The first two episodes of this show introduce us to a pair of weirdos with instant curiosity about one another. We’ve got aliens, vampires, hauntings — it’s fun!
Let’s start with the aliens
One of our leads, a university student named Yoh, is obsessed with extraordinary beings. Aliens. Super heroes. Whatever. He thinks people can’t clearly state whether they live among us or not. I mean, some people clearly say “no”, but that won’t stop Yoh.
Yoh is part of the “You F O & The Gang” group with 3 of his friends. And this strange girl who keeps sitting silently near them. They’re searching for a subject for a vaguely defined school project. They go to the countryside to search for aliens, and possibly manifest some?
Now, onto the Vampire
Yoh is at an outdoor food stall when he sees a strange young man. He’s wearing sunglasses at night, under an umbrella, eating a ton of Pork Blood Soup. Yoh is fascinated, and strangely competitive. He too orders a ton of Pork Blood Soup, and takes it home to force on his sister.
This new guy is of course our other lead, a vampire named Pun.
Yoh is ready to make Pun the subject of this vague school project. He brings his group, mysterious silent girl included, to the food stall. Pun comes out of a nearby apartment building, looking like a referee. Once again he orders a ton of Pork Blood Soup, and once again Yoh gets needlessly competitive.
Pun has noticed Yoh’s interest and his appetite for Pork Blood Soup. He seems to think Yoh might be a vampire too, and comes close for a good sniff at him. Yoh feels there’s something familiar about Pun. Childhood connection with a vampire? Wait for it.
And finally, haunted apartment buildings
Yoh very reasonably decides to move into the apartment building where Pun lives. The only available room is haunted by a chair flinging entity. Yoh would rather not live there, but this is the only way to live near Pun.
Yoh’s friends are more supportive than they should be. Except for the other guy in the group, he thinks Pun is just a weird guy. He seems unhappy at being in a paranormal group.
Yoh’s efforts get him another bowl of Pork Blood Soup with Pun. Pun thinks Yoh is weird. Yoh thinks Pun is weird. Neither of them are wrong.
That, er, childhood connection?
Once upon a time, Yoh was a small child on a swing. Pun was on the other swing, wearing gloves and sunglasses, eating an ice cream cone. A suspiciously red ice cream.
Pun wouldn’t share his ice cream, so young Yoh threw a tantrum. That’s it for their connection. But Yoh thinks they can’t be the same person anyway.
Pun’s sad vampire backstory
Yoh sneaks into Pun’s room and finds a coffin with a fan in it. There’s also a cape. And Pun sneaking up behind him with cheap looking glow in the dark teeth.
That’s because they’re cheap, fake teeth. Pun is pretending. Yoh, despite being the one to enter Pun’s room uninvited, acts upset and leaves.
Pun shares his backstory over a series of flashbacks through time. He’s been a vampire for, well, 1000 Years. He’s bored and lonely but he can’t die. His only joy is his Pork Blood Soup.
Pun doesn’t think much of himself. He’s afraid of thunder, hates the heat, and can’t die. Nothing really awesome there. But he tries to act cool for Yoh. Aww.
But no one believes that Pun is a vampire
Pun is devastated when his Pork Blood Soup place abruptly closes. The former waitress brings him consolation soup from somewhere else. She asks if he’s a vampire. He says yes. She decides he needs a mental health check-up.
Yoh shows up with more consolation Pork Blood Soup. He wants to know why Pun is obsessed with vampires. Pun says he is one, and he trusts Yoh to not to tell anyone this secret.
Yoh tells the friend group, including the mysterious silent girl. No one believes it. Yoh thinks he’s maybe an alien. The group ponders how they can believe in aliens but not vampires.
With classic drama timing, they learn a fellow student has been murdered and drained of blood. This terrifying discovery makes them determined to prove whether Pun is a vampire or not. They go with the classic, crucifix route.
Mosquitos or vampires? Hard to tell!
While Yoh is lurking around with a crucifix he meets a nosy neighbor. The neighbor explains that there are two haunted rooms. One is the one Pun lives in. There used to be a young man who lived there and would bring attractive men and women over.
One day she snooped into his room and discovered a woman’s dead body! With two mosquito bites on her neck! Or are they fang marks? The neighbor leaves without explaining the other haunted room, but it’s got to be Yoh’s.
Pun is touched by Yoh’s gift
Yoh, who is both very brave and very cowardly, leaves the crucifix hanging around Pun’s doorknob. When Pun immediately knows that it’s from Yoh, he claims it’s a gift.
Pun says it’s his birthday and he’s never received a gift. Despite being nervous enough around Pun to wear a neck-protecting scarf, Yoh throws an impromptu party for Pun.
As he lays in his coffin, crucifix burn on his chest, Pun feels he may have a new purpose in life.
What I want and what I’m enjoying
Though it could be a subtitle issue, I’m confused about Pun’s backstory and what Yoh really thinks is going on with him. Does he believe he’s a vampire now or not? Hopefully that will get cleared up, and I definitely want to see more of Pun’s past.
I love that we’ve got two strange guys who recognize something in each other and want to know more. It’s not about lust, this isn’t that kind of show, it’s about being deeply interested in one another. That can be very romantic. But also, I want to know more about them both too.
The show looks cheap but the production has good details. Yoh and Pun’s places are both decorated to suit them, in a campy way. Yoh even had space-themed cookery. There’s some nice framing of shots and slow camera moves that give the show a moody, off-beat feel. It has some of the madcap energy of 80s horror-comedy movies, which is a positive for me.
So, is the silent girl in the background a ghost? A superhero? Who used to live in Pun’s place? What happened in Yoh’s place? Will we get to meet another vampire? Is there more to Pun and Yoh’s past? What about this dead student? Will this school project be anything? Will the unhappy looking guy in their group ever cheer up? Will we get to meet an alien?
Based on the writer/director’s past work, I Will Knock You, I’m not anticipating much of a plot. That’s fine, I’m here for weird campy stuff, aliens, vampires, hauntings, and guys who are obsessed with each other. Please keep giving me that!