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Story
There was more story than in season 1, but it was still dismal. I liked Yuki's post-traumatic stress behavior. It was a relief having her emotions at the forefront, instead of the previous season where she was constantly consoling the suicidal Zero. However, even though I usually enjoy heroines in torment, they didn't do much with any of it. She continued obsessing over Zero and repeating the phrase, "I cannot hurt Zero any more than this" in her monotonous internal dialogues. She continued chasing after Kaname, begging him to tell her about her past. This dragged on WAY too long. I can take only so many scenes of Yuki crying and pounding her fists against his chest while he goes, "Yuuki," in his sad voice. In all fairness, there was some buildup to the final events, the villain was decent, and there was some resolution. However, the story was so lacking and the characters' behavior was so repetitive that even at the climax, I just didn't care what was happening.

Art
The art was similar to season 1. Decent, nothing special. I was disappointed by the cheesiness of the monsters and the lameness of the fight scenes. I was pleasantly surprised though by just how cute Chairman Kaien was once he let down his hair and took off his glasses.

Sound
Another excellent soundtrack. Just for the music, suffering through the two seasons was worthwhile. I do hate the intro, but the ending theme makes up for it.

Character
Yuki was unbearable. She was just as weak as ever here, but much more intent on protecting everyone, even though she had ABSOLUTELY no capacity for defending herself. Watching her doggedly chase after the villain and put herself in danger set my teeth on edge. Not only that, she put a lot of Kaname's lackeys in danger in the process. Kaname did improve somewhat; his behavior became less opaque and we finally understood his attachment to Yuki. Zero and Ichirou also gained some depth. The twins may have been the most powerful, compelling plot element in the entire show. Unfortunately, understanding their motivations and enjoying that small sliver of character development wasn't enough to make the show engaging.

Enjoyment
Extremely unenjoyable. They shouldn't have raised our expectations that Yuki would eventually become strong if they weren't going to deliver. Forget about making her the guardian, since it wasn't used at all. If the main focus was instead on the love triangle, then they should have put WAY more attention on the two relationships. Yuki may have spent a lot of scene-time with Kaname or Zero, but she never connected with Kaname except at the very end, and her scenes with Zero were just over-the-top melodrama without the chemistry that makes other romantic shoujo, like Hana Yori Dango, so memorable. I can't remember a single romantic scene in either season that I would rewatch. Probably the only things I'm going to remember about this show in a few weeks are some subplot elements, like Rika/Shiki and the twins.

Overall
I'm honestly shocked by how popular this show is. I started with great anticipation because I love shoujo, but Yuki was a stifling lead who was never fun to identify with, truly one of those heroines they refer to as TSTL. read more

Story
Some aspects of the setup I liked. A school divided by day class human students and night class vampires was interesting. I might have really liked the human heroine who patrols the grounds and night, making sure the vampires are keeping in line, except...Yuki was TOTALLY lame. Episode after episode was just her chasing after Zero, getting herself into danger, being protected, and then feeling guilty. The "story" was really weak, literally. The characters didn't grow, events didn't build up into a striking climax, and what resolution there was was contrived. In addition, it was very much one of those animes annoyingly full of meaningful, melodramatic gazes and characters saying each others' names in quiet, tortured voices.

Art
The art was all right. Yuki, Kaname, and Zero were designed pretty well. The other vampires were pretty lame though, just a bunch of generic bishounen. There really wasn't a single image that jumped out at me as being special. Most shows at least have one really pretty sunset or something, but this one didn't. And I found Yuki's absolutely massive eyes irritating. I've seen a lot of anime by now so I'm used to the huge eyes, but hers actually distracted me at times. Maybe because the story had so little pull.

Sound
Good soundtrack. Lots of classical, which I enjoyed, and I like both the intro and ending songs.

Character
Probably the characters are what I disliked the most. Yuki was an extremely boring protagonist. She carried around a cool-looking staff that seems to have magical properties, but never once used it well. Usually, she'd just bring it out only to drop it when someone said something upsetting or when she tripped. She was then promptly rescued by Kaname or Zero. Maybe the next season will explain why she is in the middle of all of this, but I think season one should give the heroine SOME value. Sure, she was very generous with Zero, but I hate shoujo heroines who only stand out because they're SO good at being martyrs. As for the other characters, they were equally tedious. Zero spent most of his time wanting to die. Kaname constantly rescued Yuki, yet never explained her importance to him. A little mystery is good, but too much "she's so precious to me but I won't say why" gets boring and annoying. The "villain" only appeared at the very end, and I found their behavior inconsistent and what happened to them way too abrupt and anticlimactic.

Enjoyment
I might've adored this show, if Yuki hadn't been such a weakling. What I usually enjoy in anime shows is watching the protagonist learn and grow. It's okay if the protagonist starts out ordinary or weak, so long as they become stronger. Yuki really didn't, though. Kaname kept protecting her without explaining anything. Zero usually pushed her away and also refused to share things. She had a big heart, but I like heroines who're genuinely strong, not just good at sacrificing themselves. Sorry, but anyone can say, "Bite me."

Overall
Maybe this is a good show for teenage girls, but I think anyone who just finished Ouran Host Club or Hana Yori Dango or other such shows will be disappointed by the heroine. Most shoujo is so entertaining because the heroines are so intelligent, or plucky, or independent. Yuki was none of those things and that made for pretty dull watching. Of course, fangirls who just want to see a cute big-eyed girl get bitten by various bishounen will still love it. read more

Story 6/10
This was a slice-of-life anime with very light shoujo-ai elements. It reminded me of Haibane Renmei in terms of how uneventful the plot really was. Even the climactic moments weren't especially emotional or intense. A "peak" in the storytelling might be a scene where Sachiko speaks sharply to Yumi and Yumi cries. The story therefore wasn't exactly bad, as it would have been if there had been plot holes or unresolved subplots. However, it also wasn't very engaging. Yumi and Sachiko, the main characters, more or less got along throughout, and there were no especially troublesome characters on the side to cause any real conflict.

