Call of the Night, Vol. 5: Volume 5

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Chapter 70 • Chapter 71 • Chapter 72 • Chapter 73 • Chapter 74 • Chapter 75 • Chapter 76 • Chapter 77 • Chapter 78 • Chapter 79 Chapter 160 • Chapter 161 • Chapter 162 • Chapter 163 • Chapter 164 • Chapter 165 • Chapter 166 • Chapter 167 • Chapter 168 • Chapter 169 Call of the Night feels more like an exploration of what mental health and overall abandonment effect the youth of the world. Based on comments made by other people within the world of this version of Japan, many young people become insomniacs, roaming the streets of Japan at night with less than a care in the world.

As often happens with manga serializations, the first volume of Call of the Night spent a number of chapters establishing its central situations, and felt a bit tentative in places. This volume solidified the series' tone and focus in a satisfying way. I liked the first volume, but I like this one even more. We learn more about each of our protagonists’ lives, get even richer emotional connections, and it all continues to captivate me as it does all this with a deft touch. There’s a pool party, massages, and misunderstandings (but nothing too severe.) Ever since I was a kid I've never wanted to sleep at night. I've always preferred staying up late. Night owl forever. But at some point down the line I was just absolutely immersed in the peacefulness of the night, the time when you're truly free. There's a certain type of person who wanders the night, and if that's you then welcome to this wonderful story. Chapter 30 • Chapter 31 • Chapter 32 • Chapter 33 • Chapter 34 • Chapter 35 • Chapter 36 • Chapter 37 • Chapter 38 • Chapter 39 • Chapter 35.5Chapter 19 • Chapter 20 • Chapter 21 • Chapter 22 • Chapter 23 • Chapter 24 • Chapter 25 • Chapter 26 • Chapter 27 • Chapter 28 • Chapter 29 This manga makes it seem really easy for minors to access alcohol in Japan. Like anyone can just go to a vending machine and get a beer. It can’t really be that easy to get a beer there can it? First of all I am so glad this is getting a English physical release, as it's one of my all time favourites. I really like the cover art and the feel of the book itself. Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 15 • Chapter 16 • Chapter 17 • Chapter 18

The way the book juggles all these plot lines and still manages to be sweet, creepy, fun., silly, romantic, and thoughtful at various times is something else. It is one of the most consistent books I’m reading and it is the best shonen series in my pile right now, hands down ( Spy x Family is super close though). There are some minor wobbles that keep this from quite getting full marks. We see the lure of the night without much of its negative side, for one--especially when it comes to the ability of women to move about without interference or outright predation. Kiyohomi's story at the end of the volume doesn't sugarcoat how oppressive Japanese office life can be for a woman who doesn't already have the protection of a male partner, and I imagine author Kotoyama will not stop there. It isn't an omission so much as something they haven't gotten around to yet, I think. At first I didn't think much of this manga, I was mainly attracted to the art style (same mangaka as dagashi kashi btw), but boy was I in for a journey. I related to this manga on a deeper level as I saw them explore the night like i've always wanted. Chapter 40 • Chapter 41 • Chapter 42 • Chapter 43 • Chapter 44 • Chapter 45 • Chapter 46 • Chapter 47 • Chapter 48 • Chapter 49Chapter 140 • Chapter 141 • Chapter 142 • Chapter 143 • Chapter 144 • Chapter 145 • Chapter 146 • Chapter 147 • Chapter 148 • Chapter 149

This also marks the end of my original goal of 15 Books Read for the 2022 Challenge I set myself! Woohoo!

Customer reviews

I mean, Ko’s straight up running from a life where nobody seems to give a crap about anything he does (how is he fourteen and dropped out of school and nobody notices!?), but for all her supernatural allure, Nozuna definitely spends a lot of this volume wrapped up in the mundanity of it all. It took me awhile (because I had to read some other books for review/eval), but I am finished with Vol 2 and I really enjoyed.

This novel they continue the story of Ko and his classmate Akira, and later on interact with a office worker who used Nazuna’s services in the past. Shenanigans ensue, and the impact made on her life I’m hoping will lead to a better future for that woman. And the surrounding material is so good. Despite her eyebrow raising proclivities towards younger “men”, Anko is a villain, but only from one perspective. From another it’s quite obvious how she sees her work as important and, simultaneously, how much of a threat it is to the vampire community. Sometimes you need a moustache twirler of a villain, but this sort of story about what your humanity means at the end of it all is better served with a little nuance. Ko’s friend Mahiru goes to Anko, the detective who killed a starving vampire, to rat out Ko’s activities. Mahiru, however, is already deeper in this mess than he realizes. And while Nazuna and Ko are learning to be honest, Ko’s gotten a whole other kind of offer from Hakka… I really liked where they went with Akari, who is incredibly suspicious of Nozuna (with reason - vampire and all), but turns out to be far less the jealous friend and just, well, an actual friend. It’s nice that she sits in the story as the one thing that tethers Ko to his old life. Ko and Nozuna continue their little dance and it turns out that neither one of them is terribly experienced at love, which was kind of obvious considering how touchy about the subject Nozuna gets. Despite the characters’ inexperience, there are definitely some lessons about life being imparted here.The pool guys kept going on about how hot and cute she is but she looks so childlike, it’s creepy. The author kept showing close ups of the women’s butts at the pool but they’re all so flat it was more funny than sexy. While there was more perversion in this volume than last time, something I appreciate is that its handled well (by manga standards). Yes, there's fan service, but it's not in your face gratuitous, and yes Ko feels a lot of sexual feelings towards Nazuna, but no sex occurs and its clear that Ko's feelings are due to him being a hormonal teenager. Chapter 80 • Chapter 81 • Chapter 82 • Chapter 83 • Chapter 84 • Chapter 85 • Chapter 86 • Chapter 87 • Chapter 88 • Chapter 89 Chapter 100 • Chapter 101 • Chapter 102 • Chapter 103 • Chapter 104 • Chapter 105 • Chapter 106 • Chapter 107 • Chapter 108 • Chapter 109