Vampire Dormitory episode 2 premiered on Sunday and as this spring season’s cheesy vampire shoujo, it raises some questions about character depth and pacing issues. While I believe that it’s a struggle for shoujo manga to transition into anime form, I’m usually open-minded and optimistic about adaptations of my beloved manga series.
However, Vampire Dormitory isn’t going well with viewers with its 6.30 rating on MyAnimeList and 58% rating on AniChart. While I love all the components of it— the romance, cheesiness, vampires, comedy — the execution of it is somewhat lacking. We’re only two episodes into the season so it may be too soon to pass judgment. Still, episode 2 falls short of what makes a compelling episode.
The Pretty Boy Is Targeted
In episode 1, Mito is revealed to be a woman disguising herself as a man. We don’t yet know why she decides to present as a man in public but I guess that she feels she can be more accepted as a man and perhaps more easily fit into society. Since she has no place to live and no income, she impulsively decides to work for a vampire named Ruka and gets pushed into attending an elite university for men.
Vampire Dormitory episode 2 has a quicker pace. A short vampire by the name of Juri is suspicious of Mito, cornering her for questions — perhaps wanting to know about her true gender. Juri’s intentions and specific suspicions aren’t revealed in this episode, which is reason enough to keep me coming back for more of the series.
One of the strangest aspects of Vampire Dormitory episode 2 was the reveal of Ruka being a 2D-girl-obsessed otaku. This uncovers why he isn’t so interested in real women, as he takes an interest in Mito assuming she is a man. Another strange part of the episode is the introduction of Ren Nikaido, a classmate of Mito who knows that Ruka is a vampire. This character has so much potential to add interesting layers to the story, but he quickly becomes obsessed with Mito and Ruka’s relationship despite him being a stranger to Mito. He clearly will add tension to the story, but since he takes an interest in Mito so quickly, it’s a bit hard to believe.
Ren makes it clear to Mito that if she allows Ruka to continue sucking her blood, she will turn into a vampire. After Mito passionately explains that Ruka has a big heart and Ren is being unreasonable, Ren responds by telling Mito he is worried about her. I find this scene to be strange. Ren and Mito seemingly don’t know each other well, but there must be some reason Ren is already obsessed with her situation.
Vampire Dormitory episode 2 was our first look into the opening theme, “Sugar Blood Kiss” performed by Fantastics. It is a poppy and fun song fitting for the show. While the series’ animation is nothing particularly special, the soundtrack is dramatic and appropriate for a corny shoujo series such as this. It may seem like I’ve said a lot of negative things about the show so far, but I do have a weakness for cheesy vampire love stories. Vampire Dormitory has so many shoujo tropes bundled up in a small package, so I’m eager to come back next week.
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Images via Crunchyroll
©Ema Toyama/Kodansha/“Vampire Dormitory” Production Committee
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