With Kohei having signed on to be aware of the vampires and help them out, the truth of the matter is revealed.
What They Say:
The New Guy
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the things that can be fun about a show with vampires is that as time goes on, they’re a little more self-aware and clue you in that all the myths aren’t necessarily true. The tidbits here are simple overall, but it is amusing that Erika notes that while she isn’t sure she’ll turn to dust if staked, she has a basic belief that being staked at all would be unhealthy and she has no interest in testing it. The gist of what Iori brings out in all of this though is that he’s essentially asking Kohei to partner up with Erika to keep an eye on her and support her. He’s also got a bit of a wedge issue he’s working with as he puts Kohei into the position of handling the athletic meet that’s coming up. Taking on lead responsibility, it’s interesting to see Kohei really take charge of it in his effort to not be who he was before, but to discover a new and better him.
While Iori may have grander plans for things and is making sure that Erika doesn’t interfere, it does work out well in putting some stresses on Kohei as he gets to work with a lot of people and has to make decisions. With his changing schools so often, it’s likely he never really stepped into anything before so this puts him into something new and very involved. His friends are pretty supportive as well, but it’s welcome to see that they’re not all lining up to help out and do everything for him. They’re there to help, not to do it all. I also like the fairly mellow way they’re prodding Erika and Kohei together considering they were slightly adversarial, at least on Erika’s part, upon first introduction. With him having made his choice, she’s softening up and has to be feeling good about seeing him take to his duties so well on the student council.
While Fortune Arterial certainly has its draw with the vampire aspect, which does get some discussion at the start, it’s a show that at least comes across well as a basic high school drama-comedy piece. The visuals continue to be quite good with nice designs and a good sense of color, but it’s giving us a cast of characters that are generally fun to watch. With it avoiding going over the top with them in any particular direction, it manages to provide a good sweet kind of aura about it without being too saccharin. Some of this episode gives us a look at the places around the school as well with a mild guided tour and that helps to ease Kohei into things along with the viewer. Shiro’s time with Kohei is rather welcome too since she gives that bit of innocence to things.
In Summary:
Fortune Arterial may be a bit weak on the vampire elements this time around, but I have to admit that it is slowly winning me over as a basic slice of life school drama show. Kohei shines well with his intentions to fit in and be more participatory in his experiences this time around and he does all of it without going too far. While he may take on things and be more hands on than some delegating style meet leaders, it’s never so much that it causes strife. In fact, it inspires more out of people and that speaks volumes about his personality and the way they want people to be drawn to him naturally. There’s some basic manipulation going on here but it all works out well and I came away from the show rather pleased by events and curious as to how they’re going to darken things as it progresses.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
