Reviews for Lunar Legend Tsukihime

"There is no Tsukihime Anime." Ah yes, those infamous words. Before all of you say anything, I DID finish the visual novel and I HAVE read the manga (well, the first three volumes) and guess what, I STILL enjoyed this anime so sit back, relax and let me tell it like it is. As far as story goes, I don't see what the problem was. Quite honestly, I thought the visual novel was redundant when explaining the differences between a Dead Apostle and a True Ancestor. In the anime, it goes straight to the point and makes easy on the viewers. Dead Apostle is a humanturned vampire. True Ancestor is a transcendent race, vampires yes but were never human to begin with. While the plot is still much deeper and complex in the visual novel, don't really undermine the anime's version of it. If you are a huge Tsukihime buff and want to know EVERYTHING about Tsukihime, then you won't like the anime. But if you just want to get in and enjoy a decent anime then won't bore you to death with details, then watch the anime.

The art was done well in my opinion. While they could have brushed up a bit better on some characters (Nero and Roa come to mind) in general, the characters look like they are supposed to. In general, the art is not outstanding but is still pretty good.

The music, especially the opening, is what made this series. Very nice tunes from start to finish. Having only watched the English version of this show, you will probably recognize the voices right away. Arcuied is voiced by Michelle Ruff (Rukia anyone?) and Shiki is voiced by Steve Staley (who voiced Toshiro Hitsugaya). In short, if you enjoyed the Bleach dub (like I did) then you will like the dub in this series as well (since half the Bleach cast is in here.) Cannot comment on the original voice acting.

No doubt the weakest part of the series is the characters. Arcueid comes across as far too clingy to Shiki (she liked Shiki in the visual novel as well but she wasn't hitting on him every other minute), Akiha is well, the same basically, Ciel is meh and Nero and Roa were punked.

Which brings me to another point. All of these guys got severely gimped in the anime. Shiki is on his knees having migraines 99 percent of the time, Ciel gets owned every single time she fights, Akiha is no better, Nero is as scary as a house cat (no Soil of Genesis and 999th Beast really blew hard) the list goes on and on. Seriously, the only one doing anything in combat was Arcuied (when she wasn't trying to molest Shiki) and even then she has trouble from time to time.

Even so, this show does have its moments. I have to say that episode 7, the amusement park episode, was really funny and awkward and the times between Shiki and Arcuied when they are not hunting vampires is also neat to watch.

Overall, the anime is not the visual novel. It is not as good as the visual novel and when compared to the visual novel, it would be considered below average. But I came reviewing the anime and only the anime and found it to be a short yet enjoyable series.

Don't get turned off by all the hate that this series is receiving. Make your own choice and watch it. You might be surprised. (In a good or bad way!)

So there's a funny little joke that goes around anime communities and it goes along the lines of "There is no Tsukihime anime". I thought it was all in jest when I decided to see what the fuss was about on this show. Sadly though, I too believe there is no Tsukihime anime after watching this monstrosity. Flashback, its 2000..there's a little doujin game called Tsukihime out there that's taking the visual novel world by storm..3 years later JC Staff..a prominent animation studio makes an adaptation of the wildly popular game. However, they either A: Did not play the game or B: Just made this asa kick in the balls to anyone who enjoyed the visual novel.

For story, it was pathetic..they took a very strong storyline with an incredible amount of backstory and turned it into a shallow excuse of a story. The whole explanation of the differences in vampires was a major part of the visual novel..yet they put in 30 seconds of quick explanation and that's it. This is frequent throughout the anime..they take ideas from the novel throw them in quickly and forget about them. On top of insulting the vivid and excellent storyline of Arcueid's route they add other nonsense such as a whole episode dedicated to a theme park..they must have really wanted to piss off fans with that since one could easily make a 24 episode series out of the route yet they add a filler episode into a 12 episode anime. Among that they completely twist character roles, their personalities and their part in the story. And to top it off..they completely destroy the end to the story and give no explanation at all. They just leave it as an open ending of sorts after completing a route with definite closure. The story gets a 1...it's a monstrosity that mocks the visual novel.

As for art..it's excellent, for 2003 of course. They added a good amount of detail and the characters looked pretty accurate to their visual novel counterparts. It's actually pretty decent looking still even on 2010 standards which is a good thing..yet it's not awe inspiring art like some early anime had. 8 out of 10 for art.

The sound in this anime is the only redeeming quality other than the decent art. The soundtrack is incredible and it sounds much better than the visual novel's. They really did a great job on this part and the wide variety of songs were on point and gave a clear message of the scenes. 10/10 for the music since I very rarely hear such a great soundtrack in an anime thats unique like this one.

The characters in this anime are awful. They are mockery of their respective characters in the visual novel. They are shallow, undeveloped and some of them aren't even accurate depictions of their parent characters. They changed the personalities in nearly every character and gave other characters who didn't play a major role at all major roles in the anime. They completely ruined the dark mood of the story with their characters that didn't fit their parts. Character gets 1/10

Enjoyment? The only thing I enjoyed was laughing at my computer screen over how terrible this was. There is not much to enjoy in this anime, it's a completely hilarious mockery of the parent story. I spent the whole time picking out the horrible adaptations they did to nearly every part of the story..that was my enjoyment. It gets a 1/10 for enjoyment..I could have watched the Tekken movie 12 times and enjoyed it more than this.

