Dance In The Vampire Bund

[Kraco]

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/vampirebund.jpg

"After millennia in hiding, Mina Tepes, the Princess of the ancient covenant and ruler of all vampires, wants change. Using the vast wealth of the Tepes line, she has paid off the entire gross national debt of Japan and in so doing, gained the authority to create a "special district" off the coast of Japan that is to become the future haven to vampires the world over!
Now, on the eve of the landmark press conference announcing the existence of vampires to the world, terrorists and rival factions are plotting to assassinate Mina Tepes before she has a chance to make her world-changing announcement."
-Seven Seas (manga description)

Episode 1 - SFW (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=107755)

Anidb (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=6773)
ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10948)
Official (http://www.vampirebund.com/)

In the main roles Aoki Yuuki (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=68107) (Murasaki Kuhōin of Kure-nai, Noeru Kannagi of Sora no Woto) as Mina Tepes, Yuuichi Nakamura (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=15878) (Tomoya Okazaki of Clannad, Alto Saotome of Macross Frontier) as Akira




- - - - - - -




This episode certainly surprised me. Should be no spoiler to tell the manga didn't start like this. Still, I trust this wasn't a sign of things to come and they will stick to the source after this weird kind of an introduction.

Mina's VA isn't a very well known, I have to say, but she seemed to be doing quite well. With Akira's VA I've no problems whatsoever, of course. That dude is a pro. The visuals are impossible to judge because of the strange format of this intro ep, though. We will need to wait and see. Also, the video quality in that SFW release was rather poor. I hope proper 720p releases appear later. This looks almost like a VHS rip... Translation itself was decent SFW quality.

Perhaps not as exciting a beginning for my most awaited series of the season as I was expecting but oh well.

[Pandadice]

are [sfw] good, or should i wait got [gg]? (they're planning to do this, right?)

[Penner]

Sweet! I was waiting for this to get released, unfortunately i'll have to wait until tomorrow before i watch it.

[Kraco]

are [sfw] good, or should i wait got [gg]? (they're planning to do this, right?)

SFW is decent enough. If you are going to wait, you might as well wait for a release with better video. I don't know what to think of gg anyway these days. Their Kobato was worse than Chihiro's first sub yet they seem to produce the old kind of quality at least when they are cooperating with some other group. So, does one dare to trust their subs?

That being said, I'll replace this SFW release with one of better video quality, at least, should one hopefully appear. Only time will tell the different subbers available.

[Archangel]

GG has dropped it, but apparently it will be done by one of their members belonging to coalguys

Shall we start the countdown for how long it will take before shinta's new vampire loli sig?

[Penner]

Aha, i think ill wait for a better video quality one then ^_^

[Ryllharu]

This was a different approach than I expected, but I loved it. They nailed the lame, cheesy, sensationalist, and ultimately utterly pointless debate atmosphere of those kinds of programs on Japanese television. They even got the panel members down. One pretty and vapid currently popular actress, one popular dreamboat actor, one non-scholarly quote unquote "expert", one obnoxious has-been celebrity, and one actual scholar.

Constant interruptions to mention the sponsors (many of them cleverly named to fans of the manga), stupid "on the street" interviews, and various other common things those shows have, including the enormous gimmicky contraption of a scale.

I thought the approach was cleverly done, and potentially fits quite nicely into the atmosphere of the series. I'd elaborate further, but I'd have to get into some details that the manga provides, and with any luck, we might see those later on.

[shinta|hikari]

I thought the style was absolutely brilliant, something I was expecting from Shaft. While I appreciate faithful adaptations, nothing beats encountering something positively new from something that one has already initially liked.

I agree with Ryllharu completely. The parody of Japanese TV talk shows really hit the mark, and also emphasized the context in which the events will play out. It at the very least showed how happily ignorant most of the populace in the show are, while also reflecting the mindsets and entertainment aesthetics of real people. I guess one has to have watched at least some of those stupid programs to appreciate this episode to the full extent.

[Pandadice]

^so y'alls posts made me forget about waiting, grab the ep and watch it.

and man i'm glad I watched it. this first ep was incredible. easily the best premiere I've seen this season. The way the tension built throughout the whole ep was fantastic. And though I really didn't like how it finally boiled over with the guy flipping out and grabbing his arm (i thought it was kinda a let down for the amount of tension they had built up), the ending with the chick knocking him off and her announcing the stuff about the bund was awesome.

all in all, an awesome ep adn i can't wait for the next one :D.

also, did anyone notice the animation error at the 4:00 mark?

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4465/snapshot20100107190648.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/i/snapshot20100107190648.jpg/)

notice how the girls screen is already pink saying "false"

while then at the 7:30 makr it is shown to be blue (what it still was until she changed it later)
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3968/snapshot20100107191021.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/i/snapshot20100107191021.jpg/)

[Buffalobiian]

In that case, I guess I didn't fully appreciate the parody of Japanese TV shows being done here, mainly because I was expecting exactly what I had seen from the preview, with the dark tones and all. This felt like a troll episode, and I hope they do a proper introduction next week.