Art 7/10
The art is a little old-fashioned now, but the character design was quite pretty. I wasn't especially moved by any particular image, but it's an attractive show.

Sound 6/10
The music works with the show. No tracks stood out to me though as anything I would definitely want to own and listen to. I'm really into soundtracks, so that's a bit of a rarity. I didn't HATE the music, as for instance I hate the Gilgamesh soundtracks, but it was unmemorable. It went with the plot, which kept things always on a pretty even keel.

Character 7/10
The characters were decent. Yumi was lovable and naive, Sachiko was poised but vulnerable, and the other roses and their petite soeurs were pretty individualistic. Some even had interesting back stories. However, everyone was likable, which is a bit uninteresting in a way. In addition, their personalities were a little too one-dimensional. It reminded me a bit of these other game-based harem shows, like Meine Liebe and Harukanaru, where each guy has a very shallow personality because he has to represent just a few qualities, so that the girl can pick the one she likes the best and doesn't have to wade through a multi-layered personality. So although each character had a well-defined personality, they didn't have enough depth to really stand out.

Enjoyment 5/10
It wasn't painful to watch, but it wasn't all that engaging either. Yumi, the real heroine, started out as an ordinary girl who was given an extraordinary opportunity--to be Sachiko's petite soeur. That's a nice setup, but Yumi doesn't really vindicate herself. Throughout the show, she remains the sweet, ordinary girl thrown amongst extraordinary people. In a way, that's the show's point--that she was extraordinary in her own way. However, I'm more into shows where the protagonist really grows and eventually shines. The lack of conflict and the lack of growth were tedious.

Overall 7/10
It's hard giving this a final overall mark. I don't want to be too harsh because I realize that this isn't a genre I especially enjoy. I think that the show was what it intended to be, so saying that the plot wasn't fast-paced enough for me or that Yumi didn't grow enough as a character isn't entirely fair. Still, I think that the story would have been much better with a bit more conflict and a few characters who weren't so likable. And I would have liked to know more about Yumi's own background. read more

Story
The concept behind the show is actually decent, with some really good points here and there. The difference between an attachment to the world, which is what drives the Corpses, and the more fundamental concept of one's underlying Nature, was thought provoking. The constant reminder that the Shikabane Himes are not human beings and mustn't be thought of as such was also a good source of conflict, as Oori got more and more involved with Makina. Unfortunately, the plot itself never did much with these great themes. Other than one great twist at the end, the story was predictable and pretty much your standard monster-fighting show with your angsty, ineffective hero who's more a spectator than a participant in any of the action.

Art
The art was pretty good at times, but the quality varied a fair amount and the monster design was extremely generic. I'm giving the art a 7 rather than a 6 for a few few images that were really pretty gorgeous.

Sound
Great soundtrack. I had to get it for myself after the first season. The sad songs are especially poignant.

Character
The only decent character was the Betrayer Priest, who was a terrific noble villain with the best backstory in the show. Oori was whiny and constantly requiring saving, even in his one climatic ordeal in which he comes face to face with his past. The little strength he displays at the end was difficult to believe and extremely contrived, lacking any kind of build up. Makina was equally annoying; she was so distant, aggressive, and angsty that not even her flashbacks or softer moments did much for her depth as a character. I was never able to relate to her or believe in the bond between her and Oori that slowly forms. Hokuto was the classic, extremely boring one-dimensional villain--unbelievably powerful and completely insane. After 24 episodes, I'd appreciate a final showdown with someone who's at least coherent.

Enjoyment
The show failed to convince me in any way of Oori's growth. Although his backstory turned out to be pretty interesting, it was too little too late. As the the protagonist in a show like this, his own journey should have been way more in the forefront, instead of him constantly running after Makina whose repetitious angst usually eclipsed everything else going on. Most of my enjoyment in shows like this is dependent on how far the main character comes and how strong he turns out to be when he finally faces off against the villains after his ordeal. I had some real expectations, what with the cat (which I thought was awesome until I saw how it panned out) and Oori's mysterious past. Unfortunately, it was a 90% letdown.

Overall
In the end, despite the cool themes about attachment, death, regret, nature, and so on, and despite the very promising setup, the show was a total flop for me, failing to deliver any of the things it made me anticipate. Guys who want to watch cute zombie girls with big breasts jump around might like it, but anyone with any kind of standards for plot and character depth will be disappointed. read more

A must read for gender-bender fans, and probably amusing for people who are just into high school comedy. It's not a particularly memorable story. There are no brilliant, laugh-out-loud funny situations as there are in such stories as Power! (Girl Got Game) or Pretty Face. The character development especially is pretty weak. Yes, Akane is a quite cute girl, but various males' obsession with her is a bit overdone. The end was also lacking; the mangaka apparently preferred leaving any kind of real resolution up to readers' imagination. Considering how funny gender-benders are, the mangaka didn't do much with the material, but it's still an entertaining, worthwhile read. read more

This is one of my favorite yaoi mangas. The characters have a lot of emotional depth to them, and the focus is more on their feelings and the relationships that develop than the physical stuff. In particular, it's one of those wounded/vulnerable-protagonist stories. Hikari is an easy character to sympathize with; he has an unrequited crush on an upperclassman, but has decided that just observing Kizaki gives him enough happiness. You only gradually come to understand him as you find out more about his dysfunctional home-life. The sensei, whose motives are never really clear until the end, provides the story with a lot of conflict without ever quite becoming an outright villain. The art is gorgeous, especially the sensei. Just...wow. read more