First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

「Episode 1」

I have the best luck in the world because not only do I get to kick off this season’s anime introductions, I get to start it off with DIABOLIK LOVERS. In a nutshell, my reactions for this episode resembled my reactions while reading 50 Shades of Grey… but with vampires.

And no… that’s not necessarily a good thing. A lot of people said that this show was right up my alley and although I was very apprehensive about it, I gave it a shot. It’s definitely not as bad as I anticipated because god forbid the female protagonist is actually quite cute and not lacking in personality. The story starts off like any other – Komori Yui (Suegara Rie) is dropped off at the entrance of an old building by her father. As she’s walking, it starts to rain and she enters this dark, dingy looking house and finds no one. Typical. When she starts looking around, she finds herself suddenly surrounded by 6 men. In order of oldest to youngest: Sakamaki Shuu (Toriumi Kousuke), Sakamaki Reiji (Konishi Katsuyuki), Sakamaki Ayato (Midorikawa Hikaru), Sakamaki Kanato (Kaji Yuki), Sakamaki Raito (Hirakawa Daisuke) and Sakamaki Subaru (Kondo Takashi). They’re all brothers and they also happen to be (surprise surprise) vampires. This is not a spoiler, I kid you not. Anyway, Yui spends most of the episode learning more about herself than anything else. She finds out that her father is not actually her biological father. She also hears that she’s going to be a bride to one of these 6 brothers (I don’t pity her) and she’s also going to live with them! That’s the basis of the story for you right there and if you haven’t guessed by the screen caps, there’s lots of licking, neck-action and teasing.

So what can I say about this episode?
As the target audience of this type of game/anime, I honestly have to say that it’s not that bad. Trust me, it can be a lot worse and the plot is rather simple, straight to the point and doesn’t beat around the bush. I like that. Yui also has half a brain from what I can tell and although she has some of the same tendencies as other reverse harem protagonists (not talking, super passive), she’s not boring to watch. I wish she had a bit more spunk, but if most girls can relate to the quiet, cute and timid female, then that’s where your general audience is. That being said, the vampires are all stereotypically smart, confident, tall, dark and handsome. They each have their “quirks” but I think underneath that shallow exterior, all of them are kind of carbon copies of one another. They like her, they want her blood and aside from Shuu – every one of them just feels very generic. However, that’s not bad either if that’s the type of guy that most females are attracted to. *raises her hand* Vampires just have this sexy, mysterious appeal that makes these shows worth watching even when I know it doesn’t have nearly has much potential as the other fall anime. I have a soft spot for vampires because I used to be on that bandwagon – not so much anymore but I’ll still give it an episode or two to prove itself.

If you haven’t noticed, this show probably has more “action” than other reverse harems. It does source from an otome game and the bits and pieces that I’ve seen – makes my skin crawl *shivers* I was expecting some neck shots and sucking, but not so quickly off the get go. The way Raito calls Yui “b*tch” doesn’t sit well with me either. It’s almost too much foreplay and not the type that I’d like to see from the first episode. The way that the brothers act as a group resembles gang rape and to be honest, people might like that (while others might find that disgusting and difficult to watch). So what you get out of this anime is really all about expectations and keep in mind that its source material is not the most original or creative. I don’t have high hopes for this series in terms of plot or development, but I would keep watching just to see far they can take the innuendos and if Yui even ends up with a guy at all. Like all stories of this nature, Yui also has a past that the brothers nor she know about. Her father seems to have all the answers but who knows where he is. Perhaps she’s a supernatural creature herself?

With that, I am giving this series at least an episode or two more to prove itself. It’s not so terrible that I’d drop it immediately, and it exceeds my expectations for an adaptation of this type. It also has vampires, hot guys, some mystery elements, and it’s all tied up nicely in only 15 minutes a week. That’s right folks; this series is only given half-episodes. Just a forewarning though – watching this alone at night reminds me of Tomoko from Watamote and I swear… I’m bare no resemblance to her at all!

—

TL;DR – @RCCherrie: Better than Amnesia at least. So much licking, tongue-action and teasing o_o This is clearly targeted at hormone crazed teenage girls… #guilty. I’ll give it one more week.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「nightmare」 by 林ゆうき (Hayashi Yuuki)

Preview

57 Comments

    1. May be because you are under 15 and you are a guy? Try to imagine how many “no” this anime get then. I can say “no” almost for every show this season and the next season just because I see girls everywere. However I say “no” for this kind of anime too.