All in all, I guess I feel a bit disappointed. That said, I did come to enjoy it more after I settled in a bit.

The vid quality was rather shocking.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm sure the next episode will be darker and more to your taste.

About the animation error... Well, it is Shaft.

[Yukimura]

I didn't really like the whole game show/exposition thing, at first I just didn't feel drawn in and after a few minutes I was becoming more and more interested in fast forwarding or finding something else to watch. By the time the more active stuff started happening I was already partially checked out of the episode and I didn't care as much as I might have otherwise about what was going on.

I got the feeling that if one had read the manga some of the side characters in the first ep would have been familiar and cultured a sense of nostalgia or something and maybe it would have helped make the episode more interesting. However, for me coming in blind about everything except for the blond girl being a vampire I'm not sure I would continue with this series after seeing just this ep if it was not for all the hype I've heard over it from manga readers and the inkling that the whole show is not going to be like this episode. I find it kind of troublesome that the main thing that will bring me back for the next episode of the show is derived almost completely from information filtered through spoilers about the manga and not from much of the actual premiere episode. If I ever recommend this show to anyone who shares my tastes I'll probably recommend they skip to around the 12 minute mark in episode 1 to try and reduce the negative impact.

[Ryllharu]

I'm willing to bet a lot of people coming into this series fresh feel the same way you did. I know I would have. Recognizing a number of the characters changes everything about this episode. This episode was largely fanservice to the manga readers or fans of SHAFT's referential and parody humor.

There are a lot of things given such short screentime in this episode that unless you were familiar with the characters, you would never have even caught. Notably, one of the shots of Mina during the panel show. There is no frame of reference for it unless you already know.

[Pandadice]

well, i haven't read the manga, and i know nothing of this beyond what was in the pv, and i really enjoyed the ep at least :\

[Penner]

Are any of the releases 720p quality?

[RyougaZell]

well, i haven't read the manga, and i know nothing of this beyond what was in the pv, and i really enjoyed the ep at least :\

I haven't read the manga either and I bloody loved the episode. It was complete win.

Although its me anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.

[animus]

That was a brilliant ep. I read the manga and was skeptical when I read the first episode was in this format.

SHAFT do like to think outside the box for their adaptations. This one was a home run imo.

[masamuneehs]

i'm interested in picking up this show, but i just noticed that after days SFW only now released a v2. to me, that sends up all sorts of red flags about a group...

is there any other group doing this series? for a rather anticipated show, only this one group seems to be impossible...

[David75]

I'm also waiting for an alternative.
What is the V2? because if it's a better image and no after QC, then it could be fine.

Thanks

[Kraco]

I think it mentioned fixes for the subs, karaoke (and a font for the karaoke) and other such things. It's certainly not a better video. SFW's home page does suggest they might make a release with a better video later but who knows. Unofficial releases using their subs with some other raw are already out, so why haven't they already got their official out?

[Buffalobiian]

SFW's efficiency yo-yos all the time. There are times when weekly episode releases can be expected, and times when one can wait weeks for a release, such as Queen's Blade S2 Final.

Hatsuyuki and Yuurisan may be picking this up.

[masamuneehs]

Coal Guys - Dance in the Vampire Bund Episode 02 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=108766)

haven't actually checked this episode, as i'm still waiting to see if somebody, somewhere, picks this up...

[Ryllharu]

All I'm going to say, is that the anime is vastly different from the manga. That shouldn't be taken negatively or positively. They are simply two different approaches.

I enjoyed the last episode, this one....not as much. Amnesia is such a bad plot device, and especially since it seems like it is already over. Why did they even bother?

[Archangel]

Post gave birth to waves of rage, and was therefore deleted

You guys suck >_>

[shinta|hikari]

No offense, but would it not be easier if you simply don't read this thread until you watch the episode? Like you said, it does seem a bit selfish to ask people to hold out on detailed discussion if a more simple solution can be taken.

I really disliked this episode. Even without manga comparisons, this was just lame storywise. What originality it had in the first episode was lost, and it was sacrificed for a bunch of cliche scenes. Still, it was not all bad, since they managed to keep the yummy loli nipples nudity.

In terms of manga comparison, I definitely liked the manga better. It was less of a cliche, and I felt it built the characters better than this dime a dozen plot development in episode 2 ever can.

[animus]

Episode 1 was great, and then they came up with...this? Like previously said, Amnesia... really? Why was there a need to change it anyways? Maybe the adaptation is going to stray even further, though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. I agree with Ryllharu, they're very different, but for me I'm not liking it.

I feel the anime adaptation is starting to stray to a way more mainstream, softer vision. I felt the manga was raw and primal and this anime feels like shoujo at the moment.

