Rosen Blood～背徳の冥館～ 2 [Rosen Blood: Haitoku no Meikan 2]

Rosen Blood～背徳の冥館～ [Rosen Blood: Haitoku no Meikan] #2

by Kachiru Ishizue, 石据カチル

人を結晶に変えて喰らうという、レヴィたちの飢えを防ぐため自らを差し出し、彼らの糧になることを決めたステラ。
だがある日、レヴィが倒れてしまう。ステラはレヴィを救うため、彼の心の中に入るが……!?
ある館を舞台に繰り広げられる人ならざる者×少女のダークロマンス、第2巻!!

Genres: Manga, Vampires, Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Shojo

162 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2019

About the author

ISHIZUE Kachiru: 石据カチル

Reviews

[chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75ᯓ★

ˑ . 𖥔 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁

thoughts ⟡

this whole book genuinely made no sense at all, but it was still rlly entertaining and i ate it up in like 20 minutes. bring back Yoel!! and keep depressed, yearning Levi. i love it. im lowk hoping that Yoel and Freidrich fall in love 😭🤞 or Yoel and Gilbert. (or all three of them..).

the character development was actually present in this book. yes, stella!! she's a lot stronger than me bc tbh i would've folded in like vol.1.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't well-done at all, thanks to some incredibly confusing panels (way too many close-ups where I genuinely couldn't even tell what or whom I was looking at), a plot that isn't making a lot of sense so far, and what I suspect may have been a poorly crafted translation (some dialogue bits didn't make much sense or read very awkwardly). This is definitely a manga series that I suspect will eventually be mostly valued for its steamy content above all else, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the plot itself is rough and the characters are very self-contradicting for the most part. Levi makes some choices in this volume that didn't make sense to me based on everything he's said and done leading up to this point, and it didn't sit well with me at all! I was already hesitant to continue the series after volume 1, and I'm thinking at this point that I probably won't move on to the next installment.

✨ Content warnings for: violence, death, dub-con, assault, drugging without consent

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

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[Jan Agaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was INTENSE. go her for being a girl's girl with Luchia (or however you spell it; it's currently 1am sorry lol)

[Jes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was, like, abysmally bad and needlessly confusing. I needed my coworker to break it down for me. The whole "dream/soul exploration/flashback" segment went on for too long. And ended in a confusing manner, like -- did Levi suddenly change from a child to an adult in the last page? Does this imply that this weird soul exploration plotline was 100% lucid for present Levi? Why on earth did I read this????

I noted in my review of the last volume that this story plays with vampirism as an allegory for sex in a manner that made me supremely uncomfortale. For some reason, this volume muddies the metaphor by.... adding actual sex into the mix?? So we have Stella, our protag, getting accosted by both non-consensual fantasy violence and legit non-consensual advances. All of which are played for drama and romance because, you know, of course.

The only thing stopping this from being a full-on one star review is just how gorgeous the art manages to be. Everything coming out of these characters' mouths is garbage, but by god if they aren't beautiful. I feel like, honestly, the art has improved from volume one. Which is saying something, because V1 was a visual treat. All of this leaves me with the impression that this comic is a result of a mangaka who has excellent art direction but no idea how to write a (cohesive, non-creepy, non-rapey) story.

Anyways. Rosen Blood Discussion Days have become sacred among me and my coworker. We have a Post-It note from each volume summing up the traits of the bizarre harem of vampires that populate this strange story. By our calculations, we should have V3 by early July. I guess all we can do is wait.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you read vampire manga for the sexy, sexy blood-sucking? Do you find forceful immortal men alluring? Is your preferred aesthetic "Victorian Gothic Pastoral?" If you answered yes to any of these questions, Rosen Blood's second volume may be just the book you've been looking for. With the boys established vampire (or at least vampirish) creatures in the first volume, the second is free to jump in with both feet, and by that I mean "establish the tortured romance of Levi and Stella while also letting Friedrich get in on the action in the worst way possible." The melodrama reaches truly astounding heights and the emotional payoff isn't quite strong enough to make it all work. What really bumps this up to a three are two specific things: the glimpse into Levi's past and how it shaped him and the lush, elaborate art, which is filled with ornate details, proper late 19th century underthings (albeit not always in the right place), and pastoral glory. Seriously, the art is at least half the reason to read this...and if the melodrama can't manage to tone things down a bit so that it no longer eclipses the interesting mythology and world building, it could easily become the only reason to read the series...which isn't quite the bad thing it sounds like.

