Call of the Night (manga/anime)
Call of the Night (Japanese: よふかしのうた, Hepburn: Yofukashi no Uta) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kotoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shōnen Sunday since August 2019. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media. An anime television series adaptation produced by Liden Films aired from July to September 2022 on Fuji TV‘s Noitamina programming block.
In 2023, the manga won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category.
Plot
Unable to sleep or find true satisfaction in his daily life, Ko Yamori stops going to school and begins wandering the streets at night. He encounters a girl named Nazuna Nanakusa, a vampire who shows Ko the joys of being a night-walker. This results in Ko wanting to be a vampire as well, but in order to achieve his goal he must first fall in love with her.
Characters
Main
- Ko Yamori (夜守コウ, Yamori Kō)
- Voiced by: Gen Satō (Japanese); Gabriel Regojo, Katelyn Barr (young) (English)
- A fourteen-year old boy in his third year of junior high, who slowly finds himself unable to sleep because of his dissatisfying life. To reinvigorate himself, he slips out at night to walk the streets. Ko is trying to fall in love with Nazuna in order to become a vampire and leave his human life. It is later revealed that as he begins to develop more emotionally, he can enter into a half-vampire state. This half-vampire state seems to be dependant on emotional or physical distress at first beginning happening as soon as blood is drawn either by blood-sucking or attack. Ko learns that slight pain, as small as an ear piercing, can activate the state as-well, Anko later gives Ko an ear piercing kit so that he can help in defending the group from increasing threats that begin to develop. Anko also believes that by entering this half-state repeatedly, Ko’s vampire half will eventually take over his human half, or that as his love develops for Nazuna, the transition will complete. Anko mentions that this is all speculation at this point due to Ko and Nazuna’s mere existence, that of which being Nazuna’s having been born from a vampire and a human, and Ko’s half-vampire transition.
- Nazuna Nanakusa (七草ナズナ, Nanakusa Nazuna)
- Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese); Natalie Rial (English)
- A “night-walker.” She encounters Ko on his night out, then offers to stay with him at an abandoned building to free himself of his worries, where she then sucks his blood as he sleeps. She is very shy when it comes to love and gets embarrassed easily, but enjoys lewd jokes and teasing Ko. She also loves to drink beer. It is later shown that Nazuna’s existence is a mystery to everyone involved. Thanks in part to this mystery, Nazuna does not know her exact age. She assumes that she has been around 30 to 40 years. She mentions her embarrassment with not being an older more classical vampire. Nazuna’s life cycle is also not understood as revealed by Kabura. Kabura was forced, begrudgingly, to raise Nazuna and that she believes this discrepancy regarding her life cycle has something to do with her parents being a human and vampire. Nazuna was left with Kabura by Nazuna’s mother after her death giving birth. Nazuna’s mother was the one that turned Kabura. Kabura is shocked to find Nazuna at a location given to her on a note, because she is completely identical to her mother, yet no older than around 4 years, possibly, unable to speak or feed herself, fully grown, calling into question her exact age. Kabura seems to suggest that a born vampire may age differently since bitten vampires are frozen in time. Nazuna having been born a vampire seems to have frozen at around the same age as Ko both mentally and physically, even though she has existed for 3 to 4 decades. It is also assumed that Nazuna might be the only vampire by birth currently known. She is kept at a distance from the main vampire group due to her stunted personality, lower intelligence and immaturity. No one knows what her birth could mean for the vampire world or what she is. Her age becomes a larger plot point when Anko reveals the way to kill vampires, which involves attaining a weakness item usually attached to a vampire’s past. Anko starts using these items to maim vampires connected to the main group. Prior to Nazuna learning about her birth from Kabura, she confides in Ko that she may have fallen in love once but cannot remember as vampires slowly lose their memories upon being turned by their love interest. Once Anko’s attacks begin with the weakness items, the group starts to hunt down and destroy their own items. Upon the revelation from Kabura that Nazuna was born a vampire, Nazuna and Ko come to the conclusion that she has no weakness. This assumption ends when Nazuna is attacked and wounded by one of the items. It is revealed to be her preserved umbilical cord kept by her father before he died, thus rectifying the missing parts of her history. Ko currently holds the item to protect it.
