Canon, Volume 2

Canon #2

by Chika Shiomi

When Cannon survives a vampire massacre that takes the lives her friends and turns her into an undead creature, she vows to use her new vampire powers for good, and teams up with a vampire crow named Fui to avenge her friends.

Genres: Manga, Shojo, Romance, Fantasy, Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

207 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Chika Shiomi has an amazing talent for depicting chilling and provocative horror stories that appeal to both shojo and shonen readers. Having created manga since 1993, starting with short stories in Akita Shoten's Mystery Bonita magazine, she has had a bountiful career of publishing both long-running series and short stories that have become popular both in Japan and abroad. Shiomi-sensei loves to travel and listen to Guns 'n Roses.

See also 潮見 知佳.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still have a hard time with vampires in shoulder pads and new wave haircuts prancing all over the pages. This is so late 80's-early 90's in fashion and everyone is oh-so-fashionable.

And where does Canon live that she has a wardrobe of cool clothes like this? And boots?

Nevertheless, I'm interested in the story. This particular volume was focused on the fact (or fiction) that the vampire that turned Canon may not be the vampire she thinks it is. . . .ah, complications.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 2 out of 5]

2020 Read #155

2.5 stars

I’m sure this series was remarkable in the 90’s, but living with the paranormal craze in the late 00’s/early 10’s has made me pretty apathetic to vampire tales. BUT it still has an intriguing bend nonetheless with its twists.

[Kereesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the first volume.

Especially that twist.

Yowza Shiomi, you get me every time.

4/5

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series

Many thanks to Frauline_gratzy_ for joining me for this buddy read!

This was my first time doing a buddy read for a manga and that definitely added to my enjoyment of this series and my have influenced my rating a wee bit too. There was a time when I started tracking down some older English manga releases that I had missed or was never aware of and thus found Canon - I've never seen this series mentioned even in the slightest and doubt I would have found it had I not specifically been looking this way.

This four volume series definitely shows its age - in a positive sense, it has beautiful old school art style and I was surprised to find coloured opening pages in each volume. On the down side, the dialogue feels a little stilted and at times confusing which I've found to be a common theme with older English releases, thus I believe it may be just a bit of a weak translation - perfectly readable, just not quite as smooth as releases from over the recent years.

Volume one is in and of itself a little awkward in that the pacing feels a bit off and there's no clear sense yet of where the story is headed. Things pick up quite a bit from the second volume onwards though. Canon is a nice character to follow in this relatively classic vampire story. There is not much world-building but it does well enough for the short length of the series and it mostly relies on what is common in vampire stories anyway. Instead, this feels much more a character driven story where we get to find the characters' different backstories and what drives them. I was pleasantly surprised that quite a few of the side characters were at least made important enough that their outlook on life mattered to the overall plot.

The ending feels a little loose ended but not the a degree that I would call it disappointing. I do believe this could have been quite an amazing series had it been longer and had indeed spent more time on the world building and build up, but for its length it was good fun and entertaining. It was a bit darker than I had anticipated and in addition to the older art and action scenes with a city backdrop, it sometimes had a wee bit of a X/1999 vibe. Bonus mention for Fui, the crow sidekick who always added some nice sass.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today’s post is on Canon, vol 2 by Chika Shiomi. It is 210 pages long and is published by CMX. The cover is a close up of Canon. As it is the second in the series,you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. There is mild foul language, no sexuality, and mild violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo and horror manga. The story is told from third person close following the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Since becoming a vampire, Canon's sole purpose has been to hunt for Rod, the vampire who turned her into one of the undead -- killing 39 of her friends in the process. But is that the real story? Repressed memories begin to surface, and now Canon is confused about her true relationship with her avowed enemy. And where does this put Sakaki, Canon's new ally who is so intent on bringing down Rod himself?

Review- A lot of plot happens in this volume with Canon learning more about herself, what she is now, and who really made her. She learns that Rod is not her enemy, that Sakaki is not just what he seems, and the vampire world is watching her now. Canon is not just a normal servant, she is much stronger than she should be. Sakaki has a beef with Rod for some reason and Rod knows Canon somehow and cares about her. Rod wanted to protect her from the vampire world. So many questions have been raised in this volume and I look forward to reading the next volume to see what is going to happen next.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this volume really increased the enjoyment of the series. Throwing in twists and turns wither a heroine that decides she’ll go against the odds and take down the one who killed her friends and truned her into a vampire’s servant. Putting more detailed reviews would likely contain spoilers. So far it’s a pretty straightforward story but it’s still enjoyable and makes one reconsider everything they know. It makes me wonder why the vampire rules and society in this world have developed causing me to try and read between the lines into what isn’t said.

[Adriana Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhh that twist!!!! Noooooo… I still have some hope for Sakaki….

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bintang 3.

Latar belakang kelahiran Sasaki dan tindakan Canon yg melanggar hukum vampire membuat Canon, Sasaki, dan juga Fui selalu dikejar kejar oleh vampire untuk dibunuh.
Untuk itu tetua vampire mengutus Rod dan vampire lainnya untuk melenyapkan mereka.
Dalam satu pertarungan, Rod yg ingin dibunuh oleh Canon malah menyelamatkan Canon disaat Canon terluka parah.
Ternyata kebenaran yg selama ini sengaja ditutupi oleh Sasaki untuk memanipulasi Canon akhirnya terbongkar. Sasaki lah yg telah membunuh 39 teman Canon dan sekaligus menjadikan Canon seorang vampire pelayan. Kebenaran itu sengaja ditutupi Sasaki yg mengetahui hubungan khusus yg terjalin antara Rod dan Canon. Sehingga Sasaki dapat menjadikan Canon sebagai senjata yg mematikan bagi Rod yg tak dapat menyakiti bahkan membunuh Canon.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character finds the vampire who turned her and realizes that the half-blood vampire who has been helping her was actually lying to her...bet you never would have seen that coming!

[Nawal Al Hosani Scorpion DOADA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short for a manga.......... However it was not boring..........

[Hannah Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel gave a lot more info than the previous one