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

God the story is just SO weird and kinda confusing but I can’t put it down???

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot - 5 ⭐
Character - 5 ⭐
Writing Style - 5 ⭐
World Building - 5 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐

Overall - 5 ⭐ / 5 ⭐

Beautiful and breath - taking art ✅
Gothic and haunting drama ✅
Alluring and seductive vampire heroes ✅

I've to admint Rosen Blood is a better love story than Twilight

[Jen13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The best thing about this series is the art. It’s really gorgeous. As for the characters, to me they seem shallow and after two volumes, I haven’t formed an attachment to any of them.

I found the plot a little confusing and at times I really didn’t understand what was going on or the reasons behind it. In this volume Stella’s soul enters Levi’s body, where she meets him as a young boy. He’s in there with Lucia, and I really didn’t get any of this. I know Stella is trying to “save” Levi, but it didn’t really make sense to me.

I think if you’re a person who is really into gothic vampire stories, then you might enjoy this. For me to read on in this series, it would either need to be steamier, have better character development, or a more engaging and coherent plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viz for an advanced digital copy to read and review.

[Martina Koa Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non sopporto l’instalove e non sopporto l’insensatezza della protagonista, ma i disegni continuano a essere troppo belli e alcune scene sono esilaranti. Non mi è dispiaciuto affatto l’angst nel finale, che gli ha fatto gudagnare una stellina in più.

[ida johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ✧
twilight but make it a manga

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (rounding up)

Ughhhh, stupid Friedrich!

I pretty much loved this whole volume EXCEPT for when when I got to "his chapters"! Such a manipulative man and really really dislike his character at this point. I liked him in the first well enough because he is a ladies man and is overall more "livelier," but he took it wayyyyy too far in this volume and just angry at him. Not only because he manipulated Stella sooooo much, but because LEAVE MY SHIP ALONE!

When I finished the first volume, I was pretty nervous about how things would unfold in this one, but I was extremely shocked how different it was! And I do mean a GOOD different! I thought the "prologue" was perfect and also delivered in what I wanted in volume one, which was that Stella and Levi would actually get to know each other outside of their make-out sessions. ;P

Levi has such a kind and gentle heart and thought his backstory was very good in how compelling and heartbreaking it was. I liked some of the "analogies" of doors only opening when you still believe there is hope it one opening and that every "creature" has a heart and feels emotions even if it appears they do not.

Luchia was a very fascinating character and won't deny that she looks so much like Stella that at times I got confused. Not just because of the physical resemblance, but also due to the situation at the time, I was unsure if she was suppose to be an "evil" Stella? However, I think the ending of that "arc" was very beautiful and touching.

Which is why I was so upset about Friedrich and all of what he is doing not so behind-the-scenes. -_- *grumbles*

I would say I really enjoyed all of this except that one character who will not be named and how he basically seduced Stella into wanting him physically. It made me upset even how Levi handles things after that! But...on the one hand, he's realizing things (can't say because of #spoilers) and I think he wants some kind of…affirmation? I'm not sure that is the right word, but Stella is a really sweet character and absolutely loves you Levi, so don't be stupid either. ;p

I've rambled quite a bit but one thing I want to mention is that the art is still very beautiful, but a huge shoutout to the mangaka for explaining why Stella acted a certain way in the beginning of the series. I thought that was VERY well done! Stella seems to have a good head on her shoulders and feel her actions were explained in a natural way through the story that actually made sense.

