Strike the Blood - 04

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The end of The Right Arm of the Saint arc brings plenty of action in the latest episode of Strike the Blood.

I know there have been a lot of people complaining that Kojou is a pretty pathetic protagonist, but in this episode he finally gets to be badass!  With his Familiars finally under control, Kojou can do some real damage.  It’ll be great to see him and Yukina fighting alongside each other during battles for the rest of the series, especially since they work really well together.

It’s good that Eustach’s motivation behind wanting to destroy Itogami Island is included in this episode.  It’s interesting that the island was built using a relic, the bones of a saint of the Lotharingia Church.  I’m still wondering if the rest of Lotharingia sides with Eustach on his feelings about the relic and his methods of obtaining it, or if he’s considered a radical of the church.

Strike the Blood is turning out to be really similar to Black Blood Brothers (and probably a lot of other vampire anime; this one just came to mind during this episode).  You’ve got the main character: an abnormally powerful vampire who’s an all-around nice guy and a female human sidekick willing to offer her blood to him so he can be stronger.  There’s an island city where supernatural creatures can live in peace with humans.  And the protagonist is somewhat reluctant to get involved with all the goings-on around him unless someone he cares about is threatened.

Despite the similarities, though, this anime is different for several reasons.  First of all, the main characters are high-school students rather than adults.  Secondly, they’re already in the special city rather than trying to reach it.  The enemies (so far, at least) aren’t other vampires, either.

It looks like there might be some kind of plot going on around Kojou and Yukina.  Clearly Motoki Yaze, Kojou’s friend, is involved in this plot somehow.  It’s unclear at this point whether the plot is one that would potentially benefit or harm Kojou.

Strike the Blood Episode 5 Preview

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