Rosario + Vampire

"Side tracked from its original story and ended up being a half-baked series." Before we begin, let me drill this into your mind. Fan service; Fan service; Fan service; Fan service; Fan service! That's the theme for this anime so don't start having high hopes for an amazing story or what not (at least nothing in comparison to the manga original). Rosario + Vampire, like many manga-to-anime adaptation series, made fans screamed with joy at first, but only to have their hopes and dreams shattered bit by bit as the anime progresses. It is true that the anime's story plot deviates from its origin, but itis also true that the artwork is astounding (the animation version of the characters look more attractive to me). So let us get into a deeper analysis of Rosario + Vampire. Story: The anime is considered pretty episodic (ie. standalone episodes) with a few exceptions near the end of the series. This goes parallel with its manga originals so it is nothing new to the readers. However, what is new is the extremely formulaic sequence in all episodes with an introduction to the "monster of the episode" (these monsters tend to get defeated and then become friends with the protagonists). Not only that, but the actual story coverage is also very minimal in the anime (only covered up to chapter 10 of the manga out of 40 chapters). But that is not to say it is all bad. In fact, certain portions of the story that were remade into anime were better planned (events flow smoother/made more logical sense) than the manga version. Overall, the story serve its purpose as an introduction to the Rosario + Vampire series. Animation: Consistent animation quality throughout, beautifully animated characters, plus smooth transition from scene to scene, what more can you ask for? Gonzo, while not exactly known for extremely high quality animation (at least not at the level of KyotoAnimation), does indeed proved itself a worthy opponent to other studios in the industry. Sound: OP and ED are both very enjoyable for me (I didn't skip them like I did for a lot of other anime). It should not be an annoyance to you either (I hope). As for seiyu, there are many talented and well known professionals to voice for our pretty girls (and boys). For instance, there is the cute Rie Kugimiya voicing for the "icy cold" Mizore, and Saeko Chiba voicing for the "very funny" Ruby. I would like to bring the attention to Nana Mizuki who is the CV for our super hot/cute/pretty/gorgeous Moka and also the singer for the OP and ED of the series (and the singer for Capu2 as well). Nana is not only famous in the seiyu community, but is admired by all. She has an amazing ability to sing (even rivals those so-called "professional" singers) thanks to her powerful singing voice despite being a pretty tiny girl. She was also the winner of the “Best Musical Performance” award in the first Seiyu Awards. For those who have not yet experienced her excellent character voicing ability (and as a singer), I strongly suggest you give this series a try. Character: Aside from the fact that most character's hidden abilities were not included in the anime, the show did a pretty good job with the characters. Plenty of character developments and showing their inner feelings toward each other (especially near the end when certain secrets were discovered). In addition, the interaction between the many different types of monsters can be quite refreshing from the traditional harem-oriented anime. Enjoyment + Final Thought: Judging Rosario + Vampire solely as an anime, it has plenty of ups and downs. Judging it as an adaptation from a manga, it was pretty disappointing except for the animation and sound department. I recommend this to all people who have not yet read the manga (got some nice fan service), but for those who know the story already, you might want to skip this and move on.

