Call of the Night/Yofukashi no Uta by Kotoyama

I ran into someone that I’ve been on anime panels on with in the past at CONvergence (a local-to-me / Minneapolis science fiction convention) this last weekend, and I asked him what he’d been watching. He recommended Call of the Night/ Yofukashi no Uta, a story about an insomniac boy who meets a strange vampire girl.

SPOILERS

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As I said in a later e-mail, the moment that sold this story to me, was this:

In which our middle school hero, Yamori Ko, is attempting to get help on how to deal with his insomnia and is told to consider taking any emotional problems to people he trusts. This made me laugh? Probably because it is also followed by a number of adults suggesting a liberal application of alcohol (the three people, I suspect, that we see later passed out on a park bench). Also, Yamori is very sympathetic here–who hasn’t hoped to get answers from the internet and has only gotten terrible or useless advice?

One of the things I actually found quite charming about this story was the fact that Yamori really loves the feeling of wandering around after dark. We will later meet Yamori’s childhood friend, Asai Akira, who has a similar take, but from the other side of the clock. She likes to get up super early.

When I was a middle schooler, I was actually Asai.

All of the rest of my friends were like Yamori. Either unable to sleep or just general night owls. I was a morning lark and would get up and get out the door an hour or two before the sun rose. I was particularly fond of strolling the empty streets of the small town of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in the strange light of false dawn.

So, when Kotoyama-sensei describes the eerie, yet special feeling of being out and about in non-standard times, when the streets are hushed, and the rest of the world is asleep, I really felt it in my bones, you know?

So, kind of unexpected? To be so moved to remember that feeling?

Although this manga is an award winner, having won the 2022 Shogakukan Manga Award in the shounen catagory, so maybe I’m not alone. The story itself is very compelling. Initially, it seems like the story isn’t going to be very original. When Yamori finally makes friends with Nanakusa Nazuna, the vampire, he thinks the answer to his problems is to become a vampire, which can only happen if he falls in love with Nanakusa.

And, I mean, she’s such a charmer, how could you not?

But, what follows is kind of an interesting exploration of the differences between lust, love, friendship, and all the other complicated feelings that people have for those we like.

And of course, there’s a complication. There’s a time limit. Once he’s been bitten (which happened the first night they meet,) Yamori only has a year to figure out how to fall in love.

In the meantime, however, Yamori and Nanakusa have adventures. They meet other vampires with interesting stories, discover the threat of a hunter who is capable of killing vampires, and solve mysteries. Yes, they solve some simple mysteries and it’s kind of cute?

I was surprised how much I liked this one. The manga series is on-going in Japan. There is also an anime, so you can consume this one however you like. I will say that I was initially un-fond of the art (I didn’t hate it, but there are a lot of panty shots, etc.,) but it eventually grew on me (and I was able to ignore the skads of half-naked ladies.)

But, hey, bonus: if you’re into half-naked ladies this one might be for you!

So, in short, I recommend this. The story was compelling and cute and occasionally made me feel like it’d been too long since I was out after dark.