Rosario + Vampire

Rosario + Vampire (ロザリオとバンパイア) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akihisa Ikeda. The story revolves around Tsukune Aono, a boy who accidentally gets enrolled in a school inhabited by monsters and demons. He quickly befriends Moka Akashiya, a vampire who soon develops an obsession with his blood, and later meets other girls who soon take a romantic liking to him. The manga began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Jump, from August 2004 to June 2007 (one extra chapter was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 2007). A sequel to the first series, Rosario + Vampire: Season II (ロザリオとバンパイア seasonII), is ongoing and began serialization in November 2007 in Jump Square. The series is licensed in North America by Viz Media and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment.

A 13-episode anime adaptation of Rosario + Vampire aired in Japan from January 3 to March 27, 2008. A second season titled Rosario + Vampire Capu2 continued the series, introducing more characters from the manga and new anime-exclusive characters, also aired in Japan between October 2 and December 24, 2008. At Anime Central 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they have acquired both anime seasons of Rosario + Vampire for release in 2011.

Plot
Tsukune Aono is a normal high school freshman who is unable to get into any private school due to his poor grades. His parents soon enroll him to Yōkai Academy, which, upon arriving, turns out to be a secret school for supernatural monsters and mythological creatures disguised as humans. Tsukune quickly realizes his admission into Yōkai Academy must have been a mistake and fears for his life. He quickly becomes friends with the beautiful Moka Akashiya, who turns out to be a vampire attracted to the sweet taste of his blood. While at first Moka was upset upon discovering Tsukune's human identity, she realizes that he is the first real friend she had ever made. Despite Moka's vampiric nature, she is a kind girl and Tsukune quickly falls for her, and ultimately decides to stay at Yōkai Academy despite the various dangers while hiding his human identity from the faculty and other students. Tsukune soon discovers that when he removes the rosario around Moka's neck, she transforms into her true vampire form (her true personality is sealed, the kind Moka being an artificial persona), being stronger and more powerful than almost any other creature at the school, and Tsukune is the only person who can physically remove it to transform her. However, "Inner Moka" has an entirely different, often cold and merciless, personality, thus the rosary is only removed in dire emergencies.

As the school year continues, Tsukune becomes involved with other students who start out as enemies but who are won over into becoming his friends: Kurumu Kurono, a succubus; Ginei Morioka, a perverted werewolf who is a second-year student and president of the school's Newspaper Club; Yukari Sendo, an eleven-year-old witch; Ruby Tojo, a witch from the human world who later takes up various jobs around the school, and Mizore Shirayuki, a yuki-onna (a teen version of the legendary snow-woman of Japanese folk tales) who stalks around Tsukune, believing them to be soulmates. However, after Tsukune befriends each of the girls, they become friendly rivals along with Moka, vying for Tsukune's affections, and later most become members of the school's Newspaper Club with Tsukune and stand by him even after they learn that he is really a human.

Later on in the second manga serialization, Kokoa Shuzen, Moka’s younger half-sister, appears, and as time goes on, they discover dangerous organizations like ANTI-THESIS and Fairy Tale and must do battle against them to keep the school and both the monster and human worlds safe, and Tsukune starts to undergo changes that will truly solidify his role as the link between the human and monster worlds.

Yokai Academy
Yokai Academy (陽海学園) is a special school made for the purpose of monsters coexisting with humans. It was founded by the three Dark Lords, one of whom is the dean of the school. Yokai Academy is surrounded by a barrier called the Great Barrier (大結界), which creates an alternate world separate from the human realm, hiding it from plain sight. The only known way to get to Yokai Academy from the human world is through a bus that travels through a tunnel called the "Tunnel of the Fourth Dimension", which has various "mouths" that open throughout Japan. The barrier is powered by a rosary seal that is similar to Moka's, and according to Ruby in the anime, if the rosary seal powering the barrier breaks, all of the suppressed energy contained in the yōkai world will flood over to the human world, creating chaos and disorder.

