(L) The Seraph of The End (Owari no Serafu) [MANGA]

[Key Board]

hmm.. the manga reminds me of Crest of the Stars, strangely
with Vampires being the Abh and United Mankind being Humanity
It's SUPPOSED to be balanced gray and gray morality, but the writing seems to portray a certain side as more benevolent

[shiki15-]

everone think about Mika x Kururu is possible ?

after read ch.22 i fell to Kururu x Mika XD

[larethian]

Just wondering, is anyone reading the Viz version of the manga? I'm interested to know whether they have different translations for the terminologies compared to the previous fan translations. Anyone who's tracking the prequel LN knows why

[bakato]

Originally Posted by larethian

Just wondering, is anyone reading the Viz version of the manga? I'm interested to know whether they have different translations for the terminologies compared to the previous fan translations. Anyone who's tracking the prequel LN knows why

I did. Didn't really notice any difference, but then again I don't really remember the fan translations.

[Velsy]

I was reading this over the last few weeks. I was enjoining it very much. It has an interesting story and interesting characters. For a while I thought it was about war with the vampires. But when something felt off, I went back and re-read the start and realize it wasn't the vampires who released the virus and such. They didnt seem to claim responsibility for anything at the beginning. Seems they merely took advantage of the situation instead.

Lot of intersting mysteries to this. Like I want to know more about Shinoa, hows is a Hiiragi so distant from her family, yet they are the most powerful family leading the humans ? Theres something interesting hinted between her, Glen and her dead sister from one of the conversations they had. I could pull up a few theories using the little pieces gathered so far, but thats about it for now. Whys a Hiragii subordinate to Glen? When Glen says its fine if I am killed by you. It sorta starts to paint a picture.

I still approve of the vampires being the main enemy, but I suspect the Hiiragi leadership are power hungry tyrants for the humans.

Well thats just my thoughts summoned up quickly on it ^_^. I wish there was many more chapters for it ^_^ Quite enjoyable for a story. So saids I ^_^

[larethian]

Have read all 4 volumes of the prequel LN and all 6 volumes of the manga tanks. I'm not caught up with the magazine chapters since I no longer procure Jump SQ. But v7 of the manga tank is expected to be released next month if I'm not wrong.

Those who have no intention of reading the prequel or ok to be spoiled may check the spoilers for background info. Will also be tagging manga v5/v6 spoilers.

Originally Posted by Velsy

I was reading this over the last few weeks. I was enjoining it very much. It has an interesting story and interesting characters. For a while I thought it was about war with the vampires. But when something felt off, I went back and re-read the start and realize it wasn't the vampires who released the virus and such. They didnt seem to claim responsibility for anything at the beginning. Seems they merely took advantage of the situation instead.

Spoiler for speculations of culprits based on prequel:

It should be the Hyakuya Church that had released the virus. Hyakuya Church is the patron of the orphanage that Yuu and Mika were in. The prequel has yet to end but strong evidence is pointing to Hyakuya Church unless a twist comes by later.

Spoiler for about vampires from information gleaned from the prequel:

Vampires lived underground and had no interest in humans. Before the development of the Kiju (Oni-Curse) / Kiju-Soubi (Oni-Curse-Equip), even with the most powerful sorcery techniques, humans could not come close to being a match for the vampires. Supposedly, the development and research of Kiju techniques, also said to be forbidden techniques, was what attracted the attention of the vampires.

Originally Posted by Velsy

Lot of intersting mysteries to this. Like I want to know more about Shinoa, hows is a Hiiragi so distant from her family, yet they are the most powerful family leading the humans ? Theres something interesting hinted between her, Glen and her dead sister from one of the conversations they had. I could pull up a few theories using the little pieces gathered so far, but thats about it for now. Whys a Hiragii subordinate to Glen? When Glen says its fine if I am killed by you. It sorta starts to paint a picture.

Spoiler for brief prequel info from the 4 volumes with many details omitted- about the Hiiragi sisters, Ichinose, and the Hiiragi family:

8 years ago, well actually since hundreds of years ago, in the world of sorcery, 2 organizations stood at the top in Japan itself (not counting the rest of the world): The 'Mikado no Oni (Imperial Demon)' group led by the Hiiragis, and the Hyakuya Church.

