I started watching Call of the Night on a whim; I heard the manga was good, so I gave episode one a go. I thought it was alright, even though it was more of a slice-of-life show (and I don’t usually go out of my way to watch SOL shows these days). But after watching the second episode, my perspective shifted. You see, I watched episode two at night, and I cannot stress how much better this show works in that context. For some reason, you feel closer to the main character, Yamori, as he walks along the empty streets of Japan in the dead of night. The nighttime vibes this show gives off are amplified if you watch it at a late hour, and I’m sad to say I never watched another episode at night because I started watching it with my brother in the mornings to follow. But yeah, this show has cool vibes.

While most shows have cool, interesting stuff happening with some lulls in between, this show is the inverse: it’s mostly lulls with some cool, interesting stuff that happens in between. And because I like the characters, I don’t mind the lulls. There are some genuine moments not just between the main two characters, but between various members of the supporting cast as well. Heck, I enjoyed some side characters more than Yamori at times. And the animation is just pure art. The colours are vibrant, the characters move nicely, and in the final episode, the quality gets cranked up to eleven. This is definitely one of those shows where you can watch it just to appreciate the artistry, if nothing else. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, there is more to appreciate about Call of the Night than just the animation.

For a little while after the second episode, I was worried they weren't going to address some key character motivations, but my worries were in vain, for the most part. Yamori's character gets scrutinized a little more in the last two episodes, and fingers crossed we get more seasons to deeper explore his character.

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Can I talk about the music? That OP might just be the best one I’ve seen in a long time, especially this year. The music is so funky, and paired with the awesome animation, editing, and on-screen text, it’s like a music video. Heck, it even has filmmaking motifs in the OP itself! The ED is also cool, but to a lesser extent. Some of the neat editing choices are still there, but it’s mostly static images of Nazuna. The song is still fantastic, though. And this is all without mentioning the musical score for the show itself. It’s the perfect music to compliment the night; light and atmospheric, but with a consistent beat. Kind of like lofi hip-hop. I’m really looking forward to listening to this soundtrack once it’s released.

Even as someone who isn’t really into slice-of-life anime, this was a pretty cool one to experience. I’m into it enough that I might watch the second season when that inevitably comes out.