The morning after the awards, and before the start of the Anime NYC convention proper, I sat down with #DRCL  in-hand and read through the entire first volume. And then the second. I’d have read the third volume if it had an English translation, too. All this to say: the manga is spectacular.

I knew going into it that this was a “modern retelling” of the classic Dracula  story, and I’ll admit, I am one to shy away from any re-telling or adaptation that bills itself as being “updated for modern audiences” – the idea behind the phrase conjures up images of marketing executives taking all the bite out of an idea in an attempt to make it as generally inoffensive and as broadly consumable as possible, often carving out the spirit in the process – but #DRCL midnight children  is as it could be.

#DRCL midnight children  takes the original Bram Stoker novel, copies all the major beats down, and throws out all the rest. The first volume is a faithful adaptation of The Last Voyage of the Demeter,  the seventh chapter in the Stoker novel, right up until it isn’t. All of the elements are there: the evil lurking in the shadows, the rampant paranoia plaguing the ship’s crew members, the silent slaughters, the dreaming, and the fiery eyes in the darkness – but it takes a left turn at the shipments of moss that carry the ancient vampire into London port.