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Trinity Blood #1
Trinity Blood, Vol. 1
In a dark and distant future, Armageddon has given rise to the fabled Second Moon - and a perpetual war between the vampires and the humans!
Esther is a nun in the city of Istavan. When she crosses paths with Abel Nightroad, a priest sent from the Vatican to combat the local order of vampires, the two form a holy alliance to battle the most evil of threats.
In this gorgeous, gothic-action series - part of the super-popular Trinity Blood franchise - the very survival of the human race is at stake!
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2004
About the author
Sunao Yoshida
81 books77 followersSunao Yoshida (吉田直 Yoshida Sunao) is the pen name of late Japanese novelist Sunao Matsumoto. He was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated from La Salle junior/senior high school in Kagoshima. He attended Waseda University and earned a Master's degree from Kyoto University. Yoshida died of a lung blockage in 2004.
In 1997, Yoshida was awarded the Sneaker Taisho literary prize for his debut novel, Genocide Angel. He was the author of the novel series Trinity Blood, which was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's The Sneaker magazine. The Trinity Blood series was published in North America by Tokyopop.
In 1997, Yoshida was awarded the Sneaker Taisho literary prize for his debut novel, Genocide Angel. He was the author of the novel series Trinity Blood, which was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's The Sneaker magazine. The Trinity Blood series was published in North America by Tokyopop.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
July 3, 2025
Placeholder for volumes 1-21
This series is basically the story of Cain and Abel but with an empire of vampires and steampunk Mary Tudor. It also ruined other vampires for me. I mean, beings that drink the blood of vampires instead of humans and look like an odd mix of vampire and angel? Umm, yes.
This series is basically the story of Cain and Abel but with an empire of vampires and steampunk Mary Tudor. It also ruined other vampires for me. I mean, beings that drink the blood of vampires instead of humans and look like an odd mix of vampire and angel? Umm, yes.
June 9, 2016
This is one of my most favorite Manga series. I know the summary might sound a little too familiar and even cliched, but the story isn’t like that. You might have read similar series that also follow immortal characters that live in a post-apocalyptic world and try to make things a little better for humanity, but Trinity Blood manages to show both originality and uniqueness in many aspects of the story and it takes place in quite a memorable universe.
Trinity blood is a mix of fantasy, science fiction and political games. Therefore it has a complex story and don’t be surprised if you don’t get everything at the very beginning. It’s supposed to be like that. The story enfolds as it progresses and most characters have secrets that are revealed eventually. This story really does fall into science fiction category. The Vampirism hasn’t appeared out of nowhere. There is logic and science behind it that you have to discover for yourself and everything, from the cause to side effects, make sense and are logically explained. The story has many twists and turns and isn’t easily predictable. The characters do have depths and do change and grow during the many different story arcs. Some characters like Esther might annoy you at the beginning but they are given chances to grow up. Some characters look evil but they slowly change their opinions and even switch sides. Some characters are not what they seem. As far as a Manga series can go, this is quite great!
While the novels, manga, and anime series all follow the same story, they do have some minor and major differences. I think Anime leaves many questions unanswered and many important events are vaguely mentioned. The Manga delves deeper into this world and the characters themselves and sheds a new light on most of the major historic events of the story, solving some of the big mysteries. If you want to know even more details, I recommend reading the novelization as well.
The artwork is quite beautiful and has a Gothic sense to it while being futuristic. There are many details and I can tell a lot of work has gone to each page. Even looking at the pages alone is enjoyable. Keep in mind that the novels have a different style of artwork and the designs are much darker in general.
This is a very long series but if you are a fan of Vampires and immortal being in general, I strongly recommend it.