Overall, this series gets a 2. The horrible adaptation of the novel is the main cause of this. I can't give it a 1 because the soundtrack is amazing and the art was pretty good for a 2003 anime. If the soundtrack was not an excellent and unique piece of work this would definitely be a 1. I do not suggest watching this show if you have any shred of understanding on what the Tsukihime visual novel is. Even if all you know is that the meme "A cat is fine too" comes from it I would suggest steering clear of this. I honestly wanted to attempt to prove the people wrong when they say "there is no Tsukihime anime" yet now I agree with them.

You might be wondering. I gave all the rest of the criteria 10's. But why is the overall a 6? It started a long time ago, when I got word of a highly acclaimed, super popular doujin game called Tsukihime. Although I was never a fan of the 'point & click' type of anime games, this game caught my interest, because of how several rave reviewers were praising this game's depth, plot and amazing characters. So I got it and played it. Boy, did it have all of the aforementioned stuff plus a whole lot more. By the end, I was hooked. And something happened tome after going through Tsukihime that rarely happens; I fell in love with the characters and the story...particularly with Arcueid. It is one of those stories that touch your heart and inspire you to become a different and better person. And change me for the better it did.

And several years later, when I heard that TYPE-MOON were releasing an anime adaptation, I became as one might say, a giddy little schoolboy.

And when I first saw the teaser trailers, I got even more pumped. It seemed as if the anime was going to be magical. Finally, an adaptation where they were going to get it right...at least that's what I thought so initially.

And after finishing the anime for the first time, I was grateful that they made a lot of changes. They did kept the dark tone. And the soundtrack was amazing too. Again, it was dark and low-key. The opening song was particularly of interest. I often find myself repeating the minute-long song over and over again in my iPod.

However, much to my relief, they removed all the cheesy gadgets of the plot that were there in the original game. No longer, were there mentions about Marble Phantasm (an attack name in the original game) or any other cheesy vampire jargon like that. I was glad, because those elements made the game like a shonen (and anyone who knows me knows that I hate shonens).

So I finished watching the entire anime the first time. I was impressed by how well they kept true to the original story. The 'physical anime' interpretation of the last episode was perhaps the best. It overjoyed me to the point of tears. The way they brought Arcueid to life was also a joy. Her design in my opinion, was also superior to the original's, because here, she looks more mature, beautiful and elegant.

I wanted more. Seeing as how there are no sequels (something which I am actually grateful of), I decided to re watch the series again to relive the experience. And here's where things began to go wrong.

Mistake #1:

I began to realized that, although the story was brilliant, that it worked under the assumption that the viewer had played the game before. As a result, the brilliant story wouldn't be as appreciated by someone who hadn't played the game. No wonder there were many reviews that criticized the storyline for being incoherent and leaving a lot of loose ends. I understood the story only because I had played the game. Most people haven't.

Mistake #2

The story also meanders...a lot. There is a lot of filler segments where everything moves so slowly. Meaningless pauses during conversations also ruin the mood. These pauses would've worked so much better if the camera was shaky, or at least was doing something dynamic to compensate for the lack of action. Perhaps the writers were trying to create a certain ambiance to suit the dark story. Even as someone who appreciates silence as a means of tension, I did not like it. They try to create tension, but there is not enough release to compensate.

For instance, in one segment where the main character tries to look for a door to match the key he found earlier, the scene goes on for too long without any dynamics. Two minutes are wasted on one still angle of him going from door to door, looking for one that will match his key. That scene made me sick.

Mistake #3

Removing certain plot elements which could've actually helped. On one hand, they managed to simplify the story so that all the unnecessary mystic terminology was removed, and that really helped keep the dark tones of the story. However, on the other hand, a subplot involving Hisui and Yumizuka could've seriously added more impact to the story and the ending would've been much more tragic (and subsequently, so much better).

Wrapping it up, it seems apparent to me that the biggest mistake of this anime, was whoever the person who was directing this anime. He is no Miyazaki. A lot of his storyboards and camera angles simply were not effective and brought the anime's pacing to the equivalent of a drone.

It was evident that he had too much funds to waste. In the beginning, where the plot wandered the most, everything was slow and unorganized. However, according to the news, the studio had run low on money at the end of the series. And coincidentally, that was when the story started to become tighter and focused. The final episode is still the best episode. It was perhaps the one episode I can watch from start to finish without skipping parts.

I am sure that if the studio responsible was given less money, the anime would've been much better because the studio would've been much more focused. And, if there were less episodes, who knows that it might have been better.

-

Make no mistake. This is an exceptional anime. It is way superior to a lot of animes that have been released over the years. And as an anime adaptation, it stands out by being superior to the original in many ways.

And I will still continue to watch this anime into the future to relive scenes from the game which would normally take hours to do (considering that the game was all text and that I had to spend an hour reading a scene).

However, I am disappointed in the creators for not making the anime the masterpiece it should have been, simply because it is not organized. It had the music, the characters, the design and feel. The 10's I gave were technically not for this anime. Since this is not an adaptation, not a original story, these points are actually for the game.

It should not have gone wrong. Shame on you Geneon.

