(L) Dance in the Vampire Bund

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by Yorae_paladin1

Mina doesn't see vampires or herself for that matter as superior at least in the manga which i heard that conversation with yuki that explains this was cut off in the anime a disappointing move in my opinion

It isn't _just_ about what Mina thinks. It is what the rest of the vampires and also the humans think too. From epi one with the show discussing vampires, it seems that vampires have the same association as they do in this world. So basically humans in general see them as immortal beings which are stronger then us and eat us. Superior or not is very much in the eye of the beholder, but immortality is kinda the thing that the person who has everything wants....

Originally Posted by Yorae_paladin1

Although that move turning the PMs kid into a vampire was a bad idea if it was anyone else it would easily started a war.

A war with whom? A country that has been pulled out of a recession by a shadowy organization made up of vamps and werewolves with military power and the financial backing to pull Japan out of recession...

The PM wasn't counting on Mina to take _his_ gamble and raise the ante! Whilst the PM bet on the lives of his country, Mina bet on the life of the PM's son. She kept the battle within the two opposing groups, whilst the PM was willing to bet on the lives and well being of everyone he is meant to represent. The PM in my book is far more evil then Mina's actions..

Originally Posted by dojikyo

The vampire-human relationship shares some unique differences from the usual food chain relationship.

1. Plenty of vampires are "born" from humans and each of those vampires have memories of when they were human, at least in this series.

2. Vampires and humans communicate on the same level. They share comparable intelligence and language abilities.

Whilst the show has vamps who are determined to not drink blood (I wonder how they survive), there are plenty shown in the church scene which do not have that issue.

They are born from humans and talk the same language.

Lets take this into RL and consider cannibalism... Just because it is frowned upon (and very illegal) now, it doesn't mean that in the past that humans didn't consider other humans food!

*Edit*
Epi 7.... Felt I was watching a narrative story rather then an anime!

[Forbin]

Like MOST politicians, the PM was a tool of someone. He let himself become a tool of that faction, and by stealing his child, he became a tool of Mina too. Who knows what the other faction did too.

[Deadwings]

Originally Posted by Hedd

I've heard that Mina retains her young body for whatever reason. If this is true then it bares to reason that Vampire appearance is unaffected by time and can be willed into any age the vampire wishes. Perhaps the "old" vampires wish to appear old as it projects wisdom and presence.

Maybe, but then, there's no point to the "true form" thing if both forms somehow reflect the will or personality of the vampire.

[AlaAlba]

Spoiler for 7.5:

7.5 really is a joke. the only good thing is they re-made the cross falling scene making it far clearer as to why Akira being stabbed in the stomach, though well... actually this is not a good thing at all, lol

and doesnt they always done an episode far away(or a few months?) before it airs? how could they be late? I listened on some other radio show that the seiyuus of that show had done the recording(with the video had been ready too ofc) some months before it airs. I might be wrong though.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Just to show you how far gone I am, I loved ep 7.5. Sure it was a recap, but I enjoyed seeing the story retold, and the images and the characters and their feelings are still so strong.

And we did see a few new images, especially for ep7:

Spoiler for ep7.5:

...a little more flesh as Mina changed for battle; seeing the batvamp transform; seeing him furl his wing around Mina; seeing more of Yuki rushing and standing to protect Mina; a bit more of Mina's transformation into glowing adult Mina; a little clearer portrayal of the roof falling in, etc.

I think seiyuus usually record about 3-4 weeks ahead, sometimes to a bare-bones mock-up of the episode. In the case of episode 7, the animators were not able to produce the finished product Shinbou wanted in time to give us a fully animated episode. I think this is common enough with him, but more drastic this time because I believe he had lost some staff a few months ago and the combination of his remaining staff and new staff he brought in or contracted out to were not up to the getting the show done in time. Shinbou's management failure.

Despite all these problems, I have watched ep7 4-5 times -- and earlier episodes even more. There is always more to see and feel, for me. The characters have so much force and feeling, and the visual and aural rhythms are so enjoyable. I would not watch any other current series more than twice.

I understand that the blank screens and jumpy cuts can be annoying to some people -- I've felt the same for other Shinbou shows -- but for me they pretty well all work here to create atmosphere and movement that suit the show. At least for me.

