Overall: 6/10 - I thought it was super cute. It’s definitely not something I’m raving about that everyone has to watch, but I wouldn’t steer anyone against it.
Art: 6/10 - I like the design and art, but it’s not really anything special. I think the art is fine, it’s cute, but it’s really just that.
Characters: 7/10 - I do adore these characters, I thought they were super appealing when I first started the show, and I don’t think they’re bad at all. The excitement didn’t stay strong the entire time, but I never dreaded seeing anyone at all.
Storytelling: 6/10 - It’s slice of life and
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CGDCT, there’s not really a story to tell. It’s mostly funny situations these girls get into, and I like how they interact and how these problems are displayed and occur. It doesn’t feel ham-fisted, but I think sometimes it was a little repetitive.
The Art:
I genuinely didn’t know they were high school aged until they really started pushing the emphasis on that fact (stating it outright a few times) the last few episodes. I definitely prefer that to the alternative that I thought there was (middle school), but it was a super surprise. They... Do not look like high schoolers to me! I had no idea, genuinely.
Otherwise, I really like the background and set design. The colors are nice and I enjoy the outfits and clothes of the girls. I really think the style is fine, it just doesn’t stand out to me. It’s cute! But that’s about it.
The Characters:
I find Akari, our main character, a little boring honestly. She’s fine, but she’s not my favorite. The show begins with her, and she is absolutely obsessed with dolls. She hears a rumor that there’s a living doll in the neighborhood, she goes to find it. This “doll” is in fact Sophie Twilight; a vampire! Akari is obsessed and forces herself upon her and into her life to be her friend and live with her. There’s really no addressing how this is handled with her family and so forth, it’s just a set up for the rest of the show. I don’t think this is a bad thing. Definitely I like the role swap, where Akari freaks the vampires out with how enthused she is with her ‘creepy’ dolls and her begging for them to suck her blood. She always wants to play dress up and play with Sophie’s hair and be as close as she can be.
Sophie is fun, she’s somewhat aware of the modern world and is kind of a weeb, she really likes anime and manga. That’s most of what she spends her time on too. She learns to care for Akari and is actually very concerned with her health and wellness. She doesn’t fully understand human things but tries her best. I enjoy her, but she’s not much without the rest of the cast. That’s not a horrible thing, they’re meant to work together after all.
Hinata is Akari’s friend from school. I forgot how she comes into play, but Akari is always inviting her over to hang out and do things with her. Hinata is “boy-ish”, tall, and is more developed than the rest of the cast. She can be childish and likes to dress simply. She gets into a conflict with my favorite character, Ellie, because she’s able to be seen as more adult but doesn’t really want to be. Hinata has a crush on Akari and fantasizes about her in a similar fashion to the way Akari fantasizes about (and acts with) Sophie. She’s sometimes jealous of Sophie but this never becomes a point of tension, it’s only joked upon.
Ellie is another vampire, and is an old friend of Sophie’s. She’s my favorite of the whole cast. She’s upset that she was turned into a vampire so young instead of when she was older, but still perceives herself as an adult. She flirts with the other girls and buys a sexy Halloween costume, she’s pretty into herself. She also very much prioritizes her beauty and fashion, using blood on her skin for it’s benefits and it’s known that she uses the blood she purchases for bathing. When the group goes out, Ellie often says that the girls look yummy and tasty, and she wants to bite and hunt them. She was also asleep for 100 years and was living in America, so now that she’s in Japan, she’s pretty unfamiliar with tech and the culture. It’s fun to watch her learn things, I really love this character, even if she’s kind of a lot at times.
There are two other characters that come up a few times, but I don’t remember their names. I just know one is in an occult club and has a crush on the other one. They.. I think are dating? I don’t really know; they are at least perceived as dating, but I could say that about pretty much everyone here.
The Storytelling:
Like I said, it’s a slice of life. There’s not really a ‘story’ here, but I do like the way the show plays out. You get a good sense of the vampire’s weakness in the sun, to the point it kind of gets repetitive? There’s a lot of struggle that focuses on wanting to do XYZ, but Sophie and Ellie can’t be out in the day for too long! They try anyway, and the sun really takes it out of them. The scenes aren’t agonizing though, and it’s sweet to see the girls take care of each other.
Otherwise, it’s mostly about the girls getting used to each other, Akari learning to live with Sophie and vice versa. The vampires learn about humans, the humans learn about vampires. They all get kind of silly and tease each other here and there, it is definitely girls love, they flirt with each other and play and fawn. It isn’t a will they won’t they, which I really enjoy. It is just ... They’re all hanging out and act like this and maybe not outright love each other, I would not call it a romance show, but they do definitely get pretty close.
I think the pacing is good, it never feels out of place, and the jokes usually land well. There’s a scene here or there that surprised me or threw me off, one happening between Hinata and Ellie, and the other with Akari and Ellie, Ellie being the instigator of both.
The last episode is... I do not like it. You just go and see and meet all the characters again, but it's so boring and feels so slow... but I do think the last scene is pretty cute, I won’t say much else, but it sort of redeems the episode I guess.
I did like the show, it wasn’t bad. I probably won’t come back to it in the future, but I don’t regret watching it. I wouldn’t put it high on any list, but I definitely wouldn’t tell anyone to strike it from the record. It’s a fun, lighthearted watch. I would refer to it on maybe a rainy or a sick day, where maybe it’s a little hard to pay attention or you’re sleepy, but you still want something to pass the time.
Apr 9, 2022
Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san
(Anime)
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Overall: 6/10 - I thought it was super cute. It’s definitely not something I’m raving about that everyone has to watch, but I wouldn’t steer anyone against it.
Art: 6/10 - I like the design and art, but it’s not really anything special. I think the art is fine, it’s cute, but it’s really just that. Characters: 7/10 - I do adore these characters, I thought they were super appealing when I first started the show, and I don’t think they’re bad at all. The excitement didn’t stay strong the entire time, but I never dreaded seeing anyone at all. Storytelling: 6/10 - It’s slice of life and ... |