Manga
Rosario + Vampire began serialization in the August 2004 issue of Monthly Shōnen Jump. The first tankōbon was released in Japan by Shueisha on October 4, 2004 and sold ten volumes until October 4, 2007 under its Jump Comics imprint. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media, releasing them between June 8, 2008 and November 3, 2009 under it Shōnen Jump Advanced imprint, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. Rosario + Vampire: Season II, a continuation to the series, began seriailization in the November 2007 issue of Jump Square. The first tankōbon was released by Shueisha on June 4, 2008; as of November 4, 2010, eight volumes have been released under its Jump Comics SQ imprint. Like the first series, Season II is licensed for distribution in North America by Viz Media and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, with 3 volumes currently available as of December 7, 2010.

Anime
A 13-episode anime adaptation produced by Gonzo and directed by Takayuki Inagaki aired in Japan from January 3 to March 27, 2008 on Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, and TV Kanagawa, with subsequent runs on Television Saitama, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, and Kids Station. The anime adaptation roughly follows the first twelve chapters of the manga, and focuses more on the romantic comedy aspect and fanservice as well as the "Monster of the Week" motif that was previously featured in tokusatsu shows. Six DVD compilation volumes were released by Gonzo between April 25, September 26, 2008. A box set was released on January 29, 2009.

A second season based on the Season II manga called Rosario + Vampire Capu2 (ロザリオとバンパイア CAPU2) aired on TV Osaka between October 2 and December 24, 2008 with subsequent runs on Tokyo MX, Mie TV, Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama, Gifu Broadcasting System, Inc., Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, and Kids Station. Six DVD volumes were released between December 21, 2008 and May 22, 2009, with a box set released on March 19, 2010.

The anime uses pieces of theme music for each season: an opening theme and an ending theme. The opening theme for the first season is "Cosmic Love" and the ending theme is called "Dance in the Velvet Moon". The opening theme for the second season is "DISCOTHEQUE" and the ending theme is "Trinity Cross". The songs are performed by Nana Mizuki, the voice actress for Moka Akashiya in the series. Both seasons of the anime are licensed for North American distribution by Funimation Entertainment and are planning to release the series in 2011. On December 13, 4Kids has announced that they will air the show as part of their fall 2011 schedule.

Drama CD
A drama CD was released by Pioneer LDC on July 25, 2008. Most of the voice actors from the anime reprise their roles as their respective characters.

Internet Radio
An internet radio show promoting the anime entitled Radio! Rosario + Vampire (ラジオ!ロザリオとバンパイア) aired on Onsen between December 27, 2007 and March 27, 2008. Another radio show promoting the second anime called Radio! Rosario + Vampire Capu2 (ラジオ：ラジオ!ロザリオとバンパイア CAPU2) also aired on Onsen between October 23, 2008 and April 23, 2009. The shows are hosted by Misato Fukuen and Kimiko Koyama, the voices of Kurumu Kurono and Yukari Sendo, respectively. A CD for the first radio show was released by Sony Music Entertainment on August 6, 2008 and a CD for the second radio show was released on June 24, 2009.

Video games
A visual novel entitled Rosario + Vampire: Tanabata no Miss Yōkai Gakuen (ロザリオとバンパイア 七夕のミス陽海学園) was developed by Capcom and was released on March 30, 2008 for the Nintendo DS. Another visual novel entitled Rosario + Vampire Capu2: Koi to Yume no Rhapsodia (ロザリオとバンパイア CAPU2 恋と夢の狂想曲（ラプソディア）) was developed by Compile Heart and was released for the PlayStation 2 on July 23, 2009. The player assumes the role of Tsukune Aono in both games, and both visual novels features new characters exclusive to the series.

Music
A series of character singles for the first season of the anime were released by King Records. The first set of singles, featuring Moka Akashiya (Nana Mizuki), Kurumu Kurono (Fukuen) and Yukari Sendo (Koyama), were released on February 14, 2008. The second set of singles, featuring Mizore Shirayuki (Rie Kugimiya) and Ruby Tojo (Saeko Chiba), were released on March 26, 2008. A compilation album of all six singles was also released. An original soundtrack was released on December 25, 2008.

