Diabolik Lovers Anime Review: A Failed Otome Adaptation

Diabolik Lovers

Have you ever played any Dating Simulator game targeted at either gender? I have tried some Otome games in the past and found some of their storylines quite intriguing and romantic at times. While there are the typical paths, there are others riddled with all forms of complexity and challenge that allow the player to unravel, albeit with some support. If an Otome game were adapted into Anime, it would be tricky to turn the branching narrative with multiple love interests into one cohesive story. As such, the same could be said of a Visual Novel following a similar setup….

"Diabolik Lovers," also known as "DiaLover" for short, is a 12-episode TV Anime series that aired from the 16th of September until the 9th of December in Fall 2013. It was produced by Frontier Works, Idea Factory, and Showgate, licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and brought to life by Studio Zexcs. Featuring Drama and Supernatural genres alongside themes of Reverse Harem, School, and Vampires, this series was targeted at the Josei demographic and earned an R-17+ rating for its violence and profanity. Each episode is just 14 minutes long.

The series is based on the Visual Novel of the same title, also known as "Haunted Dark Bridal," which is a Japanese game developed by Rejet. It was initially released in Japan on the 11th of October 2012 for the PlayStation Portable. Later on, a secondary version titled "Diabolik Lovers Limited V Edition" was released for the PlayStation Vita on the 19th of December 2013. The same Studio released a sequel anime series titled "Diabolik Lovers More, Blood" in Fall 2015, which was also based on the Visual Novel. A Side Story titled "Diabolik Lovers OVA" aired as a single episode on the 26th of February 2015, courtesy of the same Studio. The 11-minute episodes were rated PG-13 and included with the game "Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE." A manga adaptation titled "Diabolik Lovers: Prequel," featuring just one volume, was published on February 1st, 2013. Targeted at the Shoujo demographic, it was the work of Carawey, Nanjou Papiko, Shinoda Masaki, and Suzaka Shina, who served as authors and artists. Another manga adaptation titled "Diabolik Lovers Anthology" was also released as a single volume.

The story centers on a 17-year-old human girl named Yui Komori, who abruptly moves into a secluded mansion at her father's behest. However, this peculiar place is home to six Vampire brothers from the Sakamaki family: Shuu, Reiji, Ayato, Kanato, Laito, and Subaru. While the siblings are initially confused by the sudden appearance of this random girl in their house, they quickly realize she is meant to be their new "sacrificial bride," and that she will also fulfill their more carnal intentions toward her. Following the eventful meeting, the distinct brothers, including our MC, start to question why her father would send her to such a place and wonder why she's suddenly feeling a strange pain in her chest. But she has little time to worry about those things, as each brother turns out to be more sadistic than the last, turning her new life as a captive into a harrowing experience. As her days turn into endless nights, each of the brothers vows to make her his own, while she herself descends deeper into both madness and ecstasy.

Let's start this review by saying this Anime is horrendous and not worth your time, unless you enjoy certain weird fetishes. It suffers from trying to adapt a multi-route VN into a single storyline and even acts as an insult to the source material, dulling down everything positive it offered. To start, we know almost nothing about the MC, despite her being so "pivotal" to the narrative. She is simply a kind-hearted and gentle girl, characterized by her flat chest in the conventional Shoujo style, and the narrative centers on her repeatedly being deceived by vampire men. She's nothing more than. The boys enjoy "playing" with her in various ways, treating her as both food and a toy. She takes on the role of a toy, and the boys just love their playtime. Since the game is the only content in the story, there is no plot development or characterization.

The initial episodes give each vampire some time in the spotlight to "spend time" with Yui, but all of them conclude with the helpless girl losing too much blood and then crying herself to sleep, wallowing in self-pity. Maybe the creators expect us to feel awful for her, but I was just downright irritated at how much of a stupid doormat she was. She is completely hopeless and serves only as a victim plot device, lacking any meaningful contribution to the story. Occasionally, flashbacks showcase each man's unique history. Sadly, none of these are explored or built upon leading up to the overarching narrative, leaving you to take some guesses and leave it at that. Whatever they were trying to show, it certainly wasn't romance, and it was done in a way so atrocious that I felt like punching my screen on occasion.

I've already spoken about how terrible the character department is, but there is more. Yui is the node from which all the issues begin, getting treated like a slave on a leash and failing to do anything about it. Despite being the "heroine," she is just frail, helpless, pathetic, and gives in way too easily. There are times when Yui at least attempts to save herself from extremely difficult situations, but unfortunately, it is too challenging to succeed against these perfectly sadistic men. I get that she's in a very difficult situation, but all her actions and inaction give her zero likability; she always just submits to her harassers and doesn't develop. But she goes the extra mile to be even more pathetic: complimenting the assaulters, hoping that they'll go easy on her. At this point, she just deserves all the sexual and vampiric attacks.

The vampires have some appealing traits for those attracted to them. They're all handsome aristocrats who behave as such most of the time, the unyielding masters of the mansion, and deliver upon all sorts of fetishes via Yui. Each of them has a contrasting personality as well, like Shu being lazy, Reiji being demanding, Ayato being aggressive, Kanato being unstable, and Laito just being straight-up sadistic, but they all converge on thirsting for Yui's blood. Why? Who cares as long as Yui continues her self-inflicted suffering and they get to have their fun!

Moving on to the Art and Animation department, there's really nothing special here either. All the character designs are fairly attractive, especially their clothing. The vampire boys look especially good, with stunning eyes and hair that each reflect an aspect of their personality and lifestyle. Yui appears quite average, and it's unlikely that you will continue to find her attractive given how her character is diminished. The background is largely the mansion where everything takes place, which I found quite detailed and artistic, with its British-like architecture. But the beauty of the location means little when it's reduced to the setting for sexual assault and abuse. The animation seems to aim to emphasize Yui's constant abuse and violation, and it succeeds in that regard.

The Sounds and Music department is very mediocre. The OSTs do a decent job of creating an eerie, somber atmosphere, but the other departments are so terrible that it doesn't matter. Despite the music, Yui's screams of panic and desperation as she fights for survival dominate the scene. I honestly felt bad for Suegara Rie for having to voice such a pathetic character, screaming and making sounds for all sorts of sexual abuse, but objectively speaking, she did an amazing job. Other voice actors of note are Midorikawa Hikaru as Ayato and Hirakawa Daisuke as Laito, who convey the sadism just perfectly and would probably appeal to certain fetishes. Everyone else was either okay or just downright irritating to listen to because of the characters they portrayed. The Opening theme is "Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT" by Ayato Sakamaki (Hikaru Midorikawa) & Shuu Sakamaki (Kousuke Toriumi), which just features Yui getting bitten by every vampire for dramatic effect. The tune itself is fast-paced, dramatic, and eerie, which I enjoyed a couple of times. The Ending theme is "nightmare" by Yuuki Hayashi, which builds up a sense of darkness and terror that is quite suited for the premise, at least.

Overall, "Diabolik Lovers" is a leading example of why Visual Novels shouldn't be adapted into Anime without some serious work put into it. The formula just does not translate well on-screen unless major changes are made to the story and characters to make it cohesive and retain the original's value. It's okay if you're just looking to watch some sadism toward a pathetic girl who also gets sexually abused at every turn, but there's nothing else here. Whatever attempts at humor here are sad as ever, only serving to make conversations more awkward and idiotic than they originally were. I watched until the end, my fists clenched for some sort of character development or narrative turn for the better, but none of it happened, and I was just plain annoyed by the end. I do not recommend this show, but you can give the game a try if you're interested.