Reviews

This anime left me a little nonplussed. Animation isn't in general as good as I expect from Shaft, and the show is peculiarly fetish-y. As well, I'm heavily reminded of _Bakemonogatari_ and _Kure-nai_ - and not necessarily in a good way. (I wish I remembered why I decided to watch it.) The episode where they drive to the confrontation with Count Kinkel was visually beautiful & stylish, comparing well with other series like _Tatami Galaxy_. But the story... I was right in my first comment, it's basically _Kure-nai_ with vampires - cute high-class purple-eyed loli who battens onto good-hearted nebbish with special ability who will protect her against the mean creatures who want her back. And of course, with plenty of cheap story-telling moves (oh, grandpa & Elfriede & Seiji are actually alive! Oh, Hazuki is a day-walker and can act exactly like a cute loli who drinks blood just once a month! Oh, Kouhei is actually the most powerful psychic around, it was just sealed away!) with a roughly status-quo ending.

The humor did grow on me albeit the over-use of teakettles/washpans grated, and I appreciated the fairly unique cinematography of a far shot of a cut-away section of the household, which worked very nicely and kept things more comprehensible than most interior shots do. Reading through the ANN reviews of the series as I like to do *after* watching something, I agree with the ANN reviewers - the Kinkel arc was decently suspenseful (for what is a predetermined outcome of course), the animation style kept my interest, and the later fight scenes in the final arc were likewise interesting. Likewise, I agree the dub didn't do Hazuki any favors, and Hazuki actually turns out a better character than I had expected, the odd lack of combat on her part side (she's supposed to be a powerful vampire who can even withstand the sun, daughter of the most powerful vampire/entity in the world!) - I wound up liking her more than I did Murasaki in _Kure-nai_. (The creepy loli aspect was mercifully toned down after the first 10 episodes or so.)

So, leaving it at 7. Somewhat funny, somewhat dramatic, but nothing particularly memorable in any respect, although not mediocre enough that I regret watching it.