Diabolik Lovers

Genre: Horror 
Age Appropriate: Older Teens+
Emotional Response: confused fascination? 
Notable Features: vampires, reverse harem, evil
Language: Japanese
Length: 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty good (kinda)

"I wanted to punish you." - Kanato

Diabolik Lovers follow a young lady who has somehow been misled into a mansion full of vampires. Her understanding and reality are very far apart. Despite the varied levels of attractiveness and fascination with each of the male characters, each has one thing in common. These are not the nice vampires that are popular today. Yui spends some part of each episode attempting to learn each of the vampire brothers but it seems as though all of her efforts end in futility. Each of the vampires also have something specific to their personalities outside of their clearly different appearance. They all seems to have some sort of horrific personality twist that is often seen in reverse harem anime, but twisted in some way. The series works through Yui's attempted, scary relationships with each and discovering where she really fits into the scheme of things.

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I have no idea how I feel about this anime. On the one hand, I generally like reverse harem anime. On top of that, I've been a vampire freak for most of my life. One would think that between the anime geekiness, vampire geekiness and reverse harem geekiness, this would be perfect for me and yet I'm left somewhat confused and unsatisfied. It completely reminds me of Amnesia, in that way. Actually, it reminds me of Amnesia in a lot of ways. Both of them seem to have this quiet horrifying experience wrapped up in them, but also a weird fascinating quality that makes me want to finish them regardless. I think that's why I don't know what to feel here. I couldn't decide if I to kill them all, or hope they ended better than they began.

Of course, that also puts me in a conflicted position about how to rate this anime. I've put down "pretty good" because that's true. Whatever else I might be feeling, I have to admit that I certainly feel something, and that is usually a good mark of an effective story. So, it was certainly well done. I just don't know how to recommend this to someone. I guess, if you're into that kinda thing, this is a pretty good series. I know that I'm certainly interested. I also still retain my vampiric enjoyment (especially since none of these guys sparkle, ew). So, yeah I would recommend it - just to very specific people.

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What just happened?: So, I Can't Play H?

Vampire Knight: Guilty (Season 2)

Genre: Vampires (Vampires really need to have their own genre. amiright?)
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: sad and desperate (not in a bad way)
Notable Features: vampires, high school, vampires
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes (Season 2)
Overall Recommendation: Good (especially if you like vampires)


"I know you'll never betray her." - Kaname

Zero has returned, better and badder than before. Due to some assistance form Kaname, Zero had more control and more power. This should keep the monster at bay for awhile. Kaname makes it clear that he's only helped Zero for Yuki's sake. The story continues from there, exploring the complicated love triangle between Yuki, Zero and Kaname. Yuki begins to fight for the memories that she's missing and starts hallucinating scary images of blood, which takes a toll on her mental stability. While, Zero does what he can to help her along, including cautioning her to take her time, Kaname seems to be adopting a weirder attitude toward her and the situation. The second season brings the story from the first season full circle, with a significant number of surprises, twists and turns.

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Season 2 really was everything a second season should be. A continuation of the first season without tampering with the overall feel of the story. I've seen plenty of second seasons where the story continues, but the plot has changed so dramatically, in a way that makes it seem like a forced sequel of a novel. I'll continue to admit that this series hits a certain guilty pleasure level for me. I have no illusions about how wonderful it is, but it was done really well considering.

There are a few things that I'm not super sure about. For example, why is the subtitle of Season 2 "Guilty?" I don't think it's particularly necessary. The shocker near the end is a bit shocking - not in content but the way they revealed it. It feels like it made sense at the time, but now looking back on it, it's wierd to me. Well, I guess as long as it made sense at the time, right? Also, I started to think that Kaname was a bit of a prick. Well, I should say that Kaname is a prick, but it started to actually bother me in the end. I started to hate him a little, and it bothered me because it seemed so at odds with how I felt I should feel. Every story has it's fairy tale ending, and this one isn't that different, mostly. There is a little bit of a nod toward there possibly being a third season, or at least they made room for it without making it necessary to make it a good series. No word yet on if that's going to happen, but it's been awhile so I'm not holding out on that. Probably would've happened by now.

