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The Black Cat & the Vampire

Japanese title:
寄宿舎の黒猫は夜をしらない
Kishukusha no Kuroneko wa Yoru wo Shiranai

“If vampires have the power to charm people, that would fit him perfectly.”

Set in a snowy fantasy boarding school in a nonexistent country, Nikke Taino’s “The Black Cat & The Vampire” sets the perfect eerie Halloween mood. Following honor student Yuki who just wants a quiet life of studying, there’s a mystery at the school when fellow student Aula wakes up dazed and weak, two bloody puncture wounds on his neck. Thus starts the rumor that surely there’s a monster on their secluded scenic campus—a vampire.

Almost instantly, Yuki starts to suspect the stunning and charismatic head boy Jean. “Vampires seduce people with their beautiful looks. And then latch onto their necks, so they say.” Vowing to get closer to Jean to find out the truth, Yuki feels himself drawn to the older boy, seeing a yearning and sadness in his flirtations. Jean says Yuki is the only one he can love and trust, specifically because Yuki doesn’t care for him. But what will happen if Yuki finds himself falling for Jean…?

Jean isn’t disgusted by garlic, nor does he avoid human food, and his teeth are as normal as anyone’s. But Yuki can’t shake the feeling that there’s some sort of supernatural allure to Jean. Strange things keep happening at their school and around Jean, but is Jean actually the culprit, or is he just another victim of circumstance?

I LOVE Nikke Taino’s work, and this is no exception. I live for the yearning and drama of Jean being madly in love with the only person who he desperately wants to never love him back. The characters are all so wonderful and have their own endearing personalities, and having such a wide cast of characters—as Nikke Taino generally does—makes the world feel so full and alive.

If you’re in the mood for a wonderful, fantastical winter mystery, I can’t recommend this enough. Is Jean really a vampire, or is he just an ethereally alluring man surrounded by misfortune? You, dear reader, just have to find out for yourself.