Why, oh why didn’t Strike the Blood get dubbed?

I love this anime! I’m not sure how many times I’ve re-watched it now, but I’d guess this is the third time in the past year alone. It’s classic harem and maybe that’s why it didn’t get a dub, having so much competition from similar ilk, but honestly. this one stands out above many similar titles for me.

I usually hold out in the hopes that a sub-only release will get an English dub at some point, but in this case I’ve given up hope and just gave in. If they ever do a dub, I’ll happily buy it again for that alone… so, what makes this so great?

The male lead isn’t super-clueless… just regular-level clueless when it comes to the females around him… and he’s not a pervert or jerk… which is saying something in light of a lot of contemporary harem anime. The girls vary quite a bit in personality and appearance and many are fun, competent characters. Most importantly though, this has an interesting setting and story. The show’s mythology is pretty interesting and seems to keep expanding as the show continues. Before you know it, everyone has some back story or development that gives them a reason for being around (other than eye candy). They’re all generally nice characters as well… none is unpleasant. I know that sounds weird too, but there are a lot of characters you can’t wait to see exit the scene because they’re just that annoying.

So is this a mediocre show that’s just not terrible in any way? Because re-reading what I just wrote, that may be the impression you’re getting. I’m not really doing it justice. The truth is really this simple: The story is interesting, the characters are fun, the visuals are good, there is a good mix of action and comedy with just a little drama (not much) and it’s broken up into nice bites. Most episodes are part of a four episode arc. Some are three and even a two episode arc, but there are generally clean breaks between the arcs that let you sit down and watch about 90 minutes at a time… almost like a collection of movies. This makes it east to sit down and watch and get to a good stopping point and then leave and come back the next day for more. Before you know it the 24 episodes in this season will be over and you’ll be wondering if the OVAs and second season will ever get a U.S. release (I sure hope so since there are some mysteries about some of the characters that are not explained here).

Anyway, if you’re willing to live with subtitles and are looking for a fun, easy harem anime where the focus is on action rather than ecchi, give this a shot.