Lunar Legend Tsukihime is a Supernatural, Romance, Drama about Shiki Tohno; a boy who’s said to have been caught in a terrible accident 8 years ago and since then he has been able to see the lines of Death in everything and everyone. One day in the park he kills a lady but then wakes up in his room. Was it all a dream? Maybe or maybe not, because the next day he meets her again. Well this is the starting point to this very short anime and even though it’s short the story is surprisingly slow moving. Even though it doesn’t seem like it inthe very beginning, the show ends up being yet another one about vampires, with some more confusing theories to confuse anyone on the increasingly complex concept of vampires. Unlike most show involving vampires, the vampires are the secondary focus to the story with the primary focus being on the 2 main characters Shiki and Arcueid (a vampire). All of those anime fans hoping of plenty of vampire action (Trinity Blood, Hellsing, etc) may be disappointed, as all this show has to offer is a decent surreal story. At least the anime can have anyone, who’s captivated by the story, asking for more as minor developments occur throughout the show.

Another thing about this anime that will captivate a viewer is the lavish visual, similar to another gorgeous TYPE-MOON anime, “Fate/Stay Night”. With superb animation, artwork and CG effects; it’s obvious to see how much time and effort was put into making this show look good. It’s just disappointing to see it wasted on the lack of fluid or any combat, in this anime.

The music was superb with a compilation of string instrumentals (violins) that really set the surreal and suspenseful mood. The only problem with the music was the lack of variety as the same tunes are played over and over, to the point where it can remove the mood, helped originally set, later on in the series.

Overall this was a great anime that inevitably turned into a romantic drama and with a pretty well written story. The build up to the ending was so superb, with all the pieces finally coming together however the tragic ending failed to leave an impact on me. Even with the superbly lavish animation and intricate story what failed in this anime were the slow moving storyline and especially the stale characters. The characters were nothing special and any anime fan who has seen a couple different anime would notice the character’s personalities which are found in the typical high school scenario of anime. Just like the protagonist, Shiki’s personality who’s similar to Kohta from Elfen Lied (weak, kind-hearted and can’t remember something tragic in his past). With that said this is only an anime that serious anime fans can enjoy, those expecting 12 episodes of violence or comedy won’t be satisfied with this Suspenseful story of Romance and Drama.

^_^

*It is almost criminal to not watch this anime.* "... fans ... treat the anime as ... an in depth synopsis of the visual novel and the manga." I stumbled across this hidden treasure while watching the Kara no Kyoukai (KnK) movie series. If you have not seen the KnK movies, please feel free to skip to the next paragraph. For those who have seen the movies, perhaps the first thing that will capture your interest is the name Shiki and the "Mystic Eyes of Anime Death Perception" as both of these are also in Shingetsutan Tsukihime. As you get further into the story, you will realizethere are more similarities than meet the eyes, but for the purpose of this review I will not get into those details.

The general concept of the story, much like the KnK series which this anime is based upon, revolves around mysterious supernatural forces like vampires or human with special abilities. The anime is a direct adaptation of the Tsukihime visual novel that was released in 2000 by TYPE-MOON, who is most famous for their work on Fate/stay night. At around the same time when the anime started to broadcast, its manga also got serialized and began to publish.

Although both the anime and manga follow the same route from the game (there are 2 routes in the game with multiple endings), most fans tend to treat the anime as nothing more than an in depth synopsis of the visual novel and the manga. It will become apparent as you watch deeper into the show that many events and battles happen too quickly an could have been better explained. So for those who are confused about the events in the anime, I recommend trying to read the manga or play the game if you can get your hands on it (there is a revised 2009 edition of the visual novel coming out later this year with improved artwork and story so you may choose to wait for that).

For a pre-HD era anime, the animation level is extremely high with some nice CG effects and character designs (even by today's standard). Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Shingetsutan Tsukihime is the soundtrack. From the OP to in battle musical theme, the instrumental music (ie. violins) really brings out the uniqueness of the show especially during combats.

But what bugs me about Shingetsutan Tsukihime is that the show did not put enough time and effort into developing the supporting casts. While the main characters have decent character traits, the minor characters lacked any form of realism and background. For instance, Yumizuka (although appeared in almost every single episodes) lacked a certain persona to make her feel like a real person. All we know is she loves Shiki, but she did not play much of a role in the anime. The maid twins is another good example of a lack of character growth (they started and ended the show without any change). Anyhow, with that said, it is worth mentioning that we do get a fair bit of screen time seeing the main characters develop themselves and their relationships with one another.

Overall, the show managed to maintain the structural, core components of the original game story but at the expense of a very much condensed action scenes and somewhat ignored support characters. Highly recommend this to KnK fans (since Tsukihime takes place in the same universe and there are direct relations between the two).

While browsing through the existing reviews, I saw a clear pattern emerge. Most of the people who have not played the visual novel it is based on thoroughly enjoyed the show while those that have were disappointed when faced with the injustice done to the original work. And that basically already sums up my verdict. I myself watched the anime first, without even knowing there was a game it was based on. I liked it a great deal. After learning of the original work afterward I got curious and sought it out. And as it turns out, I then agreed with everyone who was disappointed with the show- I tried watching it again but it now seemed barely more than a mockery of the brilliant original VN-material.

Compared to the greatly depicted characters in the novel, the cast of the anime is pretty much DEAD. The storyline has been compressed to a point where there was almost nothing left of what made the original what it was. Many themes and scenes were left entirely untouched. What was preserved the best - though it still cannot compare - was the atmosphere.

So, as it stands, I cannot really recommend this show. If you do know the visual novel you can give it a try out of curiosity - but don't get your hopes up.

