Rosario + Vampire

Summary: >

Tsukune isn't from a rich family, nor are his grades that good. Private school seemed out of the question until his mom picks up an enrolment form (literally off the street) for Yokai Academy. Tsukune arrives at the school only to find out that it's a private school for monsters. The bus also won't be returning for a month. The purpose of the school is to teach monsters how to coexist with humans, and therefore they all have to remain in a human form while at the school. Most of the monsters seem to hate humans, so if his secret is revealed, Tsukune will be in trouble.

The problem is that he befriends a beautiful vampire named Moka. Not being able to suppress her instincts, she sucks his blood and finds out the truth. Moka really likes him though, so she agrees to keep his secret. Moka has a secret as well. Monsters aren't supposed to use their power, or reveal what kind of monster they are, but Moka is in fact a very powerful vampire with her power sealed. Tsukune also happens to be the only one who can break it, and does so accidentally on a regular basis.

Other girls around the school quickly take a liking to Tsukune as well. There's a succubus, a pair of witches, and a Snow Fairy ("Yuki Onna" ... not sure what that is in English). Keeping the truth hidden is going to be tough with the girls wanting to get as close as possible to him.

Thoughts: >

After the first wave of panty shots, and the obvious harem anime theme, I had a really bad feeling about this one. Harem shows have gotten old in my opinion, not just because the concept is tired, but because they're usually lame and sometimes just stupid. Which is why it was an unexpected surprise that this one wasn't bad at all. In fact I'd say it's one of the better ones in recent memory.

But lets back up here. As is normally the case, the main male character is basically just a plot device for the girls surrounding him. What's unusual is that the girls are well rounded and not annoying. The character designs are also very nice, and the soundtrack works very well for the show.

Season 1 - Starts off with Tsukune gathering girls for his collection. It's the standard fair for a harem show. It's not that bad, just a little dull. The main problem is that each episode follows a formula that gets very tired. There's the setup, some monster trying to do something bad. Tsukune removes Moka's seal, causing her to go into a transformation where she not only gets a power up, but also upgrades to her bust and backside (which they show just to make sure you didn't miss it). Uber Moka kicks ass with her signature high kick and they call it a day. It gets way too repetitive. Also, for a comedy it's only mildly amusing.

Season 2 (Capu 2) - Not even getting into the other stuff about season 2, the intro with anime girls dancing to disco music is seriously one of the most awesome openings ever. I also got more laughs out of the first episode, then the entire first season. I have no idea what changed in the few months between seasons, but season 2 does everything much much better. Strangely enough, the steady stream of panty shots in season 1 wasn't enough, and season 2 has a panty shot in nearly every scene, and some nudity on top of that.

Aside from actually being funny, Capu 2 also has stories which are good. They even break some new ground in the harem territory. One of the more intriguing ideas comes with the question, what would happen if a guy in a harem anime came home to his mother one day... with his harem? Also amusing how the narrator sides with one of the antagonists. In another odd twist, Kurumu (the snow fairy) who was a waste of space in the first season, turns out to be a great source of comedy in the second.

As for the dub, I'm impressed. The voices are well chosen for the parts, and Rosario + Vampire assembles many voice actors I've liked in other titles. The second season also involves a lot of vocal background music that is dubbed as well. While not my cup of Moka (or tea) I think Funimation did a great job with it.

The first season of Rosario + Vampire reminds me a lot of when I first sit down at work zoned out before I've had a cup of coffee. The whole thing is a haze. As for Capu 2... yeah, I liked it. Even though it is mostly typical harem stuff, it's better than total fluff. Or maybe I got brainwashed by the hypnotic disco and dancing anime girls. Same result, so whatever. Anyway, not including disco awesomeness, this one is ok by general anime standards, but quite good by harem anime standards.

Screen Caps: >