Humans
- Akira Asai (朝井アキラ, Asai Akira)
- Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori (Japanese); Jade Kelly, Juliet Simmons (young) (English)
- Ko’s childhood friend, who lives in the same apartment complex as him.
- Kiyosumi Shirakawa (白河清澄, Shirakawa Kiyosumi)
- Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese); Kelly Greenshield (English)
- A busy-body office worker and one of Nazuna’s clients from her massage gig. After hearing about her struggles in life due to her heavy work schedule, Ko vows to help her, as he feels they share the same plight, and will offer to turn her into a vampire when he becomes one himself.
- Mahiru Seki (夕真昼, Seki Mahiru)
- Voiced by: Kensho Ono (Japanese); Daman Mills (English)
- A popular boy at school, and one of Ko and Akira’s old friends, who also hangs out at night.
- Akihito Akiyama (秋山昭人, Akiyama Akihito)
- Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese); James Marler (English)
- Seri’s vampire underling. He was saved by Ko, then later asked Seri to make him a vampire after Ko helped him and Seri understand their feelings for each other. He is often referred to as ‘Draggo’, or ‘Menhera-san’ in the manga.
- Anko Uguisu (鶯餡子, Uguisu Anko)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Jessica Calvello (English)
- A vampire-hunting detective. She is a heavy smoker. She was Nazuna’s first attempt at creating a familiar when they were classmates at night school. The attempt failed because Anko did not meet the prerequisites to be turned. Later when Anko arrives home she is surprised by her family throwing her a birthday party. Her father gifts her a zippo lighter. Suddenly the lighter begins to agitate her father when he touches it, sending him into a frenzy resulting in him killing her mother. Anko understands immediately that the lighter has something to do with it and is able to pin her father down by forcing the lighter on him until the daylight destroys him. This incident causes her to loath vampires, kickstarting her hunting crusade. It is also revealed that her father was cheating on her mother potentially with the vampire Kiku Hoshimi.
Vampires
- Seri Kikyo (桔梗セリ, Kikyō Seri)
- Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese); Christina Kelly (English)
- A flirtatious vampire who resembles a gyaru. She approaches Ko when she hears that Nazuna is spending the night with a human where she attempts to suck his blood, until she is stopped by Nazuna. The two do not get along well, as she questions why Nazuna is spending so much time with Ko while not having turned him yet.
- Nico Hirata (平田ニコ, Hirata Niko)
- Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
- A vampire who doubles as a teacher who teaches night classes. She is not as accepting of Ko in her first encounter with him, but becomes willing to let him stay with Nazuna so long as he fulfills his intentions on becoming a vampire and Nazuna continues to suck his blood.
- Kabura Honda (本田カブラ, Honda Kabura)
- Voiced by: Shizuka Itō (Japanese); Patricia Duran Hays (English)
- A vampire who wears elegant dresses. She works as a nurse in a hospital and she is Nazuna’s stepmother.
- Midori Kohakobe (小繁縷ミドリ, Kohakobe Midori
- Voiced by: Naomi Ōzora (Japanese); Emily Neves (English)
- A long-sleeved shirt-wearing vampire who works in a maid cafe. She is very aware of her good looks leading her to seem a little self-absorbed in some situations.
- Hatsuka Suzushiro (蘿蔔ハツカ, Suzushiro Hatsuka)
- Voiced by: Azumi Waki (Japanese); Annie Wild (English)
- A male vampire who appears feminine because of his slender body, shoulder-length hair, cute face, and choice of clothing.
- Kiku Hoshimi (星見キク, Hoshimi Kiku)
- A poorly understood vampire of an unknown age that suffers from extreme sociopathy turning hundreds of people into servants. There is a theoretical rule, never observed, that suggests if a vampire loves a human and bites them then the human dies. Kiku has been feverishly trying to test this rule to prove she has the emotions for love. Currently Mahiru is her next target.
Media
Manga
Call of the Night is written and illustrated by Kotoyama, his second manga series after Dagashi Kashi. Kotoyama named the series after the song of the same name by Creepy Nuts, which later became the ending theme song for the anime adaptation. It started in Shogakukan‘s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday on August 28, 2019. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on November 18, 2019. As of March 16, 2023, fifteen volumes have been published.
On July 3, 2020, Viz Media announced an English release of the manga in North America. The first volume was released on April 13, 2021.
