Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku

This anime doesn't even try to be proper slice of life but not progressing the plot enough either to cater as another genre, I'd describe it as having an identity crisis. It's okay for its genre but damn I really expected more character development especially toward the end, I'd give it at least 7 if they managed to properly capture how they gonna manifest Red Promises and Erika - Kouhei relationship, but no... I wished at least they did what Mashiro-iro Symphony managed to do, but they don't, hey Mashiro-iro isn't what I considered "good" either but at least they passed the grade. All in all, if you like this genre, just watch it if you don't have anything to watch, I do actually enjoy it a bit despite still getting salty with its approach.

Vampires falling in love with a human?! This concept was what attracted me to watch Fortune Arterial : Akai Yakusoku. This anime's story line is fairly decent, with a strong start and very well developed events. However, I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, decreasing the quality of this anime. Romance is one of my favorite genres especially paired with some drama. I started to watching this anime expecting it to focus mainly on its romance and drama elements. I was only 50% disappointed. While there was a fair amount of drama, there was very little romantic scenes between the female and male main, or any other characters. However, don't take me wrong, the female main did show a very passionate and strong love for the male main. Despite that though, the relationship of them two did no really change from the beginning of the anime to the end. (Non to very little hugs, kisses, holding hands, or any cliche moments two love birds would have) Enough said about how the lack of romance disappointed me. The sound character design were acceptable. I usually skip the intro and outro themes since they do not interest be at all. Therefore, I have no comment about them. The art of this anime was not cartoony like "SAO" or "Nisekoi", it is more sketched out similar to older animes like "Kaichou Wa Maid Sama". This type of art is not my favorite. However, it is a good fit to the story line. Overall, I do recommend this anime to anyone who likes vampires and drama. However, if anyone wants to watch this anime expecting it to be romance focused, I suggest you turn away now. "Golden Time" would probably be better for you.

Among all the various series focusing on school councils/school clubs (and even those with Vampire-led school councils), Fortune Arterial stands as an interesting contender telling the tale of a boy who never belonged and a girl chained to family circumstances. It's a versatile series that moves between comedic and serious moments while maintaining an unexpectedly good pacing through the plot. If you're looking for a school-based harem/romance/comedy without all the tension and goth of Vampire Knight, check out this show. Animation: Though dated in appearance by 2012 standards, it's still a fairly pleasant piece of work with good effects and scene-appropriate lighting. A large portion of the important scenes take place at night, perhaps just they can highlight the red eyes of the vampires. You can definitely tell that shortcuts were taken in certain scenes but at least I didn't notice any horrendous CGI blobs. There are some nice touches when it comes to character- siblings actually look as if they share genes, all the way down to ahoges. I do think that Shiro looks a bit too much like an Index clone but at least she doesn't end up nibbling on people's heads all the time. While the facial animations lack the precision of P.A. Works, they compare favorably to other harem shows such as Hagure Yuusha. This series has a minimal amount of action, most of which actually occurs in a single scene. There is some blood (come on.... vampires here...) but really action series have loads more blood in general. There are a few ecchi moments but they got away without having to use any supernatural lighting. Overall, this was a well-presented series. Sound: The story opens with an OP that can grow addictive after a few viewings and ends with a seemingly overly-dark/calm ED. While some episodes end on a note that merits this ED, other episodes end on a cheerful note that is completely upended by it. The BGM overall is supportive but nothing in particular stands out. The VA cast is unusually light in veterans. Daisuke Ono does a good job as our main protagonist but all of the heroines other than the least interesting older sister are relatively inexperienced. While Erika's VA does a good job with Erika's dynamic emotions, her voice does sound strained- giving Erika an unusually nasal sound. Regardless of their experience, the VAs successfully brought out each of their character personalities; and successfully made all the third wheels a non-factor relationship-wise. Story: A boy who constantly has to move due to his father's occupation finally has had enough and decides to move to a boarding school on an island he once lived on (obviously setting the stage for the obligatory childhood friend). He's soon greeted by the Vice-President of the school council, who mysteriously is taken aback when he offers to shake hands. This series follows this pair as early mistrust and misunderstandings soon grow into mutual understanding and friendship, and perhaps more? This main plot line is supported by various other stories involving the other girls that seemingly flock to our main protagonist. Unusually, some of these subplots merge in with the main plot line as if someone had actually done some planning- an outrageous thought considering some of the 2012 offerings in this genre. As Erika and Kouhei grow closer, mysteries arise around Erika and her vampire heritage. What I greatly enjoyed was the fact that you could take the "vampire" nature as a metaphor for any family/cultural restrictions and they would apply all the same. Eventually, the series winds to a fairly grand climax and closes with a conclusion that begs more questions than it answers. Unfortunately, the OVA only serves to further these unabated questions. I'll agree that there are also some seemingly important setting questions that are never resolved. For instance, all school administrators seem to be missing- leaving open the gaping question of how the school is practically run by vampires. But these aside, the plot was focused and well delivered. Most of the scenes served a valid purpose whether it be character explication or as a plot twist; only rarely was a scene present just for fan service value. While a predictable series, Fortune Arterial is definitely one of the better executed shows in its genre. In fact, it would have been one of the best if only they had presented a more satisfying conclusion. Character: Fortune Arterial presents a varied and satisfying cast ranging from the brash to the shy, and from the utterly carefree to the humorously (almost freakishly) overprotective. Our protagonist is a typical nice guy, but at least one of those who can make decisions when it matters. While the supporting heroines are mostly stagnant, the lead heroine is very dynamic. Her relationship with Kouhei is always under flux as she is torn between her individual values and those held by her heritage. It's an engaging dynamic that, in my opinion, is more valuable for character value than wanton shouting, violence, and sex. Almost all of the characters that have more than three lines of words have a good reason to be on screen, and I appreciated the effort to minimize excesses catered to supporters of the original work. Value: While not as stirring and romantically engaging as shows such as Mashiro Iro, Fortune Arterial presents itself well in presentation, styling, and execution. If not for the lack of a true conclusion, this would have made it into the coveted 8+ category. Despite this, it is still a solid show that deserves more than its current ranking. For this review, I re-watched the series and still found it much more entertaining than most of the shows that came out in Summer 2012. Tired of recent disappointments? Give this show a try.

