Most of Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra feels like an incompetent comedian trying to tell a joke: each story ends with blank faces, raised eyebrows and a belated admission along the lines of "oh and there was a lizard who made everyone angry". It isn't a lack of time or imagination that scuppers the series, but a dearth of storytelling proficiency. Characters are introduced with no explanation as to why they were absent in the previous episodes, throwaway events from ten episodes prior are made crucial in a disparate storyline and deaths come frequently but are at best poorly handled and at worst treated as inconsequential. These faults don't prevent enjoyment of its unique world and ideas, but do turn an otherwise highly promising start into a lacklustre continuation.
given the weight such an endearing character's loss deserves; however it is handled with all the grace and deftness of a giraffe on ice
Split across multiple loosely connected stories, the overarching plot concerns the library of Bantorra and the collection of militant librarians which reside there. Located on an island at the centre of the known world, the librarians are charged with protecting the stone "books" which are born from people when they die; these books are organised in the multiple sub-levels of the library with the most treasured volumes in the lowest and most heavily guarded areas. The librarians fight against a group known as the Church of Drowning in God's Grace which aims to create a mythical "True Man". All is not as it seems though and in a world where death comes swiftly and brutality is everywhere, the three ancient deities of the world have plans which will affect all of the world's denizens.
Stepping back into Moonphase territory while simultaneously riding the resurgent interest in vampires, SHAFT and director Akiyuki Shinbo take on the adaptation of a manga infamous for its racy content and violent overtures. The first three episodes of Dance in the Vampire Bund demonstrate little of the latter and a lot of the former, sparing no expense in keyframing the vacuous male lead slathering neon green liquid onto the diminutive protagonist's naked body. It's uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons and coupled with the blindingly over-animated opening, the series projects itself as yet another tiresome indulgence by a studio producing more misses than hits as of late.
animation is [...] wholly imbalanced lavishing detail on the frequently disrobed Mina and remaining unspectacular elsewhere
Mina Tepes is a vampire of some repute who, after introducing herself to Japan via the high-veracity medium of a late-night talk show, throws herself at schoolboy Akira before attending the school itself. It transpires that she and Akira have a history together and - what else - made a pinky-promise that despite his untimely memory loss, remains important to the confusingly twee vampire princess. When her life is threatened on the outskirts of the under construction vampire island, Akira comes to her rescue and regains some of his fractured memories, however his ordeal is not over when a school council plot to evict Mina from their school turns into a competition to detain the unwilling Akira.
It's somewhat of a shame that (to give its full name) Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra uses ALI Project for the opening song; it raises the question of whether the group have any range beyond fast-paced anime openings. Regardless, Bantorra is a refreshingly dark show set in a fictional world where upon peoples' deaths, they are transformed into "books" which are stored and tended by the combat-orientated Librarians. This setup is made more palatable than the recent Toshokan Senso (Library War) with these Librarians all wielding magical powers and fighting against a group which makes mindless suicide bombers out of ordinary civilians.
As with most first episodes, pomp and flash is favoured over function
The first episode is a riot of new terms, explosions, magic and cryptic dialogue; starting with an assault on a freighter that is subsequently scuttled, the following episodes get stuck in to the plot which concerns a long dead villain who once brought death to the lands and the resurrection of a vicious plague. The story switches between one of the emotionally numb body-bombs ("Meats") who finds a fragment of the malefactor's book, the arrogant and overpowered acting director of the Librarians - Hamutz Meseta - and a brutal member of the opposing faction, a "True Man". It's pure fantasy padding and marvellously imaginative.
