The Vampire Dormitory finale episode premiered final week on June twenty third, 2024. Whereas the anime by no means broke the Prime 20 in our weekly rankings, one thing on this 12-episode sequence might scratch an itch for folks craving vampire-themed shoujo. Tailored from a nonetheless ongoing shoujo manga sequence, the anime hoped to usher in devoted manga readers and new followers.
Vampire Dormitory has a sluggish begin, however sticking by way of to the second half was rewarding for me, but seemingly controversial to some viewers. This overview will comprise some spoilers, however I’ll warn you earlier than they’re mentioned.
Story, Characters, and Presentation
From episode one, my greatest drawback with Vampire Dormitory was the principle character, Mito. Deserted by household as a toddler, she fends for herself and makes her means by way of a troublesome life disguised as a person with a view to get higher therapy and jobs. From the beginning, the viewer feels inclined to really feel sorry for the principle character as she’s the definition of “damsel in misery”, a trope I don’t take care of, although we frequently see it in shoujo tales. Mito begins to reside in a dormitory with a stunning vampire named Luka whereas hiding her true gender from him. I predicted, unimpressively, early on within the first episode that the sequence would comply with the widespread shoujo trope of a troubled girl needing the assistance of a stupendous man.
Accepting this truth helped me set my expectations low for my attachment to the principle characters and the story. My focus would purely be on the presentation and world-building. Moreover, cliffhanger episode endings had me coming again every week. I appreciated that the sequence wasn’t only a love story with vampire themes half-hazardly slapped onto it, however that the vampire elements have been crucial a part of the story.
There’s a vampire hierarchy, a vampire realm, dampyrs (offsprings of vampires and human girls), and numerous talents of vampires that play an enormous position within the story. All of those parts made for a way more partaking plot in comparison with solely a easy love story. Mito lives with Luka in an all-male dormitory disguising herself as a male, however the true bother with dwelling with vampires comes from their households and their obligations as vampires.
Vampire Dormitory‘s presentation of characters’ emotions and actions typically feels rushed. The characters take care of one another far too shortly to consider, and the reactions of characters (notably Mito) are so absurd – some extent I’ll discuss within the spoiler part of this overview.
Animation and Music
Shoujo manga typically has bother transitioning into animation as a few of its delicate emotional visuals and detailed creative options get misplaced. Whereas I haven’t learn the Vampire Dormitory manga, I’m too conversant in beloved shoujo manga variations hardly ever measuring as much as the supply materials. The Vampire Dormitory animation is acceptable for what the anime is attempting to do – inform a tacky vampire romance story.
Not as soon as throughout my watch-through did I discover the animation jarring, unfinished, or lazy. There’s nothing excessive concerning the animation both. It’s simply acceptable, and the identical could be mentioned for the music within the sequence. Vampire Dormitory is the right instance of an anime adaptation attempting to promote you the manga and, whereas the anime isn’t spectacular, there’s sufficient draw to the story that made me curious sufficient to select up the manga. The anime did its job.
Spoiler Part
Mito is a painful character to observe. Luka is unfortunate at each flip and doesn’t deserve so lots of the misunderstandings that occur to him. Ren… I wished to love him a lot till he did what made some Crunchyroll customers, in keeping with the remark part, wish to drop the sequence. In episode 9, Ren makes use of his powers to rework Mito from a lady into an actual man to maintain Ruka from pursuing her romantically. Ren is clearly very self-centered as he doesn’t even seek the advice of Mito on this earlier than taking motion.
However my actual drawback with this example is just not even Ren, it’s Mito. Maybe my greatest gripe with Vampire Dormitory is that Mito hardly questions Ren on this motion and shortly trusts him once more within the very subsequent episode when she asks him to erase her recollections of Luka.
Mito is way too trusting of males that make the most of her and I can’t stand how dense and rash she is in resolution making. She’s not a enjoyable character to comply with, and I can’t say I ever rooted for her. There are such a lot of choices she might have made to make Luka’s state of affairs a bit of bit easier- however the anime wants a plot, even when that plot is fueled by a dumb shoujo protagonist.
Thankfully, the twists and turns the sequence makes have been greater than sufficient to maintain me eagerly coming again each week till the Vampire Dormitory finale.
Closing Ideas – Ought to You Watch?
I’ve been a fan of shoujo and vampire works for over 15 years. Vampire Knight, a manga by Hino Matsuri, was one in every of my favourite shoujo sequence of the mid-2000s. Admittedly, I used to be an enormous Twilight fan in highschool too. Vampire works could be critical and darkish, however there are many works which might be tacky, absurd, and only for enjoyable.
In case you like shoujo tropes, cheesy conditions, and irritating characters, Vampire Dormitory is perhaps enjoyable for you. As for me, I admire the anime sufficient to select up the manga, and I don’t remorse the time I’ve spent watching. Vampire Dormitory hit me with emotions of nostalgia for 2000s-style vampire shoujo, and that’s sufficient for me to come back crawling again to it for a doable season two, because the manga continues to be ongoing.
What did you consider the Vampire Dormitory finale?
My score: 6.5/10
Pictures by way of Crunchyroll
©Ema Toyama/Kodansha/“Vampire Dormitory” Manufacturing Committee
