Anime Reviews (2020s): Call of the Night Complete Collection (2022)

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I definitely look forward to watching more episodes but I definitely do recommend those who are looking for a twist on the usual vampire anime series, to give “Call of the Night – Complete Collection” a try!

Click here to purchase this Blu-ray on Amazon

TITLE: Call of the Night Complete Collection

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2022

DURATION: 13 Episodes (325 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English and Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0, Subtitles: English subtitles

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATING: TV 14 V

Release Date: September 5, 2023

Original Creator: Kotoyama

Chief Director: Miyanishi Tetsuya

Director: Itamura Tomoyuki

Series Composition by Yokoto Michiko

Music by Dewa Yoshiaki

Character Design by Sagawa Haruka

Art Direction by Yokomatsu Norihiko

Anime Production: LIDEN FILMS

Featuring the following voice talent:

Sato Gen/Gabriel Regojo as Kō Yamori

Amamiya Sora/Natalie Rial as Nazuna Nanakusa

Waki Azumi/Annie Wild as Hatsuka Suzushiro

Tomatsu Haruka/Christina Kelly as Seri Kikyō

Ono Kensho/Daman Mills as Mahiru Seki

Ozora Naomi/Emily Neves as Midori Kohakobe

Hanamori Yumiri/Jade Kelly as Akira Asai

Hikasa Yoko/Kelly Greenshield as Kiyosumi Shirakawa

Kitamura Eri/Monica Rial as Niko Hirata

Ito Shizuka/Patricia Duran as Kabura Honda

After being bitten by the vampire Nazuna while wandering late at night, insomniac student Ko Yamori unhappily learns that he’s NOT becoming a vampire himself. Apparently, if you’re bitten by a vampire that you’re not in love with, you just get a bloodthirsty friend instead of a supernatural blood connection. But being vamped is one of the few things to ever intrigue Ko, so he makes it his goal to fall in love with Nazuna. Of course, Ko’s friends aren’t thrilled with his new vampiric ambitions, and it’s not even clear if Nazuna will bite on the offer should Ko try to answer the CALL OF THE NIGHT!

Back in 2019, mangaka Kotoyama’s “Yofukashi no Uta” (Call of the Night) was serialized in Shogakukan’s “Weekly Shonen Sunday”. The manga received rave reviews and won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen category.

Suffice to say, the popularity of the manga would lead to a anime adaptation produced by LIDEN FILMS which aired on Fuji TV’s “Noitamina” from July to Sept. 2022.

And now the anime series is available on Blu-ray courtesy of SENTAI Filmworks.

The anime series revolves around a boy named Yamori Ko, he has stopped going to school, can’t hardly sleep and unlike many people, his view of life is dissatisfying and doesn’t understand why people behave the way they do.

So, he spends those nights when he should be sleeping, walking around Tokyo.

But his life changes when he comes across a vampire named Nanakusa Nazuna. Nazuna offers him to stay with her at an abandoned building to free himself of any worry and he lets her suck his blood (just enough to not turn him into a vampire) which allows him to sleep.

Ko immediately falls in love with Nazuna and finds a new purpose in life, for Nazuna to turn him into a vampire. But of course, Nazuna kind of refuses to allow Ko to fall in love with her, thus preventing him to turn into one. But he will do what it takes to fall in love with her and become one.

VIDEO:

“Call of the Night: Complete Series” is presented in 1080p High Definition and looks great in HD! The colors are vibrant and black levels are nice and deep. I didn’t notice any banding issues or compression during my viewing of the series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Call of the Night: Complete Series” is presented in Japanese and English DTS-HD MA 2.0. For the most part, both soundtracks are front-channel driven and was hoping that for a series with a lot of action, it would have received a 5.1 lossless soundtrack. But on its own, the series features crystal clear dialogue and music via the front channels. Both Japanese and English dub soundtracks are well-acted. And I have to say, wonderful Japanese hip-hop soundtrack!

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Call of the Night: Complete Series” comes with the clean opening and closing animations, Japanese promos and “Loss Time” (Karaoke Version).

Having watched “Yofukashi no Uta” (Call of the Night), I find the premise of this guy wanting to become a vampire quite interesting. Mainly because the protagonist really doesn’t care for humanity and doesn’t even understand why people do the things they do.

The protagonist Ko is a good, kind-hearted guy but just doesn’t understand why people do the things they do (ie. fall in love, go on dates, etc.). In a way, it’s like he has no purpose in life and he just stays up, unable to sleep and just walk the streets of Tokyo.

What I found interesting is that there are numerous anime about vampires and this series could be the banal cliche of kid gets bitten by vampire, develops super powers and now uses it for good.

But this is not the case. If anything, this is a unique love story, but a twisted way about it. Ko is in love with the vampire Nazuna, but he wants to love her to the point where he can become a vampire. The thing is, Nazuna is unlike other vampires. She doesn’t walk the same line of what other vampires are doing and does her own thing. May it be playing video games, drinking beer, massaging or antagonizing Ko or other vampires.

But both of these individuals are shun by their own group, Ko doesn’t go to school and doesn’t care about people, so he really hasn’t developed any close bonds. The same with Nazuna, which other vampires look down on her as well.

But somehow these two are lost and belong with each other.

What’s interesting is those who do know Ko, who encourage him to pursue his dream of becoming a vampire. Asai Akira, is a childhood friend that begs him to go to school but knowing that he won’t, she supports his dream because at least he has a goal in mind.

But for the most part, these first 13 episodes serve more like an introduction to various characters from Ko, Nazuna and then the people that grew up with Ko and the other vampires that Nazuna can’t stand.

Again, it’s an interesting concept and I can see why the manga has done so well. There really is nothing like it. And that’s a good thing, considering so many anime series tend to rehash the vampire storyline quite frequently.

Click here to purchase this Blu-ray on Amazon

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