In 'Mikado no Oni', under the Hiiragis were ten subordinate houses (which have numbers in their family names), though the numbers did not necessarily reflect their house strength. From a thousand years ago to five hundred years ago, the Ichinoses were the strongest and most favored subordinate house under the Hiiragi house. However, due to a love story gone awry, they split ways. The Ichinoses lost their glory and were labeled as trash. Their continued existence was for the Hiiragis to humiliate them. The Ichinoses also did not have sufficient power to retaliate against any kind of threats, humiliations, and whatnot from the Hiiragis. Ichinose Glen and Hiiragi Mahiru were childhood sweethearts but of course due to their family situation, one can guess what happened. Ichinose Glen was a genius and had potential to wield great power. He grew up with an ambition to crush the Hiiragi House, avenge the Ichinoses and to be with Mahiru. Things did not really go the way he expected, especially when he was caught off guard by many sudden large scale events that happened with Mahiru being in the center of it. Furthermore, despite his power, he still paled in comparison to Hiiragi Kureto, the upcoming head of the Hiiragis ever since Mahiru betrayed her family. To cut the story short for now, the prequel depicts a series of key events that took place 8 years ago to connect up with the manga. It's much darker and more despairing (since Glen could not do much time and again due to the overwhelming power stacked against him). But then again, the manga is expected to get darker with the turn of events as of late. Though at the very least, I'm willing to bet Yuu will have a happier end than Glen, whose fate is already sealed by certain facts found in the manga sequel. >_<

Regarding Hiiragi Mahiru and Shinoa, they were artificially conceived with the seed of their father in a woman possessed by an Oni. Their original existence was for the Hiiragis to further the experimentation in developing the Kiju technique, which will put the Hiiragis in the position of the most powerful sorcery organizations in the world. However due to the cost accrued and the difficulties, the research was halted and supposedly abandoned. However while growing up, Mahiru saw dreams and visions related to the Oni (not much details were given on this), and she knew that if the head knew about it, he would restart and seek to complete the research. Shinoa too had the same experiences. In order to protect her little sister from being experimented on, she linked up with the Hyakuya Church, offered herself for experimentation with the hope of completing the research so as to gain complete control of the Oni essence inside her. In the midst of it, it seemed like she stumbled onto something greater and more nefarious and started moving on her own. Mahiru was shown to be a genius, and she pretty much had everyone (the Hiiragis, the Hyakuya Church) on her strings. In the prequel, she mentioned a prophecy to Glen:
That the world would end on Christmas (ie. 8 years ago). Because God was angry with human ambition, which grew to the point of touching something taboo. Thus when the trumpet of the Apocalypse sounded, the Seraph (angel) of the End would descend. The reason why the virus would wipe out those above age 13 was to kill all adult humans with ambition.

For Shinoa, she was considered to be inept compared to her big sister and to the rest of the Hiiragi elites.

For Glen, he feels a strong guilt in not being able to save Mahiru despite his promise to do so.

With regards to the latest prequel development up till v4, Mahiru appeared to have finished what she wanted to do and sought to be killed by Glen as she brought the last critical piece of intel to him. Due to the Kiju, she had already lost much of her humanity. But Glen did not kill her but tried to die together with her as he could not keep his promise. It didn't happen. Finally, it was revealed in those documents that she brought to him, about Hyakuya Church's plan, known as the 'Seraph of the End' plan for destroying the world. In those documents, there was a large list of children who were being experimented on to create weapons of mass destruction with the power that exceeds even that of Kiju. The list include the following names:
Amane Yuuichiro
Shindou Mikaela
Kimidzuki Shihou
Kimidzuki Mirai
Saotome Yoichi
Saotome Tomoe
....

This really connected to v5/v6 of the manga, on why Glen let them have the Black Series of Oni.

Incidentally, Ashuramaru used to be Mahiru's Oni.

Originally Posted by Velsy

I still approve of the vampires being the main enemy, but I suspect the Hiiragi leadership are power hungry tyrants for the humans.

