Another demon show, “Strike the Blood” tells the tale of Akatsuki Kojou, who was a regular kind of student, until an incident turned him into a vampire, as well as the Fourth Progenator. He lives on an artificial island complex where all caliber of monsters, demons and other mystic types reside in peace and solitude. However, dark forces are afoot (don’t these guys have any place to call their home? They are always afoot, causing mayhem and driving up the insurance rates) as they seek to unleash horrors and terrors unimagined….like a Miley Cyrus tour.

As the Fourth, he is viewed with a great deal of suspicion from the other Three Bosses. Just his mere presence is enough to tip the balance of power and the other three feel it would be best if he was dead. Akatsuki? All he wants to do is go to high school and be left alone; he wants no part of this craziness. Well, he doesn’t get a say in the matter. Since it helps things if he was pushing up daisies, the Lion King Organization dispatches a Sword Shaman, but she is to observe the Fourth and then decide to dispatch him, should he prove a danger. That happens to be Yukina Himeragi, who is a mere 14 years of age, but as tough as they come.

She comes to learn that, despite his vampiric nature, he really would rather go to the arcade and play all those games than to try and take over the world. But those in power do not believe him, or believe her, so those folks have to either coerce him to their side or kill him off. This creates all kinds of chaos, as the fights have a nasty tendency to destroy the docks or tear up city blocks or in other ways make city life a bit more ‘exciting’ than you want it to be.

The series is broken into three or four tale arcs. Although all of the stories build to a whole, it is broken down to allow these events to put down another piece of the puzzle. It’s just that since there are hidden agendas within the hidden agendas, it makes it difficult to understand what the true overall goal is of everyone. Does the Lion King Organization want this guy dead? What is Dimitrie Vatler really after? He comes off as an annoying know-it-all, but is he friend or foe or in it for himself? Are your friends really your friends? Are your enemies actual enemies? Does anyone know what is going on here?

It’s just that the people who are the actual fighters (whether they are shamans or witches or mages or something along those lines) came off as windshield wipers. This side, that side, this side, that side. Perhaps that is what they wanted to say: that nothing is certain and that life is always a crap shoot. I really felt for Akatsuki. Although in the middle, he didn’t want to be in the middle or be the focus of so much attention, but he later decided that he had to flex his power, if for nothing more than to be left alone and to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. I did enjoy the overall flavor of the series, even with the annoying, grating and insufferable characters that are found throughout this series, much like raisins in oatmeal. You just can’t seem to get rid of them. Oh, and there has to be a second season, as we have nowhere near resolved the issues at hand.
On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork 8 (Nice, but OK)
Plot 7 (Rather standard)
Pacing 7 (Nicely staged fight sequences)
Effectiveness 7 (Too wishy-washy for me)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a ‘coupler’, but doesn’t really end)
Fan Service 3 (A similar show would be “Okamisan”)

Overall 7 (Too uncertain for its own good)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Care to bite my neck?