If you're a vampire fan girl (or guy!), then you'll probably like this. If you're a Twilight fan, you'll very likely like this. I really hope you would like this. I mean, the guys are pretty hot. I enjoyed it, and I guess I figure that if I care about Kaname being a prick, then something must have been done right, since I care in the first place. I'm not giving either season super high marks, but I would watch it again if I was in the mood.
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A new dream: Fruits Basket


I have tickets to go see the Zelda orchestra coming to town. Well, kind of in town. In the state. So, I'm going to be traveling this weekend and there's no way I'll be able to watch an entire series by Monday. Y'all will just have to wait. Sorry! :D

Vampire Knight - Season 1

Genre: Vampires (Vampires really need to have their own genre. amiright?)
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: confused and angsty
Notable Features: vampires, high school, vampires
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes (this time around)
Overall Recommendation: Good (especially if you like vampires)

"That girl is the only thing I really care about." - Lord Kaname

When Yuki was a little girl, she was saved from a bad vampire by a "good" vampire. Kaname, said good vampire, developed a certain attachment to Yuki, and their complicated relationship factors hugely in the storyline. The plot is set at Cross Academy, a school both for Day Class and Night Class students. Yuki's job, along with her partner Zero, is too help the transition between Day and Night classes with as little fuss as possible. There is a curfew that is supposed to be held for the Day Class students. The Night Class is actually made up of aristocratic vampires, led by Lord Kaname, one of the last "true blood" vampires. During these transitions, Yuki works to keep the girly girls from swooning too much over the Night Class boys, but at the same time has to contain herself from her swooning over Kaname. Her past with him has led her to fall madly in love with him.

Her relationship with her partner-in-crime Zero is actually more complicated than her relationship with Kaname. When she was saved by Kaname, she was brought to the headmaster and was adopted by him. A few years later, Zero was brought to him as well, and he was adopted into the household - though not really as a "son." Zero's family was slaughtered by bad vampires, and his experience completely colors he feelings about vampires. He hates them all, and wants to kill them. He restrains himself, however, out of respect for the headmaster and only works with Yuki patrolling the grounds to keep everyone in check. There are frequent moments where he has to restrain himself, or be retrained by Yuki, from violence. Growing up together has actually made Yuki and Zero rather close - well, close considering Zero's emotional capacity. This makes Yuki's feeling for both him, and Lord Kaname, a huge area of angst for her. The first season is primarily back story explanations and delving into the complicated emotions that Yuki has to deal with as different situations arise.

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I think I hate Twilight now. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I thought it was awesome or anything. I have better vampire taste than that. It was really hard, though, to get into Vampire Knight at first because I keep comparing the two. After all, Yuki is in high school and has a vampire crush, and Bella is an idiot. I mean...yeah. There are so many important differences, though. I'm most upset because the comparison highlighted things I might have ignored before. I did get past it eventually. Hopefully, I can keep it up for Season 2.

This series is so full of teenage angst that it's a bit overdone. Fortunately, this is anime, and one can get away with a lot in anime. Perhaps without the vampire-esque music, it would be closer to all high school-based anime. Unlike Mystic Archives, while the end credits are dark and haunting I don't feel the need to kill things to move on with my life. The vampires are super sexy, and this goes a long way when it comes to flaws. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a vampire series, much less an anime vampires series, if the vampires weren't sexy. There are unsexy bad vampires, of course, but who cares about them?

I liked it. I'm not delusional enough to call it great, or rate it as Top 5, despite my willingness to see it again. It's like a trashy romance novel. Every girl reads them (even if they don't admit it), but we'd never call it literature. If I went further with the book analogy, I would call it "paranormal romance."
For all that there is a huge complicated love triangle thing going on between the main characters, there's no real sexuality going on. Only the high school relationship soap opera version. There is blood but not bright red spurting blood, no swearing, no nudity...all in all it's pretty tame in that respect. If you're as much of a vampire freak as I can be, I definitely recommend it. I don't know how it would work for someone who isn't, but goth-y/emo kids would probably like it, too.

