Who says bishoujo games don't make good anime series? Shingetsutan Tsukihime, widely known for being the first anime based on an amateur bishoujo game, is one of the few game-to-anime success stories in existence. A rarity these days, this series was actually made for everyone to enjoy, not just fans of the game it's based on (see: ONE and With You ~Mitsumete Itai~).

The first thing that totally blew me away with this anime was the definitely the music. The intrumental intro music, the background music played during the episodes, and even the ending theme were all spectacular. I just had to listen to the songs over and over and over again. In an anime, background music plays two crucial roles: set the mood and set the pace. Right from the get-go, Shingetsutan Tsukihime establishes the mood and pace with its incredible musical score. It's dark, slow, and above all, beautiful. The whole experience, in fact, was a very musical one. I honestly can't recall a single scene in which there WASN'T music being played. Luckily for me most of the music was actually rather quiet because sometimes such a large amount of music being played can hinder the enjoyment.

Thankfully, Shingetsutan Tsukihime is much different from your usual vampire-hunting-vampires anime series. It all flows extremely slowly so everyone has a chance to absorb everything and action scenes are scarce throughout the series. Also, the protagonist doesn't wear a big, floppy hat (which is a staple of these sort of anime series). The action scenes that were in the series weren't all that great, either. If you're looking for stunning action sequences pitting vampire against vampire, Shingetsutan Tsukihime really isn't the anime for you.

The story is where this series really shines, though. I was at the edge of my seat the whole way through, just waiting to see what would happen next. I had to know how everything fit in and what the meaning behind it all was. The story flowed so naturally, too. It was neither too quick nor too slow; the pacing was just perfect. In several episodes the story was so intense my jaw actually dropped out of shock. I kid you not!

Unfortunately, one thing that sort of turned me off was the characters. No matter how I tried, I just couldn't like them. Perhaps a lot more could have been done to develop them, particularly Ciel and Shiki's friends. In the beginning, his friends seemed to be so central to the story but are completely forgotten by the end of the series (except for a rather unnecessary moment in the end). Ciel was a character that I was particularly annoyed with, though I don't entirely know why. Perhaps it was because she seemed like a boring, empty shell of a character who acted like she was in the anime simply because there was room for another character.

Then it all came down to the ending. The whole ending just left a bad taste in my mouth. All of a sudden, the pacing went from slow to light-speed as it tried to wrap up the story for us. It felt like it was forcing me to cry, forcing me to think it was sad when it actually wasn't (this coming from someone who cried during Revolutionary Girl Utena). I think it really should have done more to develop the two main characters to increase the effect the creators were trying for. However, looking back at my viewing of Shingetsutan Tsukihime, I would have to say that it was an experience I won't soon forget.