      Of cause it is not like Ouran School Host Club. Something like Amnesia and so on.

      Seya-san
      Reply

      1. Bah, I’m a 32 yo woman & I say JUST NO.

        Oh yeah, don’t tell Megas I use his PC from time to time. The sites he have saved are a riot. He’ll probably see this message anyway since he watches shoujo when he’s bored but he hates reverse harems so maybe not. SO CONFLICTING!

        Megas
        Reply

      3. You know it. She’s like a gumdrop in a room full of mouths. Simply drop kicking the girl into this situation is just plain weird, if not stupid. Why don’t I just walk down a dark alley for the mugger while I’m at it.

        Megas
        Reply

      1. No. Absolutely not, it’s way way darker than something like Vampire Knight. This caters to a really niche audience too, so unfortunately most people will end up bashing this some way or another.

        Vivienne
        Reply

  4. no. nnnnnnno. no no no no no they are not carbon copies of each other AT ALL. so far from it. and they don’t like her. nothing in this series is supposed to actually be okay. it is all twisted and un-romanticized abuse. they seriously would have killed her right the fuck there if they hadn’t been told they weren’t allowed to.

    Rittan
    Reply

      1. No. I’m being serious as someone who has played the game. This series comes with a long-ass list of trigger warnings. None of them are good people. Nothing is supposed to come across as okay.

        Rittan
        Reply

    1. I’ve actually read both and no, they’re quite different. Twilight is aimed towards preteens/teenagers who have an overactive imagination and going through puberty. The couple don’t really touch much, let alone have sex. 50 Shades of Grey on the other hand is aimed towards female adults and there’s… well lots of sex (specifically in the S&M nature). Twilight is more about an emotional connection with vampires whereas 50 Shades is all about fulfilling physical needs.

      Not going to try and defend either one because they’re both not great books (Twilight’s better if you ever cared to know =P) but that’s why I said this anime is more like 50 Shades rather than Twilight.

      Cherrie
      Reply

      1. What they do in 50 shades of grey is really really really x10 light, I wouldn’t even call it S&M. As for the book itself like you said it’s not great, actually pretty bad. From the male protag being a total psycho with his following around to the female being a dumb cunt no offense.

        Mifec
        Reply

  9. lol @ Cherrie mentioning Tomoko and her nighttime anime watching… suspiciously specific denial, to boot!
    Surprisingly enough I might watch this one despite being not-target audience, simply because reversal of roles in harem show is rare, but when done right it is nothing short of spectacular… Ouran was definite classic in this format.
    I will need to compare with other shows airing on same weekday, though.

    ewok40k
    Reply

  10. The way that the brothers act as a group resembles gang rape and to be honest, people might like that (while others might find that disgusting and difficult to watch)

    “People might like that”?
    orz

    Shiden
    Reply

  12. This show made my skin crawl and soul hurt. I came here expecting something resembling Ouran, but in the end what i got is a slew of banalities one after another. The way the dudes acting and speaking was absolutely ridiculous, it’s laughable. And the shows treat its female lead so badly, it’s not even funny. Overall this first eps comes off to me as more aggresive version of Amnesia, which i deemed crap too.

    I’m not Masochist enough to keep watching, so dropped

    Amiluhur
    Reply

  14. I generally dont mind occasional humiliation of stupid females, as it is somewhat rare in the anime, but this show is pretty awful regardless, what with having no story hook to speak of, terrible writing in general, and main heroine vocalizing her every thought….no, just no.
    Made me go rewatch some episodes of Maid-sama, so at least it was good for that.

    Karry
    Reply

  16. So I’m speaking as a person who has played some of the routes and listened to all the CDs. I realize you have only watched the anime so I understand it would be hard to get a read for it so close, but here’s the thing about Diahell (and yes, I do mean hell), it’s not a romance in a traditional sense if you could call it a romance at all. It’s meant to be insanely abusive from not just how Yui gets treated, but as well as the boy’s indvivdual pasts and how they treat each other as well.