Well thats just my thoughts summoned up quickly on it ^_^. I wish there was many more chapters for it ^_^ Quite enjoyable for a story. So saids I ^_^

Spoiler for for my own speculation based on developments up till v6:

Felid seems to be the main enemy for now. At least there is no sign of Hyakuya Church. Felid seems to be plotting something in the shadows. As for Krul, it seems like her motivation is to destroy the humans who have laid their hands on something forbidden. See 1st 2 spoilers.

Overall, this story is more interesting than I originally expected. Even though I'm a fan of Kagami's works, I didn't expect this to be as 'good' as what I had read before as well his ongoing other works, due to the fact that the manga was in Jump SQ and might have more generic Shounen elements. The way the prequel helped to link things up and create more foreshadowing proved me wrong which was nice.

[bakato]

Originally Posted by larethian

Just wondering, is anyone reading the Viz version of the manga? I'm interested to know whether they have different translations for the terminologies compared to the previous fan translations. Anyone who's tracking the prequel LN knows why

Well, I recently rtook another look at the Viz translations and it looks like they translated Demon Weapons as Cursed Gear.

[Velsy]

Awesome larethian, Thats some good information to know (adding to the story). I didnt realized a prequel had already been made. I'd want to read it now too.

I had also felt that Glen got a bad ending prior the story. Being forced to kill the girl he liked? Glen still looks to have some good people by his side, But his failure does look like it still haunts him. His current goal to maybe is whats holding him together. Yet, an interesting fact I have noticed, Is that Yuu seems to be one who is able to make him smile. Raising Yuu as his parent guardian seems to show some life in him and a bit of hope. I really hope Glen becomes one of those characters that fights and dies in the final battle and wins. I hope thats the end planned for his tale. The last few chapters really showed how much it hurts him seeing his soldiers die. Always signs of a good commander. But a question remainss for me, is it like Shinoa Speculated, is he getting played by demon Mahiro. Or is Glen still fighting on his own will. Well if hes being used/played, I reckon he will make the right discussions when the time counts. He strikes me as that type of character. He wont sacrifice Yuu ^_~

As for Shinoa, well I've always liked her eyes. Yet I couldn't really decide if there was some deeper meaning to it, or if it was just how the artists drew her. After they got put down by the vampire nobles pretty fast, I guess I ruled out some deeper meaning as she didnt show anything particular special. She fell easily like the rest of them. Yet learning of her birth background. Well I guess there really is something different. But its yet to be noticeably seen <.< Did Mahiru really care for Shinoa ? Reference from Shinoa was she grew up alone not even knowing her sister.

As for the last few chapters.
Those vampires really need to die >< really hope the humans can turn the tables in this war.
To be honest, I like Vampire Field Bathoney. Whether hes the main villain or not I like more than any of the other vampires. He isnt some arrogant stuck up blood sucker who think hes above other "filthy" races. He appears to know that if you underestimate the humans, you get dead. He knows hes stronger, but he isnt on his high horse like the other vampires. Thats probably what I like about him best. Hes a respectable villain. I also think hes fooling around hides his true potential, I wouldnt be surprised if he really could, defeat Kuru in a 1 on 1 fight.

Kuru I originally didn't care about. Seemed like she was just treating Mic as her dog. Yet in these last few chapters there has been something that caught my attention. She was suppose to kill the Seraph and was quite aware of him. But she let Yuu live until Field let him escape (even tho I dont think Field being shot in the head was part of his plan). So I am now interested in what Kuru is up too. What is she keeping hidden from the other vampires O_o its not that she got remorse when told to kill kids is it? It be great if its something interesting.

That last chapter was specifically brutal in causalities, they introduce a new squad leader who survived a battle, only to have her and the rest of her surviving teammates killed later in an ambush. If I recorded this right
15/15 -Shinoa, Glen, Narumi Teams
0/15 (8 killed in battle, 7 later in an ambush)
19 MIA, 11 KIA
45 MIA
Things dont look so good >< It could be a complete wipe out apart from the 3 main teams :/

Also Mic seems like hes been really suffering. I really hope Yuu can find what it takes to put him out of his suffering. like a best friend should. It may turn out similar to what Glen had to go through with Mahiru? <.< I dont think there is a cure for vampirism <.<

Also something to add on Mic... Doesnt he realize Yuu is doing what hes always wanted to do? Thats killing Vampires. He doesnt care hes being used and just wants to be useful. Mic doesnt quite get it right?