And if you don't...well, there's no point bothering with the anime when you can just as well get the much, much greater original. There's even an English translation floating around, so language barrier isn't an excuse this time. ;)

As someone who has played the visual novel, its respective sequel and the PLUS-DISC, I can honestly say... This show gave me cancer.

Shingetsutan Tsukihime is an anime that I would definitely stay away from. I am slightly biased in reviewing this, since I played the Visual Novel 'Tsukihime' before watching this series, and was disgusted at the injustice done to such a brilliant story. The anime compresses the storyline heavy, makes unneeded changes and completely wrecks the original characters. For anyone who is curious enough to want to watch this series, I have but one thing to say. Don't. If you are that interested, track down the Visual novel, install the mirrormoon english patch and read it instead. Alternatively, read the manga, which does some justice tothe story, otherwise stay away from this pathetic excuse for an anime

story: The story is great. It´s not like other anime with vampires with lot of action, blood and killings. It focus the relation between shiki , a normal student with a special power and a vampire, arcueid. It´s really interesting, the only problem is that the story goes way to slow in some episodes, however, is still one of the best stories i´ve ever seen. Art: Is similar with another type-moon anime, "Fate/stay night" (wich i also liked a lot). I think the art is great, the visual effects are nice. Sound: One of the first aspects in tsukihime that called my attention was the sound. Theopening made me remember old memories, some background musics made me think of some aspects of life, ths ed is fine, well, is really great.

character: Although they are not bad, some of them are not develloped as they should. Well, still is acceptable, but i was expecting more.

Overall: I really enjoyed watching the anime, story is great, same to art and sound, however it lacks some action and some more fights sometimes, but still this anime is something really good, much better than some other i have seen.

“Once upon a time lived a group called “The Moon people”, who were not human. Among them was a proud princess, called “White Princess”. She woke up in white and slept in white. Princess of the True Ancestors who did not know impurity.” Type Moon is famous for its dark themes, supernatural settings and plot twists. The Tsukihime novel was the the second creation of Type Moon, so you can say it's the predeccesor and inspiration for the anime fate/stay night. The story revolves around the main character Shiki, who lost his memory, after a supposed car accident. The anime begins with Shiki as a little boy,as an effect of the accident he starts seeing "lines" and by touching those "lines" he can break things from their inner core.

He mysteriously encounters a young woman who introduces herself as being a witch. She gives Shiki a special pair of glasses that make him not see those lines, adding that he should use that power only when he really needs to protect a precious person to him.

He is then taken in by his relatives,the Arimas.After his father deceased, he returnes after 8 yers to his sister side,Akiha,now the head of the family. He founds the house of the Tohnos giving of a hostile,uncomfortable feeling,wondering if that house is really his. One day he sees a mysterious foreign woman,and as if in a trance procedees to cut her into pieces.Thinking it was only a dream, he finds himself that the woman is alive and well, saying he owns her,and that's how all starts...

Tsukihime the anime is more of an apperitive before the novel, making you eager for a real treat. If you think watching the 12 episodes anime will satisfy your hunger, than you are terribly mistaken.

The Moon Type universe is far more complex, the anime is only a tiny glimpse of into the “nasuverse”.

In anime format is disappointingly mundane, the pace is slow, and it rarely breaks from its shackles, the action is used with the chinese drop. I do admire the ideas and inspiration for the story, however the execution leaves much to be desired. The original novel being more complex and entertaining. If compared to Kara no Kyoukai movies, this anime pales in comparison, like a human dried out of blood (no pun intented).

Story: 3

The year 2003 represented an important year in the anime industry, anime series such as Chrono Crusade, Full Metal, Peacemaker Kurogane, which determined how the new generation of anime looked, animes with which most of us grew up. The art in that year showed the evolution of the industry on a whole other level. However, the art in Tsukihime isn't perfect, being more of a prototype for the art in fate/stay night, it's not as detailed, showing that the animation staff didn't give their all, or weren't paid sufficently.The good thing about the art though, is the design by the original creators, Type Moon.

Art: 6

Some viewers may have found interesting and innovative the almost constant piano and violin music overlapping the action, but I personally found it quite irritating.

It slows the action and deviates into mundane. I prefer the music to be played in the moments of climax, that way it makes the music more meaningful, more precious, hearing it almost constantly takes from the impact.

The opening theme entitled "The Sacred Moon" performed by Toshiyuki Oomori,is for me one of the highlights of the series. It holds a lot of power in its message, it truly mesmerises you, making you feel as if you were diving into an ocean of mystery and sadness. The constant playing of the background music drags down the score.

Sound: 7

The portrayal of the characters in this anime doesn't do them justice. The development of the characters is easily decreased in comparison with the novel, or doesn't even exist. The sole purpose for characters such as Arihiko Inui and Satsuki Yumizuka is to let the viewerknow that there are also humans in the world of Tsukihime, not only vampires,magicians, demon hunters and people with supernatural abilities.

Satsuki Yumizuka isn't even taken in consideration as a possible lover interest.In contrast to animes such as fate/stay night and Kara no Kyoukai,the majority of the main characters personalities are not likeable.

Shiki indulges himself in a ignorant lifestyle, preferring to avoid taking responsability for his actions.

I was waiting for him to become cooler like in the novel, but it didn't happened, it disappointed me immensely.

Akiha is the stereotype of "ojou-sama" (young lady from a rich family), she finds the most interesting subjects for a conversation the types of expensive tea such as "Earl Grey" and "Darjeeling" and takes a variety of classes such as violion,ballet etc. , the usual attitude of a snob.