For those that read the manga I'm sure they can agree with me here that the exclusion of a huge part of the plot was the quote at the beginning of the first chapter, was quite jarring and not pleasing to see.


I hope the anime rights their wrongs, at least from my point of view.

[Buffalobiian]

The OP song was nice enough, so I'm on this. I thought it didn't quite live up to the hype I was hearing about because I'm sleep-deprived, but it seems I'm not the only one. By no means is this bad (yet), so I'm still rather hopeful.

Still, I have to wonder how the PV and anime turned out so different. It was a lot darker, such as having Mina jumping around ripping heads off rather than becoming a damsel-in-distress.

[Kraco]

I don't anymore know what to say about this. I thought they would make only the first episode such an odd thing and then would proceed to follow the jolly good plot of the manga. But it seems they instead got a masterful idea of taking the characters and setting from the manga and then hiring the criminal responsible for raping the Rosario+Vampire anime to write a lousy new story (I doubt it's actually that person but could as well be).

Sometimes I can't help but wonder what goes on in the minds of the Japanese.

[vejita613]

Actually, from what I understand Nozomu Tamaki specifically asked them to create an original story while leaving elements of the manga in.

[shinta|hikari]

Was he aware of how horrible it will be when he asked for it? Different is good, as long as it is a good difference.

[Ryllharu]

If word spreads that the original author's version is much better according to a number of viewers, wouldn't that result in more sales of the manga tankoubons? I think it might be a pretty smart strategy after all.


The only thing that has really bothered me is the amnesia and the Monster of the Week vampire transformations. Two essentially no-name vampires suddenly turning into giant spiders and chameleons. No explanation for why that is, no basis for it (wouldn't a bat be more appropriate?), and not much point to it either.

The two humans disguised as police officers were a far more interesting set of villains for this episode. There is an organized group of vampire hunters or hired goons attempting to kill Mina, and they are savvy enough to obtain specialized weaponry including a helicopter with guided missiles as well as convincing uniforms. Who are they working for? Other vampires, a secret society, a foreign government? They also served to show how powerful Mina was. Akira didn't really do a whole hell of a lot besides warn her. Mina took care of them quite deftly, and rather brutally. Her last line to that woman indicated that she would use her as some kind of thrall to get the information out about who sent them.

On the other hand, we have a one-shot transforming spider that fits more into Rosario to Vampire or Omamori Himari as some random monster. We would only know the chameleon and the spider were actually vampires because they told us. They come off more like other monsters from traditional Asian myths and horror stories. They were both killed rather easily, almost comically so for how strong Mina is. Although they did show another vampire before the spider one went out, the implications that came with the two humans are not as prominent. Both of them have seemed far more like some kind of rogues, rather than an organized effort. The chameleon guy certainly was, since they said as much.

There was even an interesting contrast between the two. Mina said that in the first episode she is the Queen of all vampires, and as such all of them must obey her. And so, Chameleon guy did. He couldn't touch her. Then spider guy somehow just happens to have powers that nullify that all powerful dominance that Mina should possess. He's not someone of equal stature to her, he's just some pathetic wuss that Akira takes out three minutes later with a single slash. Where was continuity between the two episodes?

[Kraco]

Actually, from what I understand Nozomu Tamaki specifically asked them to create an original story while leaving elements of the manga in.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder what goes on in the minds of the Japanese.


If word spreads that the original author's version is much better according to a number of viewers, wouldn't that result in more sales of the manga tankoubons? I think it might be a pretty smart strategy after all.

It's a viable theory that a savvy mangaka might make such a request hoping it would boost manga sales, yet I somehow doubt the efficiency of the theory. If I hadn't read the Rosario+Vampire manga before the anime (that I dropped), I would have associated R+V with the words utter shit and I wouldn't have certainly even dreamed of buying the manga in my worst nightmares (actually it's not quite the kind of manga I'd likely buy anyway). And I think it would be an equivalent situation with this title. If the anime is shit, why would I want to read the manga? A logical conclusion is that a good manga makes a good anime, a bad manga makes a bad anime, not vice versa. Exceptions exist but those exceptions would need to beat logic.

[RyougaZell]

I'll probably get neg repped but meh.

Some of us haven't read the original material nor care about reading it soon. So can we please stop with the hate posts for going original here?

I was under the assumption comparing to the original material counted as spoiler as went against the forum rules.

Call me a hypocrite, for I have done this too on other threads, but I've been reported, edited and even asked to stop. And here I see everybody doing it.

[Ryllharu]

I don't see any distinct spoilers up there, at least nothing that falls within the policy on spoilers (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?t=13928). There hasn't been anything specific said about what happened differently, what should have happened, etc. Just that there was a difference, and it wasn't very well appreciated.

