Oldtaku: Anime for Grownups

Summary: Shojou Hellsing (again)
Based on: 1 episode
Series Info: at Anime News Network (pic shamelessly stolen)

[edit: I reread my initial review of this, and it came off far too harsh - sure, this is formulaic, but it's not as bad as I made it out to be.]

Sigh. It really is disappointing that anime/manga for girls are even more more generic than anime/manga for boys. Aren’t women supposed to be more subtle, nuanced, and intelligent than stupid brutish men? Then you look at Harlequin romances (and shojo anime) and realize this isn’t the case. Women prefer their plots even more formulaic and predictable than men do.

So now that I’ve got that ranting out of the way, if you liked Nabari no Ou this is the your shojo anime for you this season.  Ciel Phantomhive (eye-patched prettyboy) is the heir of the English Phantomhive toy dynasty. His butler, Sebastian, is an ultra-competent ultra-handsome demon lord. Everyone else in the household is comic relief.

I had a brief moment of appreciation for this show when it actually invoked some horror (the oven scene), but then it completely cheapened and nullified it. The best I can say is this isn’t as horribly bad as Trinity Blood.

But, for you people who need your formulaic prettyboys (and I have my own guilty pleasures), this is your show. And the production values are indisputably good.