Strike the Blood
The Harem and Ecchi genres go hand in hand in many anime series. Some of them hit the mark, while others couldn’t possibly be more off. Many aspects define how good such a series is, besides the Harem and Ecchi themselves, and many general anime laws apply.
While many things can be chalked up to the viewer’s preferences, finding the right anime to suit your exact mood poses a challenge. Ratings help a lot and can really say something about the series for fans ready to jump in, so here is a look at one with pretty decent ratings~
“Strike the Blood,” also known as simply “SutoBura,” is a 24 episode TV anime series that aired from the 4th of October, 2013, till the 28th of March 2014, as a Fall 2013 series. Movic, AT-X, Warner Bros produced the series. Japan, KlockWorx, ASCII Media Works, and Showgate, licensed by Discotek Media and Crunchyroll and brought to life by Studios SILVER LINK and Connect.
The primary staff included Nakayama Nobuhiro as Producer, Aketagawa Jin as Sound Director, Yamamoto Hideyo as Director, and Tokumoto Yoshinobu as Episode Director and Storyboard. It featured many genres, including Action, Supernatural, Vampire, Fantasy, and School, in addition to Ecchi and Harem. As expected, it is rated R+ for its mild nudity, being suitable for mature audiences only.
The first season of Strike the Blood is adapted from the Light Novel of the same title, a 22 Volume series. It ran from the 10th of May 2011 until the 7th of August 2020, all thanks to the work of Author Mikumo Gakuto and Artist Manyako. The first season adapts Volumes 1 through 6 from the Light Novel and features some violent content and a plot filled with crimes against "public morality,” thus getting banned in China. A 2 episode OVA series titled “Strike the Blood: Valkyria no Oukoku-hen” (Strike the Blood: Kingdom of the Valkyria) was released as a Side Story from the 25th of November until the 23rd of December, 2015. A sequel OVA series was released, titled “Strike the Blood II” (Strike the Blood Second), which spanned a total of 8 episodes from the 23rd of November 2016 until the 24th of May 2017.
This season adapted three arcs from the 9th, 11th, and 12th Light Novel volumes. “Strike the Blood III,” a 10 episode OVA series released on the 19th of December 2018, featured the events until the end of Seisen-hen from the Light Novel. Following this, “Strike the Blood IV” was released on the 8th of April 2020. The final series, titled “Strike the Blood Final” (Strike the Blood V), is set to be released in the future by familiar teams, also as an OVA series.
The story looks at Protagonist Kojou Akatsuki, who lived an uneventful life as an ordinary high school student in the Demon District of Itogami Island for the majority of his life. But his bland days come to an abrupt end following a fateful encounter that would leave him forever changed. Now in possession of the remarkable abilities of a vampire, he is thrust into the vortex of many orthodox problems.
Before long, he is shoved into the center of attention, and it is discovered that he is now the Fourth Primogenitor. This is an incredibly powerful vampire, so much so that many considered it a mere legend. Kojou's potential for destruction is now very high, and fearing this, the Lion King Organization opts to send in an apprentice sword-shaman named Yukina Himeragi into the fray. Her job is to monitor Kojou, and in the event he converts into a threat, to kill him as he was now considered to be the world's most powerful vampire.
Despite the two being forced to be together by sheer circumstance, they come to form an unlikely alliance unique to them. As Kojou learns to come to terms with his new powers, the duo continues to struggle to protect their city from numerous emerging chaotic forces on a regular basis.
Viewers would expect a lot of action with romance from Strike the Blood. Unfortunately, the series delivers something entirely different. Even so, it has a good number of surprises thrown in. Strangely enough, viewers might feel this story would've been better off with just 12 episodes. This is because the story itself is weak and has nothing special about it.
That said, it isn't necessarily bad either. It carries on the core premise while prioritizing character relationships above all else. In this regard, the main duo’s relationship is heavily emphasized. The series can be divided into a number of arcs, each 2-5 episodes in length. Initially, it flows okay, but then viewers would notice a pattern of events that just repeats itself, making it overall predictable.
This is not a severe downfall, but it indeed dampens the experience. Sadly, the series does not address the circumstances of how exactly Kojou became the Fourth Progenitor. There are some short flashbacks regarding it, but it is still left unclear and unanswered.
Harem anime are primarily character-driven, and in Strike the Blood, this aspect is either weak or decent. Kojou is two-dimensional and simplistic while being likable, handsome, honorable, heroic, and good overall. He only has a very few flaws, which are quite inconsequential, which leaves little room for development.
The girls, on the other hand, are clearly defined and show more growth. Thankfully they aren't the typical archetypes and make for a much stronger point. Himeragi, in particular, achieves so much development with good execution. Unfortunately, no matter how crazy they were for Kojou, they would continue berating him, even when he wasn’t at fault.
For more comedic purposes, this might be there, but it can get annoying when repeated in almost every episode. Supporting characters are forgettable and bland, with zero development. Like the First Progenitor, possible interesting characters are left ignored in the name of the upfront “romance.”
Strike the Blood has amazing Art and Animation. The Art is crisp, sharp, and vibrant, while the Animation is spontaneous, vivid, and boasts excellent choreography. The Character designs are spot-on and likable too. The magical aspect is beautifully and memorably portrayed as well, with stunning scenery to boot.
The Sounds and Music lag far behind the visual aspects, though. They were simply there, fulfilling their purpose decently, generally going unnoticed, and are not memorable. The Opening themes are "Strike the Blood" by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets and "Fight 4 Real" by ALTIMA, and the Ending themes are "Strike my soul" by Yuka Iguchi and "signal" by Kanon Wakeshima, all of which are decent, but nothing exceptional nor memorable.
Overall, Strike the Blood is a decent series, especially for fans of the genres. This is a good watch if you want to watch a chill anime that doesn't require much thinking or interpretation. It has some good magic aspects and fulfills its role as an Ecchi title.
It isn’t bad, just lackluster and could've been so much better, thus falling into the mediocre or decent category. Simply take it for what it is on the surface, don’t stress the details, and enjoy the visuals; this anime is recommended if you can do this. If you’re not a fan of the genres and seek out good stories, then this anime is best avoided.