Overall, this is still very much outside of my genre preference, but I am very much here for the Stella x Levi ship. I really really really enjoyed their time together in this one and just the overall world building (especially in regards to the crystals which I thought was super fascinating), but I pretty much loathe how Friedrich is using Stella as a tool and for his own physical pleasures. She deserves better than that and hope that our Stella x Levi ship can sail peacefully at some point.

*(I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

[Kathaflauschi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vielen Dank an den Verlag für das Rezensionsexemplar. Da ich Band 1 schon gelesen habe und dieser so mittelmäßig war, wollte ich Band 2 noch eine Chance geben und muss sagen das ich es nicht bereue. Ich fand diesen Band definitiv besser als der erste, auch wen dieser doch verwirrend war. Am Anfang erhält man einen kleinen Rückblick von Band 1 um dann nahtlos der Handlung wieder übergehen zu können. Die Handlung selbst hat mich etwas verwirrt und ratlos zurück gelassen. Aber sie war definitiv spannender als der vorgänger und man bekommt mehr von den Hintergründe mit. Zwischen Stella, Levi und Friedrich entwickelt sich eine Dreiecks Beziehung. Levi liebt Stella, Stella liebt Levi, fühlt sich gleichzeitig angezogen zu Friedrich und dieser möchte sie einfach nur besitzen um Levi eins auszuwischen. Ihr merkt also, das ganze ist verwirrend.

Gekrönt wird das ganze aber von dem detailreichen Zeichenstil. Die Züge der Charakter waren weich dargestellt, aber hatten auch eine düstere Seite. Die Charakter könnten nicht unterschiedlicher sein, gerade was die vier Vampire betrifft. Die Handlung hatte einige Wendungen und Überraschungen parat und tatsächlich steigt meine Vorfreude auf den nächsten Band. Ich möchte wissen wie es weitergeht und Fieber schon die ganze Zeit für Levi und Stella mit. Stella hat eine mutige und gleichzeitig weiche Seite, die Levi gut tun könnte und absolut zu ihm passt. Ich bin echt schon gespannt auf Band 3 und bin gespannt was da noch kommt und ob sich das ganze nochmal wendet.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half had some points of interest, and the art is pretty good, but everything with Freidrich is annoying and there just doesn't really seem to be anything to really care about in the story. She wants to cure them, but Levi is the only one who cares about that, and the romance happened and is fine, but then Freidrich is there and being annoying even after Levi realizes that he just does thing to make him miserable. All in all its okay but there is nothing making me want to continue.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosen Blood continues to be exactly what I'm looking for in a vampire reverse-harem manga. Stella is a kind, optimistic heroine, but the stars of the manga continue to be the conniving Friedrich and the brooding Levi. I love seeing how far Friedrich's schemes go and I love each little tidbit we get of how much he loathes Levi and wishes to cause him suffering. The cliffhanger at the end with Gilbert was the cherry on top for me. Unsurprisingly, I'm as excited for the next volume as I was after finishing Vol. 1.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, volume two is still not the best, but not the worst. You can't go wrong with some vampire brothers.
Levi is breaking my heart though, absolutely adore him!

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello?!?! FRIEDRICH!!!!! I like that Friedrich is a mischievous hoe. Yoel is clearly hiding something too. Bruhhh. Also Levi and Stella throwing around the L word? Too early.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The transition to the dream scene was kinda lazy but all in all, more stuff is happening and I'm curious what will happen to Stella!

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art in this series is so beautiful, but this whole volume read like a fever dream. Maybe it was supposed to, considering the events that unfold. Either way, it was hard to follow.

[Alicia Dias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si fa interessante. Sicuramente la storia è originale per essere basata sui vampiri
3,5⭐️

[Runar Munroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5⭐

Hat mich von der Story her wieder sehr unterhalten, dazu ist der Zeichenstil, ich kann es nur immer wieder betonen, einfach wunderschön.

[marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vol. 1 ★★★☆☆

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed Vol. 1. Can't say the same about this one. First off, that dream sequence is too long. On top of that, the story is a mess. None of the reveals make sense. Felt like I accidentally skipped ahead and missed a bunch of chapters, except I definitely didn't. That said, I appreciate how insanely horny all the chapters with Frederich has been. Onto the next volume!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesss

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 was a lot better-paced than volume 1. The first volume was so rushed and chaotic. This volume was a far more cohesive story that focused mostly on one event and its aftermath.