She is also the stereotype of a sister who has a brother complex. Ciel has a non-existing personality, being only interesting when she tries to be mysterious, laughing inside about Shiki's cluelessness and teasing him. The twins Kohaku and Hisui are also the stereotype of weird twins, since Japanese people regard twins as being quite an abnormal existence, they also represent the stereotype of the faithful maid, that will serve you even if you don't give her money.

The only interesting character for me is Alcueid, that even though she is a vampire, doen't fit the stereotype, been able to enjoy the sunlight and food like any other normal human. She has an energetic,playful personality which I find very enjoyable. She has an innocent, sincere aura about her, which makes her likeable. As an vampire, she also has a mysterious past, and that is a bonus. The character of Alcueid raised up the bar a little higher.

Characters: 3

My enjoyment was similar to a ghost, you can perceive it from time to time, but most of the time remains hidden. The lack of dedication of the staff, the poor execution of the adaptation, the stereotypical characters made this anime for me quite painful to watch, now I really need to go back to read the manga, thanks God for that.

Enjoyment: 3

Overall: 4

I'm shocked by the number of good reviews this has. It is possibly the worst anime I have ever seen. I still can't believe I was able to get past the first episode, let alone force myself to watch the entire series. It's been a couple of years since I watched this anime, so forgive me if I don't delve too deep into the god-awfulness of this anime. The story follows two star-crossed lovers, a vampire and a human with paranormal abilities, as they fight off the forces of evil (evil vampires) while trying to build a relationship. Shiki, the protagonist of this eyesore of ananime, is an emotionally numb and distant high schooler who has the ability to see the "lines of death" ever since he was a little boy. After being thrust into the world of the supernatural one evening when he witnesses a battle between two vampires, Shiki begins to fall in love with the female vampire, Brunestad, and he decides to take her side in the battle against the evil vampire. In combat, Shiki utilizes a little two-inch jack-knife (instead of a sword or something with a practical attack range) and cuts along the person's "red lines of death," causing the enemy to fucking explode or fall apart into a million pieces. That's right, if you hit someone in the right spot, THEY FUCKING EXPLODE! Besides being the stupidest fucking special ability I've ever heard of, his power (as you can imagine) makes for dull combat scenes.

Anyway, the story is basically about him trying to invoke some emotion in Brunestad and trying to build relationship with her while he's dealing with family issues (the typical distant and hateful father-son) and fighting off the evil vampires. Pretty much about whether or not he wants to be a part of Brunestad's world and all that.

I know the plot summary is a bit short and lacking in detail, but the story was so forgettable that it's difficult to recall. Please, don't watch this garbage. You'll want to gouge your eyes out after the first episode.

Ok, I just _have_ to say this. The ending was just utterly and completely terrible. Seriously, there are extremely few shows that have just left me so dissatisfied. It's one of those where you like all the characters and are rooting for them 'till the end and then they just fucking screw it up. And I'm not saying this because it's not your standard 'happy ending'. There are plenty of series that are kind of sad endings, main characters die, etc., but those are executed well and with purpose. This was just... no.

The problem of 99% of all the anime is an end. Sometimes it is a shitty happy end, when everyone (even dead!) is alive, sometimes it is a total Armageddon, sometimes kind of any other shit happens. Finding an anime with a really beautiful end is rather had. But here it is. During first series it is kind of boring. Yes, what can be more usual than a Ordinary Japanese Pupil, who has, of course, a Very Special Ability and a family with a bitchy sister (without any parents, of course)? When you hear the word "vampire", you also treat anime a bit lower, and havinga beatiful woman in the main hunting role - yes, it happened before somewhere, yes? And you can also tell just the same things about main antagonist, schoolfriends, enviroment... So it looks like another low-quality multfilm, yes?

Don`t even think, just watch.

I can speak a long speach about great sense in the plot, about hidden secrets, but I don`t like speaking about the Great Hidden Sense. I can only mention some points...

1) This anime has a best sexual scene I ever saw (hentai included... German porno is surely better=). Watching romanic scenes, I always thought: "WHY HE IS A DUMB SLOWPOKE? WHEN HE KISSES HER?" Usually it never happens. And now... Don`t you think that a night like that was a proper end of Arcueid and Shiki`s time, spent together?

2) The end. Yes, the end is great. I don`t want to spoiler, but... This anime ends like it should. When you`ll watch, you`ll understand.

3) The music reminded me about "Monster". Sometimes instrumental compositions are better than any loli-voices and songs.

4) And the last, containing 1000 more points to watch Tsukihime - it doesn't make an impression of an imaginary world. It is real in everything: heroes, their thoughts and deeds...

So stand up and run to watch this anime. `cos it is great. I promise you.

* I haven't read the visual novel, so this is purely based on the anime. This review does NOT contain spoilers. To start, Tsukihime has a super slow plot, especially for a 12-episode anime. Every episode, every day, a few events happen, and a little bit more of the characters' past are revealed (just a little bit) while more and more questions are presented, and eventually build up to a fairly good ending. Despite its slowness, dialogues and guestures are done extremely well, concised and filled with meaning and emotions. This makes you feel like every second you watch it is worthwhile (and you don't wantto miss any second of it). But that's only if you are not expecting fancy action scenes or climaxes: fighting scenes in Tsukihime are rare, brief, and not intense, and there are no mind-blowing twists. This, for me, is actually a good thing: you enjoy every episode equally, not just the final ones, or the ones with combats or twists. There are some funny moments, but overally the whole carries a very very sad theme. If you're after a plot with depths and sadness and slow-paced, you will surely enjoy Tsukihime.