Volume list
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 18, 2019 | 978-4-09-129492-0 | April 13, 2021 | 978-1-97472-051-4 |
| 2 | February 18, 2020 | 978-4-09-129556-9 | June 8, 2021 | 978-1-97472-057-6 |
| 3 | April 16, 2020 | 978-4-09-850064-2 | August 10, 2021 | 978-1-97472-080-4 |
| 4 | August 18, 2020 | 978-4-09-850163-2 | October 12, 2021 | 978-1-97472-304-1 |
| 5 | October 16, 2020 | 978-4-09-850268-4 | December 14, 2021 | 978-1-97472-408-6 |
| 6 | January 18, 2021 | 978-4-09-850384-1 | February 8, 2022 | 978-1-97472-590-8 |
| 7 | April 16, 2021 | 978-4-09-850522-7 | April 12, 2022 | 978-1-9747-2643-1 |
| 8 | July 16, 2021 | 978-4-09-850635-4 | June 14, 2022 | 978-1-9747-3008-7 |
| 9 | November 18, 2021 | 978-4-09-850735-1 | September 13, 2022 | 978-1-9747-3422-1 |
| 10 | February 18, 2022 | 978-4-09-850872-3 | December 13, 2022 | 978-1-9747-3571-6 |
| 11 | June 17, 2022 | 978-4-09-851127-3 | March 14, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3676-8 |
| 12 | July 15, 2022 | 978-4-09-851204-1 | June 13, 2023 | 978-1-9747-3859-5 |
| 13 | September 15, 2022 | 978-4-09-851257-7 | — | — |
| 14 | December 16, 2022 | 978-4-09-851474-8 | — | — |
| 15 | March 16, 2023 | 978-4-09-851767-1 | — | — |
Anime
On November 11, 2021, a website opened to announce an anime television series adaptation produced by Liden Films. The series is directed by Tomoyuki Itamura, with Tetsuya Miyanishi serving as chief director, Michiko Yokote writing the series’ scripts, Haruka Sagawa designing the characters, and Yoshiaki Dewa composing the music. It aired from July 8 to September 30, 2022, on Fuji TV‘s Noitamina programming block. The opening theme song is “Daten” (堕天, “Fallen Angel”), while the ending theme song is “Yofukashi no Uta” (よふかしのうた), both performed by Creepy Nuts. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series in North America, Europe, Oceania, and selected Latin American and Asian territories. The first season will consist of 13 episodes. At their Otakon panel in July 2022, Sentai Filmworks announced that the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on September 8, 2022.
Episode list
Michiko Yokote does the script on every episode, with Haruka Sagawa being the lead animation director.
| No. | Title | Direction | Storyboard | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Night Flight” Transcription: “Naito Furaito” (Japanese: ナイトフライト) |
Satoshi Takafuji | Tetsuya Miyanishi | July 8, 2022 | |
| After rejecting a classmate’s love confession, 14 year old Ko Yamori becomes increasingly depressed. Unable to sleep at night, he takes to wandering the streets at night. He meets with a beautiful girl named Nazuna, who identifies his night time restlessness as lack of satisfaction with life and decides to help him find it again. Taking him to her apartment to sleep, she insists they share a bed. Nervous, Yamori pretends to be deeply asleep. Nazuna reveals herself as a vampire and sucks his blood, finding him to be unusually tasty. Yamori confronts her but she assures him he will not become a vampire, as the only way for a human to become a vampire is to fall in love with a vampire and then have that vampire bite them. This confession embarrasses her so she drinks a beer. Yamori is relieved, but then disappointed once again. Unable to face returning to normal life and believing he has found something to finally excite him, he asks to spend more time with Nazuna with the goal of falling in love so he can become a vampire as well. While reluctant, Nazuna agrees to spend more nights together in exchange for his blood, and if he happens to fall in love with her, so be it. | |||||
| 2 | “Do You Do LINE?” Transcription: “Teka Rain Yatteru?” (Japanese: てかラインやってる?) |
Jutarō Sekino | Jutarō Sekino | July 15, 2022[c] | |
| Nazuna once again embarrasses Yamori when she explains her blood drinkage is basically the same as having sex. However, Yamori reiterates his desire to become a vampire. He then embarrasses Nazuna when he offers some of his blood. The next night, Yamori becomes jealous when he discovers from Nazuna that she does drink blood from random people. As such, he offers to exchange their contact information, but she tells him she does not have a phone. However, she takes him to her apartment, where she shows him her vintage brick phone. Afterwards, she gets ready for sleep, and invites a nervous Yamori to join her. He initially refuses to let her drink his blood, but he lets her after she admits that she had actually been looking for him that night. The next night, he gives Nazuna a wrist receiver to communicate with him, who has the transmitter. Yamori then tells her from afar that they act like a couple, embarrassing her. In his school’s rooftop, he calls her “Nazuna-chan”, and formally asks her be his friend. Later that night, while asking himself where Nazuna might be, the other transmitter in his wrist receives a signal, just as another girl, who has the other receiver in her wrist, appears beside him. | |||||