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Captain Obvious: Vampire Knight: Guilty (Season 2)

Dance in the Vampire Bund (Halloween 5)

Genre: Drama
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: Confused, Irritated
Notable Features: vampires, high school, werewolves
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Not so much

The series opens with a news broadcast, followed by a reality-type TV show based on a Fact or Fiction premise. The topic is whether the existence of vampires is true or false. In the end, the show has been used as a ruse to smoke out a rogue vampire and the truth about vampires is revealed. At the same time, Vampire Princess Mina Tepes comes on the scene to introduce the world to the reality of vampires and make known her plan to use a landfill as her new "vampire bund." This place is supposed to be a stronghold/home for vampires in the country, and the new ruling seat for Mina.

Akira is a 17-year-old high school student who lost his memories a year before. He's somewhat apathetic about life, generally happy with things the way they are. He has a good friend, Yuki, who seems to have more memories and more feelings toward him. After an episode or two, it's obvious that Yuki is the opening narrator. She uses storytelling to equate the series storyline with a fairytale.

Mina recognizes Akira from the TV broadcast and it's revealed that Mina is somehow part of Akira's missing memories. Akira is actually a sworn protector of the princess, both by family obligation and a promise he made to her when he was a child. Mina has the appearance of a young girl, and is frequently underestimated because of it. She manipulates things behind the scenes (in order to get her way with the special dispensation for the bund) but seems childlike and carefree when it comes to her interactions with Akira. The story becomes more and more complicated between the two as things progress, adding in a behind-the-scenes enemy near the end.

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Shockingly, for a vampire fan, I didn't actually like this anime much. It was very hard for me to sit through the whole thing. I was pretty into the beginning of the series, maybe about halfway, and then the story just started to annoy me. It's not that it was particularly poorly done, but more that I had no emotional connection with the characters, except to pity Akira and want to punch Mira and her devious bratty ways. The whole relationship is kind of creepy actually. It's hard to reconcile Mira's actual age with her appearance, but some of the creepiness implied at the beginning is actually on Mina's part. Ha. Well, there is some other creepycreep, but you have to get to the second part. It also seems that they throw in random characters that probably could've had some more development (and thus add something more to the story) but they fail to use them in any productive way.

I suppose I shouldn't be so negative. There are some poignant moments. The last part of the last episode is good. It seems like the season should've ended with episode 7, which might have been better. Episodes 8-12 are more of a separate season or storyline - new bad guy too! - probably because the focus is taken almost entirely off the difficult relationship between Akira and Mina. Moving away from the relationship storyline is fine, but it all seems somewhat disjointed as a result. The budding relationship between Mina and Yuki is kind of cute, though. With the removal of some of the angst relationship issues, though, Mina is better represented as a tragic hero/leader type (rather than a snotty, overindulgent, evil, manipulating, creepy, biatch - yes, I said biatch). Ok. The Dance with the Vampire Maids endings are pretty amusing.

I guess, I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone, but I wouldn't stop someone from seeing it either.

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Let's Try This: Demon King Daimo

Fortune Arterial (Halloween 4)

Genre: Romance
Age Appropriate: Preteen/Teen
Emotional Response: Awww
Notable Features: vampires, high school, young love
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

"I expect great things from him." - Iori

Ah, young love. Hasekura Kohei has been school hoping since he was younger. His father's job required a lot of moving around. Now that he's growing up a little, he's moved into Shuchika Academy in Shiomi City. He had previously lived there for 7 years ago, and has chose this as the place to come back to himself.
When he arrives he's greated by the VP of the student council, who seems to freak out as soon as they shake hands, and she runs off leaving Tsukasa (who happened to be walking by) in charge of Kohei.
Upon entering the dorm he's accidentally fallen on by Kanade, followed by her sister, Hina. They were childhood friends with Kohei when he was there last, so there are instant friends for him - happily forcing him into tea parties in his room.Erika is the VP, and avoids Kohei, somewhat. Her brother, Iori, is the President of the council and pulls pranks to get Kohei together with Erika - including switching the signs of the bath rooms, thus allowing Kohei to enter the bath while Erika is in there. (Oh No!) The first two episodes are really Kohei running around trying to apologized to Erika and managing to make things worse.

