It’s Christmas time, so I’m going to talk about the most Christmas thing: vampires. … Yep, don’t think too hard on it. Every so often, you encounter a series that really speaks to you. This is precisely what happened to me with Yofukashi no Uta, or Call of the Night. I’ll keep this short, so let’s take a look.
Yofukashi no Uta follows Kou Yamori as he explores the city late at night, trying to find out what “love” even is. He eventually meets Nazuna Nanakusa, a girl who seems to have a love of the night. She eventually invites Kou to her place to sleep. Despite what you might be thinking, it’s not that. Rather, it’s for her to feed… After learning about her being a vampire, he decides he wants to become one as well, and the two continue to just hang out in the middle of the night.
The series starts out pretty chill. Like, almost slice-of-life, with some VERY cool visuals. It might be one of the prettiest series I’ve seen in a long time. I really enjoyed the combination of these two elements, watching Kou and Nazuna’s relationship grow.
The second half, however, stepped up the seriousness of the plot. We get to meet some new characters that definitely rock the boat for our two leads. The good vibes are still there, as are the phenomenal visuals, but these new additions just give Yofukashi no Uta another dimension.
Now, the characters are all very good. Yes, Kou and Nazuna are great, both together and individually. The side characters are all interesting also though, and each have their own motives. It makes them feel like real characters, not just blank slates to serve as a mirror for the leads.
All of this sets itself up for a pretty decent anime, but I opened by saying this series speaks to me. Other decent anime haven’t done this, so what’s the deal?
Getting personal for a bit, I myself am up all night. I like the night. There’s just something fun and enjoyable about being up all night. I’ve been doing this for like ten years now, and frankly have no desire to change. This is what I mean.
Kou explores not only the city, but the night itself, and what about it calls to him. This “call of the night” is what really spoke to me. As someone who found himself in the same place so many years ago, and arguably still feels that calling, I could really relate to it. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has felt this.
I guess I’ll wrap this up. How was Yofukashi no Uta? Really good, and definitely one of my favorite anime this past summer (and yet again, an honorable mention… Let’s not talk about it). The chill vibes are very enjoyable, as is the truly amazing art. For those not interested in “vibes”, the plot is definitely there in the latter half and there’s a very nice romance beginning. Honestly, I hope this series gets a sequel. I’ve already started buying the manga (just got it in the other day, actually), and I’m very excited to see where the story goes.
Okay, that’s it. Merry Christmas, and happy holidays. Catch you in the new year.
As an aside, I am thinking of changing to a different web host, so the site might go down for a bit. Shouldn’t be long if it does, but just wanted to be transparent.