If you told me to judge Rosario + Vampire on the first volume, I would probably trash it. Yet for less mature reasons, when I was younger I followed it to the end of the first season. It got more intense and action-packed with each volume but it still didn't stick out. At it's best it was transparent and stole ideas from better manga, at worst it was like its fanservice driven anime.
Then the second season came out, and I was legitimately surprised. The story introduced more male characters to the cast, focused the girls personal and private thoughts rather than Tsukune's reactions to them, and began to challenge the themes of its very own genre. One of favorite scenes was when Gin talked to a heartbroken Kurmuru about her problems with Tsukune and to an extent Moka. Their conversation is mature and thought provoking as the issues rarely get addressed in harem manga, and even moreso with a member of the opposite sex that isn't the lead.
What I also like is the dynamics of Moka's family. Moka childhood and family history is largely dysfunctional and addressing these issues is largely what contributes to her character development. While Tsukune still retains the role of main character, he serves as a supporting protagonist, and its ultimately up to Moka and her family to resolve these problems. Another interesting point is that many of these problems stem from her father, who seems to be the manga counterpoint to Dracula and has a similar resemblance to Tsukune . Like Dracula, Issa had three wives resulting in visible favoritism and infighting caused many of the conflicts and trauma in Moka's life. If the manga continues in this direction, this manga could be a very good deconstruction of the harem genre.
Of course, that would require a complex and mature protagonist, which brings me to the biggest con of Rosario + Vampire. Like many things Season 2 evolved Tsukune, but only from irritating to bearable. The author has replaced his dialogue from "Wow, you like me!" with shonen stock quotes about friendship and other nonsense. He sacrifices his humanity in the second season but treats it more like an upgrade than any personal loss. He's not terrible but his personality isn't as interesting as his harem or friends.
Season 2 is coming to a close and while it was flawed, I enjoyed it and look forward to an even better Season 3.
Progessively Better
If you told me to judge Rosario + Vampire on the first volume, I would probably trash it. Yet for less mature reasons, when I was younger I followed it to the end of the first season. It got more intense and action-packed with each volume but it still didn't stick out. At it's best it was transparent and stole ideas from better manga, at worst it was like its fanservice driven anime.
Then the second season came out, and I was legitimately surprised. The story introduced more male characters to the cast, focused the girls personal and private thoughts rather than Tsukune's reactions to them, and began to challenge the themes of its very own genre. One of favorite scenes was when Gin talked to a heartbroken Kurmuru about her problems with Tsukune and to an extent Moka. Their conversation is mature and thought provoking as the issues rarely get addressed in harem manga, and even moreso with a member of the opposite sex that isn't the lead.
What I also like is the dynamics of Moka's family. Moka childhood and family history is largely dysfunctional and addressing these issues is largely what contributes to her character development. While Tsukune still retains the role of main character, he serves as a supporting protagonist, and its ultimately up to Moka and her family to resolve these problems. Another interesting point is that many of these problems stem from her father, who seems to be the manga counterpoint to Dracula and has a similar resemblance to Tsukune . Like Dracula, Issa had three wives resulting in visible favoritism and infighting caused many of the conflicts and trauma in Moka's life. If the manga continues in this direction, this manga could be a very good deconstruction of the harem genre.
Of course, that would require a complex and mature protagonist, which brings me to the biggest con of Rosario + Vampire. Like many things Season 2 evolved Tsukune, but only from irritating to bearable. The author has replaced his dialogue from "Wow, you like me!" with shonen stock quotes about friendship and other nonsense. He sacrifices his humanity in the second season but treats it more like an upgrade than any personal loss. He's not terrible but his personality isn't as interesting as his harem or friends.
Season 2 is coming to a close and while it was flawed, I enjoyed it and look forward to an even better Season 3.