Hell yeah, they're dancing in the vampire bund!!!

Katt: Gotta love how I said that I would for sure blog the final two episodes of this series…and then skipped episode 11. Go me! And I notice that I have a tendency of not blogging the most exciting episodes of this series. Well, since episode 12 is the finale, it’s guaranteed to be interesting!

In these final two episodes, so many the plot twists were squeezed in. I have to wonder whether it would have been better to have cut down on the drama a bit and focus on one major plot point, maybe reaching a solid conclusion? Maybe? Instead, we’re introduced to a few bizarre turns and even bigger questions – and then given the ending line, “And the pledge would remain unbroken for the rest of their story,” essentially laughing in our faces and saying: yeah, they get their happy ending but you don’t get to see all of the crazy stuff that happens before they get there! Assholes. I digress, though… I liked how certain things were handled and was annoyed at other  things, so this final blog post will be used to vent my opinions on different aspects of this final arc and, specifically, final episode.

The role of Mei Ren

Mei Ren, Mei Ren… I still can’t decide what to make of your role in this anime. At first I thought that her addition was pretty neat, but that was when her mysteries were yet unknown to us and to Akira. Once those mysteries were exposed, I kinda lost interest. Because she was nothing more than an anime addition, her story only had the chance to be heard in these last two episodes (actually, only in the last episode, really). It was extremely intriguing, had a lot of potential for both dark and heartwarming value. We only got to see snippets of that potential in her monologues and very brief flashbacks – what a tease!

Her role as Rozenmann’s assassin/Mina’s double’s servant/agent for the Telomere was overwhelming. It felt like they were trying to cram a whole lot of explanations into one little character, and as a result left us with even more questions than they would have if they kept Mei Ren out. Oh, and let’s make her a beast person too, just for good measure. If they had given her more time to develop all of these many, many sides of her, then fine - but no, she got two measly episodes!!

Akira’s last ~hidden memory~

This. Oh my lord, this. WHY? It is just so…was it really necessary? Really? If they were going for the “Akira and Mina lived happily ever after” ending, then it would have been perfectly logical to have ended on the note of Akira saving Mina from the harassment of the Three Clans/her arranged marriage. Instead, they introduce a random twist in which there are two Minas and Akira (and Mei Ren, apparently) is the only person with this knowledge. And in the end, both Minas still exist, leaving this sudden issue completely unresolved. I will only accept this ridiculousness if they intend to make a sequel to this series; if not, this plot twist is superfluous and just plain annoying!

Mina’s dealings with the Three Clans

What I did undeniably love about this last episode was Mina’s attitude throughout the whole ordeal. She remained incredibly composed while watching the spectacle of Akira’s final battle, only faltering towards the end when her hand was shown to be quivering. She still manages to steady herself, watch the conclusion, and then address her bretheren with that cold, powerful vampire leader attitude of hers. My favourite part of this is when, after she walks away with total composure, Mina breaks into an eager run towards the entrance where Akira will be arriving. A big part of Dance in the Vampire Bund is establishing which Mina is the true Mina (and I don’t mean that in the ‘there are two Minas’ way – I’m ignoring that plot twist), and this simple, excited action says it all to me.

The concluding promise

I said it at the beginning, but I’ll say it again for good measure: HELL YES THEY DANCED IN THE VAMPIRE BUND! …Yes, the silly inclusion of the title within the characters’ actions makes me happy. I’m a dork, I know.

In all seriousness, the ending was nice in a cheesy way – which isn’t always bad. It fit the path that they took with this anime adaptation, following it through with a narrator focused on Akira and Mina’s fairy tale-esque romance. The added metaphor of the butterfly loving the flower came back nicely in the closing scene, as well, showing us that Mina isn’t an emotionless flower who can never return the butterly’s feelings; both she and Akira are butterflies, capable of returning each other’s affections and basking in love for their remaining days. Yep, I think that this ending calls for a big awwwww~

Katt sank her teeth into Dance in the Vampire Bund episode 12…8.5/10
Katt found, overall, Dance in the Vampire Bund’s blood tasted…7.5/10 – I think I would have preferred it so much more had I not read the manga previously. The expectations really messed with my enjoyment of the series.

Things have gotten weird on the Miracle Train. .../shamelessly plugging my favourite boy.

Katt: Hey, if Minnie can wrap up White Album because the blogger vanished, then I will do so for Miracle Train! Why? Because, for some reason, I watched this senselessly bishietastic show until the end. Sure, it was mostly for giggles thanks to the show not taking itself too seriously (at least, I hope that’s the case), but I guess that I can bring this series full-circle with a bit of fangirling. By that, I mean that Marissa’s post on the first episode was full of fangirling for each of the characters; now, for the final episode, I will do the same…in my calmer, more analytic style. Which won’t come off as fangirling at all. Uh…this is gonna be weird…but let’s go~

Roppongi is of course the first guy that has to be mentioned. Why? In a world where all bishies are meant to be treated equally, Roppongi comes out on top. He gets extra backstory thanks to his past connection with Akari (more on her later). Plus everyone loves the silent sweetheart; I’ll admit that at the start of the series I had a soft spot for Roppongi’s personality paired with his looks, but it got pretty tiring fast. Mostly thanks to the characters all emphasizing how boring and quiet he was, even though in the context of the show he was toootally meant to stand out above the others. But I can’t dislike Roppongi for the same reasons…damn you and your perfection, Roppongi!

