Opening Songs
OP 1 - Strike The Blood (Kishida Kyodan & The Akeboshi Rockets)
OP 2 - Fight 4 Real (Altima)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Strike The Soul (Yuka Iguchi)
ED 2 - Signal (Kanon Wakeshima)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural
Episodes: 24
Being too similar isn't a good thing, but sometimes if it works out fine, then its all good. This is the case with "Strike The Blood", its similarities to "To Aru Majutsu No Index" are a little bit too striking (a spear that negates everything, a loli teacher, an island made for demons...?), and you can tell right from the start. Still, if you enjoy similar plots or genres, you'll enjoy this one. To be more frank, if you like stuff like "To Aru Majutsu No Index" or "Campione", "Strike The Blood" will seem right at home. Its seem-less blend between action, harem, and lore about the supernatural is done particularly well, with some really nice segments to back all of it up. A good mix between everything (fan service included) makes this one quite enjoyable, though there is a lack of good characters. It doesn't matter though, if you're a fan of the action harem genre, "Strike The Blood" is one that you'll like.
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| A vampire should always do what he must... |
Well if there's one thing that "Strike The Blood" does very well...its the songs. The first opening theme is "Strike The Blood" by Kishida Kyodan & The Akeboshi Rockets, a group that I personally haven't heard from in a very very long time (since the times of HOTD). What can I say? Its excellent, both as an opening that's fitting for this anime and a song by itself. The rock, the singing....everything is just amazing. I can say that much about the first ending theme as well, "Strike The Soul" by Yuka Iguchi. Its...surprisingly good, with its serious yet catchy tune, and some really sexy singing from Yuka Iguchi herself (she usually does cute-sy stuff...not my thing).
The second opening theme is pretty damn good as well, "Fight 4 Real" by Altima. We all should know Altima by now since they make some of the best anison songs around, "Fight 4 Real", while not really their best song, is still pretty up there in terms of standard. "Signal" by Kanon Wakeshima is the 2nd ending its alright, though to be honest, its my least favorite among the 4 songs.
Rating: 8.0/10
While I didn't really like it at first, it quickly grew on me. "Strike The Blood"'s overall world is an interesting one, and one cannot deny that there are MANY cool concepts here. The story is split into many different arcs, and while the first few arcs are more for introducing new characters, the later arcs are a lot more interesting, so its worth sticking through all the way. The characters aren't anything too special, except for a small few, most are just stereotypes. The action however, is what helps "Strike The Blood" score, because its pretty damn cool AND fantastic. With a big mixture of many different powers, most fights are both visually impressive and interesting, and dare I say, that there are a lot of fights in "Strike The Blood". Action lovers will feel at home here, that's for sure. As for fan service...its quite mild for the most part, so there's not much to worry about. At its best, its only about "Index" level.
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| Presenting to you...vampiric urges! |
The story focuses on Akatsuki Kojou, another generic loser of a high school student, just like any other...until 3 months ago, where he undergo some huge changes in his life and became the fourth progenitor, also known as the strongest vampire in existence. Even though he knows this, he keeps himself in check, and continues living a regular life, though he has to take control of his vampiric urges, which kicks in every time he gets turned on. However, living a normal life as the fourth progenitor was a little bit too much to ask for, when a middle school girl named Himeragi Yukina stepped into his life. She claims to be his observer, and even moves next to his apartment, all for the sake of "observing" him. On that very night, when they went out together, an explosion happens in the island, and Himeragi goes to investigate, only to find a holy executioner and his homonculous. Overwhelmed, she was about to face defeat when Kojou steps in and gets his ass kicked, awakening his familiar...
"Strike The Blood" starts off slow and gets better towards the end, a trend that many animes seem to follow. With an ending like the one we received...its quite safe to assume that there would be more, because what we got seemed really underwhelming. If we do get to see more though, the potential is there, there are a lot of possibilities for more crazy situations.
Peace.
