“Outnumbered, outsmarted, and desperate, half-vampire Darren and his allies are on the run, pursued by the Vampaneze, the police, and an angry mob. With their enemies clamoring for blood, the vampires prepare for a deadly battle, but is this the end for them?”
Entering the home stretch of Darren Shan's final showdown with the lord of the Vampaneze, “Cirque Du Freak” vol. 5 omnibus spends its time tying up a few loose ends before the final showdown. Additionally, Darren experiences a few instances of profound loss that exponentially raise the emotional stakes of the fight to save the vampire populace.
Being, a somewhat transitional release in the series in opening up more wounds for Darren than providing closure, the latest volume is a bit of a mixed experience for the reader. Notably, the combination of action-heavy sequences brought on by the desperation of the crew and the latter surreal journey Darren takes with his companion Harkat, loses the macabre, dark fantasy appeal familiar to the ‘Y.A. style' narrative. This only hurts the series in so far as the previous releases are lighter fare that appeals to a broader audience. However, this deviation is necessary and does not hurt the overall impressions of the series at the same time.
It should be noted that the adventure of Hakarat and Shan does exist as a low point in the series both in narrative and visuals, showing the first sign of weakness in adapting the original work. This journey through a surreal landscape is not fully realized or of particular interest other than to give closure to Hakarat. Admittedly, it is hard to place what makes this segment underwhelming but the flow seems more frantic and the abstract elements fail to capture the youthful imagination the work generally excels at. This may differ depending on the reader, yet it does mark a tonal shift that will likely get mixed reactions from many.
The art of Takahiro Arai is still an utter treat for fans of the more classic era of manga, as his work is very expressive and the fantasy backgrounds and elements are wonderfully executed. Every volume further proves that Arai was the ideal pick to adapt the work, as it is instantly accessible to a broad audience, much like “Cirque Du Freak” as a novel series. If anything can be gleaned from the manga adaptation, is that Takahiro Arai is an immense talent with an accessible art style that is hard to replicate.
Chances are, if you are reading this review, you have not jumped into the series in the fifth omnibus edition (you can read our review of volume one here for our first impressions). Consequently, the slight lull of flow in this release is unlikely to sway fans from continuing the series, as there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the final conclusion. The manga adaptation of “Cirque Du Freak” is a wonderful amalgamation of East meets West both visually and narratively, its appeal is both universal and timeless–even in the face of a subpar entry, this fact remains apparent.
