Lament of the Lamb, Volume 7

羊のうた [Hitsuji no Uta] #7

by Kei Toume

Kazuna Takashiro and his long-lost sister Chizuna must live with the fact that they are cursed by a blood disease that will eventually turn them into vampires.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Vampires, Seinen

241 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2005

About the author

Kei Toume (冬目景) studied at the Tama Art University in Tokyo. Her first manga, Rokujō gekijō, was published in Comic Burger magazine in 1992. The manga won her the Shiki prize in a contest held by Kodansha in 1993. A year later, her follow-up manga Mannequin also won a prize.

She started the series Lament of the Lamb in Comic Burger in 1996. This series ran for six years and was adapted into a radio play, an anime and a live action film.

In 1999, she began Sing Yesterday For Me, a manga inspired by a song of the Japanese rock group RC Succession. In addition, Toume contributes to a lot of fanzines and specialized magazines, and is also active in video games and films.

Her manga Kurogane and Lament of the Lamb have been translated into English.

Reviews

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten konec se mi nezamlouvá.

[Anilea]

The first two volumes started strong and had much potential to expand the back stories and deliver more psychological horror; unfortunately, the narration became a slow,mundane and barely there by the time we reached the last volume; there’s almost no pay out and the ending is regrettably insulting; no man is worth dying for and especially your brother whom you parasites over because he reminds you of your awful dad. No, it’s a terrible conclusion to a story that could have expanded the complexity of trauma, incest, parasitism, co dependency and mental illness through the vampire metaphor, but it didn’t and I feel awful for it.

[RobLovesBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Last book of the series. Nothing really happens throughout the 7 vols. Go to school, not go to school, pass out, not pass out, control urge, not control urge, hospital, no hospital. Angst. "Get away from me!!". That's all 7 books.
Ending is "Huh?!"
Just so you know, they aren't vampires and won't be turning into vampires.
Even the synopsis has this fallacy (unless the translation is garbage).

[Rumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finale un po’ meh, non mi ha convinto. Probabilmente avrei apprezzato di più quello “originale” che l’autrice voleva creare prima di cambiare idea. Intervista molto piacevole. Peccato che in questo volume abbiano fatto un sacco di errori di traduzione.

[Iva · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW: http://sisterdelightbookcaffe.blogspo...

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this conclusion to Kei Toume's sickly twisted and dark manga, Hitsuji no Uta, many secrets are uncovered and questions left to ponder, is Mother still alive? Did Father truly kill himself? Will Kazuna be forced to do the unthinkable? Is Chizuna to meet the same demise as her mother?
And above all else, will any of these poor people involved in the Takashiro curse ever find peace?

This series was well paced, had a good selection of characters and character development, emotions were very well expressed, and had a satisfactory ending.

[Nicole Bunge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satisfactory ending to the series.
Is as it should be. I'm pleased they didn't do the 'happily ever after' fantasy ending. Life is like that, and it lends the story credence - something a nice wrap-up would have ruined - dismissing the 'dark magical realism' of the world to fantasy.
Not gonna spoiler it, just let it stand as such.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Direi che la fine mi è piaciuto parecchio. Uno sprazzo di ottimismo, finalmente...

Chizuna non mi è mai stata particolarmente simpatica, considerando che ha cercato di appropriarsi anche della vita del fratello per usarlo per i suoi scopi. Alla fin fine, Yaegashi è il mio personaggio preferito, che aspetta finché Kazuna rinsavisca.

[Vojtěch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elegie pro ovečku je - i když se to na první pohled nezdá - docela dost dobrá manga série, která má co nabídnout. Ti, kteří si potrpí na akci, nechť se této manze vyhnou obloukem. Avšak je přímo určena těm, kdo si potrpí na psychologické příběhy. Nechybí tu ani romantická linka, ale není zas tak silná, aby to obtěžovalo.

[Ingenue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not nearly creepy enough a conclusion from the series buildup. A letdown.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the ending... it didn't seem as conclusive as some manga i've read though. Satisfying.

[Leandro Dutra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best vampire story ever, at least to my tastes. Dark, dealing with deep emotions and duties (as befit the Japanese) of loyalty and love.