By Kous Sasakura
Tokyopop, 172 pp.
Rating: Teen (13 +)

First off, I love Castlevania. It was the first NES game that I really fell in love with, and the subsequent follow ups, sequels and prequels really left an indelible mark upon my developing mind. It’s a fantastic game series and one that hasn’t really fared well in being adapted to other mediums in the past–which is odd, since it’s basically your classic vampire hunter tale. With all that in mind I actually had high hopes for this manga, mostly due to the surprisingly good Street Fighter manga series that have been coming out. They had predisposed me to Japanese video game manga adaptions. Was I right to be optimistic about this book? Well…

Based upon the long-running video game franchise of the same name, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness seems to be a prequel to the game that bears the same name. It tells the tale of two generals in Dracula’s army, Hector, who turns against his master, and Isaac, the servant sent to retrieve or kill Hector if need be.

The story is set between Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and the Castlevania: Curse of Darkness games, which puts it at some point in 15th century Europe. Dracula’s forces are sweeping out from his castle, slowly invading neighboring Eastern European countries and doing battle with various human armies that are forming to oppose him. The plot revolves around Hector, a powerful figure in Dracula’s army who suddenly goes missing. Of course, Dracula’s not too happy about this and he sends another powerful servant, Isaac, out in search of him. Both are humans and “Devil Forgers,” humans with the ability to control and create demonic servants. In short order, Isaac manages to track Hector down to a small village where he’s been taken in by a kind a nun who found him injured near the forest.Â

Why did Hector go AWOL? What injured him? We don’t know yet. All we get in this volume is set-up, a basic introduction to the world and the plot, and a little information about Isaac and his long-running quest for power. Oddly enough, the main character appears to be a little kid called Ted who will apparently be the plucky sidekick in the series. Ted’s father is a mercenary who’s joined in the battle against Dracula’s forces, leaving Ted in the care of the local villagers. Ted’s really just an example of how this volume is almost entirely backstory and world set up. By relating the tale of his father going off to war, we’re given information about the various human groups and their awareness of Dracula’s threat, how they’re responding to it and defending against it, and the like. Hopefully the author will get to fleshing out individual characters later on in the series.Â

The characters themselves, at this point at least, seem to simply serve as exposition machines. Outside of Isaac’s desire for power, and Ted’s past, everyone else is pretty much a piece of cardboard. The nun’s a generic kind soul, helping injured strangers, seeking happiness in the simpler things such as breaking bread with people, and such. Actually, I think she’s the most fleshed out character in this volume. Ah well, it’s just the first volume so surely they’ll all be fleshed out and be wonderfully realized characters as the series goes on.

Kous Sasakura’s artwork doesn’t really work for me either. There are lots of close ups on half-shadowed faces, characters in full body cloaks and the like. On top of that, the characters themselves tend to be rather stiff looking, and there’s a distinct lack of the ornate and gothic designs and outfits that’s a staple in the Castlevania series. Similarly, most of the backgrounds are empty or carry a smattering of toning upon the bare minimum of lines required to show that scene takes place in a room or outdoors. It’s unimpressive, forgettable artwork. On the upside, all the characters have lovely hair.Â

Ultimately, the first volume of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is disappointingly bland and easily forgettable, though hardcore Castlevania fanboy or fangirls might find something worth while here.

Volume 1 of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is available now.