Due to a strange incident, Akari Amano is rescued by a vampire girl named Sophie Twilight, and Akari becomes interested in her. – ANN
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Episode Summary: Akari Amano is really into dolls, so when she catches wind of a mysterious girl who, according to legend, lives in the forest and never ages, she assumes this person must be some sort of living doll. The truth is even more amazing – the girl’s name is Sophie Twilight, and she’s actually a vampire. Sophie lives alone in her large house, and Akari takes it upon herself to keep Sophie from feeling lonely. The thing is, Sophie enjoys her loner night-owl existence, and Akari’s budding obsession is starting to get in the way.
When Akari leaves for a time, however, the difference is noticeable to Sophie. Though she appreciates the quiet, she realizes that Akari’s presence brought a fun atmosphere to her home. Without the constant chatter and questioning of her vampire lifestyle, Sophie feels as though something is missing. Akari is way ahead of the game, having decided to pack up her things (including several of her dolls) and move into Sophie’s home. Though the logistics might need some hammering-out, this could turn out to be a fun adventure for both girls.
Impressions: Vampire lore is full of sexually-charged scenarios and dubious consent, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to watching a series where all the characters look like kids, including the titular vampire. “She’s actually 800 years old” is a trope that most anime fans are unfortunately probably familiar with, considering that it’s a frequent excuse when it comes to characters who appear too young to be sexualized, but are anyway. I was surprised to find that this is actually not “that” series (or at least that episode); the first episode manages to toe a very narrow line between being too cutesy and too lusty for its own good, and the end result is a cute, fluffy outing with a nice flavor of homo-romantic humor that feels fairly fresh.
Though Sophie Twilight is the episode’s resident vampire (it appears there may be at least one more introduced later on), against-type her character is actually the more aloof of the two leads. She’s gotten to be very comfortable in the way she leads her life; though she never reveals her actual age, I would imagine as such a long-lived person one would have to be fairly in tune with enjoying one’s own company. The thing about being comfortable is that sometimes too much comfort can lead to stagnation. I was reading a review of this episode elsewhere and another commenter referenced Laid-Back Camp as somewhat comparable in its character relationship. While I’d say so far the interactions between Sophie and Akari are sort of inferior to Rin’s and Nadeshiko’s relationship in that series, I believe the comparison is sound – a loner character is challenged in their solitude by someone with a very different personality, and generally positive things result from the interaction.
All I can say about Akari at this point is that she is absolutely a piece of work. She’s incredibly shameless in her admiration of Sophie and desire for her attention. I have to admit that she was initially a little bit too much for me to handle, mostly because her interactions felt borderline invasive. As someone who values peace and alone time, one of my great anxieties is being dragged out in public to interact in a manner that’s not on my own terms as an introvert. Not only does Akari have a dubious understanding of personal space, she’s also unafraid to display lust or attraction, or whatever emotion it is she has towards her new supernatural friend. I went back and forth throughout the episode trying to decide how I felt about the way she was acting towards Sophie; often times these kinds of characters come across as predatory. Again, this is where the episode manages to strike a kind of balance between allowing Akari free reign to be terrible, and giving Sophie a strong enough reaction to make it clear that she’s under control, just mildly confused by Akari’s enthusiasm. It’s definitely not a relationship dynamic that will sit well with everyone, but surprisingly enough I found myself buying in by the end of the episode.
The episode is more comedic than I expected. Series like this tend not to hit well with me; while I can appreciate the fact that there are jokes and gags, they’re often straightforward and predictable to the point that I don’t find them that funny. Most of the humorous moments in this episode come from Sophie’s consistent dismantling of vampire tropes, which manage to disillusion Akari to amusing effect. Sophie, being up all night most of the time, has become something of an otaku, so of course her snug, comfy coffin is decked out with a body pillow of her favorite anime character. Likewise, her blood-consumption is maintained by blood supplies purchased online. I think my favorite new revelation is that vampires won’t enter a room unless they’re invited in – not because they suffer some physical consequence, bu because it would be grossly impolite to walk in uninvited. The delivery of these gags is very matter-of-fact, which works well in the situation and matches with Sophie’s personality. Again, it’s the type of humor that might come across as too cutesy for some, but I found it entertaining.
While I’d like to think that my state of mind has less bearing on my anime opinions than it actually does, the truth is that the last few weeks have been rough for me and in those circumstances it can be difficult to engage with anything overly-serious, violent, nihilistic, or cynical. Especially so when I realize my critical opinions are decidedly outside the general fandom norm and I know I’ll need to muster up some energy to participate in the debate. It’s during these moments that I find myself open to “dumb anime fluff,” the kind of anime that doesn’t necessarily have a complicated statement to make and just exists to cultivate a warm, pleasant atmosphere. This show seems to fit well into that category. That’s not meant to be a dig in any way – frothy entertainment definitely has its place, and this is a good example. If you prefer your vampires without all the gore and non-consensual sex, this might be a fun Halloween-flavored outing.
Pros: Surprisingly humorous. There’s good balance in the central character relationship.
Cons: Toes a very fine line between cute and irritating.
Grade: B-