Fangs, Vol. 1 by Billy Balibally
Series Name: Fangs
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Vampires
Intended Age Group: M 18+
Publisher: Tokyopop
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 9781427867933
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book
As the sole survivor of a vampire attack, En wakes up to find that his hair has gone white as snow – and worse, he’s developed a craving for blood!
Fortunately, the vampire health and welfare organization FANGS is there to help with the transition, and the handsome Ichii steps up as his guardian and mentor. Swept up into a confusing and lonely new world where everyone seems to be hankering for a taste of his “virgin” blood, En must navigate the FANGS pairing system, an arrangement that sets up compatible vampires as mutual feeding partners…and partners in all other ways as well. But what happens when En panics and declares that he’ll be paired with Ichii? And what does brooding rough-around-the-edges Ichii make of his spunky, outgoing new charge?
Personal & Info
This book kept showing up in my recommendations for BL, so I finally got around to trying it. I think there are only two books in the series. If there are more, they aren’t yet listed anywhere, so as far as I know it’s a duology.
CONTENT WARNINGS
-depression
-talk of suicide
-possible dubious consent
The art often uses that snaggletooth art style. You know, the one where it looks like a tooth or fang are part of the lip instead of actual teeth. The fangs are often shown that way throughout this book. It’s certainly not my favorite art style. I prefer seeing the lips and teeth separate because it looks more normal, but also because I think vampire mouths are sexier that way. The weird lip thing just looks a bit silly to me.
It does have censorship for the intimate scenes. They use the “light saber” method. That’s what I tend to call the kind where the dicks are just an undrawn bright white mass.
Characters
En is the main character. He’s a homeless nineteen year old who was lucky, or unlucky, enough to survive a vampire attack. En is the first new vampire in approximately fifty years.
Ichii is the love interest. He’s so old that other vampires occasionally refer to him as grandpa. His job is to oversee the criminals and troubled clientele of the community. He does things like wellness checks and supplies them with blood.
Utsugi is one of the first vampires En meets. He’s paired with Aogiri, but apparently has a history of cheating.
Umesaki is a character who only comes up once. Whether or not she plays a bigger role later, I don’t know.
Aogiri is paired with Utsugi. He’s a plastic surgeon. They say he specializes in fangs. I assume they mean the organization FANGS, not literal teeth.
Masaki is, I think, the last vampire before En. Don’t take my word on that. It’s my guess based on information given. He helps host support meetings for the vampire community.
Mariko is married to Masaki. I’ll let the book explain more, because this is a unique circumstance.
Sugi is a vampire dealing with grief, whom En befriends.
Story & Thoughts
This is probably the most depressing boys love story I’ve ever read. They’re usually pretty cheery and heartwarming. This book very much is not.
There isn’t much romance in the romantic sense. Most of it is physical, but there are tender moments. It’s like a slow burn between the characters with physical intimacy before they are in love. Their experiences are based more on a need than a want. It’s making use of the vampire trope that feeding is a sexually intimate experience.
The story seems to be as much about the vampire lore as it is the budding romance between En and Ichii. En follows Ichii to work every day, since he has nothing better to be doing. They meet other people in the vampire community, and En learns what kinds of relationships and problems people of their species have, as well as how they live. He is generally not fond of any of it. It’s a big adjustment for him. But he makes friends very easily, because he’s like a ray of sunshine, or an innocent puppy, in everyone’s lives.
The fact of the matter is, most of the people in the story are lonely and/or depressed. The vampire lifestyle is not portrayed as anything glamorous. They point out how hard it is to live so long while the world moves on around you. In so many words, people grow numb and have a harder time feeling emotions like happiness. Part of the point of the existence of the FANGS organization is to try to curb this problem by pairing compatible vampires.
I like the book, but I don’t know if I recommend it, yet. I want to read the second book before I decide if it’s something I would suggest. It definitely might not be for everyone due to the depressing themes. Everyone seems to have a sad or tragic backstory. There is a blatant plot hook cliff hanger at the end of the volume, so I definitely plan to read the second book. Not just for that, but also to see how the love story develops.