That said, I for one am finished bitching about the differences. Since the two stories are going on parallel paths, I shouldn't find it too hard to whine about the anime version on its own standing. :p

[Kraco]

I do see your point, yes. It would piss me off as well if I wasn't a manga reader myself. While only telling manga spoilers is forbidden by the rules, I guess it's bad manners to fill your posts with comparisons to the manga in other ways. I'll try to restrict myself in the future... No matter how much this series is going to bother me.

[RyougaZell]

The only thing that has really bothered me is the amnesia and the Monster of the Week vampire transformations. Two essentially no-name vampires suddenly turning into giant spiders and chameleons. No explanation for why that is, no basis for it (wouldn't a bat be more appropriate?), and not much point to it either.


This will be the last thing I say on the matter, cause if I continued it would only make me see as a hypocrite and wont really do anything to help.

The section I quoted may not directly say what happens and what not. But I pretty much tells me this two things, that have filled the two episodes, don't happen in the manga. Enough spoiler for me.

[Ryllharu]

I really enjoy when someone says, "This will be the last thing I say on the matter," because it can also imply that they are not going to listen to anything anyone else says, regardless of whatever reasons they may give for saying it will be the last thing they say. Their mind is made up.

Fact 1: Spider guy did not have a name. He was killed in less than 6 minutes.
Fact 2: Hirai Seiichi (Chameleon guy, I had to look it up) Killed by the end of the episode.

I think this implies "no-name vampires" pretty well. They both appeared and were finished in a single episode apiece.

The rest of any conclusions drawn seems to be entirely based on your interpretation of my tone. Amnesia is a stupid plot device. Monsters of the Week is the reason R+V is a pretty generic series. They haven't told us anything yet. Why are vampires turning into monster animals? That doesn't make them much of a vampire to me, that makes them monsters transformed as humans.

How is being excessively bothered by two overused and cliche plot vehicles imply a spoiler?

[Kraco]

Alright. That conversation can lead to nowhere but spoilers ultimately, so better stop it right there. Stopping it there also makes it possible for Zell to remain a man of his word by not forcing him to post more on the subject.

[Yukimura]

Just stating for the record I agree with RyogaZell's basic point, seeing people mentioning/alluding to the manga somehow or other in nearly every post was getting rather annoying. I hope that Kraco will keep the rest of you manga readers in line and we can discuss the anime for its own sake for better or worse.

To that end I would concur that this second episode felt rather generic other than the nearly naked loli action scenes and the level of brutality exhibited. I can't really complain about an anime being generic these days but I was not particularly happy to see Mina having to be saved by the male lead so soon. I had hopes that this show would be a about a strong female that could solve her own problems without needing to rely on a generic 'high school guy with special powers' to come rescue. Despite the power shown in the first episode Mina's childish crush and its effect on her makes it difficult for me to take her character seriously. They have made it rather clear that Mina has an huge weakness in Akira and I would predict that the remainder of the show will follow a pattern of someone trying to use Akira against Mina, Mina having to try and save him, and then Akira ending up having to bail Mina out of trouble, all the while slowly building up the relationship between them.

If this is how it's going to be I think the comparison to Rosario+Vampire is quite apt. While it didn't blow me away at all I was able to somewhat enjoy Rosario+Vampire as long as I kept in mind what it really was. Similarly, while I would have liked a Vampire Bund to turn out to be a nice juicy steak seasoned in a tasteful and exotic way I'm quite willing to eat another mass produced hamburger as long as it's prepared in a passable manner and keeps me from being hungry.

[Buffalobiian]

God forbid this turns into anything like R+V, regardless of whether we know the source was good or not.

Mina in the bush with those "ears" was really cute, but otherwise, her Horo vibes went through the roof.

[Archangel]

Not having read or even heard of the manga previously i can say i thoroughly enjoyed both these episodes

The animation is presenting itself in a very shafty manner just the way i like it, even though i could spot a few kinks that will probably get sorted out when the blurays/dvds come along (i love the studio but good god they're a greedy bunch aren't they?)

Extra:


When they decided to make Vampire Bund into an anime; I suggested them "you don't have to follow the manga; please do an original story" but Yoshino-san and Shinbo-san said they want to follow the manga since it's already good. I then asked them to challenge it by doing an original script but retain the manga's story as much as possible. I think we have done a good job to it, even me reading the script thinks it's interesting.

He also participate in scriptwriting, supervise and suggesting changes from Yoshino Hiroyuki's scripts.

[Buffalobiian]

Not having read or even heard of the manga previously i can say i thoroughly enjoyed both these episodes

The animation is presenting itself in a very shafty manner just the way i like it, even though i could spot a few kinks that will probably get sorted out when the blurays/dvds come along (i love the studio but good god they're a greedy bunch aren't they?)

Extra:



He also participate in scriptwriting, supervise and suggesting changes from Yoshino Hiroyuki's scripts.


On the other hand, I'm not impressed by these two eps. i haven't read the manga, and since comments suggest that the PVs are much closer to the mood and setting of the manga, I think I would have enjoyed a faithful adaptation more. video quality didn't help me swallow this any better neither.

