Okay then, where to start? How about the fact that this was made by Gonzo. Now, before you go jumping down my throat, yes, Gonzo has made some really, REALLY good series, and are still making them today. However, they also have a very long list of bad shows they've produced as well.
This is one of those bad ones.
I walked into this one having read the first two volumes of the manga and knowing fully that there was only a 50/50 chance of this series being any good. Unfortunately, my gamble didn't pay off. The first thing that bothers me is the fanservice. Yes, the
...
manga also has copious amounts of it, but it takes a backseat to the plot. Here in the anime, the reverse is true. The show reverts to a cliched monster-of-the-week formula with no real tension in any of the situations because you know exactly how it will be resolved by the end of the episode. There are no over-arcing storylines and absolutely no character development.
It's a shame, because there's a lot of potential here, with the setting they chose, putting a human in a school for monsters and all, but any clever setups we could have had are completely blown in favor of even more fanservice. The only consistent plot element is the insufferable on-again, off-again relationship between the two man characters, Tsukune and Moka, but even then, their arguments and troubles are not interesting, not sympathetic, and not really grounded in any sort of reality that would make us care for what's going on.
Speaking of characters, that's also a place where the series falls flat on its ass. Moka and Tsukune are the only ones who have any real depth to them, and that's really only because of Moka's split personality, and their strained relationship. The rest of the characters, while having a few funny moments, only exist to create a little more conflict and to fill in the stereotypical rolls of a Harem anime: Kurumu's a bitch, Yukina's a loli, and Mizori's a quiet stalker. There, you know everything about them you'll ever need to know. Other characters, like Nekonome-sensei are actually far more fun to see, but they're only ever on screen for a small amount of time in each episode, if they're even featured at all. Oh, and since the villain changes every episode as well, don't expect any deep characterization for them either. They're all either perverts who want to get into one of the main characters' pants (by force if necessary) or want to prove their strength by maiming one of the heroes. There is one exception to this rule, but to avoid spoilers, I can't talk about her, and again, she only appears in like, two episodes before conforming to another stereotype.
Moving on to a different topic, the sound in this anime is probably the only really good part of this. The voice actors bring a lot of energy to their rolls, and it's competent enough, though a few of the characters do cross the annoyance line one too many times for my taste. The sound effects are also decent, if a little stock, though the one you'll probably hear the most often is the strange bouncing sound effect that happens whenever a female's breasts bounce. Yes, bouncing breasts have their own sound effect in this show. The music is also good, if a bit stock, and it has a good mixing of classical string scores and horn concertos, but there isn't a whole lot of variety.
In terms of animation, well... it's Gonzo working on a school harem anime. The character designs are actually really well done and all of them do look very faithful to their original manga designs, though I do think a few of the coloring options for some of them was a tad strange... Kurumu having blue hair just doesn't seem right to me and Mizore's black and purple outfit and hair make me think she's going to turn into the Cheshire Cat at any moment. However, the designs are consistently good, but the animation itself is... well, Gonzo. Still frames abound, folks. Close-ups even moreso. Scenes of people running look a little choppy. You're getting the idea, I hope. The only parts that seem to be above this quality are during the fight scenes that take place in each episode, but these fights are so short (most of them end with a single blow, folks) that it's barely noticeable. The only other place that seems to have a budget on this show is the giggle physics. Seriously, an female who has breasts large enough to be noticeable, you will see jiggles and jumps all over the place that looks more fluent than the animation of the actual character.
Like I've said, I've only read the first two (out of a total of six) volumes of the manga, but even then, I still feel like I know more about the characters, their motivations, their thoughts, and their personalities than after watching all thirteen episodes of this series. The characters aren't interesting and at best only serve to further the plot while at worst just exist for more fanservice, the plot is nonexistent and the characters (if you haven't figured out by now) aren't strong enough to drive the story forward, and while the main focus would appear to be on Moka and Tsukune's relationship, absolutely nothing changes or gets resolved at all by the end of the series!
Bottom line, if you're really interested, skip the anime, skip the second season (capu 2) and just pick up the manga instead! trust me, you'll be glad you did... but hey, I do have one good thing to say about this: at no point during the series do any of the vampires sparkle!
Mar 3, 2010
Rosario to Vampire
(Anime)
add
Okay then, where to start? How about the fact that this was made by Gonzo. Now, before you go jumping down my throat, yes, Gonzo has made some really, REALLY good series, and are still making them today. However, they also have a very long list of bad shows they've produced as well.
This is one of those bad ones. I walked into this one having read the first two volumes of the manga and knowing fully that there was only a 50/50 chance of this series being any good. Unfortunately, my gamble didn't pay off. The first thing that bothers me is the fanservice. Yes, the ... |
