The concept was what originally drew me in, but unfortunately Dra-Q 1 was not something I ended up liking too much. I love the character designs of Amelie and her family, and liked the points hit in the plot, especially the plot-twist at the end. The five rules too? I thought that was neat! However, it was the art style in action that didn't work at all for me. The action panels were hard to decipher - I understand the reason why they were used, for the fast action - but it's not something that worked for me. It just moved so quickly so nothing felt substantial, and I wish there was more done with the five rules too, it had such potential.
If you like vampire manga, it could be for you, but I personally would not recommend it.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

I love stories about supernatural beings so I was interested to try Dra-Q and let me say I was instantly hooked. A little bit funny, quirky and with an interesting cast I have already preordered vol 2 and 3 and was lucky to be gifted vol 1 by my mom (yes I was going on so much about it even she knew I was obsessed).

I am not sure why it has such a hold on me but it does and I am obsessed the art style is great, the story fun and pacing great. I normally don’t love a cliff hanger even in Manga but this got me so well. If you are fan of vampires, werewolves and horror this is fantastic, well in my opinion. I can’t wait vol 2!

As always thank you to Kodansha Comics for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. This manga moves so quickly, I was sure I was missing something. The main characters fall in love in like 2 pages. I don't hate the instalove trope but this is a bit excessive. This really felt like a spin off series type thing where it's the first book but to understand context there's an entire series you need to read first. Sadly I won't be continuing with this series. I'm just getting going in my vampire era so I really thought this would be right up my alley.

3/5 Stars! ⭐⭐⭐

There are five laws for living in the human realm.

🩸 No Romantic Attachments.
🩸 No Direct Contact.
🩸 No Physical Exertion.
🩸 No Crying.
🩸 No Smiling.

We meet Amelie, your normal high schooler who just so happens to be a vampire and falls in love with the deliquent human, Pako.

I love love love this art style. But the whole thing felt super rushed and we didn't get a chance to even know or fall in love with the characters, which I think turned me off from it. It had potential to be such a great story if it was spaced out more. If you really love vampires and a little teenage drama though, give it a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

e-ARC from NetGalley.

This was a lot of fun! Amelie is a vampire in love with a human despite it being against vampire law. At the same time, a creature masquerading as a vampire is terrorizing the town.

The story moved very quickly as it worked to establish the characters & world, but I think it will delve deeper into their psyches and characterization in upcoming volumes.

Dra-Q is interesting... it feels like a B-horror movie that moves a break neck speed (those who read it will enjoy that). This manga drops us into the world and just goes for it, you have to be ready to sprint with the storyline. It is definitely a strange book.

Really cool plot idea that was really well executed, the graphics were beautiful and the whole storyline had me hooked

Amelie is an average high schooler who also happens to be a vampire. Pako is the resident school delinquent. Together, they might just be a match made in hell. A bloody, darkly comic love story manga .

An Interesting version of the vampire/werewolf feud. The story, while slightly silly iny honest opinion, is well written and stays cute even though topic is supposed to be dark.
The illustrations are excellent and as usual, beautifully realistic.
If Manga vampires and teen romance with a twist is your thing, then I recommend this series.

Thanks to @netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Dra-Q 1 is the dark and bloody love story of a vampire ignoring all o the rules of her kind and loving in love with a human at her high school. The first volume does a great starting off the story with just the right amount of info where it builds and the world without being an info dump to read. The story is exciting and had me hooked very early on. I meant to read just a few pages but before I knew it I had read the whole thing in one sitting and was wishing there was more.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Dra-Q 1 by Chiyo read like a wacky monster B-movie. It's a manga where there's vampires and werewolves in an everlasting feud and one lone vampire girl is head over heels in love (literally) with a human boy. It gets gruesome fast, but luckily, he turns out to be a pretty accepting kid for a delinquent. And so, their love(?) story begins... Honestly, I'm not sure if this one was quite to my taste, but I did find this quirky portrayal of a monster love story to be rather refreshing and different. I would recommend readers aged older teens and above to give it a try if interested.

The art style was stunning, and the story was enjoyable, but it didn’t feel particularly unique. While I had a good time reading it, I’m not eager to jump into the next volume right away.