[Pandadice]

whoa, that ep was awesome. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first ep, but it was still cool.

The animation in this is pretty amazing. Of course, when it's actually animated... so many real-ife/live-action images thrown in there v_v. I give it 4 more episodes before it's a still-image slide show D:

[Kraco]

Dance In The Vampire Shaft:

Episode 3 - SFW (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=109968)

[Pandadice]

Dance In The Vampire Shaft:

Episode 3 - SFW (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=109968)


lol, i read SFW and thought "safe for work? is this a censored version?" xD. but quickly realized it's the sub group.

[Kraco]

This wasn't actually a bad episode. Quite an odd contrast, perhaps, with Mina having the students play around by making them try to catch Akira when she herself goes to finish some important deals. It felt strange and kind of childish (not from Mina's pov; it was rather brilliant she got them to do it) because first it appeared to be a matter of life and death for the student council, but then Mina practically says: Hey, children, if you can catch Akira in a game of tag, I won't let vampires in, if you can't, then I'll do it.

Nevertheless, I'm as glad as Mina that Akira knows himself again.

[Ryllharu]

I'm a bit torn about Mina's character.

On the one hand I really like that she essentially is bribing her way into Japan. She has an egregious amount of money, and is gaining some level of autonomy by holding Japan's economy hostage.

On the other, when the student council president stands up to her, she at first is rather pleased. Nanami has plenty of confidence to stand up to her in the first place, and smarts enough to connect the strange features of the school with vampires so quickly. But Mina returns the favor by cowardly threatening Nanami about being able to go to college? That's pretty low. Mina is obviously prideful, I would have expected her to stand up to the challenge, not use lame threats. Then she just played games with them, knowing full well that worst come to worst, Akira could just use his newly remembered werewolf agility to escape.

So while I applaud her ability to get a bit more power from the government, I also greatly dislike her using that same level of coercion on a single individual just because she also refused to kowtow to her. I expected a bit more out of Mina-hime.


I really like the Student Council President, she has spunk. The end of this episode was rather ambiguous, same goes for the candy cruncher. Friend or Foe? Did Mina do it, or was it the other vampires?

Lastly, it seems kind of weird that so much of this episode happened during the day. It feels like they are over relying on that super sun block.

[Kraco]

So while I applaud her ability to get a bit more power from the government, I also greatly dislike her using that same level of coercion on a single individual just because she also refused to kowtow to her. I expected a bit more out of Mina-hime.


Just keep in mind she's a vampire queen. She does whatever it takes. Most of the time one would also expect her to side with the vampires, no matter what (in general, not with those hunting for her head like the weird spider dude in the previous ep). I rather prefer her to be like that, not some goody good hero of justice wanting humans and vampires to coexist in perfect harmony. Well, isn't she supposed to be Vlad Tepes's daughter (or something like that) - genetics alone dictate she can't be too good.

[Ryllharu]

Just keep in mind she's a vampire queen.
Doesn't that bring with it some level of dignity? It's one kind of gesture to figuratively harpoon the economy to keep bureaucratic invaders away from her territory (the Bund), but it is another to cowardly brush aside a one on one challenge from a relatively courageous foe. You might argue that Mina just doesn't want to deal with something that small when she has bigger things to worry about, but I disagree.

After the theatrics of the first episode, wouldn't Mina have gained a lot more in terms of enjoyment by toying with Nanami? It isn't like Nanami would win in the end anyway. Mina has been around for centuries probably, so like any casual game of chess, she could have gotten a lot of entertainment out of it.

[Kraco]

No doubt it was true she didn't want to waste time fighting the student council, seeing how she immediately departed for the meeting with those old geezers. However, on the other hand the student council was stupid to fall so easily into her pace and got played through and through. I think that was quite stylish from Mina's point of view, but extremely ungraceful from the student council's.

Besides, Mina was correct all along: It's her school and it was founded for the exact purpose of allowing vampires to get proper education. The student council was completely out of line trying to tell her what her school is meant for. What comes to Mina's entertainment, I'm not entire sure she can afford the time for that so easily. She's founding a new nation and must be wary of assassins at the same time. She's probably more looking forward to results than jolly time (except when Akira is concerned, obviously).

[Buffalobiian]

Despite Mina commenting that the Student Council has more spine than the Japanese government, as she said already, they're naught but children in her eyes. She's in every way superior to them (except regarding their 3-sizes), and I think that actually comes into play more so than the dignity factor.

She cornered the Japanese government into a game they can't win more out of necessity. She lured the Student Council into a game they can't win more because it was fun. While having a match against a true rival can be exciting (depending on your person), watching someone struggle against overwhelming odds is also entertaining in its own right.

Nanami was smart, but she was in no way on any level to compete with Mina. It just so happens that the government is even one notch lower.