There rest of the supporting cast includes: Sei, the Treasurer, his little sister, Shiro, and Kuza Kiriha, a mysterious girl whom Kohei frequently attempts to include in activities. Also, Sister Amaike, who is in charge of the dorm and is notorious for meting out punishments with a frying pan. There is some sort of unspoken relationship with Iori there, but it's only ever hinted at. All together, under Iori's discerning eye, school events are the main stage for the story.

The shocking complication in the story is the presence of vampires! It turns out that Erika and Iori are vampires, and Sei and Shiro's family are servants to them. It's because of this that Kohei is on the student council, and part of the devious Iori's plan to throw Erika and Kohei together. The drama for the second half of the series is all about Erika's rebellion against her vampirism and her desire to be a normal girl - contrary to her mother's ideas.

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First, let me say, Shiro is ADORABLE. Her love for her rabbit, the swim tag game, and her little tea serving ways and just adorable. Sei, the incredibly over protective brother, is such a softie about her, despite his typical stuck up behavior. Iori frequently shows him self to be a prankster but as the show goes on you realize that it's all and act, and he's quite the manipulator. Kanade frequently says headsmacking things, and Hina is sweet and indulgent toward her. Tsukasa, though, seems to be pretty irrelevant past the first episode.

I liked it, but it wasn't that compelling. The love story was sweet, and very high school. It's one of the few times that I've seen an anime where the characters in high school seem to really be characters in high school, rather than mature characters in a high school setting. The whole vampire thing fits is weirdly, though it could probably be any reason to rebel and that's just the method the writers have chosen.

The minor positives: the school cook is an Iron Chef! Yukimaru is an escape artist rabbit pet that opens the way for Kohei and Erika a few times, Kanada obsessively smacks people with discipline stickers, and the end of each episode has a pretty poem. I would definitely watch it for free, but I might be interested in renting it if I were in the mood for watching cute vampire anime (like I just was). It was Pretty Good.

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Up Next: Dance in the Vampire Bund (Halloween 5)

Rosario + Vampire (Halloween 2)

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: Amusement + Excitement
Notable Features: Vampires + Succubi + Witches + Humans + Boobs
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: YAY

"Know. Your. Place!" - Moka

Rosario+Vampire doesn't actually have anyone named Rosario in it. It references a main character's rosary, which keeps her superpower self contained. The true main character is Tsukune Aono, an unassuming incoming (human) freshman who somehow -and by somehow, I mean his father stole the acceptance letter- gets enrolled into a high school for monsters. Within the first few minutes of the first episode he's hit by a girl on a bike, who then sucks his blood! Enter Moka, another freshman, who happens to be a vampire girl. The budding romance between the two is the vehicle which drives the series.

Within the first season, the other friends in this ragtag monster group are added. There is a succubus, a witch, a snow woman, another witch, a werewolf and the ever important Adult Moka. Adult Moka is the S-class supermonster vampire hidden within Moka. Adult Moka is bustier, bootier, and has an attitude. She comes out almost every episode when Tsukune removes Moka's rosary to save the day. All four of the females in their friendly bunch are obsessed with loving Tsukune - the snow woman takes the cake, though. She's a nice, shy, misfit stalker. No matter how much the girls fight over Tsukune, they all band together to fight the evil villain (sometimes faculty!) of each episode - frequently typical bullies with atypical powers.

Other important things to note: A narrating bat, that tells you the time that it takes to the end battle of each episode, explains all of the mythical creatures that come up and ends up as a minion for Moka's younger sister, Kokoa. Also, a bus driver with creepy eyes who transports Tsukune back and forth from the human world. Last, but not least, multiple references to b-movie culture and random uses of figures of speech.

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I loved it. Can you tell? Aside from the whole vampire thing, this series is hilarious. I think the bat is my favorite. There are also so many quotables in this show that it took me awhile to pick one for the top. There are a lot of boob and panty shots though. The stalking and peeping is pretty amusing, too. There is an overabundance of head-smacking humor involved, both the kind where you laughing at how dumb people are and laughing because of how inappropriate they can be. It's really the lighthearted sexuality that got it a Teen rating.