| 3 | “A Lot Came Out” Transcription: “Ippai Deta ne” (Japanese: いっぱい出たね) |
Shōgo Ono, Takashi Yasui | Takashi Yasui | July 22, 2022 | |
| Akira Asai tells Yamori about how she waited for him to contact her, but he never did. Nevertheless, she tells him that she is happy to see him. Yamori then recalls how Akira befriended him. The next day, Nazuna teases him about leaving to see another girl, but his reaction confirms her suspicion. After leaving, Yamori meets with Akira, but Nazuna appears and teases them. Nazuna then proves to Akira that their relationship is merely physical when she drinks his blood in front of her. In a café, Yamori tells Akira that he allows Nazuna to drink his blood due to his dissatisfaction with school. She tells him that she feels the same, and asks him to return to school with her. After Nazuna introduces herself, both her and Yamori leave. After Yamori asks Nazuna is she is angry, she leaves upset. Yamori trips on some stairs and then calls Nazuna, apologizing for seeing Akira in secret. However, Nazuna appears, and tells him that she was worried they would see each other less if he returned to school. Yamori tells her that he was unable to tell Akira that he cannot return to school due to his dream. A relieved Nazuna then drinks from the wound in his mouth, before jumping away, leaving him speechless. | |||||
| 4 | “Isn’t This a Tight Squeeze?” Transcription: “Semakunai?” (Japanese: せまくない？) |
Nobuhiro Mutō | Yūichi Itō, Tetsuya Miyanishi | July 29, 2022 | |
| While he ponders about what happened previously, and after witnessing a couple kissing nearby, Yamori assumes that he has already fallen in love with Nazuna. After she finds him, Yamori eagerly lets her drink his blood, but after he does not transform, Nazuna explains that he is confusing love with lust. After they both reveal it was their first kiss, Nazuna believes kissing is something friends do. The next night, Yamori invites Akira to hang out at Nazuna’s apartment. There, they play videogames, as Nazuna offers kisses to whoever can beat her. A flustered Akira discovers of Nazuna and Yamori’s kiss, and tries to dissuade him from falling in love with a vampire. However, Nazuna explains that Yamori does not like her yet. After they play a dating sim, they lie down to sleep, despite Akira feeling weird with all of them sleeping in the same bed. After Nazuna explains their mutually beneficial relationship to Akira, Yamori finally tells her of how he will become a vampire if he falls in love with Nazuna. After Nazuna falls asleep, Akira tells Yamori that they can still be friends even if he becomes a vampire, also saying she will not give up in trying to make him return to school. | |||||
| 5 | “Well, That’s a Problem” Transcription: “Sorya Komatta Yatsu Desu ne” (Japanese: そりゃ困ったやつですね) |
Keisuke Ōnishi | Keisuke Ōnishi | August 5, 2022 | |
| Nazuna ends up in a bathhouse, where she instructs the clerk to alert her if her wrist receiver begins beeping. She bolts out of the bath when it does, meeting Yamori outside wearing nothing but a long jacket. After he has taken a bath himself, Yamori begins experiencing new feelings due to Nazuna’s new look, which she teases him about. After she drinks his blood, they decide to rest, but unbeknownst to Yamori, they enter a love hotel. There, Nazuna explains that she can make an idea about what a person is thinking due to the taste of their blood, saying that she teases Yamori’s emotions to get more taste. After leaving, Yamori gets jealous when Nazuna spots a person from which she has drank blood before, but she says he is the only one at the moment. They then head to her apartment, where Nazuna reveals she runs a home massage parlor. She massages Yamori free of charge, but focuses in the more relaxing pressure points of his body, before trying to drink his blood. However, they are interrupted by the arrival of a client. Yamori is forced to greet her, and after he finds Nazuna playing in her room, she promises to give him a kiss as a reward for attending her in her place. | |||||