Rosario Vampire is a typical male targeted anime filled with comedy, ecchi, and action. Typical school comedy with typical jokes associated with high school comedies. The "special" twist for this show would be that this school happens to be a school for monsters. To twist it even further, a human is accidentally accepted to the university and if he's found out he will literally be killed. Reading from the other reviews it appears that the manga had a "real story and plot." ...lets think about it for a second. How can someone take a story so serious about a boy trying to survive a monsterschool? Regardless, this review will be biased based on the anime and not being tied to any book. As I was saying, this show is about a human boy accidentally being accepted at a monster school. But on his way there the literally gets hit by a beautiful girl on a bike. Long story short, he finds out she's a vampire (hence the title), they hook up and the adventure begins. The episode structure is typically built the same for every episode: Story + new character + problem + fight = one Rosario vampire episode. Some shows don't pull that formula off very well (Jigoku Shoujo Season 1) but R+V does it pretty good. Each episode is very different from the last all thanks to being a high school full of monsters. Being a Japanese anime, it would be easy for them to follow the normal Japanese way and make their own random monsters. Thankfully, they pulled MOST of their monsters out of typical folklores and old wives tales like vampires, succubus, witches, etc ...with their own anime twist of course. At least they use east and and west references instead of making their own which is very refreshing. But the story line isn't the shows strong point.... This is an ecchi comedy and you will figure that out within the first 15 seconds of watching the show, that it's more ecchi than comedy. And the only way to be a successful ecchi show is if the art and animation is top of the line, this is where the show shines the most. All the backgrounds are hand painted with care. They even designed the school to resemble a Gothic style building with excellent accuracy. All the main and background characters are drawn with such perfection only an ecchi fan can understand. Every girl is drawn beautifully and have their own style. It even looks like they borrowed a few things from the book of Tenjo Tenge: Hairstyles, miniskirts, fighting, and even Moka acts alot like Aya Natusme But then again, they do pull off a few subtle spoofs and parodies. Speaking of characters they're all very ...addicting. As an ecchi comedy they covered all bases of moe. You'll most likely get addicted to one or more of the main characters or villains. And to top it off, their voices are so mind numbingly addicting, you'll practically melt. (Kappuchuuu~). Apparently it's a requirement now that if you have fan service characters, their seiyu's have to have their own music cd. Each girl does have one and they even have some songs posted in the show. Be sure to look out for Kimiko Koyama (I'm listening while writing this ^_^) As for the op and ed songs, they fit perfectly for what you would expect from an anime titled Rosario Vampire. Other than the great music and great seiyu cast, the sound effects are pretty standard. Sure theres alot of fanservice in this show...it is an ecchi comedy after all. I don't understand why people are so surprised. This is the 21st century, movie/tv adaptations NEVER follow the book/manga. So haters should get over it or they will be constantly let down for the rest of their lives. Take this show for what it is... a fun ecchi comedy with great characters, fun fight scenes, and hilarious fanservice. I sure hope this show will last a few seasons.

Rosario + Vampire is a typical Shounen, Supernatural, Harem, Romantic, Comedy about an average, human, high school boy (Tsukune) who couldn’t get into any private schools and was stuck going to a school for monsters. This may sound interesting but there’s nothing particularly special about this set-up, since it is just your average school Rom/Com but with monsters. What’s more is that each episode has some very predictable outcomes that get boring fast (monster appears, Moka transforms & sucks blood). So in the end, the weak and repetitive story turned this into a series that you can only enjoy once you turn off your brain. There’snothing unique about the characters, seeing how it does the same old thing; by having yet another “loser-kun” male protagonist and surrounded by hot and cute girls. Their personalities usually match the way they look as well, so don’t expect anyone to really stand out in this series, except maybe Mizore (snow girl). The quality of the animation is probably the best aspect, as the backgrounds and environments completely suit the ever changing horror atmosphere. Also everything is somewhat fluid, from the bouncing breast to swift action sequences. The music is also well done, especially during the short burst of action but it becomes fairly repetitive. Overall Rosario + Vampire proved to be a somewhat entertaining Rom/Com that quickly turns into a typical harem, full of everything shounen (misunderstandings, ecchi, nosebleeds, etc.). Apart from the supernatural element, everything else is the same as in any typical school comedy with the usual cliché situations we are all used to seeing. Fans of the manga will most definitely feel let down by the series, as it never managed to deliver the same story the manga produced and instead all it did deliver was an excessive amount of fanservice (100 panty shots per episode). Some may still enjoy this while the rest will wonder why you wasted your time on such a show. ^_^

