Ranked #989

Rosario + Vampire Capu2

"A series with splendid animation and soundtrack but poor storyline."

Many many things have happened in the first season which was loosely based on the manga original, so logically we are expecting the storyline of Capu2 to continue from where season one left off. In fact, many many things do happen in Rosario + Vampire Capu2. They include the very exciting and daring (in the sense that they are pissing off the fans) censored fan service, more censored fan service, and still more annoying censored fan service. In terms of actual Rosario + Vampire story coverage, Capu2 literally got close to none with a few minor exceptions.

Story:
Similar to the previous season, Capu2 is also considered episodic (each episode is one mini standalone story). The "monster of the week" which received numerous criticism also returned though this time most of the "monsters" do not have much of an evil intention thus making most battles seem even more ridiculous (pointless) than before.

Unlike the first season which still semi followed the story from the manga, Capu2 is almost purely fillers as evident in episode 6. To wrap it up, Gonzo pretty much taken out all the actions in the story and replaced them with censored fan service (how can it be called fan service if they are censored with a bear?). Obviously fillers unrelated to the actual story tend to make fans unhappy, but from another perspective it can be rather refreshing at times because even manga readers wouldn't know what might come next!

Animation:
Upon watching this anime, perhaps the first thing you'll notice is the supreme animation quality. Whether you are new to this series, or a fan from the manga original, the artwork in the anime is without a doubt impressive. It should be added that the animation quality throughout the series is very consistent, which certainly means a lot for a show intended for fan servicing.

Sound:
When compared to the first season, the OP and ED were certainly better made (that is not to say season one's soundtrack sucked, but season two is even better). It is plain evident that the OP and ED clips no longer relates to the story (unlike season 1's OP and ED which give hints to certain aspects of the plot), which is actually a good thing for this season since the production crew never had any intention of following the story anyhow. So a good OP and ED that matches their theme (ie. fanservice) would do the trick.

Give Nana Mizuki tons and tons of credit for her amazing job well done for performing the OP and ED as well as being the CV for Moka. As stated in my Rosario + Vampire review, Nana has an amazing ability to sing thus allowing her to win the “Best Musical Performance” award in the first Seiyu Awards.

Character:
I was quite surprised when writing this review that there were hardly any character development in this season. Not only are the characters' hidden abilities STILL have yet to be included in the anime, but nothing really changed from the first season's ending (as expected from a filler series). Season one definitely did a better job in this department.

Enjoyment + Final Thought:
The heavy censorship really made the show very not enjoyable for me. If you want to watch the series uncensored, you'll have to wait for the DVD release. Overall, Rosario + Vampire Capu2 served its purpose as a filler and "fanservice" series. Having strong animation quality and great sound track makes up for the lack of story and pretty poor character developments. I recommend this series for people who like good quality animation but if you want story development, you'll be best to skip this.

*Note* The review is based on the broadcast episodes (ie. TV), the DVDs have no impact on the review. read more

The Short Review for the Reader without much time:
Story (3/10): What story?! Well, there was a storyline for the first and last two episodes of this anime, and then 9 episodes of filler. 9 EPISODES OF FILLER IN A 13 EPISODE ANIME. Is this anime so inconsistent that it can't even stick to the plot for over two consecutive episodes?! Hence the low score.
Art (8/10): The art is the best thing about this anime, is is fluid, clean, detailed, and rich in color.
Sound (6/10): The music matches the anime pretty well, ecchi all the way. It's the video with the music that is...interesting.
Characters (6/10): The characters all have flat personalities: they all love the guy, and they are all...lets just say "brave" in public.
Enjoyment (6/10): Eh. Some new developments that were quite interesting. Mostly mumbo jumbo.
Overall: (5/10) read more