Millennium Snow, Vol. 3

This volume resumes the plot after a decade's absence (while the author and artist, Bisco Hatori, concentrated on Ouran High School Host Club). Some characters (like Chiyuki's cousin) have vanished, while Satsuki seems more of a foil for Toya rather than a serious romantic rival. And Hatori's art style has changed significantly. If you see this and want to invest in the earlier volumes, be aware of that.However, there seems to be more hints to Toya's childhood, giving more weight to his loneliness and confusion over choosing a human partner. I should explain: when he turned 18, Toya can choose one human partner whose blood will nourish him. Whoever he bites will gain 1,000 years of life and youth, after which both will die. Because he has already lost others, Toya believes this to be a curse, and refuses to bite anyone. However, when Chiyuki collapsed in front of him, he gave her some of his blood to try to prevent her death.In this volume, Chiyuki admits how much she likes Toya, but Toya is reluctant to commit. While I said that Satsuki isn't a rival for Toya, he does seem to like Chiyuki a lot. However, given that Satsuki is a lot like Tamaki Suou from Ouran, I suppose he isn't likely to win her heart. There is also a mysterious character lurking and watching our heroes, probably to get more focus in future volumes.Personally, I like it, generally. The new stories are more intriguing than the earlier stuff, and the art is quite pleasing. Take that as you will, and have a good day!

Wow! I loved this and it is sooo different from the first volumes. It has taken Hatori ten years to get back to completing this series and she discusses the reasons and process in sidebars throughout this volume. Vol. 1 & 2 were very light-hearted and funny and I had a blast with them, really enjoying the sense of humour and the characters. The first thing I noticed with Vol. 3 is that the art quality has improved drastically. Ten years obviously is going to make a difference in an artist's work and this is superior to V1/2 making a very pretty book. Secondly, the atmosphere is completely different. The story picks up with a much darker tone. The plot involves a teacher whose son died, a serial killer, a girl being cyber-bullied and a new paranormal creature. Satsuki has a much smaller role now and the focus is most definitely on Chiyuki and Toya. I'm not keen on typical shoujo romance but this is far from the norm. Chiyuki is very open with her feelings and while Toya won't openly admit his, he shows them through his actions. And while the relationship is blooming it is quite low key and doesn't have any of that sickening gushing. It is quite a mature love story compared to any other shoujo I've read. There is still a hint of humour and I love the characters even more than I did originally. Great read!