Trinity blood is a mix of fantasy, science fiction and political games. Therefore it has a complex story and don’t be surprised if you don’t get everything at the very beginning. It’s supposed to be like that. The story enfolds as it progresses and most characters have secrets that are revealed eventually. This story really does fall into science fiction category. The Vampirism hasn’t appeared out of nowhere. There is logic and science behind it that you have to discover for yourself and everything, from the cause to side effects, make sense and are logically explained. The story has many twists and turns and isn’t easily predictable. The characters do have depths and do change and grow during the many different story arcs. Some characters like Esther might annoy you at the beginning but they are given chances to grow up. Some characters look evil but they slowly change their opinions and even switch sides. Some characters are not what they seem. As far as a Manga series can go, this is quite great!
While the novels, manga, and anime series all follow the same story, they do have some minor and major differences. I think Anime leaves many questions unanswered and many important events are vaguely mentioned. The Manga delves deeper into this world and the characters themselves and sheds a new light on most of the major historic events of the story, solving some of the big mysteries. If you want to know even more details, I recommend reading the novelization as well.
The artwork is quite beautiful and has a Gothic sense to it while being futuristic. There are many details and I can tell a lot of work has gone to each page. Even looking at the pages alone is enjoyable. Keep in mind that the novels have a different style of artwork and the designs are much darker in general.
This is a very long series but if you are a fan of Vampires and immortal being in general, I strongly recommend it.
December 3, 2016
I have read Trinity Blood until the recent volume. Note that it's not a complete manga yet.
I was once intrigued by Japanese fashion on gothic lolita. It's daring, dark & cute they put together. Am I fascinated by it? Oh yeah. I won't deny it. You will find some gothic here. Gothic + church = unique
Overall, it's hilarious, entertaining with interesting plot. Sometimes... Oh corrections! Most of the time, I was thinking, did Father really do or react that way?
And the artwork, you wouldn't missed the detailing especially their dress.
I was once intrigued by Japanese fashion on gothic lolita. It's daring, dark & cute they put together. Am I fascinated by it? Oh yeah. I won't deny it. You will find some gothic here. Gothic + church = unique
Overall, it's hilarious, entertaining with interesting plot. Sometimes... Oh corrections! Most of the time, I was thinking, did Father really do or react that way?
And the artwork, you wouldn't missed the detailing especially their dress.
January 8, 2022
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️
Bloody scenes,suggestive themes, attempted s*xual assault in one scene in volume 2 (don't worry she gets saved) and tobacco usage.
The storyline is unique and unusual.
I first read this volume back in 2013 and here I am again to this amazing series. It's worth a read despite the differences between the novels,manga and anime. The differences make the stories unique and unpredictable and so every version feels fresh and fills the reader with anticipation.
Sunao Yoshida's writings of Trinity Blood is amazingly good, astonishing and intriguing,Thores Shibamoto's characters designs are elegant, gothic, extraordinary and uniquely cool, Kiyo Kyujiyo art is beautiful, flowly, ethereal and highly detailed. This series is definitely a five star. This series is definitely what I needed: a good non fan service filled plot with great development, relatable characters and awesome and unique storytelling.
Bloody scenes,suggestive themes, attempted s*xual assault in one scene in volume 2 (don't worry she gets saved) and tobacco usage.
The storyline is unique and unusual.
I first read this volume back in 2013 and here I am again to this amazing series. It's worth a read despite the differences between the novels,manga and anime. The differences make the stories unique and unpredictable and so every version feels fresh and fills the reader with anticipation.
Sunao Yoshida's writings of Trinity Blood is amazingly good, astonishing and intriguing,Thores Shibamoto's characters designs are elegant, gothic, extraordinary and uniquely cool, Kiyo Kyujiyo art is beautiful, flowly, ethereal and highly detailed. This series is definitely a five star. This series is definitely what I needed: a good non fan service filled plot with great development, relatable characters and awesome and unique storytelling.
January 15, 2024
I saw a tweet that said, "What you really need now is to read 80s or 90s horror shoujo manga." And how right that was.
