Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku

"A Migratory Bird" - episode one title
"Akai Yakusoku" - episode twelve title
"I want to make new memories here." - Hasekura Kouhei







...
"Fortune Arterial" is actually the title of a visual novel. It was adopted into a manga of the same name, and an anime called "Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku (Red Promise)." Some people were disappointed with the anime because of a lack of action scenes, which they assumed would be there de facto as the series had vampires. In case you have not seen Twilight, I have got some news for you: vampires do not equal action anymore. You just have to live with it. This show is basically slice of life, with friendship elements thrown to it. However, there is an overall plot, and it is heavily related to vampires, which is apparent from the very first scene of the very first episode, continuing to slowly progress, with mysteries being revealed at a steady pace.

The story follows Hasekura Kouhei, a boy who frequently changes schools, feeling like a migratory bird. He is finally about to settle in Shakugan Gakuen (Academy), a six-year English-style school on Tamatsu island. The first person he meets is a pretty blonde girl that welcomes him warmly as the vice-president of the student council. However, just as they are about to shake hands, she, Sendou Erika, suddenly backs off and falls, acting strangely. When he asks her what is wrong, she says it is nothing, and promptly delegates the task of showing Kouhei the dorm to fellow student Hachimandaira Tsukasa, who had just walked by. Over there, he meets two sisters, Yuuki Hinata and Kanade, that remember Kouhei from childhood, as they used to play together on the island. Since he is a new student, Kouhei has to take pictures of various locations around school grounds. When he gets to the church, he helps a little girl find her pet rabbit, called Yuukimaru ("yuuki" means snow, referring to the rabbit being white). The girl's name is Tougi Shiro, and she is a member of the "Royal Ring," which is never actually explained as to what it is, just that it apparently has something to do with the church. He also encounters "sister" Amaike, who, as he heard from Tsukasa, hits misbehaving students with a fry pan. Kouhei spills this out to her, causing Amaike to be angry. He wisely decides to leave to look for the student council building to take pictures of it. Shiro goes with him to show Hasekura the location. However, her older brother, Tougi Seiichiro, sees them together when they arrive there. Seiichiro, with an angry expression, sends his sister away, and warns Kouhei to leave. Just then, another student interrupts. He is Sendou Iori, the cunning student council president, and it turns out that Tougi was actually warning Hasekura about Sendou. After Iori invites Kouhei in, the former causes a problem between the latter and Erika. She becomes upset with Kouhei, but later, she overhears him defending her. Then, Erika tells Kouhei to meet her under the zelkova tree, a place where people usually confess their feelings. He goes to the church first, where Kouhei sees something shocking, a boy biting a girl in the neck . . .

I like the progression of the story in general, as it focuses on Kouhei trying to do his best with the duties entrusted to him. Also, he helps Erika whenever he can, causing their feelings for each other to grow in time. Others play a role as the show goes on, but not on the same level.

You can see what I meant by slow development, but the characters are so likeable, you will want to get to know them. Hasekura Kouhei is a boy looking for something he has yet to find. A diligent girl who is the vice-president of the student council, Sendou Erika has to both keep a secret and struggle with her new, strange feelings around Kouhei; some fans wished for her to become Kouhei's girlfriend by the end, but there is no real conclusion to that aspect. Yuuki Hinata is a nice girl who is constantly by her sister's side and seems to have feelings for her childhood friend, Kouhei; I was rather disappointed that their relationship does not really develop throughout the show, and she instead befriends Erika, her rival. Becoming a good friend of Hasekura's and copying his homework, Hachimandaira Tsukasa is a nice guy that sometimes gets bullied by Kanade. A very energetic, outspoken, and childish girl, Yuuki Kanade is highly fond of her little sister, and is responsible for the dorm. In the sixth year of school, Sendou Iori is the sly, seemingly light-hearted president of the student council. A member of the student council, Tougi Seiichiro is calm, collective, serious, and very protective of his little sister; as their families have been friends for a long time, he is on good terms with Iori; it bothered me that he appears weak at a later episode, despite his usually-strong disposition. Tougi Shiro is a cute fourth-year girl who is a part of the Royal Ring; it is traditional for her family to perform a dance during a certain time of the year. Not very social, Kuze Kiriha is a calm and mysterious student at the school.

The anime certainly lives up to its visual novel counterpart, with colorful, astonishing animation and character designs. I cannot recall a single mistake in that department. There is a lot of detail given even to the background characters, making them seem like they could be main ones, and the scenery is just spectacular.

The opening and ending sequences are beautiful as well, with the former showing scenes of the main characters accompanied by an uplifting song, and the latter displaying the main females (save for the heroine, who appears in the last part, moving) wet in still pictures with calm music. The seiyuu generally fit their respective characters, with one in particular, Yuuki Hinata, a quiet and collective girl, being voiced by the same woman that did one of the heroines of Ef - a Tale Memories. (which happens to be my all-time favorite show), Miyamura Miyako, who is hyper and energetic in comparison.

To be honest, in my opinion, this is the best story depicting vampires (and I have seen Twilight and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer); it does not change actors nor drag on for too long. The show is episodic for the most part, but it does have a powerful finale, though one might want more (action- and romance-wise). Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku is an anime that is worth the watch for those intelligent people who wish to learn about life.

There are few trends in anime that are as fallible as the visual novel adaptation, yet they continue to be made in the hope of finding the next Air, Kanon or Clannad. Unfortunately this means that the industry is littered with forgettable titles that have no other purpose than to serve as no brain entertainment for an audience that simply doesn't care anymore.

There is hope though, as every so often a series will appear that defies all expectations. Sadly, Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku (Red Promise) isn't one of them.

