Short story they told me play this visual novel its very clunky it has fucked up stuff and its where NecoArc comes from. I spent weeks reading nonstop all the routes and ended up loving Tsukuhime 2000 despite a lot of novice flaws the game had. Some time later I heard that the manga offers an interesting take on the first route of the game. I read it and thats what I want to talk about commenting almost no spoilers because I would like to believe that if anyone reading this would be interested in trying what is in my opinion the friendliest and easiest way to know the first part of Tsukuhimes story. Initial Plot Skip this paragraph if you want to have full surprises but is just the first chapters: Shiki is a teenager who since he had a strange accident as a child can cut and kill living beings and inanimate objects. He lives a normal life more or less until he meets Arcueid Shiki sees her kills her enjoys it and regrets it. From there the story descends into a spiral of vampires vampire hunting clan fighting romance between vampire and human and various taboo topics. I recommend watching the spoiler tags and decide if you have the stomach to endure whats coming. The manga stirs up or summarizes the monologues of the protagonist something that in a visual novel is primordial this is something of the format. Tsukuhimes manga did a decent job with respect to that it provides only what is important for the plot and by removing notsoimportant monologues the manga has a pacing more suitable for long readings. Not to mention that its nice to see the main characters face poses and reactions. Here he looks more sympathetic. The heroine and romantic interest of the route Arcueid also shines. Here she has a marked personality whose dynamic consists of alternating from her attitude of a jovial and fun girl to an unhinged vampire ready to kill. Fortunately for Shiki Arcueid shows him more of the first side. A key point about Arcueid is her past and background and I think this was handled better here making her more emotional and easier to sympathize with. All that plus the fact that Arcueid is already a cool character to read shes Tsukuhimes main girl after all youll like her for sure. Theres an excellent balance of infodumping romance action and horror. The world of Tsukuhime has a lot of rules and background and through Arcueids monologues and moments between other characters unique to the manga the introduction to the lore elements is lighter and more digestible. The loss of extensive monologues means that the horror moments are not the same as in the VN but with the art this is compensated a lot more detailed massacre scenarios are shown and enemy monsters are shown in a more varied and terrifying way. And thanks to the dynamic art you feel a lot of action in all the fights in the story. Seriously I love seeing Shiki being practically a ninja both in Melty blood and in this manga. What is most criticized about the manga even from those who love it is that it reveals a couple of things here and there from the following routes specifically from the second and third nothing from the fourth and fifth thank goodness because those are my favorites. I think this doesnt seem all bad to me since its information that generates interest and makes you feel that Tsukuhimes story goes beyond killing vampires because thats the case. Seriously one of the greatest virtues of Tsukuhime is that it gives a radical change of focus for the better as the story progresses it starts Lets kill vampires and ends in I wont see giant trees and sunflowers in the same way. Despite what is revealed in this manga I dont think its something that will ruin the experience if you decide to check out the other Tsukuhime routes. The first route is more of a typical teenage boy fights bad guys and gets the girl story which isnt badly executed but compared to what comes after that its a bit different. Sorry Arcueid route fans the story is not bad but this is my opinion. The last thing I could comment on is that the manga includes an extended prologue that is not shown in the original material its such a simple and brief thing and yet it makes me love the story more. If you have an interest in Tsukuhime or liked the visual novel I assure you that you will enjoy this manga which despite everything is not bad at all and offers an start approach to what is in my opinion a classic Type Moon story that is able to touch your heart in a way that only a Type Moon work can do.