Call of the Night

(Completely spoiler free)

Everyone has felt the feelings of being unmotivated and dissatisfied with the regular motions of life. We seek comfort in many ways gaming, watching animes, or maybe picking up a random new hobby.

Ko Yamori is much like the rest of us except he takes comfort in going out at night. But much like many things in our life, it’s not something he could do forever, in the morning, he’ll eventually have to go back into the cycle of regular life, doing the same mundane task, putting on the same mundane smile. What if he could stay in the night forever?

Comes in Nazuna Nanakusa, a full-fledged vampire. Who can turn Ko into a vampire, that is if he falls in love with her.

Call of the Night is one of the most charming shows I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s not one of your typical silly romantic comedies, even if it has many elements like that. It brings up the question of growing up and finding the meaning of why you’re even here in the first place. The anime starts off slow, but it only increases the psychological effects of the questions you’re going to be asking as you indulge in more episodes of Call of the Night. The lo-fi atmosphere creates a comfy vibe for a majority of the series, which causes the occasional tense music or total silence to really become noticeable, or even disturbing in some parts. The characters, much like the music are totally lovely, I don’t think there’s a single character here that I would call dislikable. You might not agree with their goals, and some people could be seen as selfish, childish, or a hypocrite. But somewhere deep down, I can relate to most of these characters, to the naivety of Ko, the loneliness of Nazuna, and even the "strong emotions" of a certain detective. Plus, the cast is generally fun and super charming, with the most aesthetically pleasing designs I’ve ever seen from LIDENFILMS studios.

Call of the Night is one of the most visually appealing shows this season, it does not have the best animation by any means, but the direction of the show is simply one of the best I’ve seen this whole year. The usage of color to display the environment and the way it changes to reflect the story concepts is very smart. From the bright cheerful lights that clearly inspired Ko to love the night, to the dull and gritty, harsh reality that occasionally breaks in. The tone of this story was represented perfectly in the visuals.

This show isn’t for everybody, it’s not the most action-heavy show ever, not to say it doesn’t have any at all. It’s not a show where every episode has the most content ever, it is very much a slow, steady, and chill ride, that might surprise some people towards the end of the season. And personally, I’m feeling the vibes.

[Recommendations if you like this series: Monogatari series, The Case Study of Vanitas, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun]