Diabolik Lovers (Anime Series)

6792970dea24081392ab45d083fc10791379350651 full2 640x422 - Diabolik Lovers (Anime Series)

Directed by Shinobu Tagashira6792970dea24081392ab45d083fc10791379350651 full 200x300 - Diabolik Lovers (Anime Series)

Animated by Zexcs

Suitable for 17+

Information technology'southward not unusual for Japanese video games to spawn an anime spin-off. If the game is relatively successful, it stands to reason that a idiot box evidence based on it would practice equally well. Who wouldn't want to relax and scout their favorite characters interact with each other in new means? This was the attempted case with the anime version of Diabolik Lovers. However, it backfired miserably.

Diabolik Lovers was originally a series of PSP/ PS Vita visual novel games. A short explanation for those who don't know what a visual novel game is: It'south substantially an interactive comic book. About revolve around a harem (group of women) or contrary harem (grouping of men) and your attempts to get in your favorite grapheme'due south pants. Yes, before you ask, almost of them have porn scenes.

Harem—or reverse harem, as the case is here—visual novel games can be incredibly entertaining to play. Who doesn't like the idea of being able to seduce someone and then enjoy the fruits of your efforts? In addition, the hope of multitudes of endings between a big bandage of characters ups the replayability factor immensely. On the flip side, harem animes practice not always do so well. There are few (think Love Hina ) that striking the proverbial sweet spot, with a varied combination of plots to go on you interested. So there are others, like Diabolik Lovers, that are practically all smut and no substance.

Diabolik Lovers is a 12-episode series about a family of vampire half-brothers that are offered sacrificial brides. Yui Komori becomes the most recent bride, and the brothers all accept turns torturing her and drinking her claret. This is literally the "plot" for the first vi episodes in the series. Half of the series consists of Yui crying, a vampire brother biting her, him enjoying it only a picayune too much, Yui crying some more, rinse and repeat. The first half of Diabolik Lovers is so i-annotation that you lot probably could sleep through the entire matter and brand information technology out better than those who trudged through it.

The second half of Diabolik Lovers does pick up some, but there'southward no real transition between the two. There'due south no plot; then suddenly, all the plot. We get from a band of egotistical, sadistic brothers torturing a young maiden to a troop of nearly powerless, whiny siblings fighting confronting a dominating mother figure (Cordelia) and their uncle. There are a few teasers of the female parent here and there in the get-go one-half, only they are so overwhelmed by the rapey blood-drinking scenes that you completely forget y'all've fifty-fifty seen her before.

In addition, all the brothers get their "moment in the sun" (non literally of form) in the first one-half of the series, just the 2d half merely actually features Ayato, Kanato, and Laito, Cordelia's sons. These three jump to the foreground, with the other brothers all just disappearing. And while all have their claim to Yui as the sacrificial bride, they all of a sudden requite upwardly without a fight when Ayato claims her as his own. When the entire first half of Diabolik Lovers is almost the different brothers staking their claim on Yui, you'd think they'd at to the lowest degree put up some kind of one-half-assed resistance. Just no, that would make too much damn sense.

The plot in the second half of Diabolik Lovers can be summarized thusly: Sons kill mother, uncle loves mother, uncle resurrects female parent, mother wants sons and husband expressionless, uncle wants husband'southward throne/betrays the mother, sons impale uncle/mother again, Yui whines enough all throughout, and so becomes a vampire at the terminate. Ta-dah! You lot'd never know that actually takes place in six full episodes! Had all of that plot been sprinkled throughout the series as a whole, with a little more meat on its bones, Diabolik Lovers might not have sucked so terribly. That being said, it wasn't spaced out, which made the first half almost completely useless, and the second so hurried and forced that information technology didn't feel worth watching either.

Non only were Diabolik Lovers' story and escalation lifeless, the characters were too (and not considering they are undead vampires). The main graphic symbol, Yui, is useless and naive. Her sole purpose is to provide blood for the brothers, all while pointlessly protesting, much to their entertainment. The brothers themselves were every bit one annotation and forgettable. It's constantly articulate that they accept 1 goal in mind, which makes development of their personalities nigh impossible. While they all take unlike quirks—Reiji is the brainy 1, Laito is the sadistically suave lady killer, Kanato is the psychotically adorable 1, etc.—that is as deep into their being as you go. Shallow characters cannot behave a serial very far, and Diabolik Lovers certainly proves this.

If you lot're into rapey vampire visual novels, Diabolik Lovers might do it for you. There's a peculiarly blatant piece of fan service later the last episode where all the brothers speak to the camera in turn every bit if you were Yui. If that isn't your idea of a good time, yous'll hate this series. To anyone that plans to watch it, you might too skip the offset six episodes since you actually won't miss much. The cognition that Yui is a sacrificial bride and all the brothers want to drink her blood will conduct you into the second one-half of the serial merely fine. Once you're at that place, just go with information technology because that'due south exactly what the series expects y'all to do. And speaking of mindlessly accepting things equally they are, the brothers' male parent is mentioned by name countless times just never actually shown. So beware Karl Heinz, the enigmatic "vampire king" who has somehow spawned all these demon sons without ever showing his babymaker, let alone his face.

Probably the most awful fact related to Diabolik Lovers is that information technology is getting a sequel. Diabolik Lovers More than, Blood  airs at the end of September 2015. Stay tuned for fifty-fifty more vampiric blood play, annoyingly caught maidens, and even more mommy issues.

Anime reviews come courtesy of Crunchyroll.com. Crunchyroll is the largest anime streaming service available in Western markets, with an always-expanding library of anime series, movies, and manga. Any fan of Japanese animation and civilization is sure to find a trove of things to beloved, and anyone new and curious couldn't find a better identify to start. Follow the link crunchyroll.com/dreadcentral, and check information technology out today!

  • Anime

User Rating 3.31 (35 votes)

Sign up for The Harbinger a Dread Central Newsletter