[Guido]

Episode seven out of all the others broadcasted so far managed to stay almost true to the manga, as it adapted faithfully chapters 11 and 12 of the manga storyline, however, I have to digress that it was good.

The episode went abysmally on me due to those unnecessary still shots popping up at every frame that this episode progressed. It interrupted both the flow and pace of the story, and I believe made a mess to understand important key points that Mina addresses.

Spoiler:

1. The one who bears the heaviest weight is Akira's promise to Mina. In the manga, Akira has partial memory loss but is awared of his promise to Mina. In the anime he has more memory loss and alludes that he has forgotten about the promise.

The point is that I felt their epic squabble wasn't portrayed with all the drama and the intensity, as it was showcased in the manga.
1. They just went with the issue about the promise as the last resort to make known to the viewers that Akira was ready to bear the challenge.

In the manga, both Akira and Mina feel troubled if the promise will be held and fulfilled. Akira had second thoughts about himself and relunctantly fought Mina at the Church.

2. The anime explicitly reveals Mina's loneliness and wish to feel how it tastes to live like an ordinary girl for Akira's sake, hence, her frustration at replying to Dermailles' son that nobody understands her.
The manga both alludes and hints Mina's reason to go great lengths at establishing the Bund, but this gives more strength to Mina about reminding the promise.

3. In the anime, Mina and her loyal servants already know and have been collecting information on Telomere based on Wolfgang's explanation to Akira about their enemy.
The manga suggests that the Tepes had an idea about who the enemy was but had not concrete evidence, that's until Dermaille's son revealed Telomere's name himself to Mina.

4. In the anime, Dermaille's son is a willing member and soldier to Telomere and had no issues to make attempts on Mina's life. On the other hand, the manga suggests that Dermaille was invited to join Telomere's ranks but chose first to draw Mina's attention, in order to tell her that he made contact with them.
a) Henceforth, both the vampire attacks to the school and at the Church were orchestrated by Dermailles' delusions of grandeur, while in the anime Telomere orchestrated those attacks as well via Dermaille as a proxy.

5. Gladly, I did like that they put both Alphonse and Wolfgang in the same scene together, interacting with Akira at the same time. That scene alone emphasizes that the two immortals stand equal to each other in the Tepes ranks, as Mina's Rooks (in chess terms).
a) The first time that both Akira and Alphonse met was at a different place and under different circumstance, than those shown in the anime. Unfortunately, I cannot tell more because that would be SPOILER, as the anime hasn't delved what's inside the Bund.

6. Wolfgang's disclosing to Akira his decision about saving him over the incident which takes place a year prior to the start of the main storyline, indirectly hints at some explanations revealed in chapter 34 of the manga to which I won't reveal.

7. It is Mina who kills Dermaille unceremoniously and right off the bat after he reveals evidence of Telomere's existence. By the time Akira came back to the Church, it was all over.

8. As for now there is no evidence revealed in the manga to support Wolfgang's statement that Telomere employs human agents without turning them to vampires first.

9. Akira's revealing his werewolf transformation to Yuki and using it against Mina's transformed state was way more impressive in this episode, that I seriously think it was unneeded and forced to have Akira transforming to full-fledged werewolf form in episode two.

[Hedd]

Originally Posted by Deadwings

Maybe, but then, there's no point to the "true form" thing if both forms somehow reflect the will or personality of the vampire.

Untrue. A werewolf doesn't have claws or the superhuman strength in his human form, therefore in most mythos has to shift into the lupine "crinos" form to gain these superhuman abilities. Since in this series the Vampire also have a "true form", it only makes sense that it enhances their battle prowess. After all, we haven't seen a vampire take a true form outside of combat.

[HayashiTakara]

Even though Akira isn't as powerful in his human form, he's still stronger, faster, and has uncanny senses to that of actual humans.

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by Hedd

Untrue. A werewolf doesn't have claws or the superhuman strength in his human form, therefore in most mythos has to shift into the lupine "crinos" form to gain these superhuman abilities. Since in this series the Vampire also have a "true form", it only makes sense that it enhances their battle prowess. After all, we haven't seen a vampire take a true form outside of combat.

How does that explain how Akira ran away from everybody during the chase Akira scene?

[Hedd]

Originally Posted by grey_moon

How does that explain how Akira ran away from everybody during the chase Akira scene?