September 16, 2012
Why Trinity Blood was awesome:
1. The mixing of science fiction and vampirism. The Bacillus virus is an alien technology humanity discovered during an attempt to colonize Mars. Those injected with it become Methuselah, the long-living, vampire-like beings in Trinity Blood. There also is some sort of barrier of particles that prevent UV radiation that allows the Methuselah, who are weak against direct sunlight, to live freely in their city. Cool, right? There are other examples but those two are the main ones.
2. The characters. Esther got into my nerves in quite a number of times, but her little romance with Ion was cute and sweet. The members of the AX rock, especially Father Tres Iques. The pope was weak at first but he later improved. He reminded me of Neville and I can't help but cheer him on. The Department of Inquisition was pretty cool too although some of them are complete nutters.And Isaak from Cain's group was one of the interesting ones of them all.
3. Its connections with the Bible and the Church. The names of the Crusniks (Seth, Abel, Cain, Lilith) and the roles they play. Methuselah (in the Bible, he is the longest man who had EVER lived). The Vatican. What more can you ask for.
4. The action. You've got to read to understand!
Results to... 4.5 stars!!!
1. The mixing of science fiction and vampirism. The Bacillus virus is an alien technology humanity discovered during an attempt to colonize Mars. Those injected with it become Methuselah, the long-living, vampire-like beings in Trinity Blood. There also is some sort of barrier of particles that prevent UV radiation that allows the Methuselah, who are weak against direct sunlight, to live freely in their city. Cool, right? There are other examples but those two are the main ones.
2. The characters. Esther got into my nerves in quite a number of times, but her little romance with Ion was cute and sweet. The members of the AX rock, especially Father Tres Iques. The pope was weak at first but he later improved. He reminded me of Neville and I can't help but cheer him on. The Department of Inquisition was pretty cool too although some of them are complete nutters.And Isaak from Cain's group was one of the interesting ones of them all.
3. Its connections with the Bible and the Church. The names of the Crusniks (Seth, Abel, Cain, Lilith) and the roles they play. Methuselah (in the Bible, he is the longest man who had EVER lived). The Vatican. What more can you ask for.
4. The action. You've got to read to understand!
Results to... 4.5 stars!!!
December 31, 2021
12/30
in an effort to finish this series because it has been, i guess, finished. after rewatching the anime its especially painful because the anime was 1. awful 2. not at all similar to the manga (and follows the light novels) which i feel would have been a lot better.
(and so would have a budget, but you know...)
anyway, i still fucking hate dietrich.
-
5/21
reread
i fucking hate dietrich.
-
so this review is really a review for the series. a pretty biased, not-at-all objective review.
the premise of this manga is that 900 years after the apocalypse, vampires and humans are on the verge of war. esther is a young nun who meets abel nightroad, a priest, by meet-cute. shit proceeds to hit the fan.
this series is kind of ridiculous. militant vatican feat. gun-toting priests and nuns kicking ass is exactly my #aesthetic. so are grey characters and evil terrorist organizations that are pree fucking scary, and politics.
i....love this. i love esther and her growth. i love all the characters and relationships. i love the new human empire. i love the historical allusions. and i love the art - so much detail it's astounding.
HOWEVER there are a few issues that...bug me but don't quite ruin everything.
i won't get into it in this review but basically, all the brown characters die. except like, one. and characters that should be brown....aren't? the new human empire is in the middle east, like, why are they all. pale. there's not even the vampire excuse, because methuselah have been drawn as boack/brown.
but that's not an issue in this volume so let's leave it at this: i love this manga. love it.
in an effort to finish this series because it has been, i guess, finished. after rewatching the anime its especially painful because the anime was 1. awful 2. not at all similar to the manga (and follows the light novels) which i feel would have been a lot better.
(and so would have a budget, but you know...)
anyway, i still fucking hate dietrich.
-
5/21
reread
i fucking hate dietrich.