Two things that I'm growing to love about this anime are the nekomimi twin ribbons and the ED.

[Yukimura]

That 'threat' Mina gave the President sounded more like a bribe offer to me. I didn't sense an undercurrent of "and if you don't get in line I'll fill your transcript with F's and you'll never get into college" coming from her. It seemed more like she was dangling a free ride in the presidents face to see whether she'd take the boon and leave or continue with her defiance. If the pres can't get into college without Mina's positive assistance that's her own fault not Mina's.

Even if she had threatened to fill the presidents transcripts with F's though I wouldn't consider that cowardly. In my view using your power to crush into submission an opponent for which you have little need for the approval of is just prudent behavior for a ruler. I can see how those opponents weaker than her might call her a coward for not forsaking her massive strength advantage and fighting them on a 'level' playing field but in my view if your opponents have to fall back on the argument that 'it's not fair' with nothing to back up why that should matter to the stronger party they don't really have a leg to stand on. If Mina actually needs the president's approval for something I might feel differently but as I see it she is at most a potential source of amusement for Mina and not especially worthy of any respect or special treatment.

I thought the president acted in a rather rude and disrespectful manner which cast her in a childish light and cemented my feeling that she wasn't worthy of Mina's respect or serious consideration anyway. She tried to barge into the Chairman's office, then once admitted she started making accusations and demands without the slightest formality or respect towards who she assumed was the Chairman (aren't you supposed to introduce yourself before addressing seniors/superiors you've just met over there?). Then, once it was out that Mina was the actual Chairman she still didn't show any respect nor any remorse for her rudeness and pressed on making demands and expounding on her prejudice. While she had every right to voice her complaints, unless the school is set up in an abnormal way we aren't privy to she has no real power and no authority to challenge or demand a change of school policy, particularly on an issue like who is allowed to enroll in the school.

[Ryllharu]

While she had every right to voice her complaints, unless the school is set up in an abnormal way we aren't privy to she has no real power and no authority to challenge or demand a change of school policy, particularly on an issue like who is allowed to enroll in the school.
Nanami mentioned that a vampire entered the school without any form of consent, and her tone was rather authoritarian. So, I wonder if the school isn't set up in a normal manner. Those kind of situations aren't that uncommon for anime, and since the chairman hasn't been around since the school was founded, someone else must have be running it. There is what I can only guess is the school charter at 7:29 to 7:34 in the SFW version.

Unfortunately, I can only read the characters for "1." through "7."

Screenshot of the plaque (http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/162/bundcouncilplaque.jpg)
Larger version (http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/680/bundcouncilplaquei.jpg) (hopefully more legible)

[Buffalobiian]

Coalguys - Episode 04 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=111501)

[Kraco]

This was a nice episode. Stuff happened - although almost too much in too short a time, which killed much of the suspence. There was a bit too little development here. But I guess if this was only a minor incident, they didn't want to make it look bigger than it was by dedicating more than one episode to it.

The animation is getting very Shafty indeed.

[Ryllharu]

It was all very abrupt, it happened so fast it was hard to take seriously. Then again, that does add a bit of tension in to the series overall, displaying how quickly a threat to Mina can become very serious.

I'm still a bit perturbed at how many scenes take place during the day. Vera (who is a great character) was standing up on the roof staring at the setting sun with Akira for quite a while. Shade gel, yes yes, but doesn't it wear off after a short time like Mina said in the second episode?

I liked the scene with Mina and the kids the best, particularly Akira giving her a hard time about it. It was very cute.

[Buffalobiian]

The first two vampires transforming into various animals actually has me a bit confused as to whether Werewolves in this story are a separate species, or a subtype of vampires. I guess this episode cleared it up that it's in fact the latter.

[masamuneehs]

episode 1.

so, well, this was a pretty strong reinforcement of my commitment to watch as little Japanese TV as possible, particularly these "discussion" shows. not sure which ones I like less, the ones where they try to talk about menial things (celebs, minor scandals, etc) as though they were important, or the ones where they just wallow in the entertainment industry BS mill.

the end of the episode was OK. i thought that, as fun as it is to do a "as though the cameras were really there" presentation of a battle, it's never as good as a well-choreographed and executed fight scene...

i also can't figure out for the life of me what kind of leader makes their grand appearance on a night-time talk raggoo....

from what people had been saying, i was afraid i would be turned off entirely by the 1st episode. but i think i'll continue

episode 02
the "normal" high school boy with amnesia and the affection of the "almost pretty enough" normal high school girl is actually secretly a super-powerful demon? MAN I NEVER SAW THAT ONE COMING!!!

i was glad that this episode saw an end to Akira's amnesia, and gave us the backstory about him and Mina. I hate it when shows drag out revealing "the promise" and give us half a season of memory-loss angst... i wasn't, however, so satisfied with the silliness. not sure how much i'll be able to get into this one for comedy.

all i can think of, when i think of this show plot-wise, is Under World. Clan this, creatures of the night that. i sure hope this show brings us something new to the table. it almost seems too easy for "it's a female vampire with sex appeal" to be the one caveat this show makes. after all, this is the loli demographics home base they're aiming.

