This is review number three hundred and twelve. This anime is part of the Fall 2013 lineup. The anime I’ll be reviewing is called Strike the Blood. It’s a twenty four episode anime about a guy and his harem. He’s also a vampire and some other stupid sh*t like that. Anyways, it’s a good show but I do have my complaints. Let’s read on.

Story

This anime is about a guy named Kojou. He used to be a normal guy until he became the fourth progenitor. Obtaining some new cool powers, some people decided to watch him in case he ever does throw the balance of the world. An organization sent him an observer to make sure he is kept in check. With all the trouble around him though, Kojou has no choice but to use his vampire powers to save the day and he wouldn’t mind making his new observer a blood servant while he’s at it.

Taking the Pants Off

I was raging to watch as many anime as I can in this brief summer break of mine (From March to May here in the Philippines) but my momentum is completely shot dead after I saw this anime. It took me a long time to even convince myself to finish it. I’m not saying Strike the Blood is bad. On the contrary, this anime is good. It has solid light novel elements that are sure to give us a satisfying anime experience. Recently though, I noticed that a lot of light novels are the same. Strip them of all their bullsh*t and you basically have the same clichéd structure as other light novel adapted show. They all look the f*cking same and so it was really hard to watch something you’ve seen countless times before. This is hard for me because, as a reviewer, I am looking for things that set it apart from other shows only to discover it had none. Nothing about this particular anime is different from the other light novel shows of its kind. Sure, this show has vampires and other technical bullsh*t but I can name other anime that has done the same crap Strike the Blood did. I’m at a point where I really hate watching light novel shows now because they’re just the same fantasy harem garbage constantly recycled again and again. After all, a normal guy who actually has a special power and gains a harem later on as he fights villains in a heavy exposition arc styled story is something we’ve all seen before. To Aru Majutsu no Index, Mahouka, Unbreakable Machine Doll, High School DxD, Kore wa Zombie desuka, Date A Live, Infinite Stratos, Seikoku Dragonar, Zero no Tsukaima, Dragon Crisis, Hidan no Aria, Nanana’s Buried Treasure, Bakemonogatari, and a whole f*cking lot more is basically Strike the Blood in a different wrapper. I’m sure there are more but these are the shows I can confidently say shares the same uninspired tropes as Strike the Blood. So, basically, if you’ve seen the same exact thing done again and again countless times then you can see how someone like me just doesn’t have the willpower to slug through the same bullsh*t again. For a medium that can be as deep as actual novels but has the convenience of being as easy to consume as manga that can capture a broad audience bred on anime, manga, VN culture, it is pretty damn shocking that the majority of light novels are uninspired harem garbage. My very first light novel anime is about a guy travelling with a talking motorcycle experiencing life in an irony filled world so I always have this big expectation when it comes to light novels. To see it devolve into another puddle of wish fulfillment with pretentious fantasy elements tacked on is pretty annoying. I’m tired of light novel anime and I hope it dies soon. I’ll rant on this on another paragraph. I’ve gone off topic hard. Anyways, Strike the Blood is a good anime but the tropes it shares with other shows really ruins it. It’s your run of the mill fantasy harem light novel show that, at this point, is just mind numbingly bland despite the smart writing it has.

The show is about a normal guy named Kojou Akatsuki who attends a normal school but he has been put on the spotlight ever since he became the Fourth Progenitor. It’s basically, like, a vampire king and he has urges like a vampire but he is still borderline normal. Still, the world should only have three progenitors and a fourth one spells a certain doom for some people. This is the reason why the Lion King Organization, sorta like a worldwide Shinto themed CIA group, decided to send an “observer” to watch over Kojou. The observer happens to be a junior high girl and she ends up falling for our hero. The anime would then revolve around the two’s adventure together in this man-made island where demons in danger of extinction are gathered. They face a bunch of supernatural problems together and fight them head on. This often involves Kojou biting the neck of some very willing girls in the process.

