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I have very mixed views on this anime. Sometimes I genuinely like it, sometimes I think it's pretty bad and a lot of things could be better.
Now, after finally completing it, here are my updated and final thoughts...

It's okay, but it's fairly disappointing as well.

Story - 3.7/10
I like the idea of a class for vampires and a class for humans being in the same school, it's neat and kind of creative. But the problem is there is very little world building. How did the vampires get there? Why are vampires even in this world in the first place? What's the origin of the different ... vampire ranks? These things are pretty crucial to the story but I don't think they're ever really explained. Either that or I was just too zoned out to notice since the story progresses at a snails pace. It often relies on dialogue to explain things that are very easy to forget. It also jams the same plot points down your throat multiple times which is very frustrating.

Art - 6.8/0
The artstyle is cool, and the backgrounds are usually pretty relaxing and nice to look at. I think the reason I like the art is because of the nostalgic 2000's shoujo vibes I get from it. The school uniforms have such a cool, sleek design to them as well.

Music - 10/10
Absolutely amazing and fits the gothic vampire theme of the show incredibly well. No complaints here. (I unironically listen to the OST often while working out :P)

Characters - 2.5/10
This is where it really failed the most for me. Many of the characters are either bland or unlikeable, or genuinely interesting but they don't get enough exposition or screentime (looking at you, Aidou-senpai... T-T) because we must focus on the main three for the LOVE TRIANGLE!!! DRAMAAAA >:0

Our main protagonist, Yuki Cross, is just a tool for the two main guys (Zero and Kaname) to fawn over with practically no personality. She is incredibly useless and always has to get help from either Kaname or Zero when she struggles in battle. Basically Yuki is trash. (I know - I have her as my profile image...but that's just cause I like her goofy facial expressions lol)

Kaname is also not very likeable. He's very secretive and manipulative for...some reason, and his intentions and goals aren't really explained. Plus he slaps everyone. Ooo, scandalous...

Zero is the only character I genuinely loved. He has the most complex personality and his character changing throughout the anime is what really kept me hooked and motivated me to power through. He's awesome and I love him. But at the same time it's like Hino only knows how to write tsundere characters.

Long story short, this is basically Japanese Twilight. I want to like it more, believe me I do. But I really can't when it has this many flaws that could have been avoided. I don't really recommend this anime and there isn't a whole lot to like about it.

(A reminder that you don't have to agree with my opinion - if you like this series, that's great! I kind of see why some would.)

Persona 5 is an excellent video game about discovering your inner self and entering the minds of corrupt individuals to change their hearts. There are plenty of friendships to be made, betrayal, rumors, and extremely stylized battles. Can't forget that iconic soundtrack either. So how does the manga adapt all of this?

Well, not too bad I'd say. The first two volumes are good at presenting that nostalgic feeling you get in the first moments of the game. It feels like you're kind of placed in Akira's shoes which is very fitting. (Yes, I'm using his manga name because "Ren" doesn't fit him in my opinion ... - deal with it, weebs.)

The manga stays true to the game's story but puts its own unique spin on some things which is nice and refreshing to see. It feels like it still has character and starts off strong.

Characters and plot points start to be introduced in a pretty quickly paced fashion. Which is fine by me, since it's a 100+ hour game condensed into a manga series, you're gonna need a faster pace and cut out unnecessary scenes in the process. My only problem is that Ann feels a little bit underdeveloped in the manga - her Persona awakening doesn't feel as impactful as the game since her backstory is shortened and we don't really get much time to connect with her. This is where the manga's quicker pacing kind of fails.

Volume 3 was fine, pacing is mainly kept the same but slowed down a bit. Not much to say about this one, moving on.

But then volume 4 happens. It starts off with the Phantom Thieves defeating Madarame and welcoming Yusuke into the group. And then it almost entirely focuses on Makoto, and the story slows down to a damn turtle's pace. My God was this volume a boring waste of time, and personally this is where it started going a bit downhill for me. It felt like the mangaka really wanted to push the idea down your throat that Makoto is a troubled character who has a lot of burdens to deal with, and that she isn't a bad person because of this.

This arc should not be 3 volumes long. Such a long introduction to Makoto's character was not needed. If Kamoshida could be dealt with in two volumes, this arc should not have been so slow considering it is the THIRD ARC.

After the third arc is finally complete, the manga starts introducing characters and plot points from Persona 5 Royal. This is the worst decision you could possibly make in the midst of writing a video game manga adaptation. Now it'll take even longer for this series to be complete. And guess what? Pacing is all over the place again in some volumes!