Mina better learn to fight a little bit. christ. the action in this show is okay. i suppose i've been spoiled by some of the awesome fights in FMA Brotherhood.

episode 03
okay. okay. so they are going to draw out the amnesia thing, at least partly. and they are going to have the "non-human" go to school. and it's OK because Milli-I mean, Mina, owns Ashfo- er, whatever the school's name is.

and the episode was chasing the dude all around the school, a little more fanservice (not down with the face, but the candy girl is pretty hot)

the best part of the episode was the end. i didn't think Mina approved of attacking humans, so I'm at least curious to find out who was behind whatever happened to the Student Council President. the way Mina was talking with Akira, it felt like she could be involved, or at least knowledgeable about what might happen to her...

but, yeah, this show is a little run of the moe for me...

also, think i'm going to refrain from SFW in the future... I didn't find their translations to be very good at all, let alone their lack of attempt to do on-screen text.

episode 04
and i'm caught up. a nice episode, although i could never understand the point of letting an underling take an attitude like that with you, even if Dermailles is an important supporter...

the bit with the Fangless at the end seemed sloppilly crammed into the episode.

all in all, i really dunno what to think.

[Kraco]

So satisfied with the silliness:

Episode 5 - Coalguys (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=112502)



- - - - - - - -



Not a bad episode by any means although I wonder how much more Shafty the weird camera angles and zooms are going to get before this is over.

Anyway, what really interests me is that who the candy girl is, what are her aims, and who is she working for.

[Ryllharu]

Not a bad episode by any means although I wonder how much more Shafty the weird camera angles and zooms are going to get before this is over.
I can't believe they are starting this crap again. This is like a huge step backwards for SHAFT. Being their usual selves with all the stills and close up shots of mouths, an eye, or even just the background, it feels like it is detracting from the vivid characters and setting of the series. The quirky charm works excellently in comedy series, but here it just feels like someone who always takes photos at 45° angles because it looks “artsy.”

Now with this episode, they are starting to return to their even older roots. Parts of Moonphase (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=2478), another loli vampire show, were nigh impossible to watch. There was supposedly action, but between all the stupid color filters, angles, and stills, you had no clue at all what was going on. When the vampires showed up to attack Akira and Yuki, they returned to this.

They had made great strides in animation stylistically since Tsukuyomi Moonphase. They still kept their signature touches, but they were refined and when used properly, quite powerful. They started backsliding with Bakemonogatari. There were excellent spots in that show, not quite up to the level of ef, but up there. On the other hand, there were plenty of crap episodes cobbled together from still shots and shots with the characters partially or mostly out of frame.

Bund is a complete return to what they should have left behind. The art hasn't been anything spectacular, the framing has been...passable, but the lighting and now color filters have been atrocious.

tl;dr

Shaft sucks. Bund is a return to poor art direction, and it is really starting to detract from my enjoyment of the series.

[shinta|hikari]

I agree completely. Shaft seems to be riding their popularity with other series that have done well with this style. Unfortunately, this simply does not fit this show at all. It just seems like they are trying to maximize profits by reducing animation budget.

The style fits Bakemonogatari, since 90% of the show is simply dialog, making it really boring to watch without the stylistic rendering, but Bund has tons of action and is quite generic in nature compared to the former. I complained about Bakemonogatari's action scenes before with the missing scenes that did not make it because of time constraints (it was added later in the DVDs) for the same reason.

[Buffalobiian]

[Nipponsei] Dance In The Vampire Bund OP Single - Friends [Nakano Aiko].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Dance%20In%20The%20Vampire%20Bun d%20OP%20Single%20-%20Friends%20%5BNakano%20Aiko%5D.zip.torrent)

[Pandadice]

coalguys ep 6

[CoalGuys] Dance in the Vampire Bund - 06 [88EB258E].mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=113501)

[Buffalobiian]

Wow, it was actually good this week. In retrospect, I'm guessing Mina would come to save the day, dispelling the distrust between her students, Akira and herself, but I'm also wishing that this tension between them all would go on for a bit longer (since it's actually good compared to before).

And Mina just threw a frigg'n desk!

She certainly appeared a lot weaker in Episode 2 (with everything suggesting it was on purpose).

[Kraco]

Yeah, it was a good episode despite the camera angles and zooms being all over the place again.

Mina's time is somewhat too stretched in every direction but considering how much time she spends visiting the school (I say visiting because clearly she doesn't actually need the education given there), she can't keep ignoring the worsening situation for too long anymore.

