▪	RELEASED BY:		TOKYOPOP
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		KEITARO ARIMA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		184
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		06/12/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		07/11/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Where the manga last left off was with the nefarious Mario planning to attack Hazuki and her friends. However, in this manga, the very next volume, we see not the next moment, but two years have passed and a lot has changed for the vampire Hazuki and her human slave Kouhei. They’ve had to retreat after a savage attack by Mario and grandpa and Elfriede are missing and presumed dead! Now Kouhei is determined to become stronger and has been training up in the mountains for the past two years under the tutelage of his extended family. At the base of the mountain at the Mido Shrine, Hazuki lives with his cousins, the twins Hikaru and Kaoru. Things are far from family bliss as Kaoru has been engaged to Kouhei since birth and her twin sister doesn’t let Hazuki forget it! To strain their relationship further, she can only visit Kouhei once a month so as not to interfere with his training and yet still get her monthly needed blood from him. Things have been quiet. Yet Mario has sent vampires in search of Luna (Hazuki) and the Midos are attacked by the giant Basgul and a pretty vampire with power over the very shadows and a burning hatred for Hazuki. Her name is Artemis and she wants Kouhei for herself!

The startling jump in time shakes things up for readers. We never see Mario’s attack, only glimpses through flashbacks as to what happened two years ago to send Kouhei and Hazuki hiding up in the mountains. There’s some comedy in the energetic antagonism between Hazuki and Hikaru over Kouhei. Speaking of Kouhei, when Hazuki meets up with him, fans will see that little has changed with this bickering couple. Towards the end of the volume, there is a lot of action and suspense as Mario’s agents lure the Midos into a trap. Soon one of them is kidnapped, and Hazuki’s heart lies heavy with the burden of another innocent suffering because of trying to protect her. It seems she did not survive Mario’s attack unscathed. She blames herself for what happened. It makes it all the more tense to wait and discover what that will make her do now when tragedy may be looming over the Midos again.

Extras include author/artists original character and background sketches with accompanying notes.

IN SUMMARY:
Prepare yourself for a big jump in time and circumstances in this pivotal volume of Tsukuyomi Moon Phase.