Title: Bloody Mary Vol. 7
Author: Akaza Samamiya
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Genre: Fantasy, Yaoi
Publication Date: June 6, 2017
The Story
In Volume 7 of Bloody Mary, Maria, Takumi and Bloody return from England and visit the Sakuraba Mansion to where they find the place ransacked. Hasegawa was badly injured and to make sense of it all, we did a little time skip to fourteen hours to see how it all unraveled. This isn’t the only time we saw a time skip, though. We also went back 100 years into the past within Bloody’s memories all for the sake of introducing three new characters. These new vampires, lead by one named Aldila, were the ones who broke into the mansion and stole Master Yzak in his comatose state. They were also in Bloody’s memories from 100 years ago where they originally tried to get him to join their cause in finding the Di Maria bloodline that had disappeared.
Throughout the volume, they keep hinting at the fact that they were given orders by “someone.” Hydra was even informed about a “woman” making her move. Hydra called her the Bloody Eye and Aldila even made mention that their orders came from that woman as well. Just when we had everything about straightened out, we get a new monkey wrench thrown into the mix. So instead of Maria getting the power of exorcism back, we now have a mysterious woman wanting Yzak (and most likely his blood) for whatever reason. It even go to the point where the Sakuraba house even intended to partner with Maria and Bloody to try and get Yzak’s body back, but when Maria realized that they just wanted to use them as tools, they rejected.
They’re also really building up the power of this woman. They even stated that even with Yzak’s blood, that they wouldn’t be a match for her. Given the fact that Bloody was sent in search of Yzak’s body and was soundly defeated in the process, it makes you wonder if they even stand a chance against Bloody Eye? It’s an interesting twist and it really detracts from the Maria vs Sakuraba Household quarrel. That feud was getting a bit stale and something like this was definitely needed to freshen things up a bit. It just means that we need this piece of the puzzle to be solved to understand why Yzak is as important as he is.
Characters
There wasn’t much development outside the introduction of Aldila and Bloody Eye. We still don’t know much about why they kidnapped Yzak’s body or what Bloody Eye even wants with it. So far, they’re just the new head villains that both the Sakuraba household and Maria/Bloody are going to have to deal with. They fact that they are recognized as a common enemy does put Bloody Eye at the top of the pyramid of villainous tyranny, though. I’m sure we’ll probably get more information on them in the next volume, which I’m looking forward to.
Bloody continued to struggle with his inner self and it seems like his personalities are running rampant. First it was “Mary,” then he was back to being Bloody and then he became some sort of hybrid between the two that didn’t have memories of anyone or anything. That was the most interesting personality because it shows that there is no black and white with Bloody. There can be a gray area with him and that gray area is kind of odd. Even as “Mary,” Bloody knew who Maria was. In this hybrid state, Bloody didn’t recognize anyone, but he had some of Mary’s nuances. I love this little touch because it just adds even more depth to his character!
Final Thoughts
It was another great volume of Bloody Mary! The introduction of a new villain really freshened things up and the timing of it was perfect. We had learned so much about Yzak, the Sakuraba House, Maria and Bloody that it seemed like the series was just about to wrap up. All that was left was for Maria to come in contact with Yzak and gain the power of exorcism and kill both Bloody and Yzak, but now with Yzak stolen and a new third parted having a vested interest in him, it delays the end and puts an interesting spin on things.
It shows that there’s more to this story to tell and it also opens up more mysteries about the Di Maria family bloodline. While we know quite a bit, we don’t know everything and I suspect that when Bloody Eye reveals her true intentions, the final pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. Speaking of pieces of the puzzle, that was used pretty symbolically throughout this volume when it came to Bloody’s memories. Slowly, Bloody is beginning to remember everything and it makes you wonder what his final personality will be once everything clicks. Maria stating that he should tell Bloody the truth will probably end up being the catalyst to Bloody’s “final form” and that should be pretty interesting to see as well!
Can’t wait for volume eight to see how this all plays out!
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @TheAnimePulse
You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks:
Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhaven
Subscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHaven
Subscribe to us on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet
This item was provided for review by Viz Media
