I was drawn in because I love vampires, fantasy, and handsome anime boys - and this ticked all the boxes for me. It's an EXCELLENT series that scores well in thoughtful writing, music, character development and more... it felt like I was watching an anime movie with cinematic frame cuts and zooms, perfect editing and metaphors in every single episode. I wouldn't describe it as anything other than a visual and literary masterpiece, as it evokes the kind of complex emotions one rarely feels from series today.
However. Due to the complex (back)story of the vampire history, it also felt like the series was cramming too much content into 12 episodes. The main arc (the vampire kingdom's rise to success) ended by episode 7, and every episode after that introduced a new plot point that deserved another arc of its own. There was too much going on with too little time. And yet, the series focused almost exclusively on the relationship between Queen Mina and Akira during those limited 4+ episodes.
If you are a fan of Mina's narcissistic character - and it looks like she has many fans on MAL - then you'll continue to enjoy the direction of the series. If you are do not worship her, nor care about romance, it's safe to say you can skip episode 8 onwards. They might as well be romantic comedies on the most unlikely couple ever.
I'm not a fan of that, or rather, I'm a bigger fan of Yuki.
Throughout the entire series, Yuki proves to be a solid friend, a selflessly kind, trustworthy, sensitive human, and she remains supportive towards the love triangle, even if her feelings are hurt or unaddressed. And yet, despite all that she does ... Yuki does not get a happy ending. It was painfully frustrating to watch Yuki not get an apology from Akira. To watch someone else's love story unfold, while your own is destroyed because of it. I couldn't stand that. She was deeply relatable for me, and even though I typically want 'vampires to win over humans no matter what,' in this case, I really didn't. I actually preferred the humans in this series, which speaks volumes on how shockingly awful the vampires were.
In conclusion, I recommend episode 1 - 7 for the general public (18+ years old due to mature content), and episode 8 - 12 if you enjoy watching ridiculous relationships that would likely end in divorces in reality - I'll be the first to make a bet on it.