Based on the adult visual novel of almost the same name that was released in 2008 by ... developer August, the series lays out a fairly stereotypical harem plot of boy transferring into prestigious school and girls immediately falling head over heels for his kind personality and slightly bumbling mannerisms. Oh, and the main heroine just happens to be a vampire.

Now where have I heard that before?

Fortune Arterial does have a plot, but unsurprisingly it's about as predictable as the sunrise for anyone who's ever watched a harem based show. The storyline is laid out in the typrical fashion of boy meets girl (or in this case, vampire), upon entering the school, then meets his long lost childhood friend(s) (also girls), then some other girl(s), etc. All the while some mysterious force keeps pushing the boy and the first female (let's call her Girl A since I can't be bothered remembering her name), together.

The problem with Fortune Arterial is actually twofold where the story is concerned, the primary one being that the show follows the harem format almost to the letter, with little in the way of innovation or deviation. There is never any assumption that the viewer is intelligent enough for deductive reasoning, and the only thing expected of them is to sit there, look at the pretty anime girls, and buy the merchandise afterwards.

The second problem is the fact the series is based on an adult visual novel, and they're not really the best choice when it comes to deep, well written storylines or nicely developed characters. In fact, they're so far down on the list of possibilities that one has to wonder how the hell they get chosen in the first place.

They're also as generic as they come where design is concerned.

Fortune Arterial is, if nothing else, a faithful representation of the visual novel, (at least in terms of how it looks), but that's not really saying much as the series would only be laudable if the show was at least decent in other areas (storyline, for example). The other downside to staying true to the original (at least in this case), is that there is an inherent lack of creativity, and it shows itself here in several visual ways.

Like so many other eroge, Fortune Arterial has some pretty decent animation, and while there are some issues with body position and timing, it's probably on a par with many other shows of this type. The downside though, is that the anime is awash with big eyed characters of just about every "moe" stereotype you'd care to name, and that includes the hapless lead male. The scenery is nice enough, but lacks any real flair that would set it apart from just about every other posh, western styled school in anime (there are a few after all).

Which, strangely enough, leads me on to the acting.

The seiyuu generally work well throughout the series, but the main issue with their performances is that they lack passion. The delivery of their lines can be wooden, and there are several occasions where it sounds like the actors and actresses would much rather be doing something else.

The rest of the aural department isn't really any better. The OP is a cheesy, boppy J-Pop track that is typical for this type of show. The ED is, as you've probably already guessed, a ballad that is meant to sound somewhat bittersweet, but instead comes off as cloying and unoriginal. The incidental music has some issues with timing and choreography, and there are some odd pieces that doesn't seem to match the mood of the scene.

As for the characters, if you've seen one harem show of this type then you pretty much know what to expect. The lead male isn't as bad as some I could name, but the girls are as stereotypical as they come, and to make matters worse their character types include a vampire and an amnesiac childhood friend (let's call her Girl B).

Hooray for genericism!

The story is driven by events rather than characters, mainly because the nature of the visual novel defines the plot format. Unfortunately this means that there is little in the way of actual character development as while events do occur over the course of the show, the characters basically remain the same from beginning to end.

That said, there were some mildly diverting moments dotted here and there, but not enough to warrant watching the show a second time.

Fortune Arterial is a strange anime that doesn't really feel comfortable with itself, never mind the viewing public. A major problem with the series, aside from all that inherent genericism, is that several aspects of the storyline have already been realised far better in other shows. Because of this, much of the plot seems derived rather than original, and there is little in the way of content to persuade the viewer that they wouldn't be better off watching something like Karin or Rosario + Vampire.

To its credit, the series does present some interesting situations, but like so many other titles it never fully realises or utilises them to their full potential.

The biggest problem with Fortune Arterial though, is that it represents just about everything that is wrong with the anime industry today. Studios like Zexcs seem more focused on catering to an almost non-existent market than they are on giving the majority of fans what they want, and the main reason for this is habit - historically their money has mainly come from selling merchandise to hardcore Japanese fans.

The sad part is that the repercussions of making a series like this are far more widespread than people may initially believe, and the shortfall in finances resolves itself through increased license fees and mark ups on the price of merchandise and DVDs.

Fortune Arterial isn't the worst show of its type, but it's a long, long way from being the best. Then again, in a genre that's littered with the failed attempts at cracking the harem format, what else would you expect?

Yes, of course I watched this because it's bad. One must watch bad shows from time to time, otherwise good shows lose their worth. Of course I watched it so that I could bash on it afterwards, it is simply entertaining to me. You would be surprised to know that I almost dropped it around five times though, I had to battle myself every time to ensure that I could finish it!

I want to start out by saying that I feel sorry for Ono Daisuke, I know a job is a job and that everyone's got to eat, but I'd live off of porridge as ... my three meals a day for a month rather than involve myself with something like this.

By no means is this anime in any way original. Fanboys of harem have seen it numerous times before. Since the vampire theme, unfortunately, is all the rage at the present time they've decided to incorporate it in this schoolbook harem that I'd frankly hoped they would stop producing for the sake of the anime industry. The vampire theme has become something so common that we don't really think it's strange anymore, neither do the characters in the anime when they find out about the existence of vampires so it's all good really. Therefore the vampire theme in this anime became a gimmick, it could just as well have been left out and the show would probably have been better for it (not really).

Characters, character interaction, script, screenplay, storyboard, art and animation were all sub par in this production. Being a harem characters especially were abominable, but really, noone should ever expect good characters in a harem. This anime could never have become good, the concept would never allow it, nor would the stellar production company Zexcs, which probably is the worst production company in the industry.

It has been a misfortune to have watched Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku.