Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign

Episode 9

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign's ninth episode, Vampire Attack, is true to its name. At the same time, it's more of a calm before the storm – a series of preparatory scenes before everything presumably goes to hell. The Shinoa Squad's first patrol seems to have coincided with a widespread vampire invasion, so they've been called back to hold the line alongside the rest of the army. Vampire nobles are running around, Mitsuba has worked out her personal issues, and our two protagonists are finally on the same battlefield.

This episode can be boiled down to a series of plot points in preparation for the first-cour finale. The first is Mikaela catch-up. He's apparently not a “full” vampire yet. That happens when a turned person drinks human blood for the first time. Mikaela has been avoiding that, subsiding on Krul Tepes's blood instead. This means he'll still age, as he hasn't obtained true vampire immortality yet. He's gone onto the battlefield to find Yuichiro, the last member of his FAMILY with ten days' worth of the Third Progenitor's blood. If you thought Yuichiro had a complex, get ready for Mikaela. While Yuichiro has spent the past four years forming new connections in human society, Mikaela has been surrounded by his mortal enemies. The isolation might have driven him a bit nuts. It can't help that Ferid is still creeping on him. (He even helps the shippers out by saying that Mikaela “loves” Yuichiro. Not that they need the help.) On top of that, if Mikaela doesn't drink human blood, he risks turning into a demon. I wonder how far along he is? We'll learn more about how he's changed next episode, when he's up against Guren and maybe even Yuichiro.

Yuichiro is also introduced to the army's secret weapon: anti-vampire steroids! Take one pill and you're 1.5 times stronger. Two and you're 1.8 times stronger. “Three and your organs explode,” says Shinoa when Yuichiro proposes downing ten. You know he would've done it. He might still. I'm not sure how they quantify strength. It has something to do with how well a person synchronizes with their Cursed Gear. Our heroes have strong weapons, but they're still novices at using them. So in the meantime, dope up!

This was a straightforward scene-setting episode. I hope that the impressive animation comes back soon. They're relying more on still frames and speed lines during battles. Distance models are also getting sloppier. Seraph of the End still looks good, but the flashy visuals were most of what kept me watching early on. Plus, we haven't gotten much action involving Shinoa or Mitsuba yet. There's lots of promising stuff coming up; we got a peak of Guren's squad. Mito, the redhead with the Cursed Gear gauntlets, looks particularly rad. I'm looking forward to the first-cour finale.

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.