    I can’t say how far the anime plans to delve with only twelve fifteen minute episodes, but these characters are the furthest from stereotypical as you can get. Yes, there outer shell is like that, but there pasts make so much sense with how they act now. Take Raito as an example, the one who calls her bitch-chan all the time. That’s not a personal thing, it’s a deeply honed fear of not having control that causes him to degrade her, which also explains how he’s probably the most sexual of the six.
    I won’t go into the nitty gritty details and I definetly am not planning on defending or justifying how he acts or any of the other Sakamaki’s brothers, but they are highly developed characters. Don’t judge a book for it’s cover.
    This title is also not about sex. Yes, it’s there, but there’s more too it and relating it to twilight or fifty shades of grey seems like misinformation. Twilight is a teen book and should automatically be disregarded as far as its relations to Dialovers. 50 shades shouldn’t really be compared to it either. It’s S&M but it’s consensual and meant to have readers fawning. Diabolik lovers is riding the terror factor all the way through the stories.
    It has very controversial and dark topics, even gang rape is a pretty evident theme if you’ve listened to the song ‘midnight pleasure’ which is sung by three of the six. This game is filled with trigger warnings and shohldnt be read by people looking for romance or S&M because this goes past that to twisted levels.

    That being said, I for one adore DL and would appreciate not being judged for it. I find the psychology of these characters absouletely phenomnal, as well as a lot of the writing and dialogue in general. I do also admit to having a strange attraction to the males, but please don’tcall me a masochist, just because im interested in fictional characters does not mean I’d date any of them in real life, and aI have a feeling a lot of other fans feel similar.

    Anyway, im going to wrap up my long rant and im sorry for voicing this in such a manner but I had to defend it a little bit. Again, this is not thetype of title meant for the faint hearted. The anime just started so I have no idea how dark it will get, but judging by what it’s based off of, the new followers need to proceed with caution.

    Thank you and sorry again.

    Miranda Fangirling-Hard
    Reply

    1. Exactly!! My sentiments exactly!!!

      I’m so SICK of all these anime-only viewers who know nothing about the series when the series has already been causing roars and stirs and waves and rages in the otome gaming world for years. AND they try to make some kind of (very flawed) judgement about it. Dialovers caused a stir when it came out at the end of 2011, and almost every otome gamer will have at least heard about it by now. And here you anime-only viewers are comparing it to what, Amnesia? BroCon?!?! You must be kidding me. They are of completely different genres. It’s ridiculous to compare them just because they all happen to have otome games in their multimedia franchise. (Btw the Amnesia anime is NOTHING like the awesome game and the anime simply sucked but guess this isn’t the place to rant about that now.)

      “what you get out of this anime is really all about expectations”

      I agree with you on that. If you’re looking for plot development or whatever, you don’t get it at all. This is not about plot. This is about pure pleasure. You just go straight into the story and start enjoying it, and enjoy the moe/do-S/yandere/cuteness/hotness from start to end. That’s it.
      By the way, the drama CDs start off right away with the hot characters sucking your blood, and they do that from start to end. Period. If you don’t know how to enjoy something like that, don’t watch the show.

      “keep in mind that its source material is not the most original or creative”

      Unfortunately, I don’t agree with you on that. This concept was so shocking (a bunch of really really sadistic guys) and so original that it caused a stir in the world of female-oriented content and inspired a whole bunch of blood-sucking vampire drama CDs that seemed to be Dialover replicas. And now comes my most important point:

      THIS SHOW IS NOT ABOUT VAMPIRES.
      IT IS ABOUT HOT GUYS SUCKING YOUR BLOOD.

      So I’m not sure you’re going in with the right expectations when you compare it to Twilight or whatever. The blood-sucking is the main point of the whole series, and it’s supposed to give you pleasure. Yes, the pleasure that resembles what you get from s**. So that’s the whole deal. I’m not a masochist, and I suspect most fans of the series aren’t, but you’ve got to know how the series works to enjoy it. And this is a Do-S series, so the guys calling you Bitch-chan or Chichi nashi (lit. no tits, translated mildly as Pancake) is really just the mildest part of it all. I would classify this series as horror, but I’m not sure how much of the horrifying parts will be carried over to the anime. I suspect everything will be toned down a lot.

      Anyway, you’ve just got to treat the insults as the guys being shy and hiding their true feelings, and you’ll be able to bear with it, and maybe even find it funny (like I do). So in conclusion, if anyone of you are gonna continue watching this or even write a weekly review on it, you need to understand that you shouldn’t be focusing on plot, or even on the heroine. YOU are the heroine. When you understand that, you can enjoy this guilty pleasure (for girls).

      shiemi
      Reply

      1. I’m gonna join the discussion with my piece on the anime/game series. I agree with both shiemi an Miranda Fangirling-Hard. Diabolik lovers cannot be compared to other otome game-turned-animations like Brothers Conflict (BroCOn to some of you) and Amnesia, etc. It just doesn’t work. I first stumbled on Diabolik Lovers back in May 2012 when it was first announced and the site hadn’t even properly opened. At the time the CDs were all we had to go with, and a couple of dedicated translators who diligently worked their magic in making sense of the foreign dialogue. June 2012 introduced the grand opening of the site (and beautiful BGM) as well as some character profiles. I own the game, and I’m sure was one of the many eager fans disappointed when its release date got pushed back a month. (Those were many a sad weeks from 09/12 to 10/12).