Character is Tsukihime's weakness (compared to other aspects). In the first one or two epsides, all characters are already introduced, and we see them in every episode, kind of boring. There are 3 or 4 main ones, and the rest don't play critical roles. Shiki, Arcueid and their relationship's developments are very enjoyable. The others are so so. But in general, I liked all of them. It would probably be better if we had more room, like 24 episodes, but that's Tsukihime anime - many things are left unclear. If you want more, go read the visual novel.

Music is a huge plus for Tsukihime. Background music is used appropriately. The opening theme fits very well the tragic atmosphere of the anime (I enjoyed it as much as Hacking to The Gate of Steins;Gate, but not so addictive). And I love the ending song about the White Princess trapped in the vicious circle of reincarnation, not being able to forget her past. This is one of the few animes that I never skipped the opening and ending.

Art in Tsukihime is very good and, well, plain, with a style similar to that Fate/Stay Night. They perfectly fits the story. So no complaint here.

Overall, I enjoyed Tsukihime very much - to the point that I watched at most one new episode per week, and watched each episode at least twice before moving on - that's just my thing :) but to point out how much I liked it. I think it is a great anime, but not a mainstream one. As I said above, if you are after a meaningful, sad plot with some depths in it, and don't mind a slow story-telling style, lack of actions or twists, Tsukihime is for you.

If you watch Tsukihime, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :D

Before we begin, I want to say I came in with high hopes for this anime, but I also had high hopes for Promised Neverland season 2. 1/10 Plot: Anime adaptation is a**. It ruins just about every good aspect of the story, including the ending. The traits of each character are far too overexaggerated and over the top to the point of being comical (keep in mind this anime still tries to take itself seriously). Watching this felt like watching Ghost Stories in SUB. As for plot, the anime roughly follows the plot of the "main" VN route, but most of the twists and turnsjust feel 'cheap.'

7/10 Art is fine, though very early 2000s: everything is way too dark, washed out, or has an excessive amount of lens flare plastered over it, but the actual characters and backgrounds are certainly well done.

1/10 Soundtrack is not my taste. I was fine with the constant violin at first, but it just dragged on and on and on, and never seemed to stop. I'd say the soundtrack does a great job portraying one emotion, and one emotion only. You can probably see where I'm going with this...

If I could describe this adaptation in one word, it would be "melancholy" and JUST melancholy. Moments of literally any other emotion are few and far between. Moreover, if I could "unwatch" this, I would. Totally do not recommend to even my worst enemy.

Go play the original Visual Novel instead, it's so much better.

Tsukihime was one of Type/Moon's first works in creating its world of magic and supernatural creatures. For this anime adaptation of the visual novel, its quality is a bit of a mixed bag which has led to some fans of the game to abhor and deny the anime's existence. Before I go into what issues I had with the series, I will go into what I enjoyed from it. The greatest strength of the series came from its focus on the bond between Arcueid and Shiki. The series takes its time focusing on the chemistry of the two characters as Shiki is dragged into Arcueid'svampire hunt and learns his family is hiding secrets that could connect them to the vampires causing trouble throughout the series. There is enough depth given to Shiki's character where I did come to know of the circumstances that led him to live with his sister Akiha and how he came to acquire and deal with his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. I could also buy the relationship Shiki comes to have with Arcueid as Tsukihime took its time with developing the bond in which the two have. The visuals are solid for the most part sporting a clean presentation with vivid colors and a decent amount of detail with scenery and character designs. The show's soundtrack consists of mostly stringed and piano musical tracks that fit very well with the mellow and tense moods that Tsukihime gives off in its various scenes.

But as I've discussed above, Tsukihime's anime adaptation does carry some significant flaws to it. Beyond Shiki, most of the other prominent characters within the series get limited to no depth and the roles of some characters were downplayed for the anime to be supporting to background roles. Also because of the large focus on the developing bond between Shiki and Arcueid, the main plot involving their hunt for vampires often gets glossed over and there is barely enough time to explore how characters like Ciel and Akiha found themselves to be personally connected to the conflict, especially as these details are quickly laid out in the show's later episodes.

The anime adaptation of Tsukihime is a decent one for those who are fans of Arcueid and Shiki as the series does do enough to have you believe in their bond and the presentation does do a solid job in establishing the show's dramatic mood. However, this comes at the cost of barely digging into the visual novel's mythos and other prominent characters as they don't get as much consistent focus for this adaptation of the series. Your mileage will vary on how well you accept this adaptation of Tsukihime if you have sampled the visual novel, especially considering some among the game's fanbase deny the anime even existed.

That is a history, which one cannot describe easily, First the action comes: a man, that with a shock, which lost memory, meets the Vampire with a woman, is!!! He cannot believe first, but with conviction, he reminds that he carves the woman up into 17 pieces, Two-test, the man comes home after 8 years, it reminded only of its sister, with their amusing house rules!!! It may not be at night outside,…. Then that experiences its sister a Vampire is!!! Whole history is so mysterious that one sees the series with much looking surprised!!!Thus, I can only recommend the series, it am much drama in it, with much romance!!!

