Ok, so, only me finds that comma in-between “more” and “blood” to be awfully distracting? Like what does it mean? “More” Diabolik Lovers, version “Blood”? (WARNING. THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS) Anyway! With no further ado, let me get into this. I have a confession to make: this season has become a freakin guilty pleasure for me. It’s still bad, consistency committed suicide like any other sense of ethics and morales I could expect, but goddamn it, it’s painful to say that I actually did come to like the Mukami brothers…or some parts of them at least.Story This second season makes me actually re-think the rating that I gave to the first season because they used to be both 3 on MAL for me, but I genuinely think that this one actually TRIED to make sense in some parts, so the first season went to a 2 instead. It’s like when stuff start getting fairly nice and then somebody in the staff went like NOPE, WE HAD A LACK OF BITING THIS EPISODE! …ლ(ಠ_ಠ ლ）Why can’t you people just accept exposition and development for what they are rather than shove “I’m a bad bad vampire” down my throat? And MOSTLY when it comes to the Mukami brothers! The whole “biting is hot” thing going on in this show has become a running gag from the first season and yet this one still insists on it. Insists even when it makes no sense to. All the Eve&Adam bulshit to a side and also ignoring that Yui was supposed to be a vampire by this time (huge plothole but I guess the original otome game didn’t give shit about it and continued from a state when Yui never actually had the whole issue with the Sakamaki-mom), I thought that the Mukami brothers would have brought a ray of light into my life, as ex-humans and everybody having went through very nasty things. I expected them to try and understand how Yui is feeling, yet I was thoroughly disappointed. You know? I am starting to believe that if I would have forgotten most story of the first season, I think this second season would have been more consistent x2. Yet the fast pacing (15 minutes/episode) definitely played to its disadvantage. The Mukami brothers are definitely more likable than half the Sakamaki’s; for one, I just can’t stand Reiji and Kanato; Shu is a saint, Subaru is kinda cute if he drops the anger issues, while Ayato is…sometimes…remotely… actually a nice guy if he would drop his badass egocentric vampire act. The Mukami brothers? Still somehow douchebags when they remember they have to act like evil vampires, safe for Azusa. Azusa is an angel. ( ´͈ ॢꇴ `͈ॢ)･*♡ Unfortunately, besides the “Eve” nonsense which I refuse to even get into, the rest of the story is not devoid of plot holes and incoherences. During the first season (which is why I would have preferred to forget it…) one of the vampires (I think it was Reiji and then Laito when he chased after her) has implied that Yui wasn’t going to be able to escape from the Sakamaki’s; not only because they would have killed her if she tried, but also because they would have been able to find her anyway with their vampire senses…Yeah, well, the Mukami brothers stole her right from under their noses and nobody used their awesome teleportation skills and spider senses to actually do something to stop it. Then when she was gone, they were all butthurt about Yui’s disappearance, not striking them as odd at all that everything was plain weird.┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ By the end, the whole story was, once again, about Yui getting bitten over and over, the Mukami brothers fighting the Sakamakis using Yui as a tool to trigger jealousy, Mukami brothers’ angsty past stories, Yui being a b**ch not even caring who bites her anymore (I’m actually quoting Shu here) and PLOTTWIST: Diabolik Lovers might get a third season? MARVELOUS!Characters I would like to concentrate on the Mukami brothers for this section. I’m very confused about them and it’s really not even their faults. They are genuinely the ruined potential of this anime. As I said before, as ex-humans I expected them to understand a lot of things that the Sakamaki brothers could never manage to grasp and to a certain extent I got what I wanted. They are the first heart-warming “family” that I’ve seen in this show; it was something that moved me deeply because I really didn’t expect to see “warmness” in Diabolik Lovers. They actually even share some of their interests and thoughts with the heroine (even though in the end it didn’t matter, because Yui kept being as blank as a board, but anyway…), however that gets ruined when they suddenly “remember” that they’re vampires and as vampires they MUST BITE and be TOTAL DOUCHEBAGS! …excepting Azusa. Talking about Azusa now, he is actually the character with the most consistency. As much as I tried to justify the Sakamaki brothers with their pasts, I never managed to actually put my finger on all of them and their actions. I understand what they went through and I understand the enviroment they kept living in and I also understand that people develop differently even when they’re exposed to the same enviroment (which explains Shu and Subaru), but I kept having this strong feeling that most of them were all just excuses in the end. Azusa is that guy that didn't hide behind an excuse. Then there’s Ruki. He is the first character in Diabolik Lovers who showed actual struggle! It’s the first time that I see despair visually expressed on the face of a vampire in this show. Even if Ruki’s feelings came out of nowhere, my expectations were really low, so it really took me by surprise. His fear, his confusion, his feelings of “impureness” are fascinating. The reaction of the other Mukami brothers to Ruki and the well-being of the heroine was also something that surprised me. They were still not being consistent by randomly switching between their vampire “pride” and human “nice” selves, but it was fresh. For the rest… Yui = doll. ✔ Sakamaki brothers = generally douchebags ✔ Kou = doucheba-…*spares him the last g for his angsty past that he still seems to suffer deeply about*✔ Yuma = averagely douchy. (I think he’s a type that barks more than anything) ✔
Azusa = Angel ( ´͈ ॢꇴ `͈ॢ)･*♡ ✔ Morikubo Showtaro in the last 5 minutes of the show = OMFG I JUST HAD TO MENTION IT. ✔Animation & Soundtrack Opening– never skipped it. It’s just that awesome. I’m in love with their vocals. Ending-forgettable this time. Rest of the OST was mostly recycled from last season, but still gives me the chills everytime.Animation ..fairly good. The bleak colors still do their jobs, though it’s nothing amazing. The characters don’t really move a lot and there are a lot of closeups instead.Conclusion Third season upcoming? I’m half horrified and half curious because, despite everything, I still want to see what end Ruki’s conclusion regarding the heroine is going to go and for how long is it going to work. And then, Morikubo Showtaro. I said everything.
Screenshots
Add to list