Vampire Dormitory is a shoujo that seems to be taking a hit compared to other shows this season. Vampire Dormitory episode 3 aired this week, naturally bringing up the “3 episode rule” that many anime fans swear by. For avid fans of the shoujo romance genre, there's a lot to like about Vampire Dormitory, but the show's presentation may not impress the casual anime viewer. Pacing issues from episode 2 carry over into episode 3, such as the characters having little foundation to begin to love and care deeply for each other. However, the drama kept me curious and coming back, especially considering the end of episode 3.
The Pretty Boy Stays Over
Vampire Dormitory is a curious film with its suspicious characters and their actions. Komori is such a character. At the beginning of the episode, he noticed Luka's confused face after seeing Mito happy to go out for a barbecue. Komori asked Luka if he felt sick, although the blonde vampire himself already knew the answer as he whispered to Luka that vampires were not sick. This interaction is important to what is revealed later in the episode.
Takara, Juri, Mito, and Luka head off on their camping and grilling trip, providing a light and playful scene as Luka and Mito play in the river together. Mito exclaims that she's never had so much fun, which is clearly true from what we know about her life up until now. It was no surprise when Ren appeared at the campsite. Ren is determined to keep Mito safe, and I feel like his reasons are rather hasty and unclear.
However, it is revealed that Ren's mother was taken by vampires, so he may feel obligated to protect others from vampires even if he doesn't know them well . I'm curious to know more about Ren's past because up until now, he's been more of a puzzling character than a mysterious one. Unfortunately for Mito, Ren runs into her in a mixed-sex hot spring, though I'm not sure if he remembers what he actually saw.
Luka struggled with himself a lot in Vampire Dormitory episode 3. He had a crush on Mito, even though she was male. Of course, Luka may be interested in men romantically, but I think Mito lets her guard down a lot when she's around Luka and her feminine traits come out.
Luka truly believes that Mito is a man, despite her mistakes, but seems to be suppressing her feelings. After the episode's credits, an ending scene features a dark and mysterious figure revealing new information that sheds light on the previous scene with Luka and Komori.
Luka comes across a man with long blonde hair and glowing red eyes, calling him “The Founder”. This man seems to be a Lord in the vampire community, and he reminds Luka that he must not love anyone who is not his “mate” for fear that Luka will remain a vampire “bloodthirsty” dragons instead of “true” vampires. Now, we don't know how much of a difference between a bloodthirsty vampire and a real vampire has to do with this series, but we now know that Luka shouldn't fall in love with anyone but his destined mate. mine.
The final scene of Vampire Dormitory episode 3 helped make the plot more interesting, even if I can make some simple predictions about how the story will go. Mito being Luka's destined partner would be the most obvious case, but I think her not being his destined would be an interesting development. I will continue to watch the anime after episode 3, because I want to know if the show will end happily ever after like many other shoujo or if tragedy will strike.
Vote for your favorite anime in our weekly poll!
Image via Crunchyroll
©Ema Toyama/Kodansha/“Vampire Dormitory” Production Committee