Strike the Blood – 02
Before becoming a vampire, Kojou starred in Kuroko no Basuke.
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The resemblance is kind of uncanny. …I think I’ve hit a block in my Rune Factory 4 enthusiasm (Rune Parana is currently kicking my ass and I don’t feel like spending time levelling up… not that anyone knows what I’m talking about), so I guess it’s about time I start blogging this. |
Thankfully, more of the plot was revealed right at the beginning of the episode. So it’s not Kojou himself that they’re worried about so much as some complicated situation with vampire politics and humanity being caught up in the middle. That’s understandable, considering the amount of damage that went on in the fights the last episode and this explains why humanity isn’t waging an all out war over the supernatural things despite them being that dangerous. There’s a delicate balance going on. Maybe it’s because time has passed since the first episode, or maybe it’s because I was satisfied with this explanation, but I’m not so impatient for the explanation as to how the city is run now. I’d still like to know more about how things work in the city. Maybe attack mages keep the vampires and whatnot in line? And speaking of, what exactly are attack mages? The name is fairly straightforward, but they seem to be human. …And just who and what have familiars? Yes, I still have plenty of questions about all of this.
Okay, fine. I guess I’ll ship this since the plot seems to be so insistent on it.
Actually, there were vast improvements over the first episode. Yukina was so much more tolerable, and she seems to be staying that way. It just seems ridiculous that she’d get angry over accidentally flashing her (tastefully plaid) pantsu when she’s the one wearing the ridiculously short skirt and standing on tall things, but Yukina’s definitely mellowed out since our first introduction of her. Of course, it wouldn’t be anime if she wasn’t part of Kojou’s worst enemy of an organization (and the added bonus of everyone telling him not to associate with her), but she’s been nothing but polite since she and Kojou talked. They even seem like partners now, since Yukina’s last thoughts when she was about to die were if Kojou would miss her. Hopefully the two end up fighting whatever the antagonistic force this series has together, since Yukina’s skills still seem really impressive (my fears that Yukina would need Kojou to do everything for her seem like they will go unrealized), and Kojou seems rather competent himself.
Kojou was fleshed out a bit too, where he explained his reasons behind trying to live a normal life. It’s nice that he’s self-concious enough to know that he can’t change the world by himself. Maybe giving up completely on things like that isn’t the best course of action either, but it seems kind of refreshing in a way. Kojou obviously has a sense of what’s right and wrong, but he’s not going to force his sense of justice on others just because he has the power to. Plus this way, he’s avoiding causing any potential wars with the other Primogenitors. Or at least, he’s not doing that yet. Who knows what he’ll be doing in an episode or so, since something seems to be going on at the end of the episode. I assume this is his special vampire powers taking over?
Until the next episode comes out, I’m also going to assume that the fight at the end of the episode was the beginnings of the overarching plot. The west European church is hunting vampires when they aren’t supposed to be. Which is kind of funny, since it always seems to be a European church that’s out hunting the vampires (Hellsing, Vassalord, Trinity Blood (kind of, but not really)… though those those are the only ones I can think of, so maybe this doesn’t happen as often as I think it does). Anyways, the important point here is that this seems like it will be the tipping point for the delicate balance of power going on, and this should kickstart the plot. If Kojou is somewhat of a secret now, I have doubts that he still will be if he attacks/defeats the church, and even if they aren’t completely certain that he’s the Primogenitor, they will know that Kojou is super powerful.
This was definitely better than the first episode. Things were explained, the characters were looked at more… Yes, this was an overall improvement. The plot is combining ideas interestingly, and I don’t know if some of these things are purposeful or not. Some commenters pointed out that this city set up was a lot like the Toaru Railgun/Index series, but after watching Kojou punch things, I see more resemblances. Of course, Kojou seems to be more interesting than Touma though (thank goodness). Astarte, the loli with the arms coming out of her back reminds me of Elfin Lied, and that’s generally a good thing. I’d like to know what exactly the church is doing there, but I’m sure the plot will go into that eventually. The animation for fighting still wasn’t the best, but this is Silver Link, so at least the effects were interesting to look at. Whatever was going on with Yukina’s eyes looked cool, and despite her needing Kojou to save her at the last moment, she held her own rather nicely. I’m not 100% sold on this anime yet, but this was a good step in the right direction~.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
THIS. She was asking for it.
Seriously though, I am digging this anime after two episodes. It does have Index/Railgun vibes with the town setup and all, churches, magic and some technology being involved, and Kojou X Yukina feels like Touma X Mikoto, except that I like Kojou’s character a little after two episodes.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Should I make this feel even more like Index/Railgun for you? I’m going to do that anyway with a little info. That blue haired girl Astarte is voiced by Yuka Iguchi (Index) and Yukina is played by Risa Taneda who voiced Jane Elves in Toaru Majutsu no Index: Endymion no Kiseki along with a couple of other seiyuu who’ve played in the Index/Railgun series and/or movie.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Jane who? I don’t remember seeing tht name in the Endymion movie O_o
The blue haired loli is done by Yuka Iguchi!? I think I need to watch another run of Index lol. So I guess she using the same tone as Index John’s Pen mode when voicing Astarte?