-
so this review is really a review for the series. a pretty biased, not-at-all objective review.
the premise of this manga is that 900 years after the apocalypse, vampires and humans are on the verge of war. esther is a young nun who meets abel nightroad, a priest, by meet-cute. shit proceeds to hit the fan.
this series is kind of ridiculous. militant vatican feat. gun-toting priests and nuns kicking ass is exactly my #aesthetic. so are grey characters and evil terrorist organizations that are pree fucking scary, and politics.
i....love this. i love esther and her growth. i love all the characters and relationships. i love the new human empire. i love the historical allusions. and i love the art - so much detail it's astounding.
HOWEVER there are a few issues that...bug me but don't quite ruin everything.
i won't get into it in this review but basically, all the brown characters die. except like, one. and characters that should be brown....aren't? the new human empire is in the middle east, like, why are they all. pale. there's not even the vampire excuse, because methuselah have been drawn as boack/brown.
but that's not an issue in this volume so let's leave it at this: i love this manga. love it.
December 26, 2007
Vampire story always give me thrills. I like this book simply because a lot of politic intrics and history about vampires. Those who like to add some knowledge about vampires might be interested in this book.
March 30, 2017
4.5/5.0
June 29, 2022
Este es un manga que merece una nueva oportunidad.
June 12, 2010
***Attention***
: the main character is a priest vampire, and his maybe-will-be-his-lover is a nun (I’m not saying if they will be or not lovers, or would spoil the story). So if your are a catholic maybe this manga is a little blaspheme 
(my mother hate it when I told the plot). But if you surpass this religious problem (at the beginning, after everything little at time changes) you will love it! Why? The graphic is not an Yoshitaka Amano level, but is really good, and it’s funny! So funny! I laught so much with Abel… but if I can suggest something, try to first see the anime serie. Really wonderful and the box price is low! The English voices was not so bad (but I prefer in japanese). The manga is more complex and obviously give more details of characters, but the anime will show you in few episodes (24) the story of the manga.
Ps: the anime has few religious “blasphemies” than the manga. I’m catholic and to me read the manga was something normal, and I liked it a lot
… but, not all Catholics may thing like me… start with the anime, and it’s ok for your, read the manga
January 13, 2013
** This is a QUICK REVIEW of my thoughts on the book **
This one was recommended to me by friends and is probably something I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. While it wasn’t bad it also wasn't one of my favourites; I would need to read a few more volumes before passing final judgement but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. (Sorry Amy, I will return it eventually, I promise!)
My main gripe is that the girl character is useless and pointless and therefore annoying. Also, in a lot of the action scenes it’s hard to work out what’s happening; the art is hard to see/follow. None of the characters so far really interest me, but Tres is by far my favourite of the lot.
Is there a Happy Ending? I don’t know
Content Rating: PG
As other reviewers have mentioned, there are vampires, violence, and some religious content. I guess it’s no more than you would typically find in a lot of manga in this sub-genre, but it may not be suitable for early teens. I would recommend for at least 14+.
Romance Rating: I don’t know
(There isn’t really any so far, but perhaps that changes in later volumes…)
This one was recommended to me by friends and is probably something I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. While it wasn’t bad it also wasn't one of my favourites; I would need to read a few more volumes before passing final judgement but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. (Sorry Amy, I will return it eventually, I promise!)
My main gripe is that the girl character is useless and pointless and therefore annoying. Also, in a lot of the action scenes it’s hard to work out what’s happening; the art is hard to see/follow. None of the characters so far really interest me, but Tres is by far my favourite of the lot.
Is there a Happy Ending? I don’t know
Content Rating: PG
As other reviewers have mentioned, there are vampires, violence, and some religious content. I guess it’s no more than you would typically find in a lot of manga in this sub-genre, but it may not be suitable for early teens. I would recommend for at least 14+.
Romance Rating: I don’t know
(There isn’t really any so far, but perhaps that changes in later volumes…)
June 4, 2008
A great series, I saw the manga and they are quite different and similar at the same time. Hoping to read more of these. I should probably add that there is a lot of Christian and Catholic symbolism in these books. Interestingly it seems to be a parody on the age of feudalism (lets say 10th to 17th century). The humans seems to be symbolic of Europeans while the vampires are supposed to be people from the middle east. Has a very intriguing and immersive world, but the first book doesn't bet very far into things. O and it's very sad that the author of the series died shortly after the manga was announced to be an anime. This is truly an amazing series!