I previously liked the side character Friedrich, but it seems in each volume of this series, one of the four vampires of the manor turns out to be an unforgivable villain.

I feel like Levi has gone too soft, too fast for Stella. But if this manga is only four volumes, I guess it can't be helped.

This volume contained a lot of Levi's backstory, so that was interesting. It helped him feel more like a fully-realized character whereas in volume 1 everyone was so shallow and one-dimensional. This volume had more depth and feeling. I still think it could have been better, but it's a vast improvement over volume 1.

[Jules · Rating 1 out of 5]

Welp that got weird

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars? I don't know as I write this. I don't know know what to say about this. It's yet another story where I'm conflicted. The art is phenomenal. I want to continue the series just to look at it. Just... gorgeous.

I think I understood the soul journey and what was happening in there by forcing Levi to confront inconvenient truths and uncomfortable memories that he not only wants to hide from himself but truly wants to hide from Stella. He was finally allowed to be himself (read: adult) by the end because he was no longer hiding anything from himself or from her, as far as we know. I think he is supposed to be a twisted version if the bad boy redemption romantic hero, but you can't just smooth over everything he's done in the name of romance. Similarly, Stella's blinders are wholly unbelievable. Maybe over time she could get there but this is a manga and she needs to be this naive and innocent person who sees the best in everyone or the bad boy can't be redeemed. (Roll eyes) She is mostly a tool and is used by the author as a toy not any differently than the guys use her in the book. ¯\_ಠ_ಠ_/¯

Stella. Oh Stella. She is a device used to allow these guys to unleash their monstrous sides. The story is written so that her very existence is the reason they can't control themselves. It is an allegory for sex and that makes it very uncomfortable to read. It is never a woman's (or anyone's) fault for existing as a reason to get assaulted or manipulated or whatever. None of these characters own up to their control over their behavior and that is largely where my conflict comes into play. Brushing all of reality and male toxicity aside with a hefty push, I do actually like the story. It's twisted and it's messed up and it's these guys who have lived forever and are bored and one of them really wants to screw with one of the others and Stella just happens to be the way he's going to do that. In that way it's not any different than any number of very popular novels and story lines. So since I am so conflicted I am just going to give it a three and maybe revisit it later. But for the record I did enjoy reading this minus the queasy uncomfortableness of it all.

[Chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

COMMENTO PERSONALE: Ammetto che con questo secondo volume sia stato fatto un salto di qualità anche perché il primo mi era piacicchiato ma non così tanto come questo secondo volume. Non ho ben compreso come sia stato possibile che Stella si sia introdotta nella mente di Levi per poterlo salvare e al tempo stesso scopre diverse cose sul suo conto. Levi ha sofferto tantissimo per aver privato della vita un sacco di esseri umani e tutto questo è dovuto esclusivamente alla specie e alla prosecuzione biologica. Ma scopre anche un’altra persona che ha segnato tantissimo Levi ovvero Lucia, una giovane che rassomiglia moltissimo a Stella. Ma lei ha deciso di intrappolare lo stesso Levi per paura della solitudine e se ne distaccherà davvero difficilmente. Ma vi è una differenza sostanziale tra queste due figure femminili, ovvero che Stella è umana e riesce a perdonarla, desiderando di salvarla veramente trasportandola con loro nel mondo reale. Ma questa cosa è impossibile poiché lei è veramente morta. Ma uno tra i quattro che abitano la casa adora veder soffrire questo povero che già è tormentato e dilaniato da rimorsi… secondo voi che cosa potrà mai inventarsi per far sì che stella diventi sua? Vi ho già fatto un sacco di spoiler ma devo dire che non vedo l’ora di proseguire e che mi auguro in un finale più lieto. Ve la consiglio davvero vivamente anche perchè si tratta di una serie davvero breve ossia di 5 soli volumi che raccoglie davvero tutto.