Jumping up a wall isn't tearing out someones heart with one hand. Supernatural is supernatural but there's likely a significant power difference between shifted and non-shifted. This is all just theory, mind you. This isn't Werewolf: the Apocalypse or Vampire: the Masquerade, it's Vampire Bund. The theory seems to fit though.

[Deadwings]

Originally Posted by Hedd

Untrue. A werewolf doesn't have claws or the superhuman strength in his human form, therefore in most mythos has to shift into the lupine "crinos" form to gain these superhuman abilities. Since in this series the Vampire also have a "true form", it only makes sense that it enhances their battle prowess. After all, we haven't seen a vampire take a true form outside of combat.

My mistake, there was that other use to the "true" form but what I tried to say was that at least one of those two forms should age as a normal biological being (not so normal, maybe taking a few thousand years to age).
Dunno where you heard that Mina retains her young body, I don't know if it's willingly, but it's true that her childish form is convenient for her. It has not being mentioned in the anime, altough it probably will. So for now, spoiler tags

Spoiler for Manga:

There are a few major vampires with royal blood and some of that crap that are waiting for Mina to grow up and bear their children, of course, she doesn't want this. But this is clearly a proof that these vampires in this series actually age, and the fact that female can bear children, even if it's only the queen, suggests that they will not be around forever and sometime will have to leave this place to the next generation.

That being said... I wonder when ep 7.5 will be subbed. I want to see

[Yorae_paladin1]

Originally Posted by Deadwings

My mistake, there was that other use to the "true" form but what I tried to say was that at least one of those two forms should age as a normal biological being (not so normal, maybe taking a few thousand years to age).
Dunno where you heard that Mina retains her young body, I don't know if it's willingly, but it's true that her childish form is convenient for her. It has not being mentioned in the anime, altough it probably will. So for now, spoiler tags

Spoiler for Manga:

There are a few major vampires with royal blood and some of that crap that are waiting for Mina to grow up and bear their children, of course, she doesn't want this. But this is clearly a proof that these vampires in this series actually age, and the fact that female can bear children, even if it's only the queen, suggests that they will not be around forever and sometime will have to leave this place to the next generation.

That being said... I wonder when ep 7.5 will be subbed. I want to see

Spoiler for Manga:

Those three fools screwed themselves by wiping out there fellow pure bloods for what a power play how foolish

[Sol Falling]

Just checking--I watched the SFW version--but what the hell you guys, episode 7 was freakin' awesome!! From the way the complaints were going I was expecting something like Bakemonogatari ep 10 all over again, but from what I saw there couldn't have been more than 30seconds of incomplete footage this episode. Sure there was a fairly important but still short blank during the fight scene, and Mina's bedsheet/changing sequence had red flashes and repetitive shots all over the place, but still the animation was more than enough to convey the meaning behind one of the best episodes (story-wise) of this series so far.

Reason I'm kinda late is 'cause I was on vacation. Didn't want to torrent/leech off a hotel connection.

Anyway, on some of the story complaints I remember reading. Stuff like Mina not killing Dermailles or whoever herself--are you sure it isn't just some changes to certain details or the plot they're making for the (length of the) anime, and not actually character derailment? Like someone mentioned, in the manga there were no normal humans in Telomeres, but in the anime version there is, and that's why the student council vice president was able to actually try to attack her while the Dermailles guy only went as far as restraining her (not a direct rebellion). The candy throwing original character seems to be on Telomeres' side (or something) as well, and given how short the anime is, Mina's side knowing more about Telomeres at this point in the plot is only natural.

As for why Mina and Akira had to fight, from Mina's side it was the second stipulation of their promise (that if Akira broke it she would devour him) while from Akira's it was his doubts and uncertainties about both Mina and himself. A bit more clarity on how they ended up on the roof and how the cross fell and all that would be nice though, so I'm glad to hear that stuff was fleshed out in 7.5.

Anyway, I also have to agree with (I think) Kaoru Choju earlier about Mina's 'glowing' transformed state looking really beautiful. There's been some talk about an 'adult state' in the manga for the series, but given how 'transformed' Mina's 'true' state looks I wonder if that is really in the anime? The way the vampire immortality thing is looking, I'm inclined to agree with some of the other people who think that vampires do age and their non-transformed states can't be controlled, so the only reason Mina has an 'adult' form is because her 'true' form looks relatively human (i.e. her body really is that of a loli's/little girl's, naturally so).