Okay look, watching this anime from a person who had played/read the Visual Novel before and whatnot, are totally different so I don't want to take random criticisms. I personally have read the visual novel of Tsukihime, and decided to give the anime version score on my very own opinion... Anime was weak. Honestly speaking I was even surprised by the fact that they somehow managed to cram all so much text into just 12 episode anime. Indeed they only took 1 route, (this case, arcueid's) the anime seemed to lack just a little thing that could've sent more heart feeling stories beyond just action/irony. So my finalcall is,(don't want to length this any further...:P) that it is worth the watch, especially if you plan to read the visual novel. Anime that has been transferred from a visual novel is always lacking in content and is most of the time not any better.

So go watch it if you have time, otherwise it may just leave you hanging to know the rest of the story that should've taken place XP

I understand. I understand now why no-one wants to acknowledge the existence of this. Steaming. Pile. Of. S**t I think I was generous, giving this anime scores in the 3-4 range. Maybe I was feeling sympathetic, or was under the influence of drugs... If I'm brutally honest, this anime deserves a 2 for everything. However, I tried really hard and did find some redeeming qualities. Some. 1. I shouldn't have eaten those mushrooms o_o Well since this is a rant, strap yourselves in for a long review. I hate this anime. I try my best to love every anime, but I really, really have to try to like this anime.For the purposes of this review, I'm going to be a hater.

Tsukihime is a dull, dull, DULL show. The characters are dull, the colour palette is dull, the story is a dull adaptation of a decent visual novel (apparently).

This reminds me so much of Fate/Stay Night when it comes to the fuzzy, boring night scenes and the dull, apocalyptic-wasteland-coloured day scenes. Half the characters are so badly drawn they look like something Minami Juusei threw up in the toilet. Oh, and for a story which blends vampires, 'moon people', immortals and semi-bestial fiends, there is

NO ACTION.

Seriously. We have some jumping around, a bit of knife-waving and that's it. The fact I don't care about any of the characters doesn't help. Shiki is boring, they don't exploit his eyesight ability the way they should. His sister and the maids are fairly uninteresting too (though I was convinced at one point there was a bit of lesbianism, it turned out just to be bad picture quality/camera angle). The only character I liked was Roa, because he was twisted, and we got to see him as an evil child too (evil children in anime are fantastic, I don't mean to sound like a pedo when I say that *retires to white van while combing stache*).

But we got about one episode with that backstory. So that sucked balls. Major balls. Like this whole series. Even our main girl, Arcueid, is about as interesting as a glass of water. She's just there, what could be a powerful character is just really un-memorable. And whenever the characters talk it's in big, long monologues where they are trying to explain backstory which I don't give two sh*ts about.

The BGM suits the mood of the series and the OP and ED are quite unique, but everything still feels so dull. I didn't particularly like the music, meaning I didn't even have the OP to look forward to...

The fact I watched the dub doesn't help. There's only so many times you can hear Michelle Ruff's voice before getting a little tired of it. Don't get me wrong, she's a great voice actor, but she really didn't earn this anime kudos. Why was she even stooping this low anyway???

To conclude, I felt like Rena tearing out her throat while I watched this. Don't watch this unless your a hardcore Tsukihime fan or a TYPE-MOON completionist.

That is all.

Overview: "Lunar Legend Tsukihime" is notable for being the first anime adaptation of one of Kinoko Nasu's stories, being first released way back in 2003. In sharp contrast to ufotable's highly regarded adaptations of "Kara no Kyoukai" and the "Fate" series, however, this particular adaptation has a very negative reputation among fans of the novel it's based off, to the point that a good number of fans would rather pretend it never even existed. While I personally think that's a bit of an overreaction, if only because I haven't read the novel myself, it is nevertheless easily the worst Nasuverse anime I have seen. Story (6/10): "Tsukihime" tellsthe story of Shiki Tohno, a 17-year-old member of the prestigious Tohno family, who has been living with his distant relatives for the past eight years after being involved in an accident that cost him some of his memories and enables him to see "Death Lines"- lines by which things, living or not, will eventually break when they die. Naturally, being able to see death everywhere he looks quickly got to Shiki, and he was exiled by his father due to his injury. Presently, Shiki has been able to avoid seeing the lines due to being given special glasses by a mysterious sorceress, which is pretty much the only reason he's been able to live a normal life. One day, without warning, he is summoned back to the main Tohno household by his younger sister Akiha, who has recently taken over as head of the family. He returns as asked, but on the way, he encounters a young woman with blonde hair and, in a dreamlike state, kills her. On his way to school the next day, however, he encounters the woman again, alive and well, and soon after learns her name is Arcueid Brunestud, and that she is a vampire who is hunting another one of her kind in the city. Realizing that his curse could be of some use after all, Shiki decides to team up with Arcueid in order to better her chances at defeating the vampire she's after.

While the premise of the story is certainly a unique one, the series sadly only manages to scratch the surface of its potential. The original visual novel had a total of five different routes, while the anime generally only focuses on one of these. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the series is only 12 episodes long, despite being released during a time where the vast majority of anime were 24-26 episodes at the bare minimum. The result is an anime that moves way too fast for my liking and almost never slows down, often jumping from one plot point to the next with often only the tiniest amount of warning or build-up, and several confrontations being pretty anti-climactic. In fact, Shiki ends up killing a major antagonist really early on, to the point that I had a hard time processing that said villain was gone for good.

