Noss and Zakuro Vol. 1

Noss & Zakuro #1

by Rariatto

A delightful supernatural comedy about a mother-daughter vampire pair!

Shadowsville is a spooky supernatural town between this world and the next, making it the perfect home to mother-daughter vampire duo, Noss and Zakuro! Except, they really aren’t that spooky. The beautiful Noss and her adopted daughter Zakuro spend their time drinking blood from juice boxes, shopping for anti-sun accessories, and hanging out with their monster buddies. A fang-tastic parent-child dark comedy tale!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Comedy, Fantasy, Comics

152 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2024

Reviews

[Annalise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally love them so much you don’t understand🥹🫶 This is very much just a cozy, silly goofy manga about two vampires living in a town full of monsters in a very “slice of life” format that I am obsessed with👏 The art style is so fun, the characters are quirky, and I legit can’t wait to see more of this town!!😭

[Julia Pika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is very cute and solid and the story is a cozy fantasy. I feel like it has a very slow start and tiny worldbuilding...not to mention the odd panels being framed in strange ways that it makes it difficult to figure out which direction to read. It's not really a manga but it kind of is? It's still a 3.5 rating for me so it's not that bad but I hope the author/illustrator figures out the formatting next time.

[houk]

so cutie!!!! in being tasked with aiding in library duties for YA graphic novels, i'll be reading more in the coming months (a very pleasant task). zipped thru this one in my last hour in the office; so sweet!! this was adorable and as always i <3 vampires

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really cute manga about a two vampires, Noss and Zakuro. One is the mom and the other is the adopted daughter. And together they have a wonderful time with friends, adventures, mice, meeting various other beings (from a monster of Frankenstein to angels to more). It was such a fun read and I need more of these two! I am so happy that their stories have been bundled in a book, mostly I just read online/saw art online on Twitter/other social media.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute but felt it was quite slow and not very much world building. Not sure if I would continue the series.

[Kathryn Hemmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noss is a powerful but shy elder Nosferatu, and Zakuro is her adorable adoptive daughter. The odd pair lives happily together in a cozy little house at the edge of a small town populated entirely by Hollywood movie monsters. When they’re not spending quality time at home watching videos and drinking synthetic blood from juice boxes, Zakuro and Noss are out and about town getting up to minor acts of mischief.

Given that Noss & Zakuro is obviously meant for young children, I couldn’t help but wonder why its North American translation has a “Teen (13+)” rating. If I had to guess, I’d say this might be because the artist has a sizable adult following on social media, where they post fan art of cute characters from video games and American cartoons. While it’s possible that there may be suggestive female character designs in future installments, there’s nothing objectionable in the first volume.

Rariatto’s artwork is marvelously expressive and dynamic, and the characters in Noss & Zakuro seem like they would be a lot of fun for kids to draw. This sweet and gentle comedy manga is super fun for monster fans of all ages!

[middle_schoolers_read Lindsay P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars*

When a student told me I had to read this #graphicnovel because it was “adorably wholesome” I checked it out and I have to agree.

Noss is Zakuro’s adoptive mother and personality-wise they’re opposites. Noss is more outgoing and experienced, while Zakuro is more shy and curious. When Zakuro finds a new friend, this is a big deal! And even though they’re both vampires who live in a town full of monsters, they’re anything but scary.

Who will like this?

✅ Fans of scary stories that aren’t really scary
✅ Fans of graphic novels
✅ Fans of vampire stories

[Grayson Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun read! Definitely a bit exposition-y right now, but it's only the first manga, so I can't fault it for that. I am very excited to see more about this mother-daughter duo! I am a sucker for a cute family dynamic, and even more so when it's a found one, so this was perfect. The artstyle is very cute, and the characters are interesting enough, but I can't wait for more development and for us to really get to know them. 100% would recommend, much love!

[Cadillac Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, adorable, and exceptionally charming. There is a lot to love in this book, but Rariatto's real strength is in character design. Everyone in this book is instantly iconic, you know who they are and what they're about just by their appearance. Put any of them on a T-shirt (especially Noss and Zakuro themselves) and it'd sell like hotcakes. A great read for the halloween season, eager for the second volume!

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun dark comedy that has its moments, but sometimes feels disjointed. With that said, looking forward to volume two! Fun manga illustrations that are mostly black and white that really set the mood. They are vampires, so there is talk of blood but not anything drastic. There is a Living Doll that is "spooky" and a human that has "Frankenstein monster" bolts on top of her head. At one point Noss does go full on vampire and is creepy. I was shocked as up to that point it was mostly sweet.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable and I need more stat! Mother and daughter vampire duo living in a small monster town. So cozy and perfect for all the monster and Halloween lovers.

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, cute, cute :)

[Myra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more like 2.5

The artwork is cute, but the story (really stories) are just meh.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story didn’t really hook me, but the art is super cute.

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine, I just wish there was more backstory and depth.

[[melanie] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

[Shantel (Nixy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this manga. It hit everything that my gothic heart loves. This is a funny and adventurous story follow two vampires a mom and her adopted daughter. There are some funny situations that happen that just makes a heart happy because even though they are monster it’s still easy to relate too. The mother daughter relationship between these two was beautiful and proof that even if you adopt a child that you hey can still be loved as if you gave them life yourself. The art work was very beautiful in my opinion.

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable and fun little romp in a new world of monsters. Leaves enough mystery to get me excited for future volumes while also feeling complete on its own.