I was a bit unsure about this at first as dark comedy can be hit or miss for me but this was definitely hit. This was so funny and the art was great. I loved how bloody this was and how it had some great dark aspects but was still really funny. I want the next volume right now!

2.5
This story is insanely fast-paced, much to its disadvantage. It hits every plot point it wants to but takes all of the substance out of the story. I find myself not caring about anything that's going on or any of the characters because you never get a second to breathe and learn about the characters or events. I did find the five rules of staying hidden as a vampire in the mortal realm to be interesting, in a cute way. Weirdly though, it reminded me a lot of Chibi Vampire. I'm not really sure why, the premise isn't the same asides from "vampire teenage girl tries to live in the human world and falls in love with a human boy". The art was technically good, but also somehow had no flavor. This just did nothing for me. It's not technically bad per say, it's just bland.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This manga was an absolute delight. It’s fast paced, gorey, and super fun to read. The main relationship was definitely very insta-lovey and I could see other people being bothered by it, but I think both character’s nonchalance kinda worked in the story. I also loved the art style. The halftones create a lot of texture, though I did find one or two of the action panels a little confusing.

Well, that was, for a lack of a better word, interesting!

For a first volume, Dra-Q vol 1 does a great job of setting up an interesting world and characters. It's an interesting take on the vampire genre, one that reminds me a bit of Chibi vampire (although I definitely prefer this lead character this far). Admittedly, I was taken aback by how rapidly things took off in the first chapter but by the end I was hooked. In fact, I found the volume to be waayyy too short (hint hunt. I need more).

It's very short!! It started with everything, and what could have been stretched to 4 or even 8 volumes with a well-told story of how they met, each person's story, introducing her family, etc., so that the reader became attached to the characters, they skipped it, made a summary and put it all in one.
The ending would have been good for a volume 4 for example, is a good plotwist.

The aesthetics of her family and the drawing are beautiful 😍

⊰ 2 stars

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley, Kodansha Comics and Chiyo for allowing me to read an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Vampires have five laws when they venture into the human world and the most important one is: don’t fall in love with a human. Amelie has broken every single one of them after meeting Pako.

This story was all over the place and felt very rushed to me. I would've preferred more world building and getting to know the characters before jumping in like it did now. Amelie and Pako fall in love within moments of meeting each other. Considering the fact that the romance seems to be the main plot (at least after reading the exempt) I would've loved to see more of them interacting, getting to know each other, falling in love, etc.

The artwork is very pretty and has good attention to detail, personally I could've gone without the explicit gore though.

There is definitely a lot of potential here with the world and the characters if they get the attention and development they need, but I wouldn't immediatly reach for a second volume

Chiyo's DRA-Q may be entrenched in old lore of werewolves, vampires, and the dangers of vampire/human romance, but there's nothing common run-of-the-mill about this manga. It kicks off with a bang, centering vampire girl Amelie and her crush on the human Pako. Within the first chapter, she's broken every rule of vampire/human interaction in quick succession, landing in Pako's life and declaring her love for him. But the tough high schooler believes our blood doesn't define us, and soon the pair are solidly in each other's lives. But lots of people have issues with that. Amelie's family, for instance. Pako's family, who are (understandably) fearful of vampires. And a classmate, who's also more than she seems.

The art of DRA-Q is absolutely stunning, and holds up its ambitious story admirably. Somehow simultaneously gory and sweet, it's a lighthearted horror/comedy mix that fills the gap left by CALL OF THE NIGHT. And with Volume 1's massive cliffhanger, this already strong title has nowhere to go but up!

Amelie Kurosaki is a high school girl and a vampire. She decides to pursue her crush, the Bad Boy Pako. In doing this, she breaks all five laws, and reveals her true nature to him. Can their love flourish?

The art was beautiful, and I loved the character designs, particularly for the Kurosaki family. However, I'm not about that werewolf / vampire romance. I know there was only a chapter left, but I felt like that was really shoved in there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This manga follows Amelie who's secretly a vampire. She ends up falling in love with one of her human classmates who goes by Pako. As she's confessing her feelings for him, they end up getting attacked and Amelie's true nature is revealed to him. I really enjoyed this. I thought that the story was interesting and I liked the art style. I'm also interested to see where Amelie and Pako's relationship goes in the next volume, especially after the way this volume ended.