The only real negative that I see whole "Friendship fixes everything!" theme, but that's the moral of the story in almost every episode. Don't be a bully, friendship fixes everything, be yourself...etc. It's very shmoopy that way. I did find myself cheering the other girls on, versus Moka, though. It doesn't make sense since it's obvious that they are the couple of the story, but I thought she was a little one-dimensional. It's possibly because I see myself a little bit in the other girls, where I don 't feel much in common with Moka, at all. Adult Moka is pretty awesome, though. That said, I really recommend it for girls. The only part I can see a guy enjoying is the boobs. Lots of boobs. I wanted to stay away from writing things about that since they're so prevalent in so much anime, but I can't get away from it in this one. Watch it, if you dare. YAY!

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Coming Up: Trinity Blood (Halloween 3)

Black Blood Brothers (Halloween 1)

Genre: Drama
Age Appropriate: Pre-teen/Teen
Emotional Response: Interesting
Notable Features: vampires, "seperate but equal" society, loyalty issues, swords
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
verall Recommendation: Good

"Cassa..." - Jiro

Black Blood Brothers refers to Jiro and Kotaro Mochizuki. The brothers are both vampires, although Kotaro is too young to be susceptible to the typical vampire weaknesses: sunlight, water, garlic..etc. Jiro, the older brother, is very protective of Kotaro. The series follows them into the "Special Zone," an island off of the main city that is home to the complicated vampire society. After an incident on a boat, and attempted killing, and a terrible fight with seemlingly crazy vampires, Jiro and Kotaro make it to the Special Zone with their helpful guide, Mimiko. Mimiko works for the OCC, an organization meant to help humans - now called Red Bloods - and vampires - Black Bloods - live together peacefully. Mimiko herself is called a Compromiser, one of the lighter side of the organization meant to work with humans and vampires in a helpful way. After the first episode with the boat incident the Suppression Team in introduces as a trigger happy bunch meant to take down hostile vampires; most especially killing off Kowloon children.

The Kowloon children are the main villains of the series. They are a contagious bunch that seem to be like zombies with vampire strength and uncontrolled violence. An old friend of Jiro, the mastermind behind it all, Cassa (Cassandra) is working to take over the world! Well, at least the Special Zone, as she hopes to find out some undisclosed secret about the mysterious, non-existent 11th Yard. Somehow, Cassa, Jiro and a pretty girl Alice are the center of the conflict. The series often has flashbacks of Jiro and Alice, and/or Cassa. It's not until the very last episode that all becomes clear.

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 I actually like Black Blood Brothers, although I admit part of it is probably my personal partiality to vampires. However, with all of the anime I've been watching, it's been dropped down further on my list of good ones to watch. It has some interesting points, but it's not edge-of-your-seat fantastic, or messed up, or hilarious. This is why I've rated is as "Good." It is good, but I wouldn't have wanted to wait each week to see a new episode.

The drama between Jiro and Casa, and company, is very soap opera. There are a few twists and turns, but not exactly mind-boggling. The best part of the show is Kotaro and his precociousness. He's adorable, and funny. Mimiko is pretty naive, but in a good way. She sees the good in everyone, but isn't willing to just ignore the bad - except when it comes to Jiro, of course. ;) Personally, I'd watch it just for Kotaro. He certainly has an interesting appeal, and in the end the series wouldn't make any sense without him.

I gave it a Pre-teen/Teen rating because while there is a little bit of adult here or there, there are no boobs, boob jokes, grotesque scenes or profanities. There is one or two scenes that are sexy, but they may or may not go over someone's head. I'd check it out first, if I were considering showing it to someone under a certain age, I suppose. The sexiness is very on par to contemporary sexy vampire stuff.

So, I would recommend it for us vampire freaks as a little bit of fun. It's not bad to watch if you're bored.  Side note: The end theme is actually really pretty. I frequently listened all the way through.


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Keep Watching: Rosario + Vampire  (Halloween 2)