Like any typical light novel anime, this show embraces you with heavy exposition. It has its own terminologies it just throws around without any proper introduction. You basically had to get the gist of whatever the hell they’re talking about and just hope you can follow the overwhelming flow of the show. I mostly hang on because I do believe that light novel anime often have some well written stories despite the turn off of the heavy exposition. You try to understand the status quo, the roles of the characters, the random terminologies and the appeal of the show on your own. It can get daunting but I think piecing the puzzle is well worth it. The wonderful part is that the content of the show is actually pretty easy to understand once you jump this one nagging hurdle. To Aru Majutsu no Index bombarded us with the same random terminologies and constant grasping of the status quo but then, as you keep tuning in, you realize it’s a well written show about super powered teenagers kicking ass. Even Mahouka, regrettably, is enjoyable once you block out all the heavy exposition and understand the show is about a character on gawd mode with every cheat codes to win every gawd damn thing. So really, the whole bullsh*t about various organizations on this man-made island, the confusing terminologies (because I assure you understanding what a progenitor is will be a mind scratcher) and the fancy weapons and spells are just for show. It’s just about a half vampire in an accidental harem. I think watching the first chapter would give you some idea. I think that covers the first four episodes. If you liked the first four episodes then, I assure you, you’ll like the rest because it’s basically the same storytelling structure done seven times.

That’s right. This anime has seven chapters. That’s condensing a light novel series to the extreme. In every four episode, the status quo changes and the random terminologies double. The characters are there for stability though which is a good thing but cramming seven stories in a twenty four episode anime is overkill. It’s nothing new though if you’ve been exposed to so many light novel anime. The last season of Zero no Tsukaima is basically the same clusterf*ck but it’s done in just twelve episodes. Seven chapters are easy to digest if you just strip the pretentious storytelling and just stick to the gist idea of each chapter. Anyways, let’s start this. The first chapter is about a man killing some demons in the island. It is established early on that Kojou and the observer, Yukina Himeragi, would be caught up in this mess because Kojou is basically a guy who can’t mind his own business. Upon learning of the man, he tried to stop him and ends up confronting the guy. The main is from a church outside the city and he is looking for a certain treasure that he believes belongs to him. With his special weapon, the villain stirs up some trouble and ends up killing Kojou. It’s a good thing the bastard is immortal. The man’s quest eventually leads him to a secret facility that supports the island and he decided to raise some appropriate first chapter hell in said facility. Kojou and Yukina eventually get a rematch that would decide the fate of the manmade island. Exposition-wise, the first chapter gets clogged up because of some things regarding the villain’s weapon. It’s basically an egg with a killer monster inside it and the demon killing spree that started the chapter ties in with this particular egg. The explanation is done in a more complicated manner in the show though and it does ruin the story a bit. Still, I think the confrontation on the end make up for some really exposition heavy scenes the chapter is plagued with.

The first chapter also establishes the one true plot point of this anime. The first chapter covers the first four episodes and the first plot point is basically a little sub story that continues forward until the end of the anime. Try to keep up. The first plot point is about the relationship of Kojou and Yukina. This is basically the same as that creepy incest relationship in Mahouka. Kojou is the cool hero and Yukina is the girl that eventually falls for her. Majority of the scenes in this plot point involves a lot of perverted things and other situations where the two just basically flirts. It’s cute and adorable. It transforms into more than just Yukina watching Kojou because of her job because the various chapters soon reveals a much more stronger bond between the two. They are willing to fight to the death for the other and they would give us as many fan service scenes as we can stomach. Kojou’s role is your typical oblivious hero in this plot point. He doesn’t pick up Yukina’s subtle signals roaring “TAKE ME AND EAT ME” and Yukina would get mad over it. She’ll also get mad whenever Kojou flirts with other girls and there are scenes where she’ll feel vulnerable worrying hard over Kojou. It’s your typical light novel cliché and this one does give us certain stability in the show. Like it or not, the first plot point is the one constant thing you can expect as you are subjected to more condensed chapters. The status quo might change but you can always expect these two characters to flirt or do something cute and it does help balance out the overwhelming heavy exposition light novel shows are known for. The actual development between the two is pretty gradual and slow but it does build up until the end and I think it is one of the best highlight of the show.

The second chapter is about a fugitive on the run that decided to do his shady dealings in the manmade island. It turns out he is after a certain weapon hidden in the island. To complicate matters, a descendant of the First Progenitor visits the island as well. Upon hearing of the fugitive, he decided to stir some trouble of his own. To complicate matters even worser, it turns out that a classmate of Kojou got caught up in this little rendezvous and her life is now in danger. Kojou confronts the descendant and tells him that he will take down the fugitive. Showing his claws though, the fugitive doesn’t want to go out lying down. He ends his running from the law with a showdown. He gets caught up with the island guards in an ancient weapon that is designed to fight on forever. The progression of the story is a bit insane considering it’s a new status quo to understand while the chapter story moves on its own. By the time you get caught up, I think you’d miss a few important bits related to the chapter. I personally just forget about them and just dumb things down in my head. The second chapter also introduces and establisher more characters so it adds to the cluterf*ck. It does straighten out in the end but it is pretty hard to keep up. The second chapter is also a transition phase for the show since it tries to expand the overarching status quo while telling a convoluted story of its own. It’s seriously hard to review something like this.

