Sengoku Night Blood is this season’s reverse harem anime du jour. A plain, meek young girl with nothing useful to contribute to society finds herself transported to another world, where she inexplicably draws the loyalty and romantic attention of a slew of handsome, vibrant young men, each individually crafted to maximize their appeal.
But Sengoku Night Blood ’s twist? It’s all Warring States aesthetic meets vampires and werewolves ( Hakuoki doesn’t have werewolves, right?), with famous feudal lords reimagined as meticulously pretty and distinct young men. Everyone’s a vampire, unless they’re a werewolf, as noted by their fluffy ears and tails. As for our main character, Yuzuki, her blood has a special property that “awakens” those who drink it to their full powers. This unique power was previously possessed by a now-vanished young woman called Himemiko and makes Yuzuki a valuable asset (as well as enabling a little light blood play, you know, for the kids).
Although Yuzuki is passive, lacking any special skill or personal merit aside from a vague kindness and general desire to be helpful, there is occasionally just the briefest flash of personality that makes her stand ever so slightly apart from other helpless heroines in the self-insert fantasy genre. It’s not only her special blood but this vague femininity that inspires the men around her to squabble over who is privileged to protect her, blush over her, yank her around by the wrist or carry her delicate form to and fro.
The character designs for all the men are lively and varied. The animation exceeds expectations, with intricate designs kept on-model throughout the first three episodes and a color-drenched use of stills that keeps them from being too obvious a budget stopgap. The bombardment of famous names and new characters makes it difficult to remember who anyone is, and thank God for the visual signifier telling werewolves apart from vampires, or we’d have no clue who’s on what side. Yuzuki’s plot, which involves being directed to find the Himemiko by a cute little mascot-type character, is a flimsy excuse for her to meet and bewitch all these beautiful men.
Honestly, the wish fulfillment is innocently inoffensive to me, especially when compared to the leering slime of anime about wanting to fuck your sister or whatever else that creeps up like mold every season. Apparently Sengoku Night Blood is based off a mobile game, but its technical merits are higher than normal for such an anime.
There’s not much of a plot, there’s not a lot of narrative tension, the main character’s boring and I don’t really know who anyone is (even after three episodes), but Sengoku Night Blood delivers the real goods: supernatural Sengoku-era pretty boys. Gotta catch ‘em all. If you’re not into pretty boys of any stripe, this anime just isn’t for you, but if a little reverse harem escapism sounds like a good time, you could do worse than Sengoku Night Blood.
Sengoku Night Blood airs on Crunchyroll every Tuesday at 11 a.m. EDT. Will you be watching? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below.
