Manga Review: ‘#DRCL Midnight Children’ Volume #1

#DRCL midnight children, a manga by Shin-ichi Sakamoto and published by Shueisha and Viz Signature, is loosely inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s not a direct adaptation, but rather a reimagining featuring characters with similar names but different life circumstances.

The story begins with a group of sailors who find something terrifying and parasitical that seems to have taken over their ship. Some of them start growing moss all over their bodies and become almost zombie-like. Ultimately, they find the source – a horrifying being with huge red eyes.

Next, we move toward a group of schoolchildren attending an elite school in 19th-century England. One student is Mina Murray, a stand-in for Mina Harker from the novel. The original Mina is an unassuming housewife, but this Mina is a spitfire of a girl who is obsessed with proving her strength and value to her sexist male classmates. She does this literally: by using her opponents’ physical strength against them to defeat them in combat.

Another stand-out change involves Lucy, who goes by Luke during the day. Luke is a sickly boy who spends most of his time being cared for by Arthur, but as Lucy, she’s much closer to Mina. Their scenes together feel lavish and romantic, with an undercurrent of danger. The complexities of Lucy’s gender make her more vivid. Meanwhile, seeing Mina react to someone without her usual defensiveness and self-assurance deepens her character.

This volume was largely dedicated to introducing the characters and setting, and it did a great job of doing so. Not every manga is capable of getting viewers in a large cast straight off the bat, but this manga made it work. It’s not only the characters that work – the setting does a lot of heavy lifting here. Issues of class, as well as the impact of cholera, are strong themes here. Anything that takes place in Victorian England feels incomplete without at least a nod to these issues, and this manga doesn’t shy away from them.

All of that is great, but what really makes this volume stand out is the art. It’s absolutely stunning. I could stare at the cover for ages. Flip to any random page and chances are high that you’ll see something gorgeous – or at least eye-catching.

The rest of the art is delightful too. The gothic creepiness is exactly my style. Frankly, I’m not sure how I can be expected to look at things like this and go about my day like a normal person:

Look at this?? Are you kidding me?? How am I supposed to articulately discuss this when I’m gobsmacked by sheer beauty??

I suspect that in order to fully appreciate everything this manga has to offer, one has to actually read Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That’s why I’ve actually started reading Dracula myself. I’m getting to know the characters who inspired this work, comparing them to the versions in DRCL the whole way.

If this manga gets me – or anyone else for that matter – to read a classic, it will be worthwhile for that reason alone. But it’s also worth reading for its own sake, and fully enjoyable even without that bit of literature under your belt.

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Note: I received a free copy of the manga in exchange for this write-up. The content of the review represents my opinions and not necessarily those of Viz Signature. If you think you’ll love this manga as much as I did, don’t worry – you can buy a physical or digital copy and check it out yourself.

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