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
And here I was thinking about how Astarte kind of sounds like Chihara Minori’s voice (or at least the one she did for Nagato back in Haruhi Suzumiya)
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Index has some good arcs behind it, so if Strike the Blood manages that, I’ll be happy. I like both of these characters better than the Index/Railgun counterparts that you brought up, so if the plot can keep up, then even better.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The difference with the Index/Railgun counterparts is that one is a full throttle tsundere and the other pretends to be oblivious. That’s not the case with Kojou and Yukina. Each is slowly showing interest in the other and aren’t putting up a needless front for who knows what reason.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Well, Touma is an idiot for the obvious reason that he needs to maintain his harem as long as humanly possible because the plot requires it. xD
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 167 comments
IMAGINE BREAAAAAAAAAKER
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Nah, this is more of “SUGOI PUNCH” from the #7 Level 5.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Lolz.
Touman help is greatly needed in TR atm~ There a mentally unstable blondie on the loose and in quick needs of a punch 😛
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’d go with Dragon Fist.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
It’s getting better, but I can’t get over the relationship between the two. After one of the most embarrassing first meetings I’ve ever seen, they made up in a snap? Heck, they even have this sudden instant mind bond that made the two of them get along so well. I know this is for shipping, but I feel pressured into shipping them now when nothing deep happened yet. It’s as if they’re telling me to ship them now, and I don’t feel comfortable with that.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
You must ship them, anaaga. The plot demands it. xD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The show demands that you ship them now. It was pretty a flag to do so when one of Yukina’s female superiors asked if Kojou was her type after a photo of him was handed to her as a support for her assignment.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
One thing I like about this show are how the 2 leads commmunicate with each other. I like how they actually manage to talk things out like reasonable people and try to understand each other, instead of being tsunderellas/dumbasses because the plot demands it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yeah, it’s nice that they listen to each other. I don’t mind how suddenly they got along, since I much prefer the relationship here than the one in the first episode.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
First meetings are always rocky but these two smoothed their relationship out rather quickly.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ack! Those words! Is it possible to use them together in a sentence like that?! I hope not!
And that’s two vampire animes under your belt. You’ve officially become the “Vampire Girl” for the rest of the season.
Why do I feel like I would’ve been hung if this didn’t turn out better like I said it would? Maybe it’s all in my mind. 😉 But I’m glad to see people are starting to like it. It throws some of the typical stuff out the window.
Even though she has authorization to kill him at any time, I’m glad to see that Yukina is so easy-going and casual when talking to Kojou instead of being the typical uptight, defensive, suspicious, “you’re only my target” type of girl who is assigned a top secret mission. It was pretty much an automatic flag for those two to be shipped when one of her superiors asked if he was her type and how funny it was when it turned out to be the one with the female voice who asked. I’ve been shipping Kojou and Yukina from the start.
The character developments and introductions were good. I was especially glad how Nagisa was made to look so adorable. Like I said about her in the last post, she’s the kind who takes up the responsibilities of the house but sometimes is personally irresponsible (wanting sweets right after eating) and a bit overly kind. Though she looks more like Yukina’s sister than Kojou’s.
Should I tell you as a spoiler or do you want to wait until the story gets there itself? Damn this temptation! It’s unbearable! 😀
For the manga to anime comparisons, they sure have been doing some cutting and pasting. The scenes of Yukina’s assignment and Kojou meeting with his teacher Natsuki were elements from the first chapter which should have found a place in the first episode. Yukina’s moving in next door followed by going to convenience store, meeting Nagisa and the brief talk about Kojou’s past in the basketball team was the entire fourth chapter and everything else after the appearance of the familiar to the end of this episode was the fifth and with some of the sixth when Kojou started going out of control. Even the introductions of the priest Rudolf Eustach and the girl Astarte last episode were the early pages of the third chapter.
Judging from the preview, the rest of the sixth and parts of the seventh are going to be covered. I can’t complain much because they’re still following each part with as much detail as possible but at the rate this is going, I’ll soon find myself in the same boat as the anime only viewers. The thought of that leaves a bittersweet feeling.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Even their names are similar. You can’t deny it, BB. xD
Ahaha this does seem like a very vampire-ful season. I’m sure you’re enjoying it. …I’ve learned to trust your judgement. Trinity Blood was pretty good. Plus you like Bloody Cross.
I can definitely ship this, as long as Yukina doesn’t go tsundere again and Kojou doesn’t go through any ridiculous phases of being an idiot. I like the relationship they have here.
Nagisa was nice. …I don’t really have much to say about her. It’s good that she doesn’t seem like she’ll annoy me in any way.
Well, at least I know now that my questions get answers. I don’t mind spoilers if it’s really killing you inside. xD I managed to sit through a good portion of Zetsuen no Tempest knowing a few things about Aika that I really shouldn’t have.