Anyways, the second chapter’s main story is about the fugitive trying to obtain a special weapon but there also some small sub-stories growing out of it. There is one about the school teacher actually being an island guard as well often being on top of all the disturbances in the city. There is also one about Kojou’s classmate being an incredible hacker with an AI she converses with as she types away on her keyboard saving the island virtual style. The whole deal about the First Progenitor’s descendant being an absolute overpowered freak and there is also this small one about Kojou’s classmate seemingly tracking him down for no good reason. Apparently, all these small things eventually become a constant in the anime as well. It’s like a plot point of the show as well but not as well constructed as an actual plot point. Other chapters eventually incorporate these small subplots in their stories as well which eventually eliminates the overwhelming aspect of each chapter. Another subplot established in the second chapter is the fact that Kojou has some overpowered summon monsters that doesn’t acknowledge him as the true progenitor. To get them to side with him, he’ll need some blood. Basically, some chapters come to a certain climax when Kojou gets his vampire freak on and starts biting some necks. This small subplot is part of a bigger plot point though that I’ll explain later on.

The third chapter is about an angel and a royal country. At this point, the overwhelming side effect of the anime would be easily manageable as we are presented a more straight forward story. Basically, an angel causes havoc and Kojou gets involved. Things unfold systematically until the characters are sent to an island. It is pretty awesome. The whole angel story is pretty wonderful as well since it is pretty gruesome in its own twistedly delightful manner. The third chapter does present that one annoying light novel staple I really hate: anti-climactic endings. After going through all the pretentious bullsh*t, it seems a bit unfair that the only pay off you’ll get in the end is the same predictable garbage that happened in the first two chapters. Kojou fought and he won. It doesn’t even try to mix things up a bit and that’s generally where most light novels stumble. They spend too much time establishing sh*t that the whole endeavor is eventually topped off by something not worth being subjected to so much bullsh*t. The same goes for a lot of light novels. Mahouka, Black Bullet and even Sword Art Online would give you so many elements to piece together only to be met with an ending that isn’t really satisfying on any degree.

The fourth and fifth chapter covers a large portion of the second half. It’s under the same big arc called the Halloween Festival. It’s a big event for the city where tourists gather and security is a bit relaxed. This was the perfect opportunity for a couple of witches to infiltrate the city. They caused havoc using their warping magic and it eventually got Kojou in some trouble. Upon learning of said trouble though, Kojou decided to hunt the witches down. It’s too bad he is in a certain predicament where his vampire powers are not available to him but it doesn’t stop him. He got to be bottom of it all and soon realized, he has a conflict of interest in the whole ordeal. The fourth chapter is as mellow as the third chapter. The story progresses smoothly but it ultimately just tried to establish one important thing. The second true plot point of the anime is established at this point. You’ll notice how most characters from previous chapters get a small role in the fourth chapter. The angel from the third chapter is now a classmate of Yukina, the royal guests involved in the third chapter is caught in the fray, the descendant of the First Progenitor is watching things unfold and other characters have their own thing going on. The important thing to note here is that Kojou is now part of that one gawd damn light novel cliché I hate with all my being. The second plot point focuses on the reintroduced characters but more importantly, on Kojou’s accidental harem.

Motherfudging accidental harems. The one light novel trope I wish would just die. It’s basically the tomato sauce to the light novel genre’s pasta though so I don’t think it’ll go away anytime soon. I can hope and I can wait though. Harems is where a bunch of girls get together to worship one guy. It’s not subtle. Girls literally fight over one guy and the dude just happily enjoys the idea of a bunch of girls wanting his meat for themselves. Accidental Harems is more indirect. The main character just happens to be surrounded by girls who eventually form a harem without the show ever acknowledging it. The girls then have their moment with the guy as they perv up every free scene the anime can provide. It’s a harem but it’s really not and this is one of the major plot points of the show. It basically relates to Kojou’s vampire powers. Remember how he needs to suck some blood to get his familiars to recognize him. That small sub-plot ties in with this plot point. It just so happens that the necks he’ll be biting belongs to his accidental harem. At least they do something “meaningful” in this anime other than gawk at the main character. Still, it’s not that big of a plus considering how exhausting most fan service scenes is. You’d have to like the girls to enjoy the scenes and, in my opinion, it’s the bland leading the bland. If you’ve seen one accidental harem then you’ve seen them all. If you’ve seen characters flirting while a villain is trying to murder them then you’ve seen every inappropriate fan service scene the anime world can offer. Accidental harems are useless garbage I do not understand why light novels keep on incorporating to their stories. It adds nothing and you gain nothing from it. I swear, accidental harems will be the death of me. It adds a big layer of pretentiousness to the already pretentious stories most light novel possess. I don’t need to know that this slut is a member of this organization that exists in this light novel world if all she’ll ever f*cking do is undress and have her breast groped. Why complicate things? Seriously?