        That being said, moving back to June-July 2012, I subjected my sister to some pieces from the Drama CDs up on Youtube, and the first guy I listened to was Raito. The moemnt he called her “Bitch-chan” I actually paused the video and turned to my sister all like “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?” I confirmed it by replying it. I was floored. Really. And this is around the time FSoG hit the fan with its shitty content and everyone was raving about BDSM. And if DiaLovers hadn’t released earlier, I might have been like, “Rejet went all Twilight (teenage male, hormonal vampires) + FSoG (BDSM fun -sarcasm-) = do-S dorama dummyhead goodness, Diabolik Lovers”. I digress.

        My sister often asks me why I like Diabolik Lovers when I love to rant about the stupidity of Yui, the impossible sadistic-ness of the Sakamakis, and how I’d like nothing more than to jump into the DiaLovers world and merc all their animated asses. Yui is a true-blue TSTL, and I refuse to call her a Mary Sue b/c I did not once–ONCE–imagine myself as her. I like to think I’d never be a TSTL heroine. None of the guys are dateable, loveable really. They’re all awful, but not equal in their deplorable behaviour and personaliy. I do have favorites: Shuu and Subaru. (Kanato comes in at third.) Still when she asks me this question I usually stumble for an answer. But I’ve long settled to saying this to address my “obsession”: I like this story because I love the characters. It is without a doubt a character-driven plot. The complexity of these boys is pretty out there. (Faaaar out, ladies!) I often play through the routes asking myself, “How effed up are they? Really? Can there be people like this out there?” The answer is HECK YES. (But please don’t search for them.) My motto has been: Love the underlying motives, not the men. Sorry Sakamaki bros, I got little to no love for you, guys, despite the eye candy.

        The point is this, for those of you who don’t own the game and who might not be buying DL More, Blood, this is toted as a romance. It is a marketed as a romance ADV; however, it is a catered romance. Catered as in it targets a particular audience. Those who DO like the masochism and sadism, who are into the vampire subgenre, and who don’t mind a darker than usual love. I’m not going to tag the series with negative cononations like, “Yui is just suffering Stolkholm syndrome” or whatnot. Actually her stupidity works to the benefit of the plot and story concept. Yeah, is it a typical romance trope, the fish-out-of-water, love-conquers-all approaach? For sure. But I’m a champion for cliches if there utilized well in developing conflict and characters and advancing plot. Every thing Yui does in the house, and at that super-speshful school she goes to, is shadowed by the secret she holds close to her heart *wink, wink* and by the presence of the Sakamakis and their crazy-arse pasts.

        Another point, I do disagree with the whole “there’s no plot” thing. There ia a plot. Things happen. Conflict and characterization abound. This is more a horror romance to me, maybe toeing the Gothic genre. End result: you’ll find none of your Harlequin-trademarked roamnces. There are three endings per guy and at least one (or two, or three, depending on your idea of a good ending) includes a HEA that is appropriately-suited to the characters (Yui and whichever vampire hunk she’s chosen) and their resolved internal and external conflicts.

        What’s my advice? If you’re going to go in, go in with an OPEN mind. Open to the possibility that you might like it and be utterly confused as to why (like me!) or open to the chance to hating it and not understanding why anyone would pay for ‘the misogynistic garbage’. But make all the decisions you want. I’ve already read some comments where users are boycotting the show or are on the verge of boycotting the show after one or two more epsioces, and that’s cool. You made a choice to stop wasting your time with something you don’t like. No way can hold that against you. Good for you! 🙂

        As for me, I’ll finish the anime and I’ll be preordering my copy of DLMB very soon, so what can I say? More fodder for a future thesis, maybe, on ‘what is romance, really?’

