Strike the Blood

A more hands-off approach also gives them the benefit of a doubt for not wanting to control him for their own profit, but rather just making sure he turns out a good guy, according to their standards. Closer to a marriage alliance than a manipulated pact, so to speak.

They strike me as the type of organization that'd do their homework about this sort of thing and not leave things up to hormones if they have the option of making it more of a sure thing.

Episode 5:

• Natsuki's a teacher by day. The Witch of the Void since forever.
• Astarte's working for Natsuki? How did that happen? Well, it's nice that she appeared again.
• It's no use, Asagi. Everyone can probably see it. Having a knack for forming misunderstandings is not helping your case, at all.
• Kojou and Yukina continue to be the best team. Aren't you glad, LKO?
• Also, how did the LKO know that Yukina needed a dress when the message was addressed to Kojou?
• 72 familiars? As in, from the Ars Goetia?
• What's your friend doing, Yukina? Oh, nothing special. Just being busy looking ticked off.

edited 2nd Nov '13 11:52:45 PM by Diamite

A clash of beliefs is in order, apparently. Yukina takes the stance that Fourth Pro is a nice guy, while the other one believes that he is dangerous.

I have to wonder if leaving Natsuki out of the loop was the best idea. He wasn't strapped for time or fighting to protect the city or anything when he agreed—the reasoning seemed to be along the lines of, "It'd be impolite to decline." Considering his desire to live a normal human life, accepting the invitation of the guy who quite literally attacked him in his school instead of contacting the authorities is kind of a stupid move.

Don't forget: There are Three Pros behind the very existence of the artificial island. And the blonde guy is one of the Pros. Declining his invitation would be tantamount to declining a ballroom party from a city mayor, especially when Kojou is a Pro himself.

He also openly attacked a civilian school in order to deliver the vampiric equivalent of a text message saying, "hey 4th wanna hang out dude? lol, check out my yacht".

I'm not saying Akatsuki should have blown the message off, but he could have warned his teacher. Ask her to send the guy a strongly worded letter for attacking her school. Make negotiations, prepare paperwork, make it difficult for the diplomat to murder him and dump the body in the ocean. Something.

edited 3rd Nov '13 7:25:35 PM by Rem

I thought those lion things would have only attacked Kojou. Sorta like mail demons. I'm not even sure normal people can even see them.

edited 3rd Nov '13 8:35:44 PM by kiukiuclk

Blondie isn't one of the progenitors. He's simply a higher-level lackey. I get the impression that one of the progenitors arriving would be a far bigger deal than what it's being portrayed as here.

Then explain why the blonde bears the exact name as the Vampire Pro.

No he doesn't. The first Progenitor isn't even referred by a name, only as "Lost Warlord".

Either way, somebody put a familiar in a familiar. And that's cool.

Episode 6, in which there's someone who is very obsessed with Yukina.

And holy shet, things get very pacy!

I can't help but think a lot of things are getting compressed and skipped over.

That said, holy crap, they said Honey Trap. That's funny.

edited 8th Nov '13 4:55:02 PM by universalperson

This... was painful.

StB was doing to well, why did it have to suddenly default to stupid, overused romantic comedy scenarios that require everyone to be holding an Idiot Ball and Akatsuki spine to be suddenly replaced with Jello, plot that makes little sense and two new characters that are both annoying and devoid of the slightness bit of originality.

Very disappointed in this episode. I just hope it gets better again. 3/10

Don't worry, I'm sure that Sayaka will be around for a good long irritating while.

Great, next you'll tell me that all of her actions up to and including attempted murder will be treated as no big deal or outright ignored, while the Akatsuki will get punished for every little thing that happens in his general proximity.

Of course not, I'd never be that cruel. Instead I'll be crueller and tell you she's going to be the worst kind of Tsundere.

edited 8th Nov '13 7:00:17 PM by Ironypus

Just kill me, will ya?

Would that I could, Shlugo, would that I could.

