Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End) Review & Characters - The Moon Demon Company Welcomes You

9:30 PM July 14, 2015

Anime Review [Article Category]
Shounen Anime, Supernatural Anime, Vampire Anime [Genres]

Owari-no-Seraph-dvd-300x380 Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End) Review & Characters - The Moon Demon Company Welcomes You

Episodes : 12
Genre : Drama, Shounen, Vampire, Supernatural
Airing Date :Apr 4, 2015 - Jun 20, 2015
Producers : WIT STUDIO, FUNimation Entertainment

Owari no Seraph Preview / Plot (No Spoilers)

One day a mysterious virus appears that wipes out great parts of the human race. Vampires start emerging, ready to take over control of this world and to enslave the kids that were left unharmed by the virus. A fight between mankind and vampires commences and Yuichiro is caught between the two fronts.

With this background the story of Seraph of the End begins. This show that is part of the recent Spring 2015 season starts out with a grand opening. The first episode shows orphaned children, numerous deaths and lots of blood. That’s just the beginning of Seraph of the End, an anime that has caught the hearts of numerous viewers in a short period of time.

Seraph of the End might not reinvent the wheel or introduce a lot of new topics, but the way it combines different genres and raises thought-provoking questions makes it stand out from other titles of this season. This being said, let me give you an overview of the story and its characters and hopefully explain the special charm of this show to you. Enjoy!

Who does Owari no Seraph cater to?

Seraph of the End is one of those few shows where I wouldn’t limit the target audience. What I mean is that its storyline and themes can be enjoyed by a lot of people and many viewers should be able to relate to the main characters. Still, if you are a fan of Action or Shounen anime I highly recommend you to check out this show. If you’re also a fan of vampire stories then Seraph of the End is a must-watch.

Consider yourself warned though: Even though this show isn’t as bloody as some other shows you should still be able to manage seeing blood and wounds. It can also affect you emotionally, especially if you’re vulnerable when it comes to children. However, if you get past that first episode you are rewarded with lots of action and drama so there really should be something for everyone to enjoy.

What's so appealing about this piece of work.

What makes Seraph of the End so special in my eyes is the fact that it revolves around common themes of Shounen anime but manages to present them in a new way. An example would be friendship and its importance for one’s personal strength. This show shows a really unique relationship between Yuichiro and Mikaela that raises the question of who your real friends are.

It also features a couple of interesting characters that are really special when it comes to their determination. Not only Yuichio but also Guren and other soldiers fight with all they’ve got in order to end the reign of the vampires. All these different elements cooperate effortlessly and promise a great viewing experience.

Owari no Seraph Official Trailer

Owari no Seraph Main Characters List

Yuichiro Hyakuya

Voice Actor :Miyu Irino

The story of Seraph of the End revolves around Hyakuya and his fight for revenge. His first appearance is as a young orphan boy during the outbreak of the deadly virus. He has a strong and fierce character and is not afraid of starting a fight. Even though he wouldn’t admit it he actually cares about the people around him and the second family that the orphanage became to him.

After all the people close to him were killed by vampires he distances himself from other people and dedicates his whole life to the fight against these monsters. He’s afraid of letting someone near him again so he has a cold aura and doesn’t believe in the necessity of having friends. Only slowly does he have to realize that he cannot fight alone and that he actually finds purpose in protecting the people around him.

Mikaela Hyakuya

Voice Actor :Kenshou Ono

Mikaela (or Mika for short) is another main character that already appears in the very first episode. He is a kind-hearted young boy that grows up in the same orphanage as Yuichiro. His openly friendly personality makes him the opposite of Yuichiro but they still manage to become best friends.

During their attempt to escape the vampires he sacrifices himself so that Yuichiro could flee. In his last moment he was happy to see his friend escape and he was ready to die for him. However, he turns out to be only severely injured and gets turned into a vampire. His second life is filled with despair and self-hatred and almost nothing is left from his innocent and smiling former self.

Guren Ichinose

Voice Actor : Yuuichi Nakamura

Guren is not only the person that finds frightened Yuichiro after his escape from the vampires but also an important figure in both the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the Moon Demon Company. He’s a tall man that stands way above Yuichiro both in position and experience. Still, their personalities resemble each other when it comes to their will to protect those around them.

Guren is a respected and wise leader that values cooperation and teamwork. Even though he doesn’t show the whole sincerity and depth of his personality constantly it’s still obvious that he has a clear goal in mind and is able to work towards it. He’s also intelligent and has great determination.

Contains Spoilers

Owari no Seraph Review

Seraph of the End really got me with its first episode. I didn’t have high expectations before watching it so I was pleasantly surprised when the very beginning already had an interesting backstory and great characters. It was really promising especially when it comes to novelty. I was ready for lots of drama, fights and new ideas.

The second episode however already threw me off if I am honest with you. The story started out so dark and moving that I thought there’d only be more despair and dark themes following. Suddenly Yuichiro was a high school student and has problems like finding friends, fitting in or responding to love letters. I don’t mean to say that I don’t enjoy high school settings, but it just came out of the blue for me.

