only title Karen.

Characters

Maaka Karin (Karin Marker) is a 'blood-producing' vampire; her blood levels increase dramatically whenever she senses unhappiness in those around her, or if she gets embarrassed about something. This results in frequent nosebleeds. She doesn't suck blood from her 'victims'; rather, she injects her surplus into them instead. This has the effect of making her victims very lively and positive. Unlike the rest of her family, Karin is a daywalker and goes to the local high school. She works part-time at Julian's Restaurant.

Maaka Anju is Karin's little sister, very much in the Gothic Lolita mold. She is often seen carrying Boogie-kun, a talking, cleaver-wielding blue-haired doll. Anju is very soft-spoken, and her vampiric nature has not yet been fully awakened. She controls a horde of bats, which watch over Karin during the day, and she also has the power to erase the memories of humans, a power which Karin herself does not have. Based on her behavior, she appears to be the most mature member of the Maaka family. Anju is very attached to her sister and occasionally becomes jealous of those who are close to Karin.

Maaka Ren is Karin's older brother, a bit of a lounge lizard with an eye for the ladies (especially those who are stressed, as stress is his blood preference). He is scornful of Karin's condition and considers her to be almost a non-vampire. Ren's only fear is Elda Maaka.

Henry Maaka is Karin's father. He is somewhat henpecked by his wife, but fiercely protective of Karin, whom he still sees as his little girl. He prefers the blood of conceited people.

Carrera Maaka is the family matriarch. She is quite domineering and usually keeps her husband under her thumb. Her preference is the blood of liars, which she drinks like a fine wine.

Boogie-kun is Anju's sarcastic talking doll. He often tells Karin how useless she is, which usually leads to Anju punishing him. The other dolls in Anju's room also talk and have their own personalities, but Boogie-kun seems to be her favorite.

Usui Kenta is the only human to date who has discovered Karin's secret, and the two have developed a close friendship, as Karin's blood doesn't increase when he's happy. Usui-kun also works at Julian's. He has a permanently scared, beady-eyed look. His family situation is depressing and at first he was often unhappy, causing Karin's blood to increase whenever she was around him. After he discovered that she was a vampire, albeit a blood-producing one, the pair agreed to help each other: now he keeps her true nature a secret, and she keeps him 'happy' by preparing him bento or lunch boxes every day. As Karin 'feeds' Usui's happiness, her blood levels also stay normal. Karin has learned to depend on Usui-kun in any situation.

Usui Fumio is Kenta's mother, who is constantly losing her job because of her sex appeal. Her employers often make advances on her which she always refuses, and this leads to her being fired. She is often very depressed.

Winner Sinclair is a vampire hunter from a long line of hunters. Winner's character appears only in the anime, not in the manga. He transfers to Karin's school and falls in love with her at first sight, constantly making romantic overtures toward her. Despite being a vampire hunter, he hasn't the slightest clue about Karin's true nature as he is blinded by love. There is a reason for this: while Winner wasn't much of a hunter as a child, he met a girl with whom he shared his first kiss. As a hunter rejuvenated by the first flush of love, he redoubled his efforts. However, the girl he "kissed" was (unbeknownst to him) actually a young Karin, who bit him and injected her blood into him. The effect of her blood seems to have been permanent in Winner's case; in keeping with the series premise, instead of a vampire siring another vampire, an anti-vampire has sired a vampire hunter—albeit an overly-enthusiastic and largely ineffectual one.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Karin (manga) ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Karin (manga); it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Movies - Karin

Characters

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay