The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess (2023)

[ひきこまり吸血姫の悶々]

Director: Tatsuma Minamikawa
Studio: Project No.9
Starring: Tomori Kusunoki, Sayumi Suzushiro, Yoko Hikasa
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
The shut-in daughter of a powerful family of vampires is given command of her own army, where she must bluff her way to victory in an unending war of immortals.

Impressions:
When I saw the PV for this, it caught my interest with the premise and the appealing character designs. The OP and ED are quite good, which never hurt, but what we get in between those two 90-second sequences doesn't quite live up to the hype. Now, I can't help but feel that maybe I rate this lower because my expectations weren't being met. I was hoping for Komari to take refuge in audacity more and be better at her bluff, but she can't keep up the act and if anyone was more perceptive than a rock, her act wouldn't hold. The members of her unit don't get much characterization, which is a waste, but the real objective is to build up her yuri harem, and even with that, don't expect that much depth to the characterization. Also, not much is made of most of the main characters being vampires. None of the traditional weaknesses apply (but neither do most of their strengths), so except for the few times when blood-drinking is plot-relevant, they could just be slightly empowered humans and you wouldn't notice the difference. Both the drama and the comedy are rather lightweight and it didn't take long for me to feel disengaged with the story. There's potential here, but that potential is wasted. You might enjoy it, but I wouldn't stake too much on that possibility. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50