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must agree with other users on here when they say that this was very much not well done. However, despite that, I really enjoyed it. As I had expected, sexual tension had picked up in this volume, and there were also more key plot points dribbled here and there for the reader to pick up on and ponder. That being said... all of said plot dribbling was done poorly. However, the sensual bits were unusual and sexy, and the inner mind bit was enjoyable. That part didn't have to make full sense nor did it need to feel smooth. It was taking place inside someone's mind, where things aren't truly unusual if they're really unusual (or broken up strangely). The Luchia bit was a bit disarming; I had expected something better from her. But it was still nice to see the emotions play out, and for Stella to develop more of a personality.
Other than that... WattPad? Hello? I do enjoy this whole thing of Stella getting a taste of each boy though... or so it seems it may be. Even so, Stella's complacency and lack of awareness coupled with Friedrich's everything is aggravating. Not only that but Levi's development feels disorganized and unnatural. It isn't necessarily the pacing or anything like that... It simply feels unusually unnatural.
As for Yoel and Gilbert... What..? Yoel especially-- what?

[Vanessa]

First volume was a little confusing, this one was…intensely confusing. I’m not sure if I’m blaming very vague, puzzling dialogue or a fast-and-loose translation from VIZ. It’s one of those cases where I got to the end kinda knowing how everything came together, but until then it was a bunch of “twists” and “shocks” that I didn’t have the groundwork to see as shocks at all.

A shame, as the concepts in this one were pretty neat— ~half was spent in a realm of sorts consisting of Levi’s memories, and the other half was, well, Friedrich showing his true colours.

It’s over-the-top and honestly sort of silly, but like…I don’t know, it seems to know it’s ridiculous? It’s so frilly and decadent and horny and on the cusp of being something very bizarre. Guilty pleasure. Vol3 when.

Scattered thoughts:
- still such beautiful art. The clothes! The shoes! Ahhh!!
- Friedrich is a garbage can garbage man. i like him
- this is what the kids would call problematic on so many levels
- I was playing nice in my first review but for real tho. Stella is dumb af. She’s so dumb. Girl. I know you have magic messing with your brain. But you’re dumb.
- don’t be shy. make it a reverse harem. i know you want to. just do it.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The plot thickens in this volume. A lot is going on, with Levi and Stella getting together, sort of. Stella has to confront Levi's past in this volume, which she readily accepts because she says she loves him. Well, in this volume, it turns out that Friedrich has other plans. He wants to make Stella his bride just to mess with Levi. So this whole volume is basically to show that Stella is being used in their eternal game, at least Friedrich's game. Also, it appears he is not the only one involved.

So far, my only complaint is Stella seems a bit 2 dimensional as a character. There is no focus on her past at all other than short little snippets of what she mentions. It's almost like she's lost her memory while the other beings are trying to consume hers? I'm not really sure. I wish we knew more about the main character Stella. My hope is the next few volumes delve a bit more into that.

I want to see where this story goes. I feel like it could be really interesting depending on the next volume or two. Definitely deserves a place on your "to read" list if you like books with different types of vampire-esque lore.

[Michelle Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosen Blood is deliciously divine. Four hot guys in a reverse harem manga. Reminds me of Vampire Knight or Blood +. Fans are going to love this series.

Stella is a young maid on her way to her new master's house. She gets lost in the woods and is found by four hot, mysterious guys. Stella is sick and when she is better asks the master of the house, Levi, if she can work as a maid for him. Even though the men and the house seems weird, Stella just ignores everything. She is a hopeless optimist and a romantic. She ignores the warning signs that these men are not human and living with them could being her death. She forges forward trying to see the humanity and kindness in each of the four. Unfortunately, Gilbert loses his mind in volume 1 and is imprisoned. Sadistic Friedrich seems to be manipulating everyone. And little Yoel has some hidden darkness that we haven't quite seen yet.

Will Stella come out of the mansion alive? Fans of paranormal romance are going to be in love with this series.