Anyways, the fourth chapter ended pretty magnificently. In my opinion, it was the one chapter I truly enjoyed because it set things up for an even more exciting chapter. The fifth chapter is about a powerful witch’s ploy to escape a stronghold prison. The fourth chapter’s story is mostly about the witch’s plan and now she will carry out the final stages herself. With the entire city held hostage, this witch wants to complete her evil plan she wasn’t able to complete ten years ago. Along with other prison escapees, the characters are in for one long fight while the rest of the world enjoys the Halloween Festival. I particularly like this chapter because of how it utilizes a lot of the characters. Everyone had their own thing going and it gave us some pretty awesome moments leading up to one big confrontation. Members of the harem, the reintroduced characters, the important recurring characters all made the story that much more relevant. The characters really diluted the heavy exposition of this chapter and it really gave us some satisfying moments. It hits on all the bases even giving us a satisfying progression for both plot points. The ending is still pretty anti-climactic but it’ll do. Seeing characters raise some appropriate hell leading up to it makes the fifth chapter easily the best chapter in the anime.

The sixth chapter is about this certain alchemist. He is searching for something and he’ll use his annoying alchemist powers to achieve it. This is a pretty straight forward chapter. The exposition is pretty tame but the progression is the same as well. I love how the show played with the concepts going from demons to mad scientists to witches to alchemists for the chapters but I think the absence of the heavy exposition really gave us an idea just how ordinary the chapter stories are. Anyways, the sixth chapter is decent and the seventh is pretty much the same. The last two episodes cover the last chapter and it basically just explored the first plot point some more. It also established something pretty interesting regarding the chapters to come. I must say, it did intrigue me how the Kojou-Yukina relationship played a huge role in the later chapters. It seems to hint at Kojou truly becoming a full born progenitor or something. It’s a good try teasing the viewers but I think it’ll be a long while before I pick up the second season of this show if it is scheduled for release. Condensing the chapters is murder for me as a reviewer. Just look at this long winded post.

The show has a lot of characters. Unsurprisingly, they are all one dimensional light novel cliché characters. They have certain roles in the story and they don’t really have any meaningful development that doesn’t involve something trope heavy in it. Kojou is your typical light novel hero. I notice how a lot of them are really overpowered and privileged. I think it roots to the wish fulfillment people get from light novels but I don’t really like how our hero just possesses a power that can beat his opponent. He also doesn’t train to get it. It’s often given to him like how a neck bite can unleash a power of Kojou’s without him working hard for it. The hero of Seikoku Dragonar is the same and need I mention Mahouka. Really? His privilege lifestyle also comes in the form of his accidental harem. Character wise, Kojou is pretty bland. He just acts to how the story wants him to and the stories never really once try to internalize with the characters so it’s hard to relate to them. He is a vampire but it doesn’t bother him and he also wouldn’t think twice getting into trouble with some international criminals. I guess we just suspend disbelief since light novel main characters are just this stupid by default. He’s not that bad of a character but you don’t really care for him as well since he is as cliché as a light novel main character can get. The accidental harem also functions limitedly in the story. I like how the anime establishes their backstories first but the characters don’t really have much to offer. They blush at the sight of Kojou or unleash their cool powers from time to time. Mostly, they’ll be a damsel in distress so the show can setup a fan service scene with them. Yukina is also pretty bland. She’s just the closest bimbo to Kojou. Sure, she has an awesome weapon she uses but it’s not really enough. She just spends time really just flirting with Kojou and it will get tiresome. My mind often wanders away realizing how dull the characters can get. There’s really nothing wrong with cliché heavy characters but I do hope they add more value to the show. I understand that they flirt, fight and blush but it wouldn’t hurt to integrate them to the story some more.

