Rosario & Vampire Collection [DVD]

Tsukune Aono is an ordinary human boy who enrols at the mysterious Yokai Academy after he fails to get into any other school. Once he reaches his new school however Tsukune discovers that it is a school for monsters to learn how to live in the human world. While there Tsukune meets the beautiful vampire Moka and makes some friends but he is always at risk of being killed should someone discover that he is human.

The 'Rosario+Vampire' manga is one of my favourite series but unfortunately, while this anime adaption is entertaining it isn't a patch on the original. The series spends a lot of time focussing on the harem comedy and fanservice aspects of the storyline at the expense of some of the darker aspects of the series. While it may be the case that these elements where prevalent in the beginning of the manga, the anime takes things much further.

Many of the episodes in this first season follow the storyline of the manga reasonably well although many episodes are bulked out with more comedy and fanservice and there is the addition of a bat narrator who tends to alternate between funny and annoying. There are also some changes in the order of the story (for instance the manga Mizore wasn't introduced until after the Summer Break) and episode four is unique to the anime. Although there are some minor changes made to the storyline, mostly to make the tone a little less dark in some of the early episodes (most noticeable once again in the episode that introduces Mizore) it isn't until episode nine and the Summer Break arc that there are major changes. This two episode arc has some major changes and a simplification of the storyline, as well as the addition of some beach scenes. These changes continue into the final three episodes of the season and changes to the Security Council arc are quite major.

The animation for the series is good and despite the focus on fanservice the fight scenes are animated particularly nicely, although admittedly Moka's transformation sequence is a little annoying. The English dub of the anime is also good with most of the voice actors giving nice performances, especially Monica Riel as Yukari and Todd Haberkorn as Tsukune. The choice to give the inner and outer versions of Moka different voice actors was interesting but it was done quite nicely and the excellent Colleen Clinkenbeard is perfect for Inner Moka. The original Japanese version is included as well of course.

Overall I wish that Amazon allowed the awarding of half stars as I feel that this series is worth around three and a half stars.

This may not be one of the great animes but it is a worthwhile romp with a decent story and some amusing characters. It does have a few poignant moments.

Fan service is very frequent but mild - and doesn't distract from the story.

Definitely worth watching as something that, if not actually memorable, is seldom less than entertaining.

A good "B movie" anime.

I loved this anime! Thought it was very, very funny, but also had some good fight scenes and its fair share of poignant moments. As I haven't read the Manga I cant comment on how it compares but judging it on its own I found it to be very enjoyable. The animation is well done and the voice cast does a good job too. Its chocked full of fanservice and has a panty montage on the dvd extras for those of us who like that sort of thing. Arrived before the estimated delivery date. All in all 5/5.