Episode 6. In which Asagi makes everyone else look stupid.

Sayaka suddenly became a lot less mysterious, and turned into a type of character who's often just annoying. I like her dress, though.

I like Ardeal. He's got class. And I wonder what his real plan was with showing up. Just acting as bait, or baiting them to do his job for him?

Asagi waking him up was funny. Him pretending to snore was hilarious.

Yuki just leaving seems familiar somehow... Oh, right, I was thinking of something very similar in the last episode of Outbreak Company. I also like that Asagi didn't react about their fall. Aside from bumping her head, I think.

"Kojou, are you hiding something from me?" Well...

When Natsuki-chan talked about Asta, she reminded me of someone, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Just the way she calmly explained it... Not any character with the same voice, though. At any rate, it's endearing.

"I don't get her," is a perfectly valid assessment. It's not like she's not giving mixed signals. She's very passive-aggressive.

Asagi is at least somewhat successful.

I honestly found myself caring more for the chemistry our vampire has with the blonde hacker than with the Sword Shaman these last two episodes. Basically a girl trying (and failing) to seduce a boy the feels less obnoxiously clichéd than the girl's interactions being mostly embarrassment.

Overall, I can't care much for the cast (in part because they all look the same) but I do like the setting and the bigger plot. I just hope these things will have relevance later on and not just act as Macguffins.

I think Sayaka's reaction makes a bit of sense, given the circumstances. She's presumably been led to believe, and with good reason, that the Progenitors are...well, not evil, but dangerous. Akatsuki is a teenage male, Himeragi is a pretty middle school girl. Someone worried about her and just a smidge racist might jump to conclusions, especially given his (false) admission that he ate Curried Bread for her power.

That said, her indifference to his interactions with humans is a bit troubling. Unless she was given more intel on him than the spy specifically assigned to observe him (Which is possible. They knew his name, face, address, and even type, and they couldn't be bothered to tell her, "Actually, Fourthy seems to have been born there. And has a family. And doesn't appear to be a serial killer. So, yeah, just wear a short skirt and you're golden." Either she's a decoy, or they're trolling her), she shouldn't view him as a, "Non-aggressive, yet strategically integral neutral party."

In other words, she should have reacted to his desire to protect the island—begrudged sympathy, or shock, or something. Likewise, the normal reaction to seeing a dangerous vampire (I'm speaking hypothetically here, in case you were wondering) getting intimate with a human would be, "That civilian is in danger." She comes off as a bit of a sociopath, and while I'd commend the author if that's what was intended, somehow I doubt that was what they were going for. Sayaka doesn't seem to be fully fleshed out.

At the show's most formulaic moments, Himeragi is the same way. What really stood out to me in this episode was the request for him to drink her blood. Unless his cannibal powers are interfering with her normal thought process and altering her personality to turn her into a walking snack-machine. Which is possible.

Well, they do intend Yukina to be the 4th Pro's waifu, soo....

As for sociopaths, blame LKO's secluded living environments. I don't think anyone that's raised there can ever live amongst us normally.

Episode 6:

• Ardeal's a funny guy. And from what Natsuki said, he could cause Kojou a great Ordeal.
• Why is Natsuki's above the principal? Because she's the Witch of the Void, that's why! I also loved how she calmly explained Astarte's reason for being there. Cute maid, she is.
• So, Asagi used Honey Trap! It was super amusing! And Kojou pretend-snoring made it even more amusing.
• W-Wait! Kojou isn't following Yukina, Yukina's following Kojou! Too late. The vengeance in Sayaka's too great! Explode and die for her, Kojou! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
• Hey Asagi, remember that secret you thought Kojou had? See how right you are!
• Natsuki said that the ancient tablet was undecipherable. But Asagi broke the code... CRAAAA...
• And now, TERRORISM is coming to the school. Asagi, it must have you...
• Asagi's gonna meet Astarte next time? Sweetness.

edited 9th Nov '13 11:00:34 PM by Diamite