| 6 | “Might as Well Have Fun” Transcription: “Tanoshī Hōgai yo” (Japanese: 楽しい方がいいよ) |
Satoshi Takafuji | Satoshi Takafuji | August 12, 2022 | |
| Kiyosumi Shirakawa recalls the first night she took Nazuna’s massage services. Back in the present, Yamori undertakes her massage. After learning his age, Kiyosumi asks him his motivations, and he explains he got fed up with school, and just wants to enjoy his nights. Kiyosumi then suddenly realizes how she is genuinely unhappy at her work, and breaks down crying. A worried Yamori then refuses to let her answer a call from her boss, and to make her feel a near-death experience thrill, he has Nazuna throw her from her window, saving her just in time. Yamori apologizes for the scare, and tells Kiyosumi his and Nazuna’s secret, saying he wants to become a vampire. He then takes her to walk down the middle of the street, from which she gets a sense of freedom. She thanks Yamori for alleviating some of her stress, and encourages him to achieve his goal. However, Yamori tells her he will turn her into a vampire as well, delighting Kiyosumi, and embarrassing Nazuna. Sometime later, they attend a night pool resort, where Yamori angrily pulls Nazuna away from two guys hitting on her. Sensing his jealousy, Nazuna flies him to another pool, where they enjoy themselves and she drinks his blood. | |||||
| 7 | “Reproduce” Transcription: “Kenzokuzukuri (Kozukuri)” (Japanese: 眷属作り) |
Jutarō Sekino | Jutarō Sekino | August 19, 2022 | |
| After running into Kiyosumi, Yamori is approached by a blonde, slender woman, who flirtatiously talks and teases him. After she tells him she is bored with her recent life, Yamori tries to console her by saying they are the same. She then jumps and embraces him, ready to suck his blood. However, Nazuna saves him just in time, as she explains she should just drink all of his blood and kill him. However, another vampire captures him and takes him atop a building, where 3 other vampires are. They introduce themselves as Nico Hirata, Midori Kohakobe, Hatsuka Suzushiro, and Kabura Honda, as Nico tells him to choose amongst them, saying his choice will make him fall in love and convert him. However, he rejects all their advances in favor of Nazuna. Meanwhile, Seri Kikyō, the blonde vampire, tells Nazuna to stop playing with Yamori if she does not intend to mate with him, but she says she actually wants to, stunning her. Yamori keeps spurning the vampires, finally yelling that it will be Nazuna who conquers him, just as she arrives. Seeing her newfound interest to leave descendants, the girls accept Yamori, who says he will fall in love with Nazuna, no matter how long it takes. | |||||
| 8 | “All of Us” Transcription: “Doitsumo Koitsumo” (Japanese: どいつもこいつも) |
Michita Shiraishi | Junichi Sakata, Tetsuya Miyanishi | August 26, 2022 | |
| The vampires explain to Yamori that a human has exactly one year to become a vampire after they first get their blood sucked. Nazuna brushes it off, and repays Yamori the kiss he was promised. Yamori briefs Akira about his predicament, and she explains that he will probably be killed after the year passes. Back home, Akira runs into a drunk Mahiru Seki, an old friend, who exclaims he is in love with a woman with whom he hangs out at night. Yamori runs into Kikyō, who asks how things are going with Nazuna. He asks what falling in love feels like, so she tries to help him. She advises him to go on a date, but Nazuna refuses, finally agreeing after he shuts off her game. However, she realizes later on the date that Kikyō influenced him and leaves, disappointed. While a depressed Yamori reflects on his room, Nazuna finds his date plan, and returns to his house, where she takes him on a flight, drinking his blood mid-air. Later on, Yamori runs into Seki hanging out with his friends. He then hangs out with him and Akira at the park, inadvertently encouraging him after expressing his own friendship with Nazuna. Sometime later, Nazuna holds hands with Yamori so they will not get separated again, just as Seki passes with his new girlfriend. | |||||
| 9 | “No Fair” Transcription: “Zurui” (Japanese: ずるい) |
Shōgo Ono | Tomoyuki Itamura, Takashi Yasui | September 2, 2022 | |
