Call of the Night

The atmosphere can make or break an anime, swing too much in one direction and it becomes overwhelming and oppressive, stay too neutral and it can make everything feel boring. Studio LIDENFILMS understands that perfectly as it balances fear of the unknown but also the release from the known, making the night the perfect atmosphere for Call of the Night.

The anime starts with Yamori Kou, a 14 year old middle schooler dressed in black comfy clothes wandering the moon lit streets of his town. Through coincidence, he meets the vampire Nanakusa Nazuna, another denizen of the night. Shrouded in a dark cloak while still showing her figure as purple hair surrounds her blue eyes, she's like a reflection of said night. She seems at ease in the darkness as she playfully drags Kou around the city and into her bed revealing her vampirism.

Thanks to Yamori Kou and Nanakusa Nazuna's nighttime expeditions, we, the viewer, get to witness alongside them the night. The night is rarely dark, shades of purple with blue and yellow highlights dominate the town. These soothing tones are accentuated with J-pop by Creepy Nuts. On paper it doesn't sound like a good match but they complement each other surprisingly well.

This soothing aspect carries on perfectly to the ways the characters interact with each other. There's this playfulness between the characters, it makes you feel at ease, they're just people having fun, which makes a great catalyst for comedy. Be it misunderstandings between characters, out of place remarks or breaking tension. I wouldn't watch Call of the Night for its comedy but it's a welcome addition to break up the monotony and help with scene transitions.

All of these aspects put together make serious parts of the anime feel so much more impactful. The lighting fades to tones of black, the music becomes more eery and the characters anxious. You, the viewer, feel like time with these characters is limited as you try to savour every bit of it.

Coming back to the relaxing tones, they allow the viewer to look at the two sides of the Call of the Night's vampires. The general view on vampires by humans is that of monsters representing bestiality and sexuality, fueled by need and desire to drink human blood.
Through the eyes of Yamori Kou though, they are human-like, having their own personalities, problems, likes and dislikes. This acceptance of the unknown by Yamori is also there when it comes to humans, be it asexuality, transvestism, mental disorders, there's no judging, just acceptance for who they are.

Call of the night does have one small hiccup:
In my opinion Yamori Kou is a bit too mature for his age, not that it breaks the atmosphere but it feels odd that they are trying to push the idea that he's a middle schooler so much. Apart from that, It's a really solid anime that makes you want to lay back and relax. I'm looking forward to a potential second season.