Genre: Comedy, Romance, Supernatural

Original Run: 01/03/2008 - 03/27/2008 (First Season)

Series Length: First Season 13 episodes

Current Status: First Season completed, Second Season Pending, Fan-Subbed, Not Yet Available in the U.S.

Location: Veoh.com, YouTube.com, various download sites

Synopsis: Tsukune Aono is a nice guy, but not a very good student. In fact, his test scores are so disappointing that he can’t enter any private high schools… in the human world. However, thanks to his father, (or on the other hand, blame it on his father), Tsukune is accepted at the Yokai Private Academy. Could this be the start of a normal high school life with memories he will cherish for the rest of his life? Well, there is one small problem. The academy is actually a school for mythological monsters and beasts who are all disguised as humans. And if it gets out that Tsukune is really a human, then he’ll be executed on the spot!

Tsukune is all for leaving the school and head back to the human world, but he did meet up with someone special. Her name is Moka Akashiya and she’s likes Tsukune a lot. Or rather, she likes Tsukune’s blood a lot since she’s a vampire.

Artwork: The animation and character designs are very fluid and resemble closely their manga counterparts. Movements are smooth and easy on the eyes. There isn’t quite as much blood and gore as in the manga, but considering it is a tv series, then it’s within the realm of belief. Score: 7.6

Plot: The concept is interesting and it puts a new spin on the high-school drama as the main character is actually quite normal in comparison to his classmates. He doesn’t have any special powers, (in the First Season), and yet he still manages to prevail. Score: 7.4

Sound: Good sound effects and dialogue. The voices fit well, though I would like to eventually hear this series dubbed. Score: 6.3

Special Effects/Features: Basically the fight scenes and magic are played the same way as the senshi shows and things of that nature. At times, it can get repetitive. Score: 5

My Review: After reading the manga, I was looking forward to seeing how the anime would turn out. Overall, it didn’t disappoint and managed to follow the manga with some minor changes. Of course, since it only started out with 13 episodes, you can only cram so much into the first season. The first run more along the lines of a setup for the main characters and the second season promises to give more of what the fans want. Seeing Tsukune always being saved by the girls followed the standard wimpy guy winning the love of others by his personality routine. I really do hope he gets more backbone in the second series.

Rosario + Vampire does throw a few monster concepts and beliefs out the window and shows that even supernatural beings have feelings and problems. Since the series is following the manga stories with relative closeness, I feel that we are going to have a big hit once the second season starts.

Overall Score: 8.2

Recommendation: All fans of this series will like the anime version, and for those who have never read the manga, it’s a good one to watch. There are quite a lot of sexual innuendo and fanservice, though it doesn’t really detract from the storyline. The only reason why I don’t give this a higher score is the fact that the first season ended abruptly and had me and the rest of the viewers wanting more. That may change when the second season starts.