Summary: Tsukune Aono is completely average at everything. Average grades, average height, average strength, average... you get the idea. Unfortunately for this completely average boy, he fails his high school entrance exams. Facing a year of studying to just try to get into school, Tsukune is saved when his father finds an acceptance package on the street; an acceptance to Yokai Academy. Despite a complete lack of knowledge about the school, Tsukune's parents send him with their best hopes and well wishes. On his first day, Tsukune runs into a pink haired beauty (well, more like gets run over by) who wants to be his friend. Tsukune readily accepts. During their first class Tsukune discovers the truth about this somewhat scary school he's been sent to. Yokai Academy is a school for teenage monsters, which exists to teach monsters how to coexist in the human world. Even worse, any humans found on campus might face the death penalty! And if that wasn't enough, the beauty he met earlier, Moka Akashiya, is actually a vampire! What's a human to do!
Review
Plot: Despite the horrors Tsukune might face at Yokai Academy, his relationship with Moka, and the other girls who eventually join his harem, become what defines his experience. The story of Rosario + Vampire has two facets. The first is the battles with varying monsters that occur every episode. While the final encounter is usually quite short (and the show actually tells you the length of each fight, usually around eighty seconds), the premise of each episode is created by a conflict with some monster, be it an over zealous math teacher or a murderous club advisor. The second is the relationship of Tsukune with the individual members of his harem. Along with these two facets, the overarching theme of Tsukune attempting to survive in a school for monsters is omnipresent, and does well to tie the entire show together. Each season uses all of these aspects, but are not the same. The first season stays very faithful to the manga. Almost every episode in the first season is ripped straight from the chapters in the manga. Capu 2 on the other hand takes some very welcome liberties with the source material. While some aspects of the manga are again used directly to create individual episodes, a number of episodes, like a particularly strange one about curry, are nowhere to be found in the manga.
Characters: Tsukune Aono is the classic male lead in an anime harem. He is exceedingly kind, willing to stand up and do whatever he can for his friends, and entirely unable to choose between the members of his harem. Despite this generic typecast, Tsukune still manages to stand out as a male lead because of his complete faith in his friends and his willingness to go the extra mile to protect them, despite the fact that he is a human and all of them are monsters. Along with Tsukune comes a gaggle of girls. The first, and star of the show, is Moka Akashiya, the vampire. Moka is a smart and kind girl with a penchant for sucking Tsukune's blood, which she seems to do on a daily basis. Moka is two people within one body however. When her rosary, which seals her massive vampiric power, is removed, Inner Moka comes out. Inner Moka is a bruiser who uses her immense power to completely destroy whatever obstacle the group is facing. Furthermore, while Moka is exceedingly sweet and kind, Inner Moka is much more cold and arrogant, but it is easy to see as the series continues that she too cares for Tsukune and the other girls around him. The next girl is Kurumu Kurono, a succubus. Shortly after joining Tsukune's harem, it seems like Kurumu is just a running gag. She constantly glomps Tsukune and suffocates him with her ample cleavage, and often appears just as it seems that Moka and Tsukune are having a romantic moment. However, the anime does a great job as the series progresses of showing that Kurumu truly cares for Tsukune as well as all the girls in his harem, and often is willing to sacrifice herself to help them. The third member is Yukari Sendo, a witch. Yukari is the loli character of the series, and is often teased for being short and having a flat chest (which makes sense because she skipped three grades of school). Yukari is in love with Moka, and later comes to love Tsukune as well. She often gets into fights with Kurumu (due to Kurumu's larger chest size), and unfortunately, it is these fights that basically define her. Yukari's character, aside from an episode that focuses on her, is the most underdeveloped of any in the harem. The fourth girl is Mizore Shirayuki, the snow fairy. Mizore is Tsukune's stalker, and often watches him from the shadows. Initially, Mizore keeps herself separate from the group, mostly watching them. Eventually though, she joins the group (though at times still observes from behind a tree). Mizore, more than any other girl, wants to marry Tsukune immediately and get to making snow babies (something better explained in the manga than the anime). There are a two other characters of importance. Ruby Tojo is a witch who comes to work at the Academy due to a long story (which is often referred to and becomes a gag during Capu 2). In the manga, Ruby is basically the fifth member of Tsukune's harem, but that is not so much the case in the anime. The second is Kokoa Shuzen, Moka's little sister. Kokoa loves her big sister dearly, well, Inner Moka that is. Kokoa's goal in life is to get rid of Moka and have Inner Moka be around all the time, and her tenacity to do so is shown very convincingly throughout Capu 2.