Shinjuku had to be my favourite by the end. The character who initially seems the most carefree of them all somehow ended up becoming progressively more serious as the series went on. I mean, by this final episode, he was the one contemplating issues with Tocho, the most sobring character of them all! I think that most of my love for him had to come from the episode in which he played the ‘villain’ in the bizarre runaway Miracle Train episode (defs my favourite)–it gave him a different side, even if he was just acting. In the end, though, he proved himself to be a deep-thinking character who still manages to keep that flirtatious side that makes him the group’s playboy.

Then Tocho, Mr. Serious Leader… He sort of had the reversed version of Shinjuku’s development, didn’t he? While he was initially played up as being soooo serious, he was forced to develop a fun side thanks to the passengers he had to deal with. This definitely ended up being his most endearing feature: his ability to let loose and have a little fun now and then, while trying to keep up a serious facade. Plus, the moment when a kid called Tocho her dad and all of the Miracle Train boys were like, “Oh mah gahd, Tocho has an illegitimate love child!” had to give me one of the best laughs of the season. Oh, and he’s the cause of the runaway Miracle Train. You go, Tocho, for being both serious and hilarious together.

The shota, Shiodome, admittedly doesn’t stand out all that much to me in the end. I’m sorry, Shiodome! I honestly can’t remember who his passengers were and how he dealt with their problems. …Now I feel kind of bad. Okay, okay, I can give him some credit because it isn’t like he’s a bad character, just more static compared to the rest. The kid who’s self-conscious about his size/age isn’t anything special, but it doesn’t take away from his cuteness. While the shota-lovers out there might say ‘rawr!’ to him, I had more of the ‘aww, look at the lil’ kid trying to be grown up’ reaction to him. Plus he really is a sweetie, always doing his best to help out even if he sometimes falls behind. (Also, funny credit: imagining the conductor’s room as bubble bath haven.)

Carefree Tsukishima is probably my second favourite of the boys. His monja-making obsession had to give me my earliest laughs in this series, and then as the episodes went on he showed that he had a more thoughtful side too. He undeniably made his Miracle Train passenger fall for him harder than any of the other girls did for their stations, and in this final episode he is the one who figures out what’s going on before anything else does. I friggin’ loved that moment, where one of the boys accusingly approaches the conductor and his identity is hidden from the viewer for a bit (although after all of the HanaSei I watch, I recognized his voice)–who’d think that the monja-minded Tsukishima would be the brightest of them all? Love it!

Ryogoku, the eccentric one, is like Shiodome in the sense that he doesn’t get as much develoment as the other boys. He’s got his simple obsession: martial arts! Wha-bam! Like all of the boys, his weird quirk belies the good heart that he really has. I think that the thing that I will remember him for most will be–like Marissa said in her initial Miracle Train post–his undeniable resemblance to Kain from Vampire Knight. Their personalities are compleeeetely different, but their orange hair and the way that it’s styled are far too similar to ignore! It’s quite possible that the next time Kain appears in the VK manga, I will subconsciously expect him to show off some awesome martial arts skillz.

Marissa’s favourite, the mysterious ‘conductor’ Shasho ended up being a very intriguing character in this final episode, though admittedly he’s still pretty shallow. We never found out why the Miracle Train has a conductor; all we figured out is that he is completely comitted to the train running properly even if it sacrifices a certain guide’s memories. Oh, and that he can make people pass out with his magical red-eye powers and also teleport and move through doors. That is most impressive, even in the setting of a totally fictional metro system dedicated to helping ladies in distress. What still confuses me is that, if he is meant to be the villain, why does he stick around and run the Miracle Train like nothing happened in the end?

And, of course, the loli Akari, who ended up being one of the most important of them all. As you can see, she’s grown up a wee bit since this series was last blogged. She has actually been a passenger this entire time, which has been the cause of the train going into overdrive and being at risk of dissolving. Who’d ever have imagined such a twist?! Well, something significant involving Roppongi and Akari has been foreshadowed for a while, so I suppose it’s not a huge surprise. Can’t say that I saw the age change from loli to 20 coming, though. I have to admit that her plotline was needlessly complicated when it came to explanations, but it certainly gave this show a greater story than just separate vingettes, so I’ll be appreciative.

Wait wait wait, I forgot: Tokugawa! The dog that initially made me go, “WTF? That’s supposed to be a shiba inu?” is awesome.  His constant, unheard sarcastic remarks were always amusing, as was the fact that this funny looking dog is the most serious character in this entire series. Wait, is that amusing or just sad? In any case, big love for Tokugawa despite his minimal role (and minimal backstory–he was found in a box, the end). <3

Katt’s bishierrific rating for Miracle Train episode 13: 8/10
Katt’s bishificant overall rating for Miracle Train: 7/10

It really was entertaining and its light-hearted nature made it a nice break from the more heavy series I was watching this season. Plus, some of the stories were actually–dare I say it?–quite good (like the runaway Miracle Train!! Sorry, that episode amused me far too much.) Add to that the whole notion of a Miracle Train full of bishies out there to help women in distress; it’s a pretty fabulous fantasy.

Because Akari sure did!