To sum it all up, the manga adaptation is good, but starts to go downhill in the span of only 4 volumes, which is very disappointing. Maybe Mementos Mission will be better.

7/10

I'm just gonna jump right into this review. This is quite easily my favorite Pokemon anime of all time. My views may be biased since I watched this as a kid, but whatever.
I may even say that this short, 4 episode series is better than the original anime, as much as I like that one too.

First off, the story and animation. The story plays out almost exactly as the original games. Our main character, Red, wants to become a good Pokemon Trainer to surpass his rival Blue and complete the Pokedex for Blue's grandfather, Professor Oak. It's nothing too special, but it still manages to ... be really great in its own way. Despite being rated TV-Y7, the anime isn't afraid to be mature enough for older audiences to enjoy, but not too mature for kids. We really, REALLY need more shows like that.

Battles are strategic with a few creative and unexpected ways of Red winning, and the animation and hype for the battles is WONDERFUL. I always get super excited just watching them. The camera movement and attack animations are just so fluid and wild, it makes it hard to keep your eyes off the screen. Unlike the original Pokemon anime, which just has a Pokemon's arms light up with energy or something as it scratches the opponent. Something I also like is how the Pokemon in this anime actually sound like animals - not just saying their names as forms of communication. Humans don't understand the Pokemon's language either, which makes it feel somewhat more realistic. (No offense, Ash)

Secondly, the music. Most of it is remakes of the soundtracks from the original games, but man do they sound amazing and nostalgic as ever, no matter how many times you listen to them. Despite being "modern", it still sounds somewhat video game-like too, if that makes sense.

Next up is the characters. Red is one of the best protagonists I've seen in a Pokemon anime for a while. He starts out realistically, not knowing a thing about Pokemon. He doesn't even knw how to use them in battle properly, treating his Charmander poorly and rushing it in battle, not forming any kind of connection. But as the series goes on, Red and Charmander take on more opponents and grow together. Red starts to mature and become a great Trainer.
Now onto his rival Blue Oak. I'll be honest, I never really liked him. I thought he was a typical jerk and a bit too mean to Red. But as I've grown and rewatched the series he's honestly one of my favorite characters. He's an overconfident snob, yes, but he has those small moments where he can be somewhat friendly towards Red, and show his weaknesses. He's pretty funny at times too. I'm sick of modern Pokemon "rivals" being all friendly and buddy-buddy with you now, forcing you to battle them multiple times throughout the series. (I really, really hated Nemona and Hop. Sorry.) Bring back Blue.
Brock is honestly way cooler in this series and feels much more serious, like he's meant to lead the Rock-Type Gym. He's also very helpful towards Red.
Giovanni genuinely feels like a threatening antagonist in this - his English dub voice is my personal favorite out of any voice he's ever had in other Pokemon animes. I won't spoil how his character develops, you just have to watch it to find out.

Last thing I'll cover is the voice acting. I've always watched this series in English dub, so I'm not too sure what the Japanese dub sounds like. But the voice acting for the English dub is really, really good. (Fun fact - this show is the reason why Bryce Papenbrook is one of my top favorite anime voice actors) There's a lot of emotion and good dialogue, and the voices fit the characters extremely well. Some of the lines still give me chills to this day.

The only thing stopping me from giving this anime a 10/10 is how incredibly short it is. While it's super great, only the highlights of the main game are presented. I get it, it's only a TV special, but I would've loved to see Red's battles with some more Gym Leaders and Trainers.
I would also love to see some Origins versions of the other games, such as Gold/Silver, Black/White, X/Y, Sun/Moon, you name it. (The games released after those ones aren't very good in my opinion aside from Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee which I liked.)

I 100% recommend this series to any Pokemon fan. You'll love it.

A fairly decent series for sure, it has a simple plot but it was kind of nice to read. Soul Rescue sadly only has two volumes and has never been continued since 2002. I feel like right when the characters and story are getting interesting, it ends for good, which is very disappointing. (I'd have really loved to see how the two main characters - Renji and Kaito - progress in their journey and see how their relationships change, but I guess that will never come. :/)
Speaking of which, the characters and the small adventures they go on are fun. Things start to get kind ... of predictable and boing near the end, however.
Not my favorite manga, but it was good for Kanno's first series. I'd suggest that anyone who enjoys simple fantasy stories such as this should read it.