This pattern repeated itself for the rest of the show. Darker episodes were followed by comedy and vice versa. Again, the different elements weren’t bad by themselves but I just wasn’t sure how to feel about the sudden changes. Sometimes the jokes didn’t feel appropriate to me and the actions of some characters were a little bit too unbelievable considering their tough backgrounds. Personally, I would have preferred Seraph of the End to stay on a darker side and to revolve around troubling pasts and merciless fights.

Maybe it’s just my personal opinion and my expectations after watching the first episode that affected my viewing experience. And if I am honest with you I might have to admit that I was hoping for a second Attack on Titan with this show. I wanted another moving anime that makes me cry tears of frustration and makes me tremble with fear during every fight.

Seraph of the End is not a second Attack on Titan. But it doesn’t need to be one. It’s also not revolutionizing the Shounen genre, but everything it does it does great. It has interesting characters and I enjoyed finding out more about their backgrounds and their character. The story as well was well thought out and everything fitted well together. Most importantly, it’s a great vampire story and that’s something that I can really appreciate these days.

Since vampires have been around for some time now many shows think that they need to design their own vampires with unique features and new rules. The result of this unnecessary pressure can be observed in the Twilight series. Seraph of the End however stayed true to original vampire stories and didn’t add too many new details. Thus, they are actually scary and are a perfect addition to the storyline. A big thumbs up to the producers for letting vampires be vampires.

All in all I still cannot really come to a conclusion for Seraph of the End. I am constantly torn between really loving the show and thinking it’s a generic Shounen story. It certainly isn’t my favorite show of all time but I still enjoyed every minute of watching it. I especially approved of the fights and their believable level of blood and violence. It feels like the producers put a lot of effort and thought into the story and I can really appreciate that. It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next and I really wanted to follow Yuichiro on his journey until the very end. If an anime manages to achieve that then I guess you could consider it a success.

1. Moon Demon Company

The Moon Demon Company is a military organization under the lead of Guren that was established for the sole purpose of fighting and extinguishing the vampire race. One of the main values of this company is teamwork and cooperation between the different members. They group up into small units and fight vampires together as a team. The weapons they use are so-called Cursed Gear that hold great powers.

The members of the Moon Demon Company are highly respected and one needs to distinguish oneself from the crowd to be able to join them. Yuichiro joins this organization in order to fulfill his wish for revenge.

2. Vampires

The vampires of Seraph of the End follow the example of more old-schooled stories like the one of Count Dracula. They have light skin, pointed ears and little fangs that they use to suck the blood of their victims. Most of them look down upon humans and consider them an inferior race even though humans are able to turn into vampires. They are powerful and immortal beings.

Before the outbreak of the virus their existence was unknown. After most of humanity was wiped out they saw their chance and kidnapped the remaining human children into their kingdom. They were held captive underground to be used as a food source.

3. Cursed Weapons

Cursed weapons are used by the soldiers to kill vampires since normal weapons only harm them. They can take on different forms, ranging from cursed swords to cursed axes. Their special powers are due to demons trapped inside them. These are the sources of magical power since they used to be vampires. Cursed weapons differ in power depending on the age and strength of the demon sealed inside it. They are dangerous tools that cannot be used by everyone.

Seraph of the End does a lot of things right and manages to combine a couple of different elements in one story. We have drama, we have action and we have comedy all combined with a dystopian future and ancient vampires. Making this unique mix work is already challenging in itself, but the producers were even able to make it look natural and effortless.

It is an overall great show that is a hot tip for fans of Action and Shounen anime. Personally I’m still not able to come to a satisfying conclusion on whether I liked this show or not so let me know in the comment section down below what you think. Did you have similar problems judging Seraph of the End or do you have a clear opinion?

As always, your input is more than welcome.

Update: Season 1 Conclusion

Owari no Seraph's first season has ended, the last episode has aired and the only question that remains is: What is my final conclusion for this season? Did this show deliver what it promised? Did the finale change my opinion? Stay tuned if you want to find out the answers to these questions.

With my first review I wasn’t able to come to a satisfying conclusion, at least not for myself. There was a lot going on in Owari no Seraph and I was just waiting to find out how the producers would connect the different elements and find a good ending for the first season. Well, what definitely didn’t change is my personal feeling that the producers wanted to achieve a lot of things at once.

It seems to me that the producers packed everything that is popular these days into one show. I don’t mean to say this is a bad approach; it’s just not appealing to me. As I have mentioned before it started out like a second Attack on Titan with a dark storyline and a hero with a troublesome past. Suddenly we had a high school story with slapstick humor and finally, we are in a common Shounen anime with fights and lots of determination and motivating monologues. And since vampires also seem to be popular these days why not add them to the crazy mix as well.

The last episode didn’t give me much closure. It ended too abruptly for my taste and left the storyline hanging in the air until the next season. My final questions and thoughts for Owari no Seraph can be summed up with: This is it? All in all, it was definitely not a bad show, but also not an outstanding one. I can see how it gained great popularity and I don’t think its success is undeserved. However, I know that Owari no Seraph will not remain inside my mind as one of my favorite anime of this season.

We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out with season two to make me a believer!?