To be fair, there are some beautiful standouts like the descendant of the First Progenitor. He is insane and he would welcome the fires of hell if it can provide some entertainment for him. He is unpredictable at times and I love how he sides with both good and evil depending on what serves his purpose more. The guy is so whacked he even provided the fugitives a means to obtain the weapon in the second chapter. His inclusion in the story usually means trouble. Another character I think had an interesting role in the story would be Asagi Aiba. She is this talented programmer that hacks and often saves the city in a small way. She is part of Kojou’s harem but she does more than that. Her hacking abilities are one of a kind in the story and her skills really help Kojou win some losing battles. She isn’t a super powered warrior like most of the characters but I often enjoy just seeing her type away in her small room full of monitors. I also enjoy her small dialogues with her AI named Mogwai. I love this character because he is deceptively one dimensional until the show slowly convinces you otherwise. He is often the most well rounded character in the show and it’s insane how intriguing this character is considering you only see him talk through a monitor screen at times. I love the little hint at the end of the show suggesting there is more to this AI than being a simple hacking tool.

As I said before, this anime is well written but the light novel tropes are really getting old and annoying at this point. The problem I have with light novel is how insincere it often comes across. I’ve seen amazing light novels in my short time as an anime fan. Kino’s Journey, Spice and Wolf, ToraDora, Hyouka, Baccano and Full Metal Panic are among some I consider outstanding. Light novel anime used to be really good. The whole medium got saturated though wherein everything is a f*cking fantasy based story about a guy with a harem. It’s often more concerned with its gimmicky premise than actually making a worthwhile story. As a reviewer, you have this instinct where you can truly feel effort is being given to a certain material. Even crappy flash animated shows scream effort which I really gravitate to. I see no signs of true effort when it comes to light novel shows and it’s really killing me. While I do think establishing a story in a book narrative style might be challenging, I do believe the truly talented can make it work. Light novel anime though is the same crap again and again. Effort is lost and things feel uninspired. I hate it. Instead of its gimmicky premise, I do wish some light novels be more personal in its approach. I would love to see some personal character monologues from time to time. It wouldn’t hurt to get deep into some themes from time to time as well. I would often wish light novels would just drop the pretentiousness and just tell a story that is easily relatable. Let’s drop all the wish fulfillment garbage from time to time. I forced my way to finish this anime because it was so uninspired. It lacks effort and I don’t want to put out a review that I put effort to for an anime that lacks it. I might avoid light novel shows for some time until I’m convinced I’m not watching the same garbage again and again.

Yeah, anyways, I do understand the other side of the coin. Light novel sells more if they have these elements I despise and it really is a wish fulfillment zone for more imaginative people that have no patience for visual novels. Whatever. I’ll just avoid them for now. I do admire Silver Link for handling the adaptation. To cram so much in so little time is pretty great. The show is consistent despite the overwhelming progression and I think it provided some solid moments. I thank Silver Link for really giving us a wonderful adaptation. I am also becoming a big fan of this studio. Silver Link is consistent and amazingly talented that it can give us Watamote and Non Non Biyori while also giving us solid adaptations of light novel garbage like these. I’m looking at their wiki page and it looks like they’re really sold into giving us more light novel shows though. Oh, gawd help me. I also would like to thank the director for giving us a very decent adaptation. Hideyo Yamamoto storyboarded a lot of great shows and you can see his skills coming into play for this anime. Covering seven f*cking chapters is not easy and he gave us a really decent one. I’m surprised he hasn’t done more directorial stuff. Silver Link should give him more chances to strut his stuff. Hopefully, another season of Strike the Blood will give this great director another chance to shine.

Sight and Sound

Manyako’s design is your typical sexy curvy design emphasizing on the girl’s sexual appeal. I do love Yukina’s design the way he draws it. The uniforms had some amazing details that compliment her dark hair and beautiful legs. Manyako knows how to make sexy school girls and he would give us a wide range of characters in sexy school uniforms. It’s made complete by the color palette he uses that gives off a graceful aura for the characters. His illustrations are pretty great and I would love to own a light novel just for the cover art. If there’s one thing I noticed though, Manyako can’t quite figure out how the faces should look. He’s one of those people who draw the face last so some of them look awkward and forced. It’s not that big of deal but it makes his designs look inconsistent and amateurish. It’s a good thing the anime is able to cover that. They were able to translate his sexy school girl design and gave us really wonderful characters in a brighter color palette. The gracefulness of his design is lost in animation though and I do think it could’ve been a small element to set it apart from other light novel shows. His male designs are decent. There’s not much to talk about here. They’re decent and I think he spent more time doing sexy school girls than actually creating male characters.

