Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign

Episode 11

Studio WIT is trying so hard to animate Seraph of the End. The production is crashing pretty hard at this point. It's not as bad as last episode's all-still fight scene, but all of the characters have serious cases of off-model face. My favorites are Guren, who looks like he's wearing an inch of eyeliner, and Crowley's braid, which sticks out at a 45-degree angle from his neck. I appreciate that they attempt motion rather than relying on stills, and this keeps the pace up. The worst poorly animated shows are the ones where it interferes with the storytelling, and Seraph of the End keeps the narrative intact. Of course, it'd be better if WIT could recoup their initial production values, but sometimes you have to deal.

After last week's unexpected reunion, Mikaela tries to get Yuichiro to elope with him. Yuichiro rejects him for his new friends' sakes, but Mikaela still tries to whisk him away bridal-style. Mikaela insists that Yuichiro is somehow being taken advantage of by the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, but Yuichiro doesn't understand. In Yuichiro's absence, Progenitor Crowley returns and rapidly overpowers Shinoa's squad. When Yuichiro sees his friends on the brink of death, he snaps and enters a superpowered berserk mode. One of his eyes turns blood red and he grows an enormous black angel wing made of blood. In this mode, Yuichiro fights off the Progenitors and nearly kills Shinoa. Appealing to his humanity, Mikaela and Shinoa manage to snap him out of it, and the immediate crisis is averted. But the vampires are still an issue. Fortunately for our heroes, Guren reveals that he's been stalling for time and the reinforcements arrive. They attack the vampires with a sniper rifle that shoots tigers. The day is saved.

So, Yuichiro has a secret superpower! That explains Guren's interest in him and his rarely-brought-up status as THE CHOSEN ONE OF THE PROPHECY. This is probably what Mikaela refers to when he says that humans are taking advantage of him. I wonder what Yuichiro's deal is? How can people immediately tell that he's the chosen one? How exactly are humans messing up the world enough for vampires to retaliate? Could messing with demons have been a bad idea? What does this have to do with Asuramaru? Explain, Mikaela! These questions aren't particularly interesting, but Seraph is probably going to let us stew on them for a while. At least the show is building the characters up well enough for me to care when they're in danger. Get your hands off Shinoa, Crowley. She's the money.

I'm surprised by how invested I am in the characters at this point. Seraph of the End has established a solid repertoire between all of them, even idiot Yuichiro. This was an explosive, culminant episode that made me feel things – just not quite enough to move me. It's all I want or expect from this show.

Also, a sniper rifle that shoots tigers.

Grade: B+

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign is currently streaming on Funimation.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.