| Yamori runs into Kikyō, but Nazuna violently stops her. Nazuna then exclaims that Kikyō herself condemned friendships between humans and vampires. Later, Yamori finds Kikyō again, so they go to a karaoke bar, where Kikyō explains how harsh people can be, which Yamori understands. Just then, one of her admirers begins knocking at the door. Yamori opposes to her killing him, but she explains that her antics are not wrong if his death does not affect him. She attacks, but Yamori gets in her way, and escapes with him. Yamori deduces Akihito Akiyama likes Kikyō, and he recalls how they met after she found him drunk on the street. Kikyō arrives, and she goes to kill Akiyama and Yamori for interfering, but Nazuna stops her from above. Akiyama reveals they used to be friends, but he accidentally fell in love with her, which collided with her hatred for romance. Kikyō confirms this, and agrees to never see Akiyama again. However, she breaks down crying, exclaiming she had fun being his friend, and wants to continue. Akiyama then offers to become her descendance, to which Kikyō agrees, converting him. They all go to the karaoke to celebrate, with Nazuna exclaiming she and Yamori can take their time. | |||||
| 10 | “Enlarge the Peeping-Tom Photos” Transcription: “Totogazō o Kakudai Shite miru” (Japanese: 盗撮画像を拡大して見る) |
Jutarō Sekino, Yuki Komada, Yasushi Tomoda, Ouri Yasukawa, Minami Honma, Tetsuya Miyanishi |
Tetsuya Miyanishi | September 9, 2022 | |
| Midori needs to find someone to work a shift at the vampire-themed maid cafe where she works who will not upstage her, and ends up convincing Nazuna to do the job while she is out on another stroll with Ko. Ko decides to stay at the cafe as a customer, and is served by another waitress named Arisa, who tells him about her own love of maid cafes. As Midori plans to post photos for the cafe’s social media, she notices several creepshots of Arisa uploaded to the same folder, and asks Ko to help her find the culprit. Ko and Nazuna spend some time surveying the scene, trying to figure out how the voyeur could achieve the angles featured in the photos. Suddenly, Ko has an epiphany, and sets up a sting with Midori later that night, catching the real culprit in the act, who turns out to be Arisa herself. Arisa admits to taking risque photos of herself out of a narcissistic desire for recognition after losing the top maid spot to Midori. Arisa then plans to quit the cafe, but Midori forgives her, saying that all the cafe maids are working there out of some desire for recognition themselves. | |||||
| 11 | “Do You Know What a Vampire Is?” Transcription: “Kyūketsuki tte Shitterukai?” (Japanese: 吸血鬼って知ってるかい?) |
Jutarō Sekino, Satoshi Takafuji, Yū Agata, Tetsuya Miyanishi |
Satoshi Takafuji | September 16, 2022 | |
| Nazuna uses the extra money earned from working at the cafe to upgrade the furniture in her own place, and asks Ko to find some new clients for her sleeping business. Ko sees a tired woman smoking on the bridge and tries to strike up a chat with her. She then takes him to a cafe where he tries to sell her on Nazuna’s business, but she half-jokingly threatens to inform the police that his boss is violating Japanese child labor laws. The woman introduces herself as Anko Uguisu, a private detective, and she tries to get information from him on Akihito, showing Ko a photo of the man who was involved with Seri the other day. Ko lies about not knowing him, and after a tense moment, Anko lets him slide. Anko pays for the coffee and leaves, letting Ko take the change, which he spends on beer for Nazuna. However, he is unaware that Anko is stalking him from afar. Later that night, Ko meets up with Mahiru and Akira to investigate the “seven mysteries” of their school. Most of them are either nonexistent or have mundane explanations, but while checking a “haunted” classroom they stumble upon an old man who pounces on Akira and tries to drink her blood. Ko manages to fight him off long enough for the three kids to escape, but the man follows them into the hallway. At the other end, Anko shows up and lets him “die as a human,” letting him turn to ash as the morning sun shines through the windows of the hallway. Ko asks why she could not let him perish in peace, and Anko chastises Ko for being naive about vampires. | |||||
| 12 | “My Mom’s Out Tonight” Transcription: “Kyōuchi Oya Inai nda” (Japanese: 今日ウチ親いないんだ) |
Keisuke Ōnishi | Keisuke Ōnishi | September 23, 2022 | |
