Rosario + Vampire

To be honest, reviewing things on the IMDb has become a very unattractive pursuit in the last few years, for reasons I shall not go into here. But to see an entry finally added for Rosario + Vampire and not see any attempt, leave alone a good one, to make readers aware of what to expect... well, what can I do? Rosario + Vampire can basically be discussed in a couple of parallel threads. There is the manga, and there is this anime. Comparing one to the other is important, because it is important to understand why fans of the manga still cry out for a visual media adaptation. Another good point of comparison would be the enormously successful HBO series True Blood.

Manga and anime alike start through the eyes of a boy in his mid-teens who goes by the name of Tsukune. Tsukune is a profoundly average boy, and has failed the entrance exams to pretty much every school in Japan. But this is not meant to be a commentary about the intellectual caste system of Japan. Rather, it is a setup to explain how Tsukune is enrolled by his parents in the Youkai Academy after his father happens across a flier dropped by a suspect-looking person. Of course, anyone who knows the meaning of Youkai in Japanese knows where this is going. Tsukune, upon learning that he is enrolled in a school for mythical creatures, begins to write his withdrawal notice and make his way toward the exit. But what stops him is the young woman he met earlier in the day, a Vampire who goes by the name of Moka. Where Tsukune is the most average, unremarkable Human, Moka is one of the most elite and powerful Youkai of the lot, extraordinary even by Vampire standards. And she finds the taste of Tsukune's blood very much to her liking.

It is more or less after this introduction that the manga and anime go on very different paths. Whereas the characters of the manga face some extreme challenges that go straight to the root of their psyches, the anime is mostly farcical and only superficially explores any of the feelings the characters have about anything. We get told that Moka is very frightened of Humans because of her experiences of trying to attend school in the Human world, but aside from flashbacks, we get very little to concrete it. Mizore, easily my favourite character from the manga, is basically reduced to running jokes about popping up in the weirdest places and taking her desire of Tsukune a little too far. In the manga, the arc that introduces her shows her dealing with trust and abandonment issues as one of the sensei tries to take advantage of her. The kindness that Tsukune shows her as she fights off that sensei once and for all makes it patently obvious why she loves him. In the anime, we are just expected to accept it as a given.

Where the anime partially saves itself is in the relationship between Tsukune and Moka. Seeing them grow together as people as they learn to deal with each others' differences is a major component of the early manga that has been sadly lacking in recent volumes. One almost wishes the series had been around for George Lucas to watch when he was writing scenes for a pair of characters earlier in this decade. Since the anime is also very brief and to the point, there is a lot less gnashing of teeth about why Tsukune has to be so indecisive about which of the women chasing him he wants. But the biggest selling point of the anime by far is Nana Mizuki's voicework as both Inner and Outer Moka. As the more demure, gentle Outer Moka, she sounds sweet and childlike in a way that manages to not sicken this jaded old viewer (quite a feat in itself that Harry Potty et al could never achieve). Then when the Inner Moka comes out, she gently, calmly sounds like she could tear the viewer's head off just to see the rest of them twitch. It is no coincidence that all of the theme songs also feature Mizuki's voice prominently.

So if you are curious as to whether to introduce yourself to Rosario + Vampire through this series, I feel a comparison says it best. The manga is like Tim Burton's Batman. The anime is a somewhat more grown-up version of the Adam West abomination. But who knows? Maybe one day we might get that Takashi Miike R+V adaptation I hold my breath for.

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.

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.

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.