User:Mangakjd/How to Seduce a Vampire

How to Seduce a Vampire (吸血鬼に愛される方法.) is a one-volume Japanese yaoi manga written by Nimosaku Shimada. It was released in Japan on November 12, 2007, published by Oakla Publishing Co., Ltd.. In the US, Digital Manga Publishing bought How to Seduce a Vampire under their Juné boys' love imprint. The volume was released in the US on January 27, 2010.

The volume itself is a collection of short stories. The first story, the main story, is a love story between Masatsuna Watanabe and Kureha Mizuo, involving vampires. The second story is called Tiger and Dragon. The story revolves around a shogun, Yue Lan, and a wanderer, Wei. The third story is a story of cosplay fighting. It is called Strobe Lights. The main pairing in this story is between Hayabusa and Takamiya.

Kureha Mizuo (formerly Kureha Ibaraki)
In contemporary Japan, Mizuo encounters Watanabe. He was born in Settsu, Mizuo Village. His parents' whereabouts are unknown. He was adopted by a barber's family and left before agreeing to take over the business. In the past, he killed Sōichirō Yamashiro's father, a master blacksmith who was given the task by the emperor to forge a demon-cutting sword. Originally, his aim was to end that blacksmith's bloodline. However, he met Sōichirō. He grew to like Sōichirō and ended up feeling guilty for killing his father. He helps Sōichirō finish the demon cutting sword. After Sōichirō discovered that Kureha had killed his father, he left Kureha with a demon-cutting dagger that his father forged and made him promise to never enter their land again.

In the story, he has his own barber shop. Vampires also go to his shop to get their haircuts because only Kureha possessed the unique cutting shears that could cut a vampire's hair.

Masatsuna Watanabe
Watanabe's ancestors (namely Sōichirō Yamashiro) were village blacksmiths, and a bloodline of demon slayers. They were known to be able to forge demon-cutting weapons. Before he met Kureha, he was unemployed. The fateful encounter resulted in him working as an assistant at Kureha's barber shop. They develop a sexual relationship.

Lon'yeh
He is a vampire born in the farther west of China. In the past, he resided at Mount Ōōeh in Tanba. In this region, he was known as Gedoh-maru.

Criticism
While How to Seduce a Vampire is a yaoi title, it is claimed to not be very yaoi-like at all. Shimada's style seems to be based on subtle interaction with a few light scenes here and there. Thus, leading to the argument that Shimada's style lacks closure. Her approach to the main storyline was good, striking at the readers' interest; however, she failed to complete the ending for the readers to feel fulfilled.

As a result of the "incomplete" ending from the first story, the critics claim that the reader would get the first and second story mixed up. The setting seems closely related to the first story; however, it is a completely different story.

Another flaw noted by Kristen is the goofy humor found in the "moderately serious storyline."