The animation is pretty inconsistent. There are scenes that look pretty amazing with bold front colors and crisp details. I especially notice how the color palette shifted from the first half to the second half and the faces are prettier in the second half. Certain scenes lack some needed detail and some dialogue heavy scenes look rough. Some of Kojou and Yukina’s banter often have very little detail in it since it is a definite lull in the show. The animation pops though when characters fight. I do think this is the best part of the show in terms of animation. The effects, the pace of the fight and the overall flashiness of the fight scenes are often great payoff for certain chapters. They are a little short though which is why I think most chapters are anti-climactic as well. There is great precision and care for these scenes though. It has complex camera angles and amazing animation despite being only four or three minutes long. The fan service scenes also appear to be inconsistent. It wasn’t a big focus of the show so I don’t really mind but I think it’s a missed opportunity to not up the animation when you have a girl clad only in a towel. Most shows would emphasize the curves and the redness of the elbows but Strike the Blood often just presents it rather uninspired. I tell you, if the fan service had more details to it then it could’ve really brighten up the show considering the two true plot points involve just that. I mean, even just changing the color palette for these scenes could’ve been enough. There are many times where I wanted to enjoy a fan service Yukina scene but I can’t because it looks boring. I also think the animation could’ve been more special during neck biting scenes. This is a rare moment for the show and it had a sexual drive to it. I’m bummed that it was presented rather plainly as oppose to the highly sexual suggestiveness of the scene. Kojou penetrated the girl, damn it. There are so many ways to make these scenes look incredible.

The anime has two OP songs. The first one is “Strike the Blood” by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets. It’s a pretty decent song. It talks about not minding society as you spend your days with someone who cares about you. It has a nice rhythm to it and the chorus is pretty good. It’s the OP sequence that’ll capture your attention though because it is needlessly flashy. It features the characters looking all cool in this urban maze as if the show is about characters beating each other up in the city. I like the flashy appeal but it is pretty misleading. The second ED is “Fight 4 Real” by ALTIMA. It’s basically the same as the first OP. It’s a super hyped song about some lyrics of someone holding onto hope being with her loved one. I think that it hints at the Kojou/Yukina dynamic but I think it’s a far stretch. I think they just got a cool song and worked something out from there. The OP sequence features a montage of the events that happens in the second half and also some cool scenes involving Kojou and Yukina as well. Again, it’s pretty misleading but cool looking at the same time.

The anime has two ED songs. The first one is “Strike my soul” by Yuka Iguchi. This was sung by Astarte. That’s adorable. The song itself is pretty decent but ordinary as well. It’s your typical mellow out ED song with some cute lyrics about facing hardships with someone. The lyrics are a bit clunky but I think Yuka’s voice is decent enough to carry the song through. The ED sequence features all the main characters in a black and white setting looking all cool. It then features a montage of the same characters just posing and stuff. It’s a decent ED as well and this is a great way to truly track who are the key players in the show when you first watch it. The second ED song is “signal” by Kanon Wakeshima. I think its adorable Kanon is involved with this anime. This is basically the one song I really enjoyed from the show. It had more meaningful lyrics to it and the pace is pretty good. It’s still pretty much like the first ED though since they’re both mellow in their presentation. Maybe I’m just bias because of Kanon’s sexy voice. Whatever the case, I really like this song. The ED sequence features Kojou and Yukina close to each other and hugging. It ends with a neck bite and if you can feel the awesomeness of the scene then you’ll realize the wasted opportunity regarding the neck bites in the actual series.

Overall Score

7/10 “It had an enjoyable story but it’s bogged down with cliché and tropes. It’s your typical light novel fare with the same uninspired content in a different fantasy wrapper.”

To be fair, this anime is as good as any other light novel around. If you’re an anime fan who doesn’t have the same means to obtain seasonal anime like me then I won’t blame you if this is the first light novel you ever saw and you claim it to be the “very best”. I totally understand that. As someone who have seen too many shows with the same content, it comes to a point where I’m really bored with it. This show has good writing and some decent characters. I also have a few favorite moments but the clichés really killed the fun for me. If you love To Aru Majutsu no Index, Mahouka and all those light novel shows then you would like this one because it’s exactly the same thing. If you love harems and fan service heavy shows then you’ll this love one as well. I’ll also say that the stories are pretty good after you strip off all the fantasy exposition. If you like good stories in your show then I think you’ll like this one as well. It is a solid show despite my b*tching so I would still recommend it.

Handful of GISS (wtf)

Comment by: Demonstrable. Thanks buddy for the very Handful of GISS comment.