Well things are going pretty quickly then. Have they cut anything you’d deem “extremely important” out? Maybe we’ll get to the later volumes soon then. They haven’t been translated as far as I know, but I hear things get good.
Yep. That’s how things went for me and KamiInai. Halfway through and not a clue what was going to happen anymore. Maybe I’ll take a look at the manga/ try to read through the raws for comparison’s sake, but I’m okay with not knowing what’s going to happen next.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m very much enjoying this season. It would’ve been even better if there was a 2 cour anime version of Bloody Cross. Then I would be really set.
Don’t worry about that. Yukina isn’t going to become a tsundere. Rather, like what was shown of her in the first episode when Kojou explained how he became the Fourth Primogenitor, she becomes more concerned for him because he doesn’t fully realize the extent of his situation, especially with what’s going to be shown in third episode. So much that I’d say that the lines between the priorities of her mission and her own motivations begin to blur.
It’s not as much as cutting out material as it is adding in or manipulating what’s already there. That flashback in the first episode wasn’t canon at all and you wouldn’t see a glimpse of the girl until much later. They also didn’t show what happened to those two guys who harassed Yukina after they came across Rudolf and Astarte. In the second episode, Asagi (the blonde haired girl) ran into Kojou and Yukina on their way home, he formally introduces Yukina, telling her she’s a transfer student and then she boards the train.
I’ve read 10 chapters of the translated manga and it looks like it will take about a total of four or five episodes to get to where I’ve stopped and it ended with an insatiable cliffhanger.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I would fight every single person here to blog Bloody Cross, if it ever had an anime. (…not that I would necessarily be fighting anyone for it, but I’m still mentally prepared to xD)
Yay! I’ll take your word for it. I like her better now than before, and it’s nice to know that she doesn’t revert back in the near future (if at all)
Huh. Well, I guess we’ll have to see where this goes. I think I have a general idea about the cliffhanger. It has to do with the flashback loli, right?
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
It’s nice to see Simba extending his influence beyond the African Pride Lands. 🙂
Although I still think Simba should have hired better agents to investigate Kojou, if they couldn’t even find out if he had no family as the 4th Progenitor was supposed to be. Timon and Pumbaa really screwed up on this investigation. (¬д¬。)
Whatever the Combat Deacon’s plans are, they will certainly disrupt the circle of life.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
LOL, hilarious. Timon and Pumbaa would screw any type of investigation. We still love them though.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Investigations are not their forte. Those two are better suited for live bait diversions like this. That’s their true calling.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
THIS.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
http://i.imgur.com/8GCTPCF.jpg
Comparison of character design bet the LN art/manga/anime design/in-anime shots. Anime got the best design IMO.
Also, I was wondering how does the blondie saw Kujou and Yukina frm quite the distance away on the monorail ^_^;
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I fully agree! The characters have better designs in the anime and here, they and especially Nagisa look a lot more mature than their manga counterparts.
The monorail doesn’t look that high. Even so, it went right past them and she saw them face forward.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Though they have a little bit of the sameface syndrome in anime but w/e it looks good enough.
Anime eyesight or super eyesight like Kara suggested? Hmm….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ll go with anime eyesight. They always defy reason and logic.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Ah, yeah I definitely prefer the anime versions.
Maybe she has super vision? I don’t know.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Still not totally taken with this series. I see potential, but nothing that really grabs me. Kujou is standard and Yukina is that annoying female fighter stereotype that I don’t really care for. It’s not boring though, so I’ll stick with it for now.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I find Yukina way better this episode than the last one, but Kojou is still pretty non-exciting. Hmm, I know what you mean though. There’s still something missing here, and I’m not entirely sure what it is.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I really don’t see what you mean about Yukina (Please elaborate more on that) but I can honestly say that I’m liking this series far more than Blood Lad. It may have had one or two interesting characters but overall, I didn’t like it much. It just wasn’t my type of show despite having vampires as a main plot device. Not to mention Fuyumi was dull as a board and was less appealing than Yukina is now and who has combat experience. What will be found out about her is what will make her look even better.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I like this more than Blood Lad through two episodes. I like that it’s not really all vampire-y (unlike some other *shudder* shows). As always, I hope this isn’t gonna turn into Battle-of-the-Week, tho. I actually like the dynamic between Kojou and Yukina, as well as the reluctance that Kojou shows to become anything special.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Oh, that’s where you and I begin to differ, Highway. Those are the parts I love the most. It’s welcomed at any time for me like how it was for Dance in the Vampire Bund, Hellsing, Trinity Blood and Shiki.
And all of them have been dubbed by Funimation, no less.And Kojou’s state of mind is understandable. Not everyone wants to stand out and be the center of attention. Some enjoy the normal lives they already have.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I think he was talking about Diabolik Lovers, BB. xD Though I could be wrong.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It could be anyone of them. There’s no way of knowing. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You’re not wrong, Kara. But in general, I’m not a big fan of vampires. Maybe Otto Chriek is ok, but he’s a blue ribboner.