In terms of the reviews I’m doing this month, this will be the shortest and possibly the least Halloweeny… that’s a word, right? Yeah, let’s just go with it. However I still want to discuss this anime and manga series and since it has monsters in it I guess it qualifies. So here we go, Rosario + Vampire.
Like I have said before sometimes the anime changes significantly from the original manga. Rosario + Vampire is a poster child for this. The story is about Tsukune Aono, a high school student who thanks to his bad luck gets enrolled into Yokai academy, a boarding school for monsters. He befriends one of his new classmates Moka Akashiya, a vampire who becomes addicted to his blood who has a split personality of Outer and Inner Moka. One sweet and caring, the other cold and brutal.
Somehow Tsukune ends up with other female monsters falling for him. From that description you would think this would be a harem title and you aren’t exactly wrong. That is the route the anime goes down, but the manga throws more twists and turns. It also has much higher stakes and arks than the anime. It even gets much more violent and darker whereas the anime, for the most part, is lighter.
As for the characters Tsukune Aono is your typical fish-out-of-water-who-has-to-rely-on-others you see in most anime *cough* black Kaneki *cough*. Oh, my cough is back, shame. Tsukune is still a likable character though as he does try to help compared to other characters. I was going to cough again, but I think I’ve run that joke into the ground. He does play an active role and gets more character development in the manga, as do the other characters. Moka is a little bit more interesting but nothing new. Come to think about it, the main cast fall into this category. True, there are more twists and are given better back stories than other harem type anime but nothing ground breaking. I talked about the succubus Kurumu in a previous article “Sexy or Sexist” and to reiterate the basics, I love this character. She is a joy to watch, from her humour to her “seduction” I can’t help but love her, particularly her banter with her love rivals. That being said, Mizore is my favourite character in this show. She’s like the Maud Pie of this show. Stoic but not entirely emotionless.
Both the manga and the anime have their weak points and strengths. The anime is simplified as many stories and characters get cut out which arguably makes it easier to follow but lowers the stakes in some areas. The manga is a lot more action oriented and has more interesting story but at the same time the fan service has been doubled, not that I’m complaining.
Overall both are entertaining and give you what you want. Provided what you want is either a cute anime about girls saving a guy constantly and fluffy filler or a violent, dark and gripping manga.
Nerd Rambles 
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