Presentation: The animation is good but not great, but like so many aspects of the anime, does a good job of making the characters look similar to their manga counterparts. The sound is done well, and is used appropriately to enhance certain situations, but as can be the case with shows that have often used transformation sequences, it can become melodramatic. Both seasons are flush with fan service. As you can see from the image above, the girls panties are often shown, and certain camera angles for scenes are done purposely to display drama while also showing undergarments. The preview for each episode shows a different type of animated panties, and in Capu 2 it shows 2 pairs, and not just one. Capu 2 also adds some nudity to the show that is not in the first season, with girls appearing topless in some scenes. The opening and ending themes are generally quite standard for anime, but the opening of Capu 2 ("DISCOTHEQUE") stands out for two reasons. The first is its fun, upbeat sound that fits the anime perfectly. The second is that, of all the opening and closing animations, it is the one that is most original, showing the girls dancing to the song with a semi-psychedelic background.
Entertainment Value: Rosario + Vampire is a very entertaining show that will appeal to a number of fans. If you enjoy harem anime then you will be very happy with the show. If you like fan service anime, you will find plenty of it, and while it is abundant, it never feels like it gets in the way of the story or characters. If you enjoy monsters or supernatural romance, while most of the time they are in human form, there are plenty of monsters available, and not a single member of Tsukune's harem is human. If you like roundhouse kicks, you will find Inner Moka provides that as well. If, however, you are not a fan of fan service or harem anime, than Rosario + Vampire will not be something enjoyable. Oherwise, give it a chance, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Rating: 8.5/10 (Capu 1: 8/10, Capu 2: 9/10) - Rosario + Vampire does a great job of staying faithful to the manga while still being original and creates one of the most likable casts of characters in a harem anime.
Rosario + Vampire - 26 episodes
Note: Rosario + Vampire is based on an ongoing manga by the same name. The manga is split into two seasons, the first of which is ten volumes, and the second of which is ongoing with seven volumes available in the U.S. The series has also spawned two video games, one for DS and one for PS2, but neither of which has been released in the U.S. An important sub-plot of the manga, Tsukune's struggle to remain human after a certain series of events, is ignored by the anime. While at first that bothered me, as I continued to watch I found that because it was ignored, it allowed the creators of the anime to keep the show light-hearted and add some originality to it which was very welcome. On an interesting note, all the opening and ending themes are performed by Nana Mizuki, the voice actress who plays Moka in the Japanese language version.
Note 2: A random fact I learned while writing this, the manga, since Vol. 6 of the first season, has found itself on the "New York Times" bestselling manga list with every release and individual volumes have stayed on the list for as much as two months. Why is that random? Well, until doing some basic research to write this, I didn't even know the "New York Times" had a bestselling manga list. To see it yourself, check out http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/manga/list.html.
Review
Plot: Despite the horrors Tsukune might face at Yokai Academy, his relationship with Moka, and the other girls who eventually join his harem, become what defines his experience. The story of Rosario + Vampire has two facets. The first is the battles with varying monsters that occur every episode. While the final encounter is usually quite short (and the show actually tells you the length of each fight, usually around eighty seconds), the premise of each episode is created by a conflict with some monster, be it an over zealous math teacher or a murderous club advisor. The second is the relationship of Tsukune with the individual members of his harem. Along with these two facets, the overarching theme of Tsukune attempting to survive in a school for monsters is omnipresent, and does well to tie the entire show together. Each season uses all of these aspects, but are not the same. The first season stays very faithful to the manga. Almost every episode in the first season is ripped straight from the chapters in the manga. Capu 2 on the other hand takes some very welcome liberties with the source material. While some aspects of the manga are again used directly to create individual episodes, a number of episodes, like a particularly strange one about curry, are nowhere to be found in the manga.