Okay then, where to start? How about the fact that this was made by Gonzo. Now, before you go jumping down my throat, yes, Gonzo has made some really, REALLY good series, and are still making them today. However, they also have a very long list of bad shows they've produced as well. This is one of those bad ones. I walked into this one having read the first two volumes of the manga and knowing fully that there was only a 50/50 chance of this series being any good. Unfortunately, my gamble didn't pay off. The first thing that bothers me is the fanservice. Yes, themanga also has copious amounts of it, but it takes a backseat to the plot. Here in the anime, the reverse is true. The show reverts to a cliched monster-of-the-week formula with no real tension in any of the situations because you know exactly how it will be resolved by the end of the episode. There are no over-arcing storylines and absolutely no character development. It's a shame, because there's a lot of potential here, with the setting they chose, putting a human in a school for monsters and all, but any clever setups we could have had are completely blown in favor of even more fanservice. The only consistent plot element is the insufferable on-again, off-again relationship between the two man characters, Tsukune and Moka, but even then, their arguments and troubles are not interesting, not sympathetic, and not really grounded in any sort of reality that would make us care for what's going on. Speaking of characters, that's also a place where the series falls flat on its ass. Moka and Tsukune are the only ones who have any real depth to them, and that's really only because of Moka's split personality, and their strained relationship. The rest of the characters, while having a few funny moments, only exist to create a little more conflict and to fill in the stereotypical rolls of a Harem anime: Kurumu's a bitch, Yukina's a loli, and Mizori's a quiet stalker. There, you know everything about them you'll ever need to know. Other characters, like Nekonome-sensei are actually far more fun to see, but they're only ever on screen for a small amount of time in each episode, if they're even featured at all. Oh, and since the villain changes every episode as well, don't expect any deep characterization for them either. They're all either perverts who want to get into one of the main characters' pants (by force if necessary) or want to prove their strength by maiming one of the heroes. There is one exception to this rule, but to avoid spoilers, I can't talk about her, and again, she only appears in like, two episodes before conforming to another stereotype. Moving on to a different topic, the sound in this anime is probably the only really good part of this. The voice actors bring a lot of energy to their rolls, and it's competent enough, though a few of the characters do cross the annoyance line one too many times for my taste. The sound effects are also decent, if a little stock, though the one you'll probably hear the most often is the strange bouncing sound effect that happens whenever a female's breasts bounce. Yes, bouncing breasts have their own sound effect in this show. The music is also good, if a bit stock, and it has a good mixing of classical string scores and horn concertos, but there isn't a whole lot of variety. In terms of animation, well... it's Gonzo working on a school harem anime. The character designs are actually really well done and all of them do look very faithful to their original manga designs, though I do think a few of the coloring options for some of them was a tad strange... Kurumu having blue hair just doesn't seem right to me and Mizore's black and purple outfit and hair make me think she's going to turn into the Cheshire Cat at any moment. However, the designs are consistently good, but the animation itself is... well, Gonzo. Still frames abound, folks. Close-ups even moreso. Scenes of people running look a little choppy. You're getting the idea, I hope. The only parts that seem to be above this quality are during the fight scenes that take place in each episode, but these fights are so short (most of them end with a single blow, folks) that it's barely noticeable. The only other place that seems to have a budget on this show is the giggle physics. Seriously, an female who has breasts large enough to be noticeable, you will see jiggles and jumps all over the place that looks more fluent than the animation of the actual character. Like I've said, I've only read the first two (out of a total of six) volumes of the manga, but even then, I still feel like I know more about the characters, their motivations, their thoughts, and their personalities than after watching all thirteen episodes of this series. The characters aren't interesting and at best only serve to further the plot while at worst just exist for more fanservice, the plot is nonexistent and the characters (if you haven't figured out by now) aren't strong enough to drive the story forward, and while the main focus would appear to be on Moka and Tsukune's relationship, absolutely nothing changes or gets resolved at all by the end of the series! Bottom line, if you're really interested, skip the anime, skip the second season (capu 2) and just pick up the manga instead! trust me, you'll be glad you did... but hey, I do have one good thing to say about this: at no point during the series do any of the vampires sparkle!