 Say hello to Hazuki, the world's cutest vampire. She can bite me anytime. Quite why a vampire is wearing cat ears is completely beyond me, so let's move on quickly and see what the first batch of Tsukuyomi Moon Phase is like...
1 - Onii-sama, Be my Servant!
In the depths of the German countryside is a haunted castle, which
Japanese students Kouhei, Hiromi & their sensei are investigating
for the magazine they work for. Kouhei's getting a bit tired of chasing
the paranormal, wanting instead to get back to taking photgraphs of
normal things - but it seems his life is about to become anything but
normal. Inside the castle lives a Japanese girl - not your normal
Japanese girl, but a vampire, bound to protect the castle. Kouhei has
seen Hazuki out on the castle rooftop, but being a vampire she doesn't
turn up on his photographs. Determined to find out more about her, he
goes looking for her...
2 - Call me Goshujin-sama
A change has come over Hazuki - from sweet & cute, she's suddenly
all demanding, insisting that Kouhei call her 'master' and such. After
having been bitten, he's supposed
to come over all loyal, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be
working, and it's annoying Hazuki no end. Seems she has some explaining
to do. Meanwhile, the battle outside the castle between Vigo (Hazuki's
'protector') and Kouhei's sensei continues, while Kouhei agrees to help
Hazuki escape from the castle...
The studio behind Tsukuyomi is SHAFT, who along with GAINAX were also responsible for Mahoromatic and Kono Minikuku wo Utsukushii Sekai.
Given that the worst aspects of both those shows were classic GAINAX
failings, I'm hoping that SHAFT on their own will make this a good show.
There's a very disjointed feeling here between what could be
described as classic gothic horror, and the sheer cuteness that is
Hazuki - and that's before mentioning the sugar overdose that passes as
the OP sequence. It's a very strange combination - but just as it's
said that true vampires can mesmerise their prey, so that all you can
do is watch your doom approaching, so you just can't help yourself
watch the terminally cute Hazuki go about her onscreen antics.. I'm
just a sucker for cute anime girls, especially when they wear nekomimi.
^^;
I get the distinct feeling that these two episodes are just about all we'll see of Tsukuyomi's 'gothic horror' phase, though. At the end of episode 2, there's a huge shift of storytelling gear - make sure you watch all the episode,
including the part after the ED sequence, and you'll see what I mean.
With Hazuki free of the castle, the scene shifts to Kouhei's home,
where I suspect well have some Mahoromatic-style comedy, mixed
with a few darker episodes or scenes involving Hazuki's alter-ego,
Luna. I really hope they don't push the comedy too far, especially
after such a good start - 'dark but cute' is an unusual mix, and I want
to see more.
I'm a sucker, though, and I suspect I'll be watching this show for the duration. It's that "vampire's lure", you see... |
