Vampires are known to have many weaknesses that balance out their incredible power, but the vampire lord Draluc happens to be weak to pretty much anything.
The vampire hunter Ronald receives a job to infiltrate the castle of the so-called "Invincible Progenitor" and rescue a woman's son from the monster within. But upon arriving, he is dumbfounded to discover that the vampire quickly turns to ash by something as trivial as a clap of his hands! Moreover, the child he was sent to save had merely wandered in to play the vampire lord's video games while he slept!
In a disastrous turn of events, Draluc's castle is destroyed, and the fragile vampire decides to move in with the hunter who has only just defeated him. Ronald, Draluc, and the vampire's pet armadillo John form quite the eccentric team as they are forced to work together while fending off Ronald's violent editor, the lesser vampires plaguing the city, and even their fellow vampire hunters.
The Vampire Dies In No Time has a pretty lousy introduction. The jokes don't land and the two main characters just aren't very likable, nor is the show any interesting. However, first impressions aren't everything, and after letting it simmer for a few more episodes (or maybe it's the Stockholm Syndrome kicking in), I ended up having a blast every week with this show.
The show follows your standard boke-tsukkomi routine with Ronaldo and Draluc taking on each role depending on the situation. The comedy itself can get fairly juvenile or basic but I'd be lying if I didn't at least smile most of the time....Somehow the old trick to LOUDLY YELL OUT THE JOKE works wonders for a show like this. Comedic timing is generally fine, though the show often relies too heavily on overly explaining the joke at times.
Part of the draw for me was to see how crazy each episode escalates from the last. Shin-Yokohama apparently is filled with weirdos and perverts. And they just keep one-upping each other week after week after week. I gotta give the show credit for keeping things fresh by progressively getting more absurd as the show went on. Also as seiyuu fan, listening to assorted seiyuu veterans lend their voices to guest characters is a joy. I don't know how or why they got Wakamoto to voice a goldfish, but I sure am glad they did.
Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu is a show that grows on you over time. Perhaps the first few episodes knowing who each character is and how they relate to the world helped in making me appreciate the show as it went along. Regardless, it's no surprise to see the show getting a sequel (which is exceedingly rare for a comedy show to do), and I'll gladly tune in whenever it comes along.
If there's ONLY ONE way that I can recommend this show to all of you, please watch it just for John, the adorable South American pet armadillo that's instantaneously loved by all. It should get its own spin-off story, for real.
Comedy series can be hit or miss. Those that really dig you hard to the point of LMAOing, like Grand Blue or Asobi Asobase, or the latter that tries too hard to appeal to everyone, like this season's Shinka no Mi a.k.a The Fruit of Evolution. Where mangaka Itaru Bonnoki's work on Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu a.k.a The Vampire Dies in No Time lies at, IMO...it is neither here nor there, as much as we're all happy to have an esteemed studio like Madhouse be back in the seasonal run. Such a mixed bag.
Humans and vampires don't really exactly have a good reputation between each other, one that's even more so when the human is a vampire hunter and the vampire is your typical Dracula-style being. But that is exactly the case between Ronaldo and Draluc, whom the former has received a hunter job that's supposed to save a kid whom has wandered into the latter's castle, only to realize that he isn't so high and mighty like the stereotypical vampire that he is. And just with something trivial as a clapping of hands, Draluc very easily turns into ash while Ronaldo gets hung up around this kid who's smarter than the both of them to infiltrate his castle just to have fun. The ramifications of all these unhinged actions, is that Draluc's home gets destroyed in the process, and has to co-live with Ronaldo in his vampire hunter office because he has nowhere else to go. The incentive that result from all these events, is the introduction of Draluc's pet armadillo named John, and that the trio makes up one hell of an unusual team as they are forced to work together to fend off the "evildoers" ranging from Ronaldo's fellow vampire hunters (that could smell out Draluc) to even his condescending editor responsible for his valiant stories of heroic deeds against lesser vampires in the city of Shin-Yokohama.
