Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign

Episode 8

Congratulations, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign. You managed to make a funny short joke. After Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan, I thought anime was out of those, but you did it - at Shinoa's expense no less. I wouldn't test the Queen of Vampire Hunting's wrath for anything less than excellence, but the bet paid off.

Continuing from last week, Yuichiro and co. raid the vampire enclave. It turns out that the little girl they rescued last episode was a trap – the vampires knew they were coming and hooked her up with a listening device. Not that it helps them much. Seraph's vampire mooks are still some of the weakest in fiction, and our heroes make quick work of them despite their advantage in numbers. Yuichiro and Mitsuba come to an understanding when his “reckless actions” save her from a bite to the neck, and they successfully liberate the camp full of children.

The show's production values are starting to slip a bit. It's not horrible yet, but the clean linework that defined earlier episodes has become increasingly sketchy to little payoff in terms of fluid motion. Studio Wit is putting in effort – the fight scenes are still dynamic and exciting – but it's obvious that they're starting to strain a bit. Fortunately, the show's direction and artistry more than compensate for this. The backgrounds are still a visual feast, and this episode's comic section works largely due to direction. See the long held shot of the squad eating dinner while Yuichiro crashes the car in the background. See also Shinoa's eyes being obscured by the steering as she gets into the car. It's funny because the audience is allowed to “get” the joke before the characters react to it. Seraph of the End may be dumb as bricks, but its construction is nothing but savvy.

Yuichiro is also becoming pretty sweet. When he's not stubbornly angry toward everyone and everything that gets in the way of him murdering vampires, he's kind to his friends and other people. He does a lot to reassure the little girl that they rescue. Even alpha dog Shinoa is endearing because she knows when to cut the act and treat others with respect. After I've spent seven episodes ragging on its character work, Seraph of the End has managed to endear me to these dumb kids.

The episode ends with the squad encountering a serious business vampire nobleman, Lord Crowley. (Presumably he's named after the infamous English occultist Aleister Crowley. The other two nobles we've met, Ferid Bathory and Krul Tepes, were named after the Romanian serial killer Elizabeth Bathory and the historical Dracula himself, Vlad “The Impaler” Tepes.) Unlike the other vamps they've fought so far, Crowley can't be taken down alone, as he wields the vampire equivalent of the Black Demon Series – a blood-sucking sword. Our heroes prepare to die in the encounter, but Crowley realizes that he's late for a vampire dentist appointment strategy meeting, and the squad lives to see another day. After a few weeks of easy vampire slaying, it's refreshing to see them encounter a real threat, but it does feel like a copout for them to get out of it in such a weak way. At least the next episode, titled “Vampire Attack,” looks like it'll make up for this. Maybe the supposed deuteragonist Mikaela will show up? A girl can dream.

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.