| Ko, shaken by the incident of the previous night, reconsiders becoming a vampire. Nazuna, noticing Ko’s discomfort, assures him that the starved vampire at the school was not a typical case. Ko speaks to Mahiru about the previous night, and is asked why he wishes to become a vampire and advised to consider if it is a good idea. Nazuna, visiting Ko’s apartment, tells him that she has been a vampire for a long time, and that it is not as exciting as it may seem. Unsure what to do, Ko meets with Uguisu seeking counsel. Uguisu says she is opposed to Ko becoming a vampire, as she believes that vampires are a threat to humanity, and presents him with an ultimatum; demanding that he promise to abandon his hope of becoming a vampire, at which point she will protect him from the vampires and tell him how to kill them. Ko staunchly refuses to comply with Uguisu’s demands, insisting that not all vampires are bad. At this, Uguisu calls the police and reports Ko for breaking curfew. Ko flees the area before the police arrive, and hides at a playground, where he is found by Hatsuka. | |||||
| 13 | “Call of the Night” Transcription: “Yofukashi no Uta” (Japanese: よふかしのうた) |
Shōgo Ono | Tomoyuki Itamura | September 30, 2022 | |
| Hatsuka takes Ko to his place and lets Ko sit in a chair while Hatsuka takes a shower. When Hatsuka asks Ko for a towel, Ko discovers that Hatsuka is actually male. Meanwhile, Nazuna thinks that Ko does not want to become a vampire anymore, and asks Nico and the other vampires to let him live. Nico is furious that Nazuna wants to let him break their deal, and smashes the table, then threatens to kill Ko herself. Back at Hatsuka’s place, Ko begins second-guessing himself as he recounts his encounter with Anko and the old male vampire that she killed. Hatsuka offers to turn Ko into a vampire himself after seeing a picture of the smashed table, saying it would be the quickest way to ensure both Nazuna and Ko’s safety. Though Ko feels a slight attraction to Hatsuka, he declines, saying that he wants to be turned by Nazuna, even though there might be consequences for them both. Ko rushes to the rooftop where he met the other vampires before, with Nico trying to dissuade him from finding Nazuna, stating that she left and will not talk to him. Ko runs away and decides to look for Nazuna on his own after angrily telling Nico to shut up. Ko finally reunites with her at the vending machine where they first met. Nazuna quietly promises to become a vampire worth falling in love for, and kisses Ko. | |||||
Reception
Accolades
In 2020, the manga was nominated for the 6th Next Manga Awards and placed 7th out of the 50 nominees with 15,134 votes. The series ranked 8th on the “Nationwide Bookstore Employees’ Recommended Comics of 2021” by the Honya Club website. In 2023, the series won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category, along with Ao no Orchestra.
Critical reception
In Anime News Network‘s Summer 2022 preview guide, contributors generally responded positively to the series, praising the narrative, unique take on the common trope of vampires, and high production value, comparing it favorably to the Monogatari series, which series co-director Tomoyuki Itamura had previously worked on at Shaft.
Notes
- ^ Fuji TV lists the series premiere at 24:55 on July 7, 2022, which is effectively 12:55 a.m. JST on July 8.
- ^ Jump up to:abcdef This episode aired at 1:05 a.m. JST, 10 minutes after the original air time on Fuji TV.
- ^ This episode aired at 1:10 a.m. JST, 15 minutes after the original air time on Fuji TV.
- ^ Credited as Episode Generalization (演出統括).
- ^ Credited under his pseudonym Setsumu Dōkawa (堂川セツム).
- ^ This episode aired at 1:20 a.m. JST, 25 minutes after the original air time on Fuji TV.
| Call of the Night | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Nazuna Nanakusa (left) and Ko Yamori
|
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| よふかしのうた (Yofukashi no Uta) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kotoyama |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | August 28, 2019 – present |
| Volumes | 15 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Michiko Yokote |
| Music by | Yoshiaki Dewa |
| Studio | Liden Films |
| Licensed by | Sentai Filmworks |
| Original network | Fuji TV (Noitamina) |
| Original run | July 8, 2022 – September 30, 2022 |
| Episodes | 13 |
A simple moment can change the entire life…
January 8, 2021
A pure friendship is being born…
January 14, 2021
The world has new superheroes.
January 16, 2021