DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE,BLOOD

DESCRIPTION

CAST

TV SHORT DramaDIABOLIK LOVERS
MANGA PsychologicalDiabolik Lovers More,Blood: Mukami-hen
MANGA ComedyDiabolik Lovers More,Blood Anthology

REVIEWS

• 

  EveThePuppy

  30/100
  While the sequel is definitely prettier, it doesn't fix any of the fundamental issues leftover from season one.

  I'm starting this review off with a warning, similar to what I gave for season one. The point of Diabolik Lovers - as an otome series, as a show, and as a collection of drama CDs - is to be taboo, toxic, and violent. These games straddle the line between S&M fantasies and genuine abuse. Often very clumsily. The abuse that Yui (our protagonist) goes through, the metaphorical rape (non-consensual bloodsucking), and the themes of self harm, dehumanization, and corruption are supposed to be titillating. I don't think these should be held against the anime, and this review isn't negative because of the subject matter.

  If that's not your thing, then don't watch! And if that is your thing, then you should still play the games instead of watching this anime.

  Before I start getting negative, I do want to praise the show on two things that its done better. The first is the art style; I can't tell if it's actually gotten better, but I thought it felt noticeably more confident this season. Character designs felt more natural, the environments were genuinely pretty at times, and by-in-large I thought this season felt a bit higher budget than the first. The second is that they actually attempt to tell a coherent, intriguing narrative this time! It falls flat on its face, but it's the thought that counts. Even the slower, more boring segments still felt like they were building to something.

  Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood falls into the same issues that season one does; how do you make a compelling anime, with a gigantic cast of 12 (12!) love interests, with characters known for 10 hour long game routes, and fit it all into a combined three hours of screen time?

  The answer is "You can't."

  Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood is dealt an impossible hand, and tries the best it can. But ultimately, even more than season one, season two feels like a conveyor belt of fan-girl moments. Each episode is split roughly in half, with each half being a single big scene from one of the visual novels. However, this means that unless you already like the boys or know the specific scene that's being referenced, there's little buildup or context for what's happening. One moment, Yui is being held at knife point by one of the new boys, begging her to hurt him. The next, she's faint and being carried down a hallway while two boys argue. The next, she's out in a rose garden, being fed on by another boy.

  And because we never get much time with any of the characters, we never see how they grow and change. One of the big things that sells the romance in the visual novels is how much the vampire you're dating changes over time. They become sweeter, kinder, more overtly into you. The abuse never really goes away in most routes, but it's a sort of enemies-to-lovers growth that adds some needed depth to each of the characters. Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood doesn't have enough time to do this, and as such, most of the abusive scenes just feel like abuse. Everyone hates Yui, up until they've all done their abusive scenes with her, and now suddenly everyone cares about her a little bit, because everyone needs to have some mildly sweet scenes.

  Speaking of the characters, this anime made the baffling decision to try and merge the plots of two entire games, Diabolik Lovers: More, Blood and Diabolik Lovers: Dark Fate. Why?!? Diabolik Lovers: More, Blood, unlike the first game, had a strong narrative element already. The four new boys - the Mukamis - want to kidnap Yui as part of a biblical "Adam & Eve" scheme. This leads to conflict, combat, and plenty of character interactions between the new cast and the old one. Diabolik Lovers: Dark Fate meanwhile deals with a completely different plot, involving two more boys - the Tsukinamis - attempting to kidnap Yui for their own reasons. Why attempt to introduce both of these groups at the same time? I don't understand it.

  I could go on, but ultimately I'd be spoiling or repeating myself. On a visual level, Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood is an improvement over season one. But in every other aspect, it's either the same or worse. The plot is half-assed, the character moments only hit as extensions of the games, the pacing is even more rushed, hardly anything has time to be explained, and the violence feels a fair bit more tame than the first season. If you're not already a fan of the Diabolik Lovers franchise, absolutely skip this one. And even if you are a fan, if you didn't enjoy the first season - either ironically or unironically - then you're not missing anything here. You'll get far more out of playing the game than you will watching Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood.

  Also the fact that it ends on a season three tease infuriates me. They really thought this had legs huh?

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