Characters: Tsukune Aono is the classic male lead in an anime harem. He is exceedingly kind, willing to stand up and do whatever he can for his friends, and entirely unable to choose between the members of his harem. Despite this generic typecast, Tsukune still manages to stand out as a male lead because of his complete faith in his friends and his willingness to go the extra mile to protect them, despite the fact that he is a human and all of them are monsters. Along with Tsukune comes a gaggle of girls. The first, and star of the show, is Moka Akashiya, the vampire. Moka is a smart and kind girl with a penchant for sucking Tsukune's blood, which she seems to do on a daily basis. Moka is two people within one body however. When her rosary, which seals her massive vampiric power, is removed, Inner Moka comes out. Inner Moka is a bruiser who uses her immense power to completely destroy whatever obstacle the group is facing. Furthermore, while Moka is exceedingly sweet and kind, Inner Moka is much more cold and arrogant, but it is easy to see as the series continues that she too cares for Tsukune and the other girls around him. The next girl is Kurumu Kurono, a succubus. Shortly after joining Tsukune's harem, it seems like Kurumu is just a running gag. She constantly glomps Tsukune and suffocates him with her ample cleavage, and often appears just as it seems that Moka and Tsukune are having a romantic moment. However, the anime does a great job as the series progresses of showing that Kurumu truly cares for Tsukune as well as all the girls in his harem, and often is willing to sacrifice herself to help them. The third member is Yukari Sendo, a witch. Yukari is the loli character of the series, and is often teased for being short and having a flat chest (which makes sense because she skipped three grades of school). Yukari is in love with Moka, and later comes to love Tsukune as well. She often gets into fights with Kurumu (due to Kurumu's larger chest size), and unfortunately, it is these fights that basically define her. Yukari's character, aside from an episode that focuses on her, is the most underdeveloped of any in the harem. The fourth girl is Mizore Shirayuki, the snow fairy. Mizore is Tsukune's stalker, and often watches him from the shadows. Initially, Mizore keeps herself separate from the group, mostly watching them. Eventually though, she joins the group (though at times still observes from behind a tree). Mizore, more than any other girl, wants to marry Tsukune immediately and get to making snow babies (something better explained in the manga than the anime). There are a two other characters of importance. Ruby Tojo is a witch who comes to work at the Academy due to a long story (which is often referred to and becomes a gag during Capu 2). In the manga, Ruby is basically the fifth member of Tsukune's harem, but that is not so much the case in the anime. The second is Kokoa Shuzen, Moka's little sister. Kokoa loves her big sister dearly, well, Inner Moka that is. Kokoa's goal in life is to get rid of Moka and have Inner Moka be around all the time, and her tenacity to do so is shown very convincingly throughout Capu 2.
Presentation: The animation is good but not great, but like so many aspects of the anime, does a good job of making the characters look similar to their manga counterparts. The sound is done well, and is used appropriately to enhance certain situations, but as can be the case with shows that have often used transformation sequences, it can become melodramatic. Both seasons are flush with fan service. As you can see from the image above, the girls panties are often shown, and certain camera angles for scenes are done purposely to display drama while also showing undergarments. The preview for each episode shows a different type of animated panties, and in Capu 2 it shows 2 pairs, and not just one. Capu 2 also adds some nudity to the show that is not in the first season, with girls appearing topless in some scenes. The opening and ending themes are generally quite standard for anime, but the opening of Capu 2 ("DISCOTHEQUE") stands out for two reasons. The first is its fun, upbeat sound that fits the anime perfectly. The second is that, of all the opening and closing animations, it is the one that is most original, showing the girls dancing to the song with a semi-psychedelic background.
Entertainment Value: Rosario + Vampire is a very entertaining show that will appeal to a number of fans. If you enjoy harem anime then you will be very happy with the show. If you like fan service anime, you will find plenty of it, and while it is abundant, it never feels like it gets in the way of the story or characters. If you enjoy monsters or supernatural romance, while most of the time they are in human form, there are plenty of monsters available, and not a single member of Tsukune's harem is human. If you like roundhouse kicks, you will find Inner Moka provides that as well. If, however, you are not a fan of fan service or harem anime, than Rosario + Vampire will not be something enjoyable. Oherwise, give it a chance, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Rating: 8.5/10 (Capu 1: 8/10, Capu 2: 9/10) - Rosario + Vampire does a great job of staying faithful to the manga while still being original and creates one of the most likable casts of characters in a harem anime.
Rosario + Vampire - 26 episodes
Note: Rosario + Vampire is based on an ongoing manga by the same name. The manga is split into two seasons, the first of which is ten volumes, and the second of which is ongoing with seven volumes available in the U.S. The series has also spawned two video games, one for DS and one for PS2, but neither of which has been released in the U.S. An important sub-plot of the manga, Tsukune's struggle to remain human after a certain series of events, is ignored by the anime. While at first that bothered me, as I continued to watch I found that because it was ignored, it allowed the creators of the anime to keep the show light-hearted and add some originality to it which was very welcome. On an interesting note, all the opening and ending themes are performed by Nana Mizuki, the voice actress who plays Moka in the Japanese language version.
Note 2: A random fact I learned while writing this, the manga, since Vol. 6 of the first season, has found itself on the "New York Times" bestselling manga list with every release and individual volumes have stayed on the list for as much as two months. Why is that random? Well, until doing some basic research to write this, I didn't even know the "New York Times" had a bestselling manga list. To see it yourself, check out http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/manga/list.html.
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