Rosario + Vampire

OK, I watched this show when I was a teenager, and I managed to maneuver through panty shots every damn minute, and made it through (I skipped the hot springs episode and a few others). Some fights were awesome, and some were mediocre, but I tried a couple years after to watch it again and couldn't even make it through the first episode. So much fanservice, so little anything else.

There is no grand plot going on. In every episode Tskune and his friends have to defeat another foe and they need to work out their love triangle. The focus clearly is on the latter as the fights aren't that spectacular, though the visuals are often gorgeous.

His friends (or rather his harem) are typical naive but lovable anime girls. Only Moka (due to her importance to Tskune) has more of a personality. Tskune himself is a bit lacking as he is very weak and consequently has to be rescued by his female friends all the time; a fact that he is painfully aware of himself. He would have been way cooler if he had at least one useful skill like sword fighting; just anything instead of whining about how weak he is. His weakness is also very much at odds with his protective nature.

Though plot and characters aren't anything spectacular, there are some really beautiful and funny moments to be found, lessons about love and friendship (though nothing too deep). And 13 episodes are a good match for this format.

I watched series one, and its not that great. The animation could've been better. Every female is sexualized. Pretty much every episode has the same format (there's even a bat character that comes in and compares every episode to the previous one and how similar they are). All the characters are watered down and shallow. There is some entertainment to be found, but not much. Miscommunication is often used as a plot device, which is really frustrating. I wouldn't really recommend this.

When I came across this series, Rosario + Vampire, I thought the premise to be unusual enough to watch; the concept of an ordinary mid- teen human kid accidentally going to a school of monsters was a cool one, and had a lot of potential.

Rosario did not disappoint. Though monsters, most of the students at Yokai Academy are pretty good looking in their human form, including Tsukune, the male protagonist, while the girls are unsurprisingly pretty sexy. You have to get used to the amount of fan service the creators provide, but, like watching girls in bikinis on a beach, after a while you get used to it and it's not that big a deal, just a very pleasant spectacle; however, the girls ARE very attractive, and the various mini story arcs constantly remind one of their powerful sex appeal. That, and the pretty decent animation, plus great music, makes it an entertaining thing to watch and listen to. The adorable Nana Mizuki has a great voice, and does a wonderful job with the songs-as well as the sedate Moka's voice - even if in Japanese; if you have a chance, look this charming little lady up!

There is no overwhelming story to take in, other than the adventures of a teenage human boy in a school of monster people, but the little ones they provide, and the resulting fights that the gorgeous Moka Akashiya has in her powerful vampire state, are very cool to see; but, of course, Moka always is, no matter what state she's in. The series is strewn throughout with comic moments, which one can see is what the creators decided to make this, rather than an anime with hard science, plots, and dramas, which is what it appears confuses those people who also read the manga. I didn't. Rosario doesn't try to become something terribly serious and dramatic, although it does have some interesting dramatic and semi-serious moments in it; but ultimately they give way to more humorous and amusing resolutions. Tsukune is a charming young boy with a naive but very good heart, and it's easy to see why the girls - otherwise in a school of high-octane monster males - love him. His human scent is not the reason, it's just there, and something more that interests them; but the love they have for him is because of his good, accepting nature and wishes of good will for everyone, which, in a school of monsters, makes for many comic moments.

Altogether, Rosario's characters are attractive and charming, male and female alike, the anime colorful and pleasant to watch, the villains (who are only villainous for a short time) interesting and then amusing, and the story lines light and entertaining; that is why it has its popularity. And of course, there are Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, & Yukari (not to ignore Rubi Tojo, the exotic adult witch, Ririko Kagome, the super sexy & busty math teacher, & the nearly as sexy & always funny homeroom teacher, Shizuka Nekonome) all of who are always attractive, captivating, slightly erotic, & very entertaining to watch. But it is always the dazzling Moka Akashiya that is the central focus of the series, who manages to stir up most of the action & drama, one way or the other, and is any man or boy's dream girl; and if you have to offer up a little blood every once in awhile, well, that's the price for having a stunning vampire girlfriend who adores you. It's a definite hoot, and worth watching a few times.

All the reasons why I love "Elfen Lied" so much are here are only in bad. In the course of the plot is devastating entanglements and countless embarrassing scenes Beyond the comic with a few jokes and the rich fan service, with pantyshots over 9000 and 'Big jiggling breasts', the story itself however is little original and have little to offer.

It's just reverse "Twilight" and everyone at school is jealous, needy and/or greedy. In addition to the many cheap comedy and (un)erotic, the series also contains some action, but this is staged very unspectacular. (I know that's the joke, but it does not make it more watchable). The fourth wall is constantly broken because the series does not get any transitions and is so poorly explained that I had to rely on the Wikipedia article to follow the broken World Building.

The character designs are very cute and colorful but too bland to be really distinguishable. The constant adulation of the 2 protagonists makes some moments so unbearable it causes headaches. Imagery and subtlety are also present, but it feels more like an austerity measure. The whole series moves only in circles and it is so episodic that you have seen 99% of the series after the first three episodes and is so predictable that you know after the first episode how it goes on and how it ends.

It has some surprising moments but they do not justify the wait and the end is just disappointing + two episodes were so cringeworthy that my nose started to bleed and I got migraine.

The animation looks like TV from the early 2000s and the CGI like PlayStation 2 graphics.