Right off the bat, you know that this show is a comedy first and foremost, and doesn't try to sugarcoat its wacky premise in basis of the time and progression. That in and of itself should give you the idea that in the world that the detective Ronaldo, vampire Draluc and armadillo John lives in, there's a wack ton of things happening concurrently, but the job is there to maintain stride and "glory" that Ronaldo is banking on: his War Chronicle series that his editor Fukuma is always trying to scourge out of the vampire hunter, because that's also both his and Ronaldo's interpersonal business relationship as well. Oh, and Ronaldo is part of the Hunters' Guild, where other vampire hunters of all forms exude their weirdness, so take that as you will. As for Draluc, he is nothing but trouble to the vampire hunter, much more to the police division where there's a specialized team of policemen under the Vampire Control division that handles both vampire hunters and the cases of lesser vampires running amok within the city, no matter their heinous and nefarious plans to oblivion. This is led mostly by Hinaichi (most people call her Hina) who seems overwhelmed with trying to spot what is Draluc's role in Ronaldo's life, only for her (like Ronaldo) to see that he's no threat at all, just yet another lesser vampire that turns into ash from the touch.
The cast of characters, when you get to know them the very first time, they're kinda of the near perfect symbol of brain-dead people, doing things that either pleasure or displeasure others to the point of them being a laughing stock. And that is certainly felt from the start. It's only the journey thereafter that really tests your funny bones to depict what's hot and what's not. However, you can't deny that the salvation of this series is always fixated on Draluc's pet armadillo John. In contrast to the entire cast, John is the most cutest and adorable mammal that's just simply likeable, amazing and always mesmerizing to watch. I always look forward to scenes of situations that showcase John being empathic and playing along with the gags of everyone, he's the best laughingstock character out of them all that makes the cut for comedy always and without fail. All hail the next anime deity that is John the Armadillo, and praise be to John and the cult of Nu.
It's great seeing Madhouse be finally back doing seasonal shows after some time off and coming back with last season's Sonny Boy. The truth of the fact is that we've just missed Madhouse too much that from the passing year that's just filled with the extent and rampage of the pandemic, and now the studio is back with this show and the MAPPA collab with Takt Op. Destiny. Concerning this show though, Madhouse did a pretty decent job all things considered, and the studio's signature flamboyancy mark is once again prevalent as well, most particularly with the OP visuals which is a throwback to one of the studio's most popular and the highly-praised best original series of all time: Death Parade. It's just simply a joy to see Madhouse's name as their comeback of a Renaissance period, although both shows aren't the best examples with Sonny Boy already making waves even from back then.
Just like with Death Parade, Jun Fukuyama's OP "DIES IN NO TIME" is insanely good. It is such a bop-to-the-lit classic segue of a title song with both MCs Ronaldo and Draluc fleeting and dancing around what looks like an enlarged roulette wheel, which for hardcore fans of Madhouse, you'll instanteously know the reference to Death Parade at least for the visuals. Sadly though, the duet of Daisuke Ono and Takayuki Kondou as TRD performing the ED "Strangers" just doesn't really follow up well, and comes off as just kinda mediocre to listen to. The only thing that I want to listen to more of is Mutsumi Tamura's incredible VA performance as John with all the "Nu"s in variable tones, considering that she has just started her role as Hermes Costello in JoJo Part 6: Stone Ocean. Nu nu nuuuuu!!!
Like I've said in the beginning: comedy is hit or miss. Depending on your depth of what's considered to tickle your funny bones, this show can either do that or just desperately try its best to keep you invested, knowing that the same gag, trope or joke is repeated over and over again. I know I did at the beginning, because I didn't know what to expect and got a good laugh out of it, only to feel tired of the fact that the growing repetition of jokes didn't really click with me. Maybe yours will still do, but this show really tests your patience if you really want to just turn off your brain and truly enjoy for what it is. This show exists in two camps: either you love it or hate it, that's all.
But still, watch this ONLY for the wholesomeness of John, and in our Lord and saviour, the cryptid god character may the anime community receive thoust salvation. All of this in John the Armadillo's name we pray, say it with me: Nunen.
What do you get when a comedy anime doesn't know how to make a joke? A bad show and also The Vampire Dies in No Time.
The beginning of a review is where I would usually put a plot synopsis, but in trying to summarize the plot, I realized that The Vampire Dies in No Time doesn't really have one. Well, it does... in the way that Captain Planet has a story, but it's one that loses all importance after the first episode. Think of the story as more of a vessel to get the characters into silly situations than one to be thematically plotted. And...hey, that's fine. It is a gag show first and foremost, so if the story isn't the main focus, they must make up for it with the gags. You can't have a comedy show without gags, right?