        Hana
        Reply

  18. the only reason I’ll be watching episode 2 is because I want to see how she gets out of the pickle she was in at the end of the episode. Otherwise yeah the vampires all struck me as annoying, not one of them was likable as a character, you know the kind of characters you just want to punch in the face?

    gawrshness
    Reply

  23. Nice write up! I personally found this to be very disturbing. I know some of these elements are part of the genre, but…My god…The girl being called a little b*tch, chased around a house, mounted on top of and licked simultaneously by 5 (was it five? Six? Ah, they all kind of blended together), then being ridiculed over wanting to get the heck out of their and of her bust size was just too much for me to handle. A shame too as the art was pretty nice…

    Cenosored
    Reply

  25. Base on the latest comments, it appears that any of those following the game, would actually enjoy this series. Any new comers may be engage by the amazing display of artwork and be quickly turned off by the well.. whatever this episode was.

    And this is were I think the anime has it’s major flaw: it is doing a great job for current fans, doing nothing really for new ones. But I digress, maybe new comers will love the bloody thing. However I find myself being gross out and found it utterly tasteless that I can see where the “NO” is coming from. It didn’t came suddenly but gradually building up that huge warning sign of just ‘NO’. The things that bother me are fundamentally the same thing that it bothered many, no point of stating it. Which is actually a shame cause I actually like the artwork and I found the lead somewhat cute. But overall… no.

    Solara
    Reply

    1. In fairness, those latest comments you mentioned do say that being offended is indeed the appropriate response to take. From there, it’s simply a matter of whether your sensibilities can last long enough to absorb whatever story this show wants to tell.

      I haven’t watched the episode yet btw. It’s just terribly fun reading all the offended reactions towards this show’s first episode.

      Kirin
      Reply

  26. Artwork is beautiful. Yui’s past intrigues me. Those boys scare me.
    3 episode rule for me. Seems interesting , but since vampires aren’t typically my thing……Just have to wait and see.

    Aki-Chan
    Reply

    1. Ha. You’re right about that. Gang bang/gang rape flourishes here, but you are aware that before the reverse harem came to be, the (still way more popular) harem existed? That is one man, mulitple women. Examples of animes with this content are: Rosario + Vampire and Demon King. That being said, indulge me by answering: “Why does the reverse harem have to = gang rape, when the harem could be just that, too?”

      I know the question’s unfair, really, when the answer is pretty simple: a whole range of cultures have attributed their males as being sexaholics who cannot control their bestial urges and the more men, the merrier chance of rape for poor, little female damsel-in-distress. Still, it would be a really great research question for any takers. Why are the women in harem animes, and in the rarer games, depicted as bearing a range of different personalities (i.e. docile, fiery, clingy, etc.), yet they are never portrayed in domineering positions to the man, stripped of the potential to rape him? (Not that I want to see anybody–male or female–get raped! That shit’s just screams desperate and downright disgusting.) And why are reverse harems insist on having scenes where the lone female (it’s always one frickin’ girl too! I mean, c’mon. Wouldn’t it be great to have a companion to suffer with at least? The miserable do love company…) is crowded in on either side by the male love interests? All I say to this is, shame on the companies and employers/people behind selling crappy mindsets like this to their consumers!

      Hana
      Reply

  28. Why is there still an audience for this genre?
    Putting that aside, can we even for once have a Vampire heroine who isn’t a damsel in distress? And get rid of angsty vampire manboys with anger-management problems?

    petitorenji
    Reply

  29. “The way that the brothers act as a group resembles gang rape and to be honest, people might like that (while others might find that disgusting and difficult to watch).”

    That sentence alone is enough of a motivation to give it a shot. But I guess it will turn out like 50 shades, very little personality and action, and too much virgin dreams about how their fictional lover could double as their child :p

    Malkuth
    Reply

  30. Even though I never read the manga or played the games, I read about the boys past on Wikia and wow. They are messed up. I don’t blame them for being the way they are but it still doesn’t justify their actions (But I do give some points to Raito for making me spit my drink out). The first episode was really.. Interesting. I liked the mystery and how intense it was. I just have a problem with the run time. 15 minutes? Seriously? But, I guess I’ll live. I’m still gonna watch the show, it’s just really different.

    Mia
    Reply

    1. Unfortunately I am not following Diabolik Lovers at the moment… if you go to the Fall Schedule 2013 – you’ll see what each of the writers are going to be blogging this season. I might do a post for the finale of Diabolik Lovers… but judging by all these comments, I might pass =X We’ll see.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  33. After finishing Amnesia I’m reasonably sure no other MC can inspire such irritation in me as Heroine did. I can definitely agree with you on this, as far as the show’s guilty pleasure appeal (‘specially for dat 16+ vibe it seems to be givin’ off), and for Yui’s understandable freakout over the situation (at least for now).

    Ashen-phoenix
    Reply

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