One last thing about the music in episode 7, but damn that opening sequence was awesome. It's not often I can watch some poor chump wander around in despair and absolute misery while the only thought in my mind is going 'fuck yeah' but this is what this show does for me. This was seriously one of the best episodes of the series for me.

On some totally-not-manga-informed issues with the characterization though. I do have to admit, Mina and Akira's sequence at the very end wasn't that great for me. In the first place, I don't really find Mina's tsundere/embarassed look cute. But also, it felt pretty weird for me for Akira to go all 'I don't care about those people's trauma, I'll always be beside you princess' when he was making this huge fuss about it just awhile ago and indeed even Mina herself seemed to regret she had to go that far. It was pretty great and touching that Akira remembered/realized the promise/his feelings and all, but if doing so made Akira care less about other, normal people, that kinda seems like negative development. Anyway yeah, that's the one issue with the story line I found for this episode.

[serenade_beta]

The result of two weeks of work

Spoiler for ep8:

Isn't that great after all...
For one thing, the drawing in the episode was rather... lackluster... The part around 12:56-57, Mina's height magically changing, etc. I almost want to ask how they made her height change when the mistake was so obvious...

The actual episode was... fairly interesting, for this anime's standards.
Lots of new characters that aren't appealing at all though, like a gang of super handsomes, that eyebrow, etc.
It's nice the student council pres. is getting screentime (major focus, actually?) though.
That boy doesn't learn...

I was wondering if that ED was permanent, but behold, finally complete! Pretty good.
OP also changed to a different verse.

[Kaoru Chujo]

ep8: Kugimiya Rie as Hysterica.

Spoiler for ep8:

Yes, Mina's height was weirdly changeable in some sequences. Not that that or other minor awkwardnesses bothered me. A strange mid-distance mini-Mina was immediately made up for by yet another powerful Shinbou close-up or artistic tableau.

And still that odd but satisfying overall feel that straddles ironic and serious. The plot dancing lightly forward. And more of Yuuki Aoi's, Saitou Chiwa's, and Kobayashi Yuu's effective voice work. I enjoyed the new ED animation, and the change in the words of the OP (which remains my favorite of the season).

[Midonin]

News, of a breaking sort.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/pres...erican-release

[LKK]

I'll be the first to say that I'm surprised Bund has been licensed, especially by Funi. I thought that if it were to be licensed (something I consider a low likelihood in general), it would be licensed by one of the smaller companies.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by LKK

I'll be the first to say that I'm surprised Bund has been licensed, especially by Funi. I thought that if it were to be licensed (something I consider a low likelihood in general), it would be licensed by one of the smaller companies.

It's a show they could easily sell with the vampire angle, plus not to mention the manga that's been licensed for quite a while now. I'm more happy that Baka Test was licensed though.

[Hedd]

Originally Posted by LKK

I'll be the first to say that I'm surprised Bund has been licensed, especially by Funi. I thought that if it were to be licensed (something I consider a low likelihood in general), it would be licensed by one of the smaller companies.

I'm ok with this as I think it's a good enough series to buy on Blu Ray when it comes. In the mean time though, I'm afraid Funigestapo will do their damnedest to scare the few decent teams doing Bund right now off with waves of C&D's.

Edit: I knew I forgot to add something I was thinkin. Selling vampire anything in the states is still pretty damn easy at the moment so I suppose it's not a surprising move......as long as it's not sparkle vampires.

[Kaoru Chujo]

In an interview published recently, Yuuki Aoi (who plays Mina Tepes) says some interesting things about how she plays Mina and about the show.

I enjoyed the interview (and the photos) so much that I translated the whole thing for my blog.

Yuuki, 17, also says she likes men over 30. I think that's at least in part a publicity gimmick cooked up with Saitou Chiwa, her co-host on the Vampire Bund radio show, but that's what she says. A couple of months ago, she called herself "Yuuki Aoi, who has never had a boyfriend in 17 years."

Yuuki is a show-biz veteran, having started acting at the age of four. She has been in ten dramas and three films, as well as various commercials, etc.

I'll be doing a major post about her and her roles and her history in a few weeks' time. It has just been announced that she will be in the 22-episode noitaminA vampire anime Shiki, which starts in July and also stars Uchida Yuya, Ohkawa Tohru, Tomatsu Haruka...and Gackt.