[Pandadice]

Dance in the Vampire Bund Special Edition Compilation Airs (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-02-16/dance-in-the-vampire-bund-special-edition-compilation-airs)

so is it gonna be like a recap episode? are they throwing a recap episode in to eat some time because they don't have the others finished yet or something? eh, I think I'd take a recap if it meant less still frame shots :\

[Buffalobiian]

[Nipponsei] Dance In The Vampire Bund ED Single - Tsumeato [hibiku].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Dance%20In%20The%20Vampire%20Bun d%20ED%20Single%20-%20Tsumeato%20%5Bhibiku%5D.zip.torrent)

[Buffalobiian]

SFW - Episode 07 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=115141)

[Yukimura]

I'm so confused... that felt like a finale episode or at least a midseason break what the heck is going on with this show? It's scheduled for around 12-13 eps at least isn't it?

[Pandadice]

it's set for 12 i believe (at least according to mal), and then they're adding in a special recap-sort of episode, which is going to be aired next. it's like ep 7.5, and then the planned ep 8 is gonna air after that.

[Buffalobiian]

it's set for 12 i believe (at least according to mal), and then they're adding in a special recap-sort of episode, which is going to be aired next. it's like ep 7.5, and then the planned ep 8 is gonna air after that.

lol @ recap. Barely anything happened.


I'm not sure if the strong episode this week makes up for the somewhat lackluster previous eps we've been fed prior, but I'm happy about this.

The candy girl's actions were confusing. If she's with Mina, then stopping her attack only jeapodises her safety. If she's with Telomere, she sure doesn't try very hard.

I dig that knight-uniform. It's very classy.

[Xelbair]

I start to hate Shaft for their 'style' or rather a way of making show cheaply... All great shots are removed and we get still shots instead, thanks to this i'm thinking of dropping it and reading manga. They are just lazy..

[Pandadice]

Dance in the Vampire Bund Licensed by Funimation (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-03-04/funimation-adds-baka-and-test-dance-in-the-vampire-bund)

The North American anime distributor Funimation has announced that it has licensed the Baka and Test — Summon the Beasts (Baka to Test to Shōkanjū) and Dance In The Vampire Bund television anime series from Media Factory. It will simulcast both series with English subtitles — within days of the Japanese broadcast — starting this month, and the first episodes of both series will begin streaming this Friday at 10:00 a.m. CST.

lol.. I wonder if they get ep 7.5 with this. Or if they got some kind of discount, since these can barely be considered animated half way. Wonder if they get rights to the dvd versions, when/if they're released with actually animated sequences.

[Buffalobiian]

SFW - Episode 08 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=117144)

[Pandadice]

so I guess they skipped 7.5. :\

[Buffalobiian]

Since it's just a recap, I can do without it. Good to see the ED is now something other than a still frame.

My favourite part of this episode would probably be the expanding of Vera's backstory/rival. Their "battle damaged" appearance later on was a nice touch. Judging from the woulds on their face, I'd say their skills are about equal.

Hysterica's "Oh, looks like it won't be easy" made her seem like an ameatur at whatever she's doing. Surely 90+ years would have taught her the cautious and well-informed survive longer.

[Buffalobiian]

Koharubi - Episode 09 (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=33931)

This show has such an erratic subbing schedule










------------------------------------

Shota made its way into here? I shouldn't be surprised. Mina's voice was rather fitting for her true form. It wasn't explicit, but I'm going to guess the girl that hooked the phone was the one who eats candy all the time.

[Pandadice]

^I wonder if that might be caused by Funimation C&Ds?

[Buffalobiian]

SFW - Episode 10 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=120248)





-------------------------------



Damn... You can understand Mina having to go through a "purity test" under request of the 3 Clans, but what I understand to be normal procedure is for an old, "qualified" woman to inspect in private. Ripping someone's clothes in front of an audience is hardly the right way to do it, let alone when that someone is the Queen.

I'm guessing all the outdoor scenes were in the Bund, and were artificial lighting? Thanks to the story centering on the characters so much, I don't even have a grasp of how the Bund appears (other than having a bomb-proof elevator shaft that leads underground).

[Kraco]

The whole purity test wasn't really necessary in the first place, I'd say. It was nothing but those three exerting the power over Mina that she had just said they don't possess anymore. It's quite ironic, really; she said she could build the new castle because they can't check her every move anymore yet they simply waltzed in and humiliated her in two different ways: The purity test and turning her own castle into dog hunting grounds with the target being an important person to her.

I still don't know what to make out of the candy girl.

[Buffalobiian]

SFW - Episode 11 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=121148)



--------------------------

How ironic that the seemingly best move turned out to be the worst. I swear Mei Ren was a vampire, but oh well. This answers my question about how they managed to have a date in the sun.

[Buffalobiian]

Yuurisan - Episode 12 FINAL (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=123887)



---------------------------

That was.... alright I guess?

Overall, Bund wasn't the hype it was made out to be, but it didn't turn out as a trainwreck neither. Its story felt wonky, but it still delivered a decent story.

Time to see how the manga looks.