Well, if you find boob jokes and screaming loudly funny well then hoo boy are you in luck. I can sometimes find crass jokes funny, I'm not a stick in the mud all the time. Where it goes wrong, for me at least, is the fact that the author is so preoccupied with telling the same joke a million times over, that he doesn't have time (or should I say, can't be bothered) to come up with any new material. Repetition is the word of the day folks. When that man said The Vampire Dies in No Time, he meant The Vampire Dies in No Time. No exaggeration, the show repeats the same "Draluc dies at the smallest inconvenience" bit about 20 times per episode and it never gets any funnier than it was at the beginning, which wasn't all that funny to begin with. There's a reason that most comedies employ the rule of three. You're supposed to STOP at three. But alas, it's four minutes into the episode and Draluc has turned to ash for the 5th time this scene because he stubbed his toe on the wall or some stupid shit, and then I have to wait for the characters to make their exaggerated reactions and scream at the top of their lungs as my eyes glaze over and my pulse slows down to a crawl. It reads more like an annoying child who in making the class laugh once, has resorted to telling the same 3 jokes over and over again hoping it'll be as funny as it was the first time. Spoiler alert, it isn't and never was, and the only reason people laughed at his joke in the first place was because they thought he had a developmental issue but now it's snowballed into something unstoppable. He's made a career out of it. I get that it's supposed to be a gimmick, its the title for gods sake, but when your gimmick is actively ruining my enjoyment of the show, you have a problem on your hands. It's worsened by how lazy it all is. Disregard the repetitiveness for one moment, but the joke itself, the joke they based their entire show on, hasn't changed or been subverted once throughput the course of all 12 episodes. Most of the time, it doesn't even have a proper setup to lead into it. And the screaming too. Oh my god, don't even get me started on the screaming. Why is every second line delivered like the seiyuus are being stabbed in the recording booth? It's my number one pet peeve in comedies, because only unfunny people think screaming is funny. I'm sorry that's the truth. Go watch a YouTube video instead. I could've gotten the same enjoyment watching Kwebbelkop. I know comedy is subjective and I also know I just spent an entire paragraph shitting on it, but to those people who find this show funny, and I mean genuinely funny, don't ever make a joke around me.
The issues continue. Take the characters for example, who are all incredibly shallow. Almost every character reacts the same to every situation. It's like they have these loose personalities, in that they have the vaguest groundwork as to what their personalities should be, but the author is allowed to change it at any given moment to make, what he thinks, is a funny joke. Every character is the straight man and the funny man simultaneously. It leads to the characters having one homogeneous ill-defined personality. Here's a question, what's the difference between any character apart from their appearance? That one guy likes armpit hair? Is that the extent of their characters? It comes to a point where the character specifically written to be boring and emotionless ends up being my favorite just by the fact that he, unlike everyone else, doesn't scream every line. Another fan favorite is John, who by all means, is incapable of being ruined by the author because he's an Armadillo who can't talk.
The animation was... decent? Disappointing for such a big-name studio but expected. It wasn't terrible, everyone stayed on model but I wouldn't say there were any stand out moments. Well, apart from the opening and weirdly, the previews. Yeah, at the end of each episode, they would show these mock previews to get people excited for the next episode, and that's when the budget would kick in. On the part that's advertising the next episode, and the part most people would skip. What a baffling decision. Feels like even the executives didnt have confidence in this show. I genuinely hope Madhouse or whoever commissioned this show lost money for it.
The music of the show is so forgettable that I'm not sure they even played music during the show. Shout out to the voice actors tho. Although they made my ears bleed with their shrill screams, they gave it their all, and it's a shame that they weren't in something better. Absolutely none of my unjustified vitriol goes to them. They are victims as much as me, but at least they got a bag.
4. 4 times. I fell asleep a total of 4 times watching this. Like, I wasn't even watching the show late or anything, it would be 4:00 pm, I did nothing all day and I would still fall asleep. Not even their constant screaming could keep me awake. At a certain point, it just became white noise. There was nothing to keep my attention, not the lazy jokes, not the lazy animation, not even the borderline non-existent characters. If this were my first foray into comedy anime, I'd steer clear of all the others. I wouldn't recommend anyone watch The Vampire Dies in No Time. No, it doesnt even belong in the so-bad-its-good category because it's just boring. And the 4 hours and something minutes I watched the show for, I will never get back, and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. Go watch 4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku instead.
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