Anime Absurdity: Rosario + Vampire

Welcome back to the week! Again sorry for the lay over to Sunday but I only possess so much energy...and migraines are a bitch. Moving on, we are taking a look at some of the more popular animes of the last 10 years. Thankfully I have narrowed down some titles thanks to some of my Anime friends and it was most appreciated. Today we look at school life as a teenager but with the difference being I think the student body may be a bit more than expected. This is Rosario + Vampire.

So, has Oz changed much Jack Pumpkinhead?

Average student Tsukune has failed entry exams for almost every school in Japan. When it looks like Tsukune will have to be home taught, his father finds a flyer on their doorstep for the Youkai Academy. For the rest of the round eyes confused on this word, Youkai (Japanese folklore of monsters, spirits and demons) so a world of wonder and utter madness await our unsuspecting lad. Now often the manga and the anime with diverge into different presentations of the story but in this case they show more of the root of their being but there is not a lot of indept examination of the characters themselves. Crossing from home and through a tunnel of the bright sun shining day, is a realm of lava moats, castles and darkness. Ahh King Bowser is at work! Ominous crows and a dark woodland forest path later, the foolish lad sallies forth into this disturbing castle. At no point does the brain, instinct or every good ole' fashion fear kicking warning him. Admiral Ackbar nowhere to be found screaming, "It's a trap!" so the boy is left to his own devices.

Cue jingle sound and twinkly lights.

Concerned for his well-being Tsukune is attempting to skip out of school and run for the hills (Cue Iron Maiden) until he run smack dab into Moka Akashiya, the most loveliest girl his lids ever have to clap eyes on. The naive but good natured teen seems smitten by her and proceeds to hang out with her when he realizes there is something different about her...oh yes it could be her fangs.

Many a comedic moment in this series offering up monsters galore both male and female and because of Tsukune's good nature, the girls seem to gravitate to him. Maybe it is innocent blood, his heart will make a wonderful sacrifice to a dark deity and the like but he needs to fight them off with a crucifix and a stick. Apparently the boy's pheromone signature drives the girls crackers as he is actively pursued by a succubus, a witch and an ice creature. And before you menfolk ask, yes there is booby, upskirt jokes and many a time of them running around in their bra and panties. So glad we got that all cleared up.

With a great animation, wonderful music and voice work being top notch it is not too difficult to figure out what drew most folks to the series. The monsters vary in multiple folklore as we have lizard men, a fiery fox creature, mermaids, werewolves all with hair colors in their humanoid forms ranging in colors of the rainbow to only ones I have seen in yarn. Moka's flashbacks about Human scholastic are a bit on the vague, I was hoping to see a goofy mob of pitchforks and torches but alas none came to pass. I do love the talking bats that announce they're talking bats. Yup a momentary distraction from the action scenes, love scenes or general chaos. 

Yikes, he's got that Legend of the Overfiend look in his eye.