[larethian]

Good news is that the prequel is also licensed and v1 should be out end of year (hopefully).

[Rennir]

Whoa I didn't realize there was a prequel. End of the year seems so far away

[tntsgoboom]

I just finished reading the latest chapter that was released (ch. 30) and have to say I have really enjoyed the series thus far. I'm pretty happy they are going to have an anime adaptation coming out this spring.

[Alhazad2003]

Hoboy, the heroes are really in for it now. I hope they don't get creamed like last time and have to release Angel Yuichiro to save the day, though at this point that wouldn't surprise me. Guren maybe in over his head against Crowley, and Mika's on his way to find Yuichiro and "save him from the humans" so to speak. Let's hope no other Progenitors come to back Crowley up, or it might be complete massacre for the heroes. But we'll see.

[Nuvi]

Sooo, I'm at chapter 5 and this whole friendship and virginity jokes are irritating me. Do they get toned down a bit later? I really like the series so far but these two issues are hindering with my full enjoyment.

[Johnny]

It's Takaya Kagami, friendship is the life line of every work he does. Don't really remember the virginity jokes so that will tell you how long they last...

[Apoptosis]

Originally Posted by Johnny

It's Takaya Kagami, friendship is the life line of every work he does. Don't really remember the virginity jokes so that will tell you how long they last...

Ironic how his works are so dark in tone, but everything still boils down to the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP.

[larethian]

The so-called power of friendship is just a factor of motivation for a person to go beyond his original limits to reach a greater height. Note that pretty much most stories are about the protagonist being motivated by the people around him. Even Tatsuya is motivated by Miyuki to act (though in his case his source of power is of a totally different nature). Even in real-life history, there have been many well-known examples of humans going beyond their perceived limits in times of danger or in times when danger was perceived to befall on their loved ones.

There is actually wrong with using 'the power of friendship'. The flak started because some Shounen authors started to use 'the power of friendship' lazily and sloppily and as a convenient way to execute deus ex machinas in their stories, REPEATEDLY. Also, due to increased number of Shounen mangas permeating the industry, people are tired of it and want to see something different. And for that reason alone, it became 'bad' to them. They forgot to examine each story on a case by case basis. Worse than that, these days, people just read something on the Internet and without doing their own thinking, start echoing others without even understanding the rationale and logic behind it. It has become a fad to hate Shounen elements and 'power of friendship' for no well thought-out reason. Never follow the masses mindlessly and fall prey to that without analyzing each story properly.

For the record on a very important distinction,

Spoiler:

Yuu is a black Oni series wielder. Like his two other male teammates, he has been experimented on by the Hyakuya Church (and also his birth origins is still a mystery and may be fantastical in nature - still not clear). Which means, for the most part, the power is already 'placed' inside of him. In most Kagami series, characters achieve immense powers in 2 different ways, as reincarnations of Godly beings, or as bodies of Human Experimentation. For Yuu, it is the later (and might contain the former as well though it's not clear). So the 'power of friendship' is more of a triggering factor for him to reach his already available potential, and not so much as an unplanned deus ex machina to reach a new level of power to overcome his foes lazily.

[Apoptosis]

It was a joke, but thanks for the serious analysis!

[Nuvi]

Chapter 14-15 and Yuu x Shinoa is finally official now. Chapter 18 and poor girl, doesn't know that she is in love with him, even Glen is tired of these two haha.

Man, the story is getting so good after chapter 12. Everyone who said that the MC is not likeable would have to bite their tongue because character development clearly showed in him. Yuu and Glen's interactions are so fun. ^^

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Nuvi

Chapter 14-15 and Yuu x Shinoa is finally official now.

Wait, what? What do you mean "official"? Because I was so not expecting any actual romance in this series.

[Zanfow]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

Wait, what? What do you mean "official"? Because I was so not expecting any actual romance in this series.

Well, Shinoa clearly has a crush on Yuu so it might happen.