my humble opinion on 'Dance in the Vampire Bund' ~ warning! a loooong post

only 6 minutes of the first episode have passed, but I am already writing this post. you know why?

masterpiece

plot and characters

I have watched only 1 work directed by Shimbo Akiyuki-san so far, 'bakemonogatari', but 'twas enough for me to understand that 'Dance' would probably be an interesting anime, too

it proved to be so. 6 minutes have passed - and I am already laughing so that I cannot even eat my salad. this is simply gorgeous. the parody on the modern world, modern Japan, modern show business - a young handsome celebrity, an elder comedy actress, a girl who loves manga about vampires and a mangaka who creates it with a thorough understanding of what vampires are thought to be, and what he can use in his manga to make it popular, a professor who knows much - and knows well that he knows much, the TV news rogram which, on the first sight, tells about the strange incidents, but mostly - arouses the spectators and boost the story, and in the end - TV show where the guests and the audience decide whether a statement brought to discussion is true or false with the help of huge weigher - oh no, I am not a specialist in Japanese entertainment industry, but even I am able to say - this is just so completely true...

the preview of the next episode done in a chibi manner with characters as if drawn on paper with pencil. the mocking 'this programme is brought to you by...' where, instead of the real sponsors, the anime studios and fictional dorama (which was just mentioned in the anime) are used (BTW, reminds me of 'Tamayura') - 'tis not that I am against big companies 'contributing' to anime or doramas so that their logos are shown in the 'sponsors 20 seconds', but whenever a director of anime is brave enough to make such parodies - I feel this world is not dying yet

on the other hand, beware of fanservice. why am I still watching it? ohh, this is completely different case from works like 'Ikkitousen'. the level of nudity may seem much higher, and big boobs of Vera delight us with their full view in the very first episode, to say nothing of the fact that the main heroine is an absolute loli, on the other hand - while there is a harem of different types of girls around Akira, there is also a harem of boys, which is harder to notice, but which still exists... still - this case is completely different. this is the fanservice done with a full understanding that 'tis fanservice

the plot itself is rather slow. this is the style of Shimbo-san, I guess. more attention is paid not to what happens, but to the reasons behind the events, to the feelings of every person involved and thoughts and motives that everyone has. after watching 'bakemonogatari' I already knew how good Shimbo-san is in penetrating every corner of human psyche, but he exceeded my expectations. I thought only the sassy character of Mina would be exposed - as a capricious child, but I was wrong - the creators showed a lot of other people with their own way of life, their own ways of viewing the world and their own reasoning

on the other hand, there is one point I cannot skip - there has never been a character in 'bakemonogatari' whom I could feel close to. I might like them, or respect them, or admire them, or even feel a bit of sympathy towards them, but there was not a single person who was 'like me', 'soulmate' or how should I put it? a person I could feel at ease with. they were all strange to me. unlike 'bakemonogatari' where everyone seemed too far from me, 'Dance' presents people who are more understandable, and maybe even too close to usual anime characters. still, this very fact let me pick up if not characters - then at least feelings I could go through myself, not see as something external. while I did not accept them completely - in the end, this is quite a cruel plot we have here, and 'tis not full of kind persons, you know, dozens of people eaten by vampires, a crown turning into a bloody mess and a head torn apart from the body are not a pleasant things to see... still, there were times I could empathize with some of the characters

Mina was a perfect illustration of a person who wants someone who would be by her side no matter what, someone who would support her anytime and whatever she does. 'a friend is a person who helps you to carry and hide the corpse without asking questions' - I read this phrase in my friend's status in m-agent. I am not in favour of people who hide corpses, and I am not in favour of those who help to hide them, but if we don't take this feeling literally - there are moments when we want someone who would accept us as we are. if not approve completely - then at least accept, even when we are wrong. no, especially when we are wrong

another character who captured my attention was Vera. and this has nothing to do with her name! though I was a bit confused - I am not used to someone beside me called this way ^.^ so, she was simply the type I like most - devoted to something/someone and selfless. I always tend to wish such characters to obtain at least some personal happiness. especially when they are not 13 years old children (like Hikaru Shidou, who is one of my favourite characters of the same type, but whom I consider to be 'slightly too' young.....)

also, though I did not like her much, Saegusa was also a memorable character. look at  the episode where Mina and Yuki made up and laughed together - both of them gorgeously portrayed - Mina able to admit her mistakes, Yuki able to come to peace, funny discussion of her BL novels and their laughing at Akira - a short moment of bliss, a proof that the creators are not trying to make a completely black picture of their characters presenting them as either weak and unworthy, or cruel and full of pride
well, to say nothing of school council president who kissed her 13 years old neighbour twice - and twice 'twas shown fullscreen........

the only bad point there is - the usual poor treatment of foreigners. but 仕方ないわ～ - should we have three foreign representatives, than we are for sure to see a Chinese, an American or European and a Russian. I only wonder if their names were made so simple on purpose or not. of course, there is a chance that the creators intended to make a mock of the fact that they used the most popular surnames. however, I also would easily believe that they simply used what was at hand

don't you think this post is getting too long? well, I cannot help it. this work is just as wonderful as I expected, and it made me think a lot

music

while 'bakemonogatari' (sorry for constantly comparing them, but I have to) had a very strange music which was almost completely psychedelic, 'Dance' has an OST which may seem usual, but together with the visual part which is also less psychedelic they made a perfect duo. there were also pieces one may enjoy very much, slow ones, nice ones, calm ones

as for the OPEDs, perhaps I am already prepared to face the fact that the time when OPEDs were masterpieces has already passed. the ED theme was quite an imaginable thing when we have a vampire-themed anime, and the OP was simply great! - I would say, if not for the fact that 'tis a cover of Rebecca's song created in 1985. this is a fact I learned thanks to the kind person who uploaded the full version of 'Friends' on YT, and I appreciate that very much, because though I already listened to some of Rebecca's songs, I did not recognize 'Friends'. instead, what I thought when first watching the OP was - what a usual arrangement... another song that fails to surprise me... what was really good is Nakano Aiko's vocal. unlike Nokko-chan's sweet and cute high pitched voice, Nakano-san has a nice strength in her singing, which made me want to download her discography, unfortunately there are only 2 singles in it. however, the very fact that the song is a cover, and also the original arrangement frustrated me greatly. really... theme songs are no longer a thing to bother a serious composer, or invite a good singer

seiyuus

this is one more weak part of the anime. they were pretty good, and there were several seiyuus I know, like Watanabe-san, but you know - nothing memorable. well, Mina's seiyuu did a good job in speaking with 'ja' etc., but this is nothing special, any seiyuu should be able to do this. otherwise he/she is not seiyuu at all

on the other hand, the seiyuus were pretty veritable and realistic. actually, some animes do give me a feeling like 'this voice cannot belong to this person', and vice versa 'this appearance should not be decorated with such a voice'. this time there was no such mistake. at least

conclusion

a strange thing, partially ugly, partially attracting. it did not capture my heart, and it actually tired me a lot being a hard thing to watch. however, this is a masterpiece of realism. and an anime for adults - not because of blood or nudity, but because of the very fact of HOW realistic 'tis

in the very end... after watching such a thing, I have to go and heal my soul with something light and pleasant... there are animes which you watch to soothe your heart, but this one is more of those you watch to tease your brains. it does not let you to relax

so, my recommendations - watch Shimbo's works rarely and in small portions