I was interested after watching the first episode. It looked pretty interesting. But as I continued to watch, I was kinda dissapointed, especially the ending. This anime turned out to be one of those many generic animes adapted from eroge without development. The art and sound are okay, I kinda enjoyed the story though. But the story and the characters are too plain. There are no development of the romance, not even a single kiss, romantic scene or something. It's just like hanging in front of you when you can't grasp it. I was kinda hoping they kiss once or twice and date at least on the final episode. I can't even feel the harem.The ending was just as I had expected from the beginning. The story's too light, at least make a tense or heated moment while we enjoy ourselves and sink into it. Even the characters are generic. Especially the main character, a transfer student who has a black hair, nice, considerate, hardworking, and dense. You can find that in every harem anime.

the anime was great and all but the ending was kind of a let down because i was expecting some great battle in the ending but found none and I feel like the anime was a little rushed and missed some parts between episodes

so well, this started off pretty good. you know obviously with the excitement of 'wow another vampire anime, that has darn good looking characters'...ya... well, the beginning, and first half built the anticipation, you know with the herione?...all thirsty and all, plus her brother already doing his thing in the chapel, or wherever...(and never doing it again...wth!!??) so well ya that got me anticipating it each week. but then, the second half happened. i mean it totally killed. as in the literal meaning. the story line went downhill. the main male character went blurry lol. he was boring in other words. i think the most annoying thing of the story was that it seemed after her whole (sexy thirsting), there was nothing else...like nothing else intriguing, or catching, and so the story commited suicide or sth. so well, if you intend on watching this, gambate ne. it starts good, and you just kinda finish it cos u started it you see. the art is really good, the music isnt bad at all, and overall i ll give it a 6. That is for getting me waiting and anticipating at all...:P

Okay, this is a cliche vampire romance anime, but it's MY cliche vampire romance anime. I've treasured it for over a decade now. I came across it randomly - quite literally, as when I was twelve I would regularly smash the Random Anime button on Anime Season (RIP) and watch anything that caught my eye, which is how I discovered Fortune Arterial. I pressed play purely because I loved the art style, and then immediatly fell in love. The art, the music, the characters, the relationships - it all pulled me in. It's a story I've seen a thousand times, but it was one I welcomed, which is odd considering I'm much of a cliche romance fan. Perhaps it's because it wasn't afraid to get dark and bloody? To be blunt, I don't know how many times I've rewatched Fortune Arterial, but it definitely exceeds 20. I'm 24 now, but it's still a comfort anime I go back to every now and again. I've watched hundreds of animes and there are definitely some I've regretted watching, but this is not one of them. It's not to everyone's tastes, but I would still gladly recommend it again and again.

It was an alright story. The story progression was messed up, and the plot was all over the place. Could have had this run for a few more episodes to bring the story together. The MC especially Erika and Kouhei needed more substance and character development. The theme was well picked up, on vampires and the school setting was great but depth in each character was major missing. Introducing a rivalry for Sendou could have had maybe a better impact on the storyline. In the end, the anime leave the viewers with mixed feelings, and sadly the anime did not get another season, now we know why.

A boy returns to an island to study, as fed up of being transferred around everywhere his family works, breaking up friendships,s and never really settling anywhere. After meeting some new friends and reacquainting with some older friends from about 7 years before, he gets pulled onto the student council after discovering vampires are part of the school and student council. Despite being warned not to trust the brother our MC of course runs t his summons at the student council buildings before being given the choice of potentially losing all his memories or joining the school council. The plots transparent sadly of the brother wanting a dependent for his sister, as he is comfortable drinking from victims and then erasing their memories. His sister however wants to remain as human as possible, with the impossible dream of just feeding of transplant blood. As expected, she fights the urge, eventually feeds on the MC as was manipulated from the beginning, and then tries to avoid the MC after as the nearer she is to him, the worse the urge to a dysfunctional level she will drain him dry. Stil the brother tries to manipulate the situation to get the MC to give him life and shreds of humanity to be her dependent or feeding bitch/slave. With the MC, just continuing towards it, until Erika, goes home for the last penultimate episode in an attempt to stave of the urges. It's a bit harem style as a few girls surround him, not the usual vampire tale and very transparent on the brother's motives from start, with underlying tips of romance which the MC denies is like with Erika, but is it just denial, is it just want as shown through the anime of someone just trying to please everyone. For me it fitted as a time filler, but not anything i would go back too