September 22, 2007
Trinity Blood definately has some fan service built into it, but don't let that fool you. There is a very complex, deep, angsty plot involved. Even it hasn't shown its full face in the manga yet, and I'm on book 10! They don't make chapters fast enough for us!
Trinity Blood is your classic vampire style manga with a twist... I won't give it away, but it's very interesting!
Trinity Blood is your classic vampire style manga with a twist... I won't give it away, but it's very interesting!
October 16, 2008
Talk about an interesting series. This one is about a perpetual war between the vampires and the human’s. Esther the nun crosses paths with the Priest Nighroad who is sent from the Vatican to combat the local vampires. Since it was the first volume many things surprised me, it had some twists and turns I didn’t expect.
December 15, 2023
I remember liking this series a lot when I was a kid.
Pretty much the shoujo version of Hellsing?
Pretty much the shoujo version of Hellsing?
October 12, 2021
Re-read 2021: It was high time to re-read this manga, it is one of my favourite manga and anime. With my husbando Abel (whose dual sides I just love) and waifu Esther (who is adorable and strong). In this manga the world is invaded by vampires and nowhere is particularly safe. In this first volume we meet the Crusnik aka Abel who looks like a silly priest but actually can go very kick-ass.. if he wants because you can see he is holding himself in. Then there is Esther, a devoted nun who wants to take revenge on the vampires who murdered her family. And then we also got Tres (YAS), Dietrich (unsure), and Gyula (appearances may be deceiving). There were a few light-hearted moments but most of this manga is just one big BOOM and vampires and blood! I really enjoyed reading it and now I want to rewatch the anime yet again. XD
September 11, 2018
Ah, Trinity Blood. Dear lovely manga. It's been a minute since I've walked down this road but why not dredge up all them good good early 2000s feels once more?
I loved this series. Vampires + Science Fiction + the Catholic Church? SIGN. ME. UP. The characters were just so... fantastic. A vampire priest is not necessarily the type of character you would expect a die hard Catholic to jive with but buddy I LOVE IT. The concept of vampirism being some sort of extraterrestrial disease is also... interesting. And the robot priest! I almost forgot about the robot priest...
Man, I need to re-read this series.
100 out of 10 stars!
(Is it still unfinished tho? Inquiring minds would like to know...)
I loved this series. Vampires + Science Fiction + the Catholic Church? SIGN. ME. UP. The characters were just so... fantastic. A vampire priest is not necessarily the type of character you would expect a die hard Catholic to jive with but buddy I LOVE IT. The concept of vampirism being some sort of extraterrestrial disease is also... interesting. And the robot priest! I almost forgot about the robot priest...
Man, I need to re-read this series.
100 out of 10 stars!
(Is it still unfinished tho? Inquiring minds would like to know...)
September 20, 2021
I really wanted to love Trinity Blood manga since I love reading the light novels in school. Rereading the manga has a completely different feel to the story somehow the plot makes more sense from the original storyline to the one used in the manga. Especially as Trinity Blood is so different to other vampire mangas I have rad in the past and the gothic artwork is beautiful it is worth reading to collect the stain glass window covers throughout the series.
Trinity Blood released in English is not fully complete after reading a couple of the volume I realised only half of the series has been translated into English so badly wanted to find out how it all ends but it ended on a promising cliffhanger I never got to finish much like the anime series.
Trinity Blood released in English is not fully complete after reading a couple of the volume I realised only half of the series has been translated into English so badly wanted to find out how it all ends but it ended on a promising cliffhanger I never got to finish much like the anime series.