A set of character singles for the second season were also released by King Records. The first set of singles for Moka, Kokoa Shuzen (Chiwa Saito), Kurumu, and Yukari were released on October 29, 2008, while the second set of singles featuring Mizore and Ruby were released on November 26, 2008 along with a compilation album. An album entitled Rosario + Vampire: Idol Cover BEST (ロザリオとバンパイア アイドルカバーBEST) was released on February 18, 2009.

Manga
In Japan, the third volume of Rosario + Vampire: Season II reached #10 on the Oricon and Tohan charts, selling 74,559 copies. Volume 4 reached #11 on the Oricon charts, selling 63,312 copies between June 1–7, 2009, and #22 between June 8–14, 2009, selling 26,858 copies. Volume 5 reached #17 on the Oricon charts, selling 42,705 copies between September 28-October 4, 2009, and #19 between October 5–11, 2009, selling 35,797 copies. Volume 6 ranked at #10 on the Oricon charts between February 1–7, 2010, selling 58,549 copies, and #29 between February 8–14, 2010, selling 24,387 copies. Volume 7 debuted at #13 on the Oricon charts between May 31-June 6, 2010, selling 45,575 copies, and #23 between June 7–13, 2010, selling 30,334 copies. Volume 8 debuted at #17 between November 1–7, 2010, selling 54,130 copies, and 28 between November 8–14, 2010, selling 22,451 copies.

In North America, the second volume of Rosario + Vampire was featured on BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels, ranking at #6 in August 2008 and #16 in September 2008, with the fifth volume ranking at #7 in February 2009. Rosario + Vampire has also been featured on The New York Times Best-Seller Manga list, with volume 6 debuting at #8 between March 8–14, 2009 and #9 between April 5–11, 2009. Volume 7 debuted at #2 between May 31-June 6, 2009, #3 between June 7–13, 2009, #4 between June 14–20, 2009, and #6 between June 21–27, 2009. Volume 8 debuted at #5 between July 26-August 1, 2009, #2 between August 2–8, 2009, #3 between August 9–15, 2009, #4 between August 16–22, 2009, #5 between August 23-September 5, 2009, and #7 between September 6–13, 2009. Volume 9 debuted at #2 between October 4–24, 2009 and #9 between October 25–31, 2009. Volume 10 debuted at #7 between November 1–7, 2009, #6 between November 8–14, 2009, #5 between November 15–21, 2009, #7 between November 22–28, 2009, and #3 between November 29–December 5, 2009.

Volume 1 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II debuted on The New York Times Best-Seller Manga list at #1 from April 4–April 25, 2010, #4 between April 25 and May 1, 2010, #6 between May 9–15, 2010, #10 between May 16–22, 2010, and #9 between May 23–29, 2010. Volume 2 of Season II reached #2 between August 1–7, 2010, #1 between August 8–14, 2009, #2 between August 15–21, 2010, #3 between August 22–28, 2010, and #7 between August 29-September 4, 2010. Volume 3 of Season II reached #2 on The New York Times Best-Seller Manga list between December 6 and 12, 2010.

Anime
THEM Anime Reviews gave the show a mixed response. The show is mostly criticized for its formulatic episodes due to its frequent use of "monster-of-the-week". Conversely, Moka's alternate personality is praised as the sometimes more interesting character in the series, but is underutilized.

Manga

 * Shueisha's official Rosario + Vampire manga website
 * Shueisha's official Rosario + Vampire: Season II manga website

Anime

 * Gonzo's official Rosario + Vampire anime website
 * Gonzo's official Rosario + Vampire Capu2 anime website
 * Rosario + Vampire - The Official Anime Website from FUNimation
 * Rosario + Vampire - The Official Anime Website from FUNimation
 * Rosario + Vampire - The Official Anime Website from FUNimation

Video games

 * Compile Heart's official Rosario + Vampire Capu2 PlayStation 2 video game website

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