Karin...
For some considerable time, I had thoroughly ignored Karin. I did notice it on the store shelves, but, had for some unknown reason decided not to take any interest in the series...
I've rarely met a vampire that I didn't like, so, Karin should have said "buy me", but, for some reason, it didn't. Thankfully, Karin came to my attention at a time when the series is still available for purchase on store shelves (at least here in Philadelphia), so, I bought the series. It's better to be a bit late to the party than to have never gone at all.
John did mention that Karin was difficult to find and could be quite expensive. Although, Karin wasn't all that hard for me to get my hands on, a look at some online sources did reveal that prices for the series are extraordinarily high. Some individual volumes are priced at up to $100 and the complete series box set is priced at up to $380. Not that anyone is actually *paying* such outrageous prices for Karin.
A recent post on the AnimeNation forum regarding horror themed anime in the same vein as the recent theatrical CG animation, Hotel Transylvania, inspired John, a contributor to the AnimeNation forum, to mention Karin:In 21st century Japan, a family of vampires settles down in Japan. They live among humans and sucked their blood quietly and discreetly. However their daughter Karin had a secret that she could not share… She did not suck blood like the rest of her family, instead, she is a blood-MAKING vampire!
Volume 1
Infusion
Karin Maaka leads an ordinary life in spite of the fact that she is from a family of vampires. Unlike the rest of her family, she has no problem with bright lights, sleeps in a bed instead of a coffin and loves to eat garlic. She is such an abnormal vampire that she doesn't even suck blood? she makes it! Everything begins to unravel when she gets uncontrollable urges every time she gets near her classmate, Kenta Usui. Will she hold back the urge to purge or give in to her need to bleed?!
Volume 2
Vampire Hunter
Humans and vampires have been enemies for ages but there is always an exception to the rule. Karin is such an unusual vampire that her family decides to make a gamble and entrust Kenta Usui with watching over her in the daylight hours. Of course, the price for failure would cost him his hide but when the alternative is losing his memories along with basic motor skills, he gratefully agrees to it!
Volume 3
Thicker Than Blood
Karin tries to get along like the rest of her friends but her true nature tends to throw a wrench into the works at every opportunity. A simple study session invokes the ire of her overprotective father, a day on the town reveals hidden secrets from the past and Karin's older brother targets Kenta's mother to prove a point to Karin that she shouldn't long for a life among humankind...
Volume 4
Human or Vampire
Karin goes head to head with her older brother Ren in order to protect Kenta's mother from his not so innocent urge to feed. If you thought Ren was bad, wait until you meet Karin's Grandmother Elda! She makes a beeline for Karin's classmates and has an unnaturally intense desire to feed on Kenta's blood. Only Anju can stop her from taking Kenta's feelings for Karin away!
Volume 5
Ascendance
Karin's family is a real piece of work! Her grandmother continues her assault against the blooming love that Karin and Kenta share and Ren's not so happy coming of age story is revealed to an unbelieving Karin. Could it be true that her oversexed older brother had a relationship with another man?! Things go topsy-turvy and even Karin's best friend Maki joins the fracas with plans of her own to capture Winner's heart.
Volume 6
Ceremony of Blood
It's a family Feud when the Sinclair family relentlessly hunts down the Marker family in an effort to annihilate the vampire clan once and for all! What can one lone girl do when she is struggling with her own life? He best friend has been bitten by her loving sister, she missed meeting with her boyfriend, and her grandmother has found a way to turn her into a true vampire!
The 2005 Karin anime television series, based on the manga by Yuna Kagezaki, was briefly released on domestic DVD by Geneon. However, the show has been out of print domestically for several years and is now quite difficult and expensive to obtain. [Karin is an] ...amusing shoujo-esque comedy about a high-school age vampiress who expels excess blood instead of consuming it...John went on to note that Karin is similar to another earlier series which did not have a U.S. release and which in turn was similar to an even earlier series which also did not have a U.S. release. John then continued to ramble on about other series with a horror/comedy theme. There was one in particular that did have a partial U.S. release, so, I'll have to look into getting at least the first volume of that series.
I've rarely met a vampire that I didn't like, so, Karin should have said "buy me", but, for some reason, it didn't. Thankfully, Karin came to my attention at a time when the series is still available for purchase on store shelves (at least here in Philadelphia), so, I bought the series. It's better to be a bit late to the party than to have never gone at all.
John did mention that Karin was difficult to find and could be quite expensive. Although, Karin wasn't all that hard for me to get my hands on, a look at some online sources did reveal that prices for the series are extraordinarily high. Some individual volumes are priced at up to $100 and the complete series box set is priced at up to $380. Not that anyone is actually *paying* such outrageous prices for Karin.