August 21, 2021
Wow I really wanted to like this. I really liked the art and the story seemed interesting so I picked this up only to be hit by awful pacing issues. It seriously felt like I was reading the end of the series. They rushed into a "final battle", introduced characters haphazardly, and characters who weren't drawn into a scene on the other side of the town were suddenly there and talking. The art, while detailed, also somehow felt muddy and confusing. Overall, lots of super cool ideas that are marred by uneven execution.
December 8, 2023
omg... I have to admit I'm very late to the party and I found out about this trying to fill the hole Vassalord has left in my heart forever. This manga is gorgeous, the style is very 2000's shonen with it's more cartoony parts but the character design reminds me of something Julietta Suzuki would draw, they are so nice to look at and follow. The background was explained rather quickly so we could get the action going and it flowed very easily, and I'm keeping track of the differences between this and the manga, I'll try the novels at some point in the future too.
February 14, 2021
Reread of a high school favorite!
The characters are neat, I see why I bought in so hard to Able and his awkward noodle/secret badass persona, Tres too, but the plot is truly bazonkers and Sister Ester is so bland??? And though the art is dripping with detail, it is sometimes hard to read especially during actions sequences when I want to read it the most. The balloons and panels are all over the place!
Maybe I’ll rewatch the anime instead of trying to slog through the unfinished manga...
The characters are neat, I see why I bought in so hard to Able and his awkward noodle/secret badass persona, Tres too, but the plot is truly bazonkers and Sister Ester is so bland??? And though the art is dripping with detail, it is sometimes hard to read especially during actions sequences when I want to read it the most. The balloons and panels are all over the place!
Maybe I’ll rewatch the anime instead of trying to slog through the unfinished manga...
December 25, 2025
I was lured in by a pretty cover and the art was indeed stunning. For the story itself, I am not sure how I feel about it? It's giving Cain and Abel but make it vampires which sounds like my cup of tea but I don't know is it yet. Might honestly just stop here, I think this first volume worked as a stand alone as well but also might circle back if I ever run out of books to read (highly unlikely but you never know!)
January 2, 2018
This is completely different from the anime. The characters are more fleshed out--more flaws for them to correct and relate. Caterina is more flawed--she hates Esther (shocking) and yearns Abel's attention! Mary is evil and Issac has a greater role than Dietrich. Tres, despite being a robot, loves Caterina. I'm waiting for more translation scanlations.
October 15, 2017
Didn't make any sense. The priest was also a vampire, but only hunted other vampires down but no one that he didn't kill knew about it? Something about him knowing a robot, but didn't know him at the same time? I felt like I was reading book 3 or 4, not volume 1.
The artwork was nice though for the time it was published.
The artwork was nice though for the time it was published.
March 19, 2018
Hands down best vampire story I've ever read. I've been fortunate to read the light novels in Japanese and the rest of the comics (still ongoing) and the story is phenomenal.
The world is well thought out, the characters are very interesting, and the touch of religion/the Vatican/Pope is so well done, I wish the comic artist drew faster!
The art is beautiful and the details are amazing!
The world is well thought out, the characters are very interesting, and the touch of religion/the Vatican/Pope is so well done, I wish the comic artist drew faster!
The art is beautiful and the details are amazing!
March 8, 2022
I started this series a few years ago and they kinda just disappeared from my local library and then I couldn't find them for the longest time, which kinda bummed me out because I only had one or two volumes left. So now that they have them all on Kindle, I can finally start a reread and finish the series, and honestly, I almost forgot how much I enjoyed it
September 3, 2019
Truly beautiful artwork, Kyujyo has outdone themselves. For story, Yoshida has added an interesting twist to vampire mythos. It is plagued by typical goofy anime moments, but generally a solid, tense read.
August 1, 2021
im going to marry abel 😁 everything abt this story is gorgeous and it really started off w a bang which was a little crazy imo but im very very glad it ended well!! these 3 seem like an amazing trio nd im excited for to read the rest!!!!!
October 17, 2017
It was a goddamned Hellsing 2.0, just not so entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews