Strike the Blood

So before I have a chance to review the second season, which has been released as an OVA, I am going to take a slight look back at the first season of Strike the Blood. There are a bunch of standard tropes and ecchi moments in a pretty well thought out setting with a lot of pretty interesting characters and a lot of really "c-r-a-z-y--s-t-u-p-i-d catchphrases," and I like it a lot! In the beginning, it was kind of a typical supernatural narrative with ecchi elements about an outcast on the fringes of society which is actually a terribly powerful vampire. The girl who found him is supposed to track him down and eventually eliminate him. I liked both protagonists and enjoyed their interactions, and because of this, I developed a relationship with the characters fairly quickly. When the first "No senpai, this is our fight!" was uttered, I really enjoyed it. There is a determined main male protagonist who is not completely boring, or on the other hand, perverted, and a girl who seems like she is no pushover, plus she is also determined and quite endearing - they are just a fine pair. On top of that, I liked the supporting characters like Asagi, Sayaka, and Nagisa. So if you like the characters, you are able to let a lot slide. Plus, I do not find the leveling style as SonGokussj writes anything offensive or off-putting. This is because, as he admits, it is like that in Dragon Ball Z and many other anime shows. Sure it is not original and all, but even so, I was able to get through this one easily enough. The narrative follows this leveling style, and thus, the main male protagonist is gradually exposed to more and more threats. He handles the dangers with the help of another girl he meets and eventually sucks up to face the final confrontation together with Yukina because "No senpai, this is our fight!" It does not sound very pleasant, and it puts a lot of people off except me. I was always expecting a new character, usually quickly taking a liking to her, and I did not even mind all the ecchi nipples. I waited for her to bond with the main male protagonist, who I still found believable with that determination; well, after he drained her, I enjoyed the final fight when I was like, "No senpai, this is our fight!" I felt like having a drink because, at some point, that stupid line became what I was waiting for every episode! Strike the Blood is a strange anime series where even though I know a lot of things are wrong, I just cannot address them because "No senpai, this is my fight!". I think it is called "a guilty pleasure," so please take the 7.7/10. I am awarding it as a very subjective rating. (2016.12.24)

"No senpai, it is our fight" finally got a sequel, even though there are only eight episodes of OVA. Plus, these have been coming out kind of sporadically rather than regularly. However, this is still perhaps better than nothing. Otherwise, this season is still more/less the same old same old. At times I wondered if there was too much fan service in the original anime series, too (well, yes, there was), even though I still gave it a go and had no issues. My favorite subplot came up again at the very end (so there was at least one reason to finish each of the narratives), and it was, of course, the main thing I was looking forward to. Of the new characters, I think I was mainly interested in Kiriha Kisaki, I am probably going to forget the rest. It is quite a change that the characters did not really interest me that much this time. However, I can still remember Kojou Akatsuki, and that is enough to make me happy. I remember him because, in my opinion, he is one of those hilarious "harem lords". In the end, this show is still the same; I just was not that into it this time. 6/10. (2017.10.02)