Is it me, or does a love confession in the eighth volume of a shojo manga seem too early? I’m not complaining, mind you, but shojo series are infamous for dragging out the will they/won’t they part of the story. Sometimes it’ll go more than thirty volumes before an “I like you” is uttered by one of the main characters. But to have Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite reveal mutual feelings between its two leads in just eight volumes is not only surprising; it’s also a welcome change to the medium.

Much of this volume is spent on Hina and Kyuta coming to terms with their feelings. After finding out Hina’s gone to Rinya’s bar, Kyuta and Viktor come rushing over to save her. But instead of a rescue mission, Kyuta finds himself the target of Hina’s love. After realizing what her thirst for Kyuta’s blood means, our titular otaku vampire desires to speak openly and honestly with her handsome neighbor.

This surprisingly comes together nicely. Although it drags out a bit of the chase in the initial chapter, things pick up quickly and appropriately when Kyuta arrives on the scene. Almost everyone there is filled with emotion, be it with love, jealousy, or some other parental instinct. Only Rinya seems to have no idea how to feel, except that he’s now part of this group of weird vampires and the occasional human or two.

But there’s still a problem: Kyuta’s contract with Viktor. With it still intact, that means Hina can’t do anything to make their partnership official. So it’s a great moment seeing Kyuta wanting to rid himself of Viktor’s blood, as it demonstrates how much he’s grown as a person since the beginning of the series. Hina herself also has grown more since the series’s first volume, as she now takes on independent outings without freaking out about her surroundings.

One other problem arrives, albeit a lot more different than romance. Nay, it’s Hina’s aunt’s online fan fiction, one that’s splattered with 18+ and NSFW ratings all over it. There’s no way our main vampire lead should be allowed to read such filth! Viktor and Kyuta try to come up with every plan imaginable to keep Hina from perverting her brain, with one idea being so wacky, no actual human with a brain would actually consider doing it. Thankfully, Kyuta comes up with a sensible solution, even though the outcome is all for naught.

As all of this is going on, something keeps slipping Viktor’s mind. And boy, it’s definitely something he should never have forgotten. After all, when it’s something like an important parental figure that’s making their way (slowly, on a boat powered by demonic breath), being absent-minded may not be a forgivable excuse for such a thing. Considering we’ve yet to see what Hina’s father even looks like, his entrance will either be shocking or hilarious; there’s no in-between.

Volume Six of Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite brings in all the emotion one could want from a shojo manga series. On top of that, it’s got some surprisingly good humor, especially when it comes to Hina’s taste in fan fiction. But now that Hina’s dad is about to arrive, this series will go one in two ways: a silly scenario, or a dark and serious one. Considering Julietta Suzuki’s MO, it could be either or.

Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.