Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Dance in the Vampire Bund: Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Twilight's last gleaming.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 30, 2011

Did anyone ever think Bela Lugosi was sexy, for crying out loud? Yes, women evidently fainted at those early 1930’s screenings of Dracula, but probably not due to Lugosi’s sex appeal. Even later depictions of the famed vampire like the Hammer outings didn’t exactly reek of sex appeal, at least with regard to Dracula himself, if not the often pulchritudinous females who were frequently cast as damsels in distress. Frank Langella holds the singular honor of being the first “modern” sexy Dracula, and his Broadway and screen adapatations are often heralded as sly and lascivious takes on the ancient character. But sometime after Langella’s Dracula had faded into the sunset (or sunrise, as the case may be), somehow vampires as a species (so to speak) became incredibly romantic (even Romantic) figures, doomed souls with chips on their shoulders who seemed to have everything a teenage girl could want in a boyfriend. Add in a petulant werewolf or two and you have the makings of a massive cultural phenomenon a la Twilight. That same approach is taken by Dance in the Vampire Bund, an interesting if ultimately surprisingly tame outing by famed director Shinbo that has a lot of fascinating ideas roaming around its anime head, but doesn’t seem to have the ability to focus any of them into a compelling presentation. Dance in the Vampire Bund ends up being an OK time killer, certainly interesting and unique enough to hold the viewer’s attention, but after it’s all said and done, a lot of fans are probably going to be asking themselves, “That’s it?”

The series gets off to an interesting, if slightly misleading, start, with a kind of funny send-up of game shows. A Japanese show is depicted where various pressing issues of the day are debated by a panel of “experts” and, of course, celebrities, as they try to divine where something is factual or not, kind of a la the old American series To Tell the Truth. On this particular episode they’re debating whether or not vampires really exist in the wake of a horrible attempted murder of a woman who claims she was attacked by a fanged individual. This opening gambit of Dance in the Vampire Bund is both funny and distinctive, leading to the introduction of one of the two main characters of the series, Mina Tepes, Queen of the Vampires. Somewhat akin to the Kirsten Dunst character in Interview with the Vampire, Mina is in an eternally prepubescent state despite being, well, probably older than Moses.

After this initial episode, things settle down both figuratively and literally into a somewhat more predictable pattern, especially after the second episode introduces us to our second main character, a young man named Akira. The connection between Akira and Mina isn’t immediately made apparent, but slowly we come to realize that Akira, who is suffering from amnesia, does indeed have a very salient connection to Mina and that he himself may not be exactly who (or what) he thinks he is.

Dance in the Vampire Bund features a number of story arcs, including Mina’s attempts to set up a separate “homeland”—bund—for vampires in the outskirts of Tokyo, as well as the developing relationship between Mina and Akira, and, lastly, the internecine strife between the three main clans of vampire royalty. Shinbo does a nice job keeping the plot moving along, but the main problem with Dance in the Vampire Bund is that most anime lovers will be suffering from at least a passing case of déjà vu. The series has too many cliché-ridden tropes to ever rise above the stereotypical foundation it builds for itself, despite a number of interesting characters and a usually inventive design quality.

The show also suffers from getting overly complex, especially as Akira and Mina’s backstories are revealed, as well as a kind of frankly smarmy degree of “fan service” that is more than liberally sprinkled throughout the show. The very fact that Mina is supposedly an old (a very old) soul trapped in a prepubescent body is handled in a curiously unseemly way, including with a number of conceits and cheats, throughout the series, but it may leave some viewers feeling like they need to wash their hands (and/or eyes) afterwards. On the plus side, there’s some decent emotional resonance developed between Mina, Akira, and Min-Rei, one of the main antagonists of the show, and the last few episodes manage to wrap these interrelationships together in a nice denouement.

As of the writing of this review, Dance in the Vampire Bund has not been greenlit for a second season, and the fact that this release is being called The Complete Series argues against any ultimate return, so potential viewers should be aware that there are some dangling plot threads which are not addressed as the first season comes to a close which may bug some viewers who get invested in these characters and the rather complex storyline. This is a series that certainly has potential, but which as of yet has not fully realized that potential, seeming to be too content to drift on well-worn tropes and ideas. While it’s not outright horrible, this is a middling attempt that has flashes of genius—especially with regard to its animation—but which, in the best vampire tradition, never really sees the light of day.

Dance in the Vampire Bund: Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dance in the Vampire Bund is another native HD presentation from FUNimation, encoded via AVC in 1080p and mostly in 1.78:1 (some flashbacks and similar elements play in 2.35:1), and the image quality is one of the best selling points of the series. This is often a very nice looking series, full of great, sharp (no pun intended) animation, with a great, varied palette that pops very nicely throughout the run of the show. Character designs are also well above average, and the line detail on this Blu-ray is excellent. There are a number of different styles the show employs, and while nowhere near as innovative as, say, Soul Eater, Dance in the Vampire Bund exploits a number of disparate approaches—including the "Vampire Maid" interstitials—that keeps the show visually interesting. If the series itself had been able to rise to the level the visual presentation often does, it would have been a much better enterprise.

Dance in the Vampire Bund: Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dance in the Vampire Bund offers the original Japanese language track in a lossless Dolby TrueHD 2.0 format, while also offering a surprisingly nice Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English dub. There are pluses to both of these options. The original Japanese track seems to capture the vocal nuances of the characters perhaps better than the English track. On the other hand, this is a fairly inventive soundtrack, full of sound effects and score that are incredibly bass heavy at times, and the 5.1 track really allows that copious use of LFE to spread out and envelope the listener. Fidelity is excellent on both of these choices, and there's a very nice dynamic range present on both of them. For those who can't abide reading subtitles, you don't have to feel too guilty in opting for the English language track, and in fact there's a good argument for listening to it one way or the other, as it does offer a fair amount of immersion and surround activity.

Dance in the Vampire Bund: Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intermission 1-12 (1080i; 16:25) retells aspects of the anime courtesy of what look like panels from a manga. Due to the close-hatched pen work and the interlaced presentation, this supplement suffers from pretty bad moiré and aliasing at times.
• Original Commercials (HD; 1:25)
• Promo Video (HD; 1:45)
• Textless Opening Song (HD; 1:32) isn't quite textless—it still contains the title of the series.
• Textless Closing Song (HD; 1:31)
• Trailers for other Funimation Titles
• DVD Copy

Dance in the Vampire Bund: Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of those series that I'd put squarely in the "close, but no cee-gar" category. Dance in the Vampire Bund actually has a lot to recommend it, and it may find its own cult audience, but it simply traffics in too many time honored clichés to ever really break free and present something truly innovative. The added detraction of a slightly smarmy undercurrent running through Mina's storyline at least may also turn off some viewers. But the show does feature a very strong visual presentation, and the soundtrack is bristling with energy and a lot of low end "oomph." This may be a case where you'll want to check Dance in the Vampire Bund out as a rental before commiting to it as a purchase.