Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural
Episodes: 10
Aired: 2013
Producers: Brains Base, Kadokawa Shoten, Viz Media, The Klock Worx, flying DOG
Vampire otaku meets Tokyo girl who died and now, his sole mission is to resurrect her so he can continue his obsession with Japanese humans. That pretty much sums up this series.
Staz Charlie Blood is the eccentric vampire boss of the Eastern territory of the demon world, and comes from a line of noble purebloods. He has little interest in human blood, or any blood for that matter, as he spends his days obsessing over Japanese culture. In fact, he looks like a NEET instead of the powerful triad boss that he is.
Then he meets Yanagi Fuyumi, who wanders into the demon world by accident and suddenly, he thinks he may be interested in human blood after all. Then she got eaten up by a demon plant in his apartment and becomes a ghost. So he vows to bring her back to life.
In their quest to resurrect Fuyumi, a whole cast of characters appear as side-kicks to push the plot along. There's Bell, a powerful magician that casts dimensional spells, who later falls for Staz and becomes accessory to his plans. Wolf, his childhood friend, is a werewolf (big surprise) and the boss of the Western territories. He, too, falls for Fuyumi and ends up helping the pair.
Then we meet Staz's older brother, Braz, and younger sister, Liz. And suddenly, another plot runs parallel - Braz's secret plan of revenge. The high society of the demon world, Acropolis, is ruled by Wolf Daddy. It is later revealed that he stole the throne by killing the Blood's father a decade ago. Since then, Braz has been experimenting ways to bring his father back to life to reclaim the throne.
Actually, that doesn't seem too have anything to do with the main story, other than Staz had to approach Braz for advice on the resurrection process, as he seems to have conveniently written a book on how to resurrect a human, which he researched into because of his father.
Oh, and we also find out that Bell is actually Fuyumi's step sister. Their mothers are dopplegangers from their respective worlds and when the demon mum met the earth mum, they fused into one person. That's how Fuyumi lost her mother. This is another plot thrown into the mix that the series could have done without, not with only 10 episodes anyway. Towards the end, the plot thickens and the finale leaves one hanging. Seems like one big-ass trailer for the second season, id there is one. Hopefully it's in the works, because this is an enjoyable lighthearted comedy that deserves to run a longer course.
The characters are fun to root for and the fight scenes are animated quite well, although if they allowed for more episodes, it would have been nice to witness the epic BFF battle between Staz and Wolf.
The interesting twist is that the demon world is fashioned after our real world - it's set in a metropolis city rather than the mountains and caves that usually surface in other underworld animes. The demons here wear clothes - T-shirts, jeans, hooded jackets, the works. If not for some of their deformed features, such as horns and claws, one can be forgiven for forgetting that it is the demon world.
I like that the characters are not overly flamboyantly-designed or dressed in odd costumes just to stand out from the crowd in today's sea of anime characters. In fact, Staz's character design can be easily forgotten or confused with the many look alikes out there. His only distinguishing features are probably his dark undereye circles and his ashen complexion. Seems more realistic this way.
There are multiple references to manga culture that one may recognise peppered in the episodes. It's the kind where you will pat yourself on the back for catching the reference or high-five your neighbour for recognising another anime's character.
The thing that is most wrong with this series is probably the lack of desire for blood, which is the staple characteristic of a vampire, wouldn't you say? But noooo... Not Staz, his brother or sister craves blood. In fact, it seems to be a non-issue at all. They all get the vampire super powers without the defects. Even though the entire story is centred around a vampire's desire to ressurect a human girl, possibly so he could taste her blood.
Rating: 6/10
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