I stumbled upon this anime by accident, but I got sucked in (lol, vampire...sucked...).
On some levels it's a very commonly used type of anime; you've got the one, average Joe kind of guy, who for some reason or another keeps attracting babes.
Typical, I thought. Then again, Rosario + Vampire seems to bring something a little extra special to the genre (though I'm not exactly sure what that is yet). For some reason or another, I was pulled back to it. I watched the first episode, almost wrote it off as being a clone of the genre, but then came back to it a couple days later and watched the other 12 episodes all day. That's right, Rosario + Vampire is a short and sweet package of 13 episodes, which I think is just the right length. The second season, called Rosario + Vampire Capu2, is also available now.
Here's what Wikipedia says about the plot:
"Tsukune Aono is a painfully average high school freshman who is unable to get into any private school, due to his disappointing test scores. The only school he is finally accepted into turns out to be a secret school for supernatural monsters (yōkai), who are in disguise as humans. The first student he meets is the beautiful Moka Akashiya, who becomes his friend for an unusual reason; she is a vampire, and is attracted to the sweet taste of his human blood. Tsukune quickly realizes his admission into a monster school must have been a mistake and fears for his life.
Despite Moka's vampiric nature, she is a kind girl and Tsukune quickly falls for her. He decides to stay and be near her, despite the various dangers. He must hide his human identity from the faculty and other students, while trying to keep his grades up and avoiding conflicts with the various not-so-mythological monsters lurking around campus. Tsukune soon discovers that when he removes the ''rosario'' around Moka's neck, she transforms into a super-vampire, stronger and more powerful than almost any other creature at the school. However, in this state, she has an entirely different personality, often cold and merciless, so the rosario is only removed in dire emergencies. Tsukune is the only person who can physically remove it to transform Moka, and only in the case of an emergency (the rosario remains physically bound to Moka, while Tsukune attempts to willfully remove it in a moment immediately preceding, and sometimes interjecting - a malignant situation). Tsukune and Moka make new friends and enemies as their stay at Yōkai Academy progresses."
One thing I really enjoyed about it is, despite being a little cliché, Rosario + Vampire has a linear storyline. There are some episodic aspects, and each episode takes on roughly the same kind of idea: (1) Tsukune and Moka are having/are about to have a moment, (2) Moment is ruined/a challenger appears (either a challenger for Moka or Tsukune), (3) Tsukune is caught in the middle/put in danger, (4) Moka saves the day. Even though there is an obvious pattern, this didn't make the anime any less enjoyable for me. Each episode meets its expectations while at the same time bringing something new and perhaps unexpected. Characters are also fleshed out pretty well, so even if the story/plot is a little weak (and I don't find it particularly weak either), you don't mind it so much because the characters are so strong.
It's pretty cute, mostly humorous, kinda mushy at parts, and just a little bit pervy (lots of panty shots and comic mischief...I probably make it sound worse than it really is), so if that kind of stuff appeals to you, check out Rosario + Vampire!
You can watch the entire first season here: http://www.veoh.com/channels/Rosario-and-Vampire
If the link doesn't work, please notify me.
Why should you watch Rosario + Vampire? Check out the screenshots below!
Awesome characters:
Mushy stuff:
Comic mischief:
Awkward misunderstandings:
Nosebleeds:
Bathing suits:
Seduction:
Vampirism:
Competition:
Boing boing:
More vampirism:
More seduction:
Now available sequel!:
...PEACE!