Notes
In the first few episodes, the writing was nothing short of horrendous. Lines were flying all over the place, with no logic, no flow, and no effect whatsoever. I thought it'd be impossible to ever take the drama seriously, but suddenly, in the last half, it became strangely riveting. The sap came out of nowhere and hit me right between the eyes. As a whole, the drama is shamelessly campy, but in some perverse way, it works.
Once again, "the first few episodes" are so random and choppy, you can hardly believe they got past the network. It's quite possibly the poorest set up I've ever seen. No introduction, no context, nothing. There's always some kind of obligatory foundation to establish, but this drama just flew right over it. Rosa
alone kept me watching. I'm glad I did, since it improved greatly after episode 5, but damn, those first episodes are a hot mess.
Ruka definitely falls into brooding alpha hero territory. It was pretty laughable in the beginning, but he had all the right moves by the end. Makoto is definitely that same fussy nuisance of a character that I hated seeing Rosa reduced to in
Oh! My Girl!!, but this time, she achieved more emotional depth, and that was her saving grace. Great sidekicks and obligatory cardboards.
The grief was the most effective thing about the drama, and it's because they never overemphasized it. It's not a story
about grief, necessarily, it just uses it at the right moments.
The self-sacrificing HERO, for once! It's really the only way you could have ended this story, so I'm glad they didn't cop out and make Makoto a vampire. She had to watch her first love die twice; that really got me teary.
Considering the fantasy element, I would have liked to see more use of color, be it warm or cool. Sometimes they
almost had it, but overall, they never really created a world that sucked you in. (Wow, you saw that metaphor coming a mile away.)
Kanno Yugo does it again! The score was hauntingly beautiful,
too beautiful for the drama. The melodies really pulled you in when the acting/writing was a little stiff. Ending theme by Yuma and B.I. Shadow is a pleasant enough song.
All the inherent skinship that comes with a vampire plot allowed Yuma and Rosa to be a lot more hands-on than the usual idol drama. It was entertaining, for sure, but all the chasing and grabbing aside, they knew how to be sweet and heartwrenching as well. Rosa was especially great with her Gazing, from episode 1 all the way to the end. And Yuma, all of
15 freakin' years old, was more convincing than half the drama heroes I've ever watched. They even got to kiss. I will be forever amazed at how believable they ended up being.
Apple's Tier Ranking: 2nd
