Reviews

Vandread is one of those shows that you really shouldn't like, but for some reason you keep coming back to it. The premise is absurd and the story itself is full of plot holes and rambles incoherently for most of the first season and the pacing is relatively uneven, but at the end of the day the reason why you enjoy it is because the majority of the cast are incredibly likable and interesting.

I would have to say that Vandread is mostly a simple boy meets girl story with a lot of window dressing on it and in that regard it does an efficient job of making that story come to life. Wheels do occasionally spin, but characters do make progress and grow, which is really key to these kind of animes. I wasn't dissapointed by seeing the cast and crew of the "Nirvana" grow closer together as the episodes progressed and it was rewarding to see them ultimately start working as a team.

I would barely classify Vandread as a "Mecha anime" as the dreads and vanguards are really just used as part of a formulaic "Monster of the week" trope. As a result the battles and animations are somewhat pedestrian (although this does improve over the life of the series). The music and voice acting are serviceable, but not fantastic, with perhaps only Yuu Asakawa (Jura Elden) being a stand out performance and the art holds up fairly well given the age of the anime and suits the direction and theme quite well.

If you enjoy romantic comedies with a bit of mecha on the side, then there's a good chance that you'll enjoy this anime.