ROSARIO + VAMPIRE - SLEEPER ANIME HIT OF THE SEASON?

Gonzo, I'm so sorry. I was wrong, wrong, wrong about you. With this show, you've just proven yourselves quite capable of putting out quality anime with high production values and the substance to match. You too, moe anime. Your calculated blend of multi-faceted, thoughtful characterization and a protagonist we can all identify with is really starting to bud with me. I really think us three need to get together and have a drink, to our happy coexistence in the future. Don't worry, I'm buyin'. It's the least I can do.

 
Rosario + Vampire is a great, great show from this past season that I just hadn't gotten around to yet. There's so much about this show that's fresh and smart that I hardly know where to begin, but let's start with our hero. Tsukune is a cool guy with a lot going on: it's just that the people around him can't see past his test scores and see the man behind them. Well, let me tell you, that all changes when he enrolls at Youkai Academy: it's like he-- an ordinary young man-- has been transported to a whole other world!

But things really change when he gets hit by a pair of panties on a bike! Oh, man, this part was just so random. I couldn't stop watching it, over and over again. I haven't felt this way since Joe Pesci's head caught fire! And it only gets crazier from there. Get this: Tsukune finds himself in quite a situation when he reaches out blindly and finds his hand on the soft, soft thigh (soft, soft thighs I see) of a mysterious stranger. Spoilers ahead: it looks like she likes it! What a naughty little strumpet! Don't judge her on that, though, it turns out the poor girl's got anemia.

You know what they say about the covers of books, and boy, what a tome this one is. Her name is Moka and she's a vampire. No kiddin'! She kind of gets hungry and sucks Tsukune's blood (aww, it turns out it's her first time!) but after that they're really chill and they start hanging out all the time. They even end up in the same class, which I didn't see coming at all. I mean, of all the people! I sort of get the feeling she's kinda into this guy, if you get my drift. Good on you, Tsukune, you deserve it! But boy, look out when she loses the cross she wears: she gets all kinds of crazy powers, like a superkick move!

Have I mentioned the animation on this show? Gonzo's really mastered the craft of digital animation, and these HD-resolution videos really expose the meticulous detail in every gorgeous frame. I love how sometimes, things will happen offscreen, or simply happen in a single frame. It really leaves a lot to the imagination, and I've got to say, ambiguity is one of Rosario's strong points. So is subtlety, for that matter: upon a fifth or sixth viewing, I'm really noticing a lot of frames that the animators stuck in there when, well, to put it politely, the girls' lady parts find themselves on display. There's even this one part where-- and forgive me for making a clean scene sound so ecchi-- Moka looks like she's getting ready for a bath! I wonder if anyone else noticed?

Unlike most anime, this show only gets progressively better as you go on. If you thought Moka was a handful, wait until you see the mean girl, or the catgirl teacher, or the one who's kind of like Rei Ayanami! Boy howdy! Just between you and me, with all these nice girls who want to be friends with this guy, I'd say he's got life pretty good, if you know what I mean! I wonder if all Japanese girls are like this. It's looking like I need to take a vacation, am I right, guys?

Just kidding! This show was a shoddily made pile, and the only thing about it that didn't drive me into a frothing rage (yes, this show even made looking at tits and ass piss me off) was the inoffensive moe-pop opening. Nobuyuki Hiyama is brilliant as Guy with Tongue, though his talent is certainly wasted here. Why are you people watching this crap? Happy April Fool's, assholes!

Comments

[The Anime Blog Awards Committee]

*I couldn't find your email, sorry >_<*

-------------------------

Given the exponential growth of the anime blogosphere, the number of quality blogs with insightful opinions and perspectives are ever increasing. Yet a majority of the blogs out there remain isolated, lacking a sense of community and meaningful interaction. The Anime Blog Awards was created in order to bridge that gap by recognising worthy bloggers and their achievements in various fields.

With that in mind, please visit http://animeblogawards.com for more details and vote for your favourite blog. Nominations can only be proposed by anime bloggers but there will be reader's involvement in the voting phase. Your vote counts! It would be great if you could make a post on your blog regarding its official date (April 1st, and no, this isn't an elaborate April Fools either) to inform your fellow anime bloggers of the award. Our vision is to make this the first major event for all anime bloggers and something we can look forward to every year.

Regards,
The Anime Blog Awards Committee

[Kid Fenris]

Oh, Hiroshi Yamaguchi. How far you've fallen since the brilliant turns of Melty Lancer.

[SDShamshel]

How dare you insult Rosario + Vampire, or as we fans like to call it, Rosavan, or Rosattousen.

[kristoffer]

hahaha lol!
When I first started reading, I was like are you serious?!!? But then I remembered the date.
Bad thing is, most of the series from this past season sucked, so this series probably got more attention than deserved.

[wildarmsheero]

Forget Nobuyuki Hiyama, Shuuichi "Aznable" Ikeda plays the main villain in the last two episodes. Oh, I just admitted to watching all 13 episodes. oops.

It was decent for a shitty show, but I guess I have more tolerance for this stuff than you do. I liked the loli witch who said desu all the time :x

also they had gainax animators in episode 11 for some reason

[wildarmsheero]

also gunbuster guy does some of the BGM :(

[David Cabrera]

>Melty Lancer
I actually came across the original PC-88 Meltylancer game on a ROM CD included with a Japanese emulation mag that I found at Book-Off. It's basically Princess Maker with SYLVIA NIMROD and her friends. I didn't know what I was doing so after about ten minutes the game cut to a sinister-looking office chick who told me how bad I lost, I assume, and then it was GAME OVER, bro. You can't even restart or anything once that happens. You just have to stare at the screen in defeat until you turn your (virtual) computer off.

>Shuuichi "Aznable" Ikeda
The other ep I watched of this assfuck show was the 12th, so I did hear Char. There's a way to hire Shuichi Ikeda as a smooth badass for nerd cred, and there's a way NOT to do it. What really caught me was that the other bad guy seemed to just be a cut-pasted Kotomine Kirei.
also GOLLY I SURE HOPE PROTAGONIST GOT HIMSELF OUT OF THAT SCRAPE

>Rosattousen
BURRRRN