More problems arise when the series attempts to incorporate elements from multiple routes, creating various scenes that are barely or never elaborated on. Gaps regarding the main mystery of the series (Arcueid's hunt for vampires and the backstory of the Tohno family) are eventually filled in, although it piles on so many twists and revelations that they become a cheap dramatic device for pushing the story forward (if that, given that numerous twists don't really lead to anything down the line), and often causing the series to lose focus. While there is some good storytelling to be found, mostly in regards to the growing relationship between Shiki and Arcueid as well as a number of good character interactions, the series ultimately ends without things ever feeling adequately resolved, and overall the story struck me as one that just does not work as an anime.

Art & Animation (7.5/10):

Visually, "Tsukihime" doesn't look great, but it doesn't look awful either. The character models and environments are well-drawn and detailed for the most part, and the dark palette does fit the tone of the series quite nicely. However, the animations and special effects can be pretty lacking and the series has a whole doesn't look very good in poor lighting, which is especially bad considering that most, if not all, of the main conflict takes place at night-time. Overall, I would definitely consider this to be one of J.C. Staff's worst efforts, though that's probably to be expected considering it was also one of their first.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):

If there's one thing that makes "Tsukihime" worth sitting through, it's the music. The series has plenty of moody, atmospheric tracks that perfectly fit the gothic feel of the series and really serve to emphasize the scenes they play in. My absolute favourite, however, would have to be the opening theme, "The Sacred Moon", which I listened to each time I started a new episode. For the longest time, I thought that an anime opening wouldn't work without lyrics but this series proved me dead wrong, and the ending theme "Rinne no Hate ni", while not quite as memorable, is great as well. The voice acting isn't bad either, with Steve Staley and Michelle Ruff delivering the best performances as Shiki and Arcueid, respectively, though Wendee Lee's Ciel and Julie Ann Taylor's Akiha are certainly adequate as well. Overall, the sound is easily the best part of the series.

Characters (6.5/10):

From the moment Shiki returns to the Tohno mansion, it's clear that he has great difficulty adjusting to their old-fashioned way of life, which makes sense given that he had lived a normal life for the past eight years. He's very uncomfortable with being treated like nobility and even tries to get the maids of the household to not call him "Master", to limited success. However, while he's far from being prim and proper, he's nevertheless a very kind and polite person to most people he meets. Well, most of the time, as he has a mysterious other personality that takes over whenever he encounters a supernatural being, though he initially has no memory of when he's in this state, let alone any control over it. Unfortunately, while he's far from a flat character and has more than a few awesome moments, I found that quite a number of aspects of his character were either underdeveloped or never properly explained, up to and including the origins of his other personality, especially since it's explicitly confirmed to be not of Tohno origin. Even so, everything I mentioned before means that he still stood out as my favourite character

My second favourite character is, without a doubt, Arcueid, the titular "Moon Princess" who is both a vampire and a vampire hunter simultaneously. While the story is told from Shiki's perspective, it primarily follows Arcueid's quest to hunt down other vampires, a quest Shiki gets dragged into against his will after he temporarily killed her, weakening her in the process. As such, it's as much her story as it is Shiki's. While she is very ruthless in combat, outside of it she displays a surprisingly innocent and playful personality, which stems from the fact that she's never had what you would call a "normal" life, having spent her whole life either hunting vampires or hibernating. In fact, several parts of the series involve Shiki and Arcueid just hanging out and doing things that Arcueid deems as "useless", which makes for some pretty decent character moments. Even so, her character arc really isn't anything I haven't seen done many times in other stories (the "Fate" series included), nor is it executed in a way that makes it stand out from other examples.

Another notable character is Akiha Tohno, Shiki's aforementioned younger sister, who is generally very strict with him and expecting him to adapt to the Tohno way of life. She's also a rather judgmental person, having a tendency to hate people very quickly before she's ever really gotten a chance to know them, a trait I was definitely not a fan of. However, while she isn't the nicest person, there's no doubt that she cares for Shiki, and overtime she softens up a bit and even shows willingness to compromise if it'll make him more comfortable. There's also Ciel, Shiki's senior in school who appears to be at odds with Arcueid for some reason, though I can't really say anything else about her without giving away some kind of spoiler. Neither of these two character are anywhere near as fleshed-out as Shiki or Arcueid (which aren't particularly high bars to clear), but they're likeable enough and I can't say the series would be better off without them. Beyond these four, however, the other characters are pretty weak, with there only being Akiha's two maids Hisui and Kohaku and Shiki's classmates at school, none of whom were all that interesting. The villains are pretty bland as well, with the first one in particular proving to be completely irrelevant to the story and serving as nothing more than some really powerful foe for Shiki to defeat.

Enjoyment (6.5/10):

It should be obvious from the genre alone that "Tsukihime" is most definitely not for the faint of heart, and the series proves that from the very first episode, with even the sudden appearance of Arcueid after Shiki kills her being very unsettling, and the series only getting darker and grimmer from there. While there is some moments of levity, like the episode where the cast go to an amusement park, the dark tone permeates throughout, culminating in an ending that is bittersweet at best.

Overall:

While "Tsukihime" is a decent anime on its own terms, as a Nasuverse anime it's nothing short of a disappointment. The music is certainly great, but it unfortunately falls short in almost every other department, be it the story, characters or visuals. Gothic horror fans will enjoy it, but even they're probably just better off reading the novel (specifically, the remake that was released in recent years). Maybe I'll check it out myself one of these days.

Score:

6+7.5+8.5+6.5+6.5=35/50=7.0/10