The anime is horrendous because it literally took the sadistic routes from the visual novels and trashed the character development and the story. Apart from Subaru, none of the characters go through any development whatsoever nor do they learn anything. Yui is treated horribly in the visual novels, worse than the anime. But the difference is that the vampires do feel remorse in the visual novels and come to terms with humans, whereas in the anime, it's completely non-existent. The visual novels are VASTLY superior to the anime. There's a reason why there are 7 of the visual novels and only 2 seasons of the anime.
In My Opinion the anime Was to show parts of each characters routes rather then have them all fall in love with Yui and have character progress, I see why they didn’t do that as it would be hard to make into a show if every character had their routes in it BUT I can agree she is abused a bunch in the show as for the games/mangas the characters route u pick they end up loving Yui and developing rather then just sucking her blood
Nah the VNs also suck ass, you’re making the incorrect argument by thinking quantity=quality but just because a product (in this case an otome game) has a large number of games it doesn’t mean it’s good in terms of story just that it’s profitable, diabolik lovers had a lot of issues back in the first game (HDB) but the games starts to decline in MB and then after lost Eden it just goes downhill, a lot of the Japanese public (which is the main public the company takes consideration and not the outsiders just like kpop companies with the K-nets) buy the games mostly because of the seiyuus, DL has some of the most recognized and large profitable seiyuus on the industry and no matter how horrible your game might be the names of the seiyuus alone is just enough to save your game, seiyuu culture and the loyalty of fans towards them is a huge thing in Japan As for the characters the real development they had was really on the first game, on MB not only the game but the character’s are totally rewritten to the point is other characters being introduced here, not the og brothers of the first game
"The plot. Incoherent💥 The romance. Psychologically damaging💥 The Character writing. Nonexistent💥" Geniuenly almost spat out my drink, that was hilarious
To BE honest Most Vampire Anime are weird but considering that Twilight was popular WE have No Position to lecture Japan about IT, maybe its Just the Vampire romance Genre attracts Masochists women want to BE eaten by These pretty Bad Boys and men want to BE stepped on by dommy Vampire Ladies.
@@laisphinto6372 I think it's a self reciprocating cycle tbh. A lot of popular media like that is filled to the brim with toxic relationships with not a single example of healthy ones and it ends up speaking to the people who've been conditioned that that's how it's supposed to be. Twilight was written by a cult (which is hella misogynist and racist, but they all prolly are) member
a fun japanese lesson for all of you: in japanese, there’s a ton of loanwords from other languages. someone if these loanwords can get a bit… lost in translation. for example, the japanese word for bitch is ビッチ, which is pretty much pronounced the same way as “bitchy”, but instead of meaning the actual word “bitch”, it means “slut” instead! it’s a common thing for translators to just translate it directly so i wouldn’t be surprised if they are all calling yui little slut actually instead lol
32:57 teddy also contains cordelia's ashes, and another thing which traumatized kanato was that cordelia would make him sing while she,,, had relations with men,,, until his throat would start bleeding
I never got how the fandom was trying to push that yui was a masochist when she is never seen as one. She never enjoys when the boys bite or ever expresses that she does. They all call her demanding names against her consent. Also why is yui constantly surprised when the boys do something to her when its always happening. She surrounded by horrible people and doesn't understand they are horrible. It makes her unlikable since shes constantly doing stupid things and has no personality or character growth. Like why would i want to watch an anime where i am supposed to project myself into the protagonist.
the anime is based on a visual novel, where you are the protagonist, so they don't give them developed personalities in order for people to be able to relate to the character. This is why she is like this. Just like Togainu no Chi, Dramatical Murder and other animes based on visual novels. Also, yes these are BL, but the principle is the same.
@@eidolonicentipedei think its because WE are technically yui. we make decisions as her in the game, so the anime made her bland so that her personality can be used when we play the game if that makes sense ?
47:18 I want to point out that a scene actually occurs in the game where Laito pushes Yui into a lake, and then saves her - she ends up thaning him, and he's like? why are you thanking me? I threw you in LOL idk its just something I promise this will be my last time spamming the comments
No fr, I never like Yui because of how badly she's written z she's actually a dumbass 💀. I understand that she's stuck with a bunch of powerful vampires but when you got vampires questioning your intelligence and innocence then you gotta switch up your game plan.
Imagine a rewrite of that show where they are a bit self-aware of how fuck up it all is. It's not stoping them from doing their thing but their inner monologue has a bit more "dafuq ". Them purposefully saying cryptic shit to fuck with her
Diabolik Lovers is such a guilty pleasure for me not because I like it fr but because the art and the music to this show/game are SOOO GOOD!!! The character songs ESPECIALLY THE DUETS like they did their big one on that they really did
THE GAME AND MANGAS ARE GREAT!! THEY HAVE CHARACTER GROWTH BUT IN TBE SHOW EVEN THOUGH I ENJOYED IT I AGREE THEY COULDN’T SHOW ANY CHARACTER GROWTH (maybe expect Subaru)
a point to add, cordelia does.......those stuff with laito only mostly becus in her eyes, laito looks the most like karlheinz. For krista. Going from more blood's story, She actually genuinely love subaru. Its just after finding out karl's plan, she starts to doubt everything and starts declining. She cant tell if shes looking at subaru or karl whenever she looks at him as well, subaru has karl's blood in him as well. But near the end i think she finally see subaru as himself after yui's encouragement to subaru to go and visit his mum at a good timing and manage to have a good moment for subaru to come in terms with his relationship with krista. She is the only mum still alive till the end. In more blood, they pull a vampire knight logic and is like "vampires are not human so we don need to follow human's rules, incest is ok cus we're a form of animals too". So krista who is considered the most beautiful white rose, she willingly marries karlheinz, strongly implied that she actually is in love with him. But after finding out karl is only using her, and that he never loved her (he don give a crap for love to begin with i bet) so she broke down. BUT IN HAUNTED BRIDAL, HOHOOOOO it got DARK. She is still the most beautiful white rose, so karl, for his plan to have a incest baby, forcefully make krista marry him even if she doesn't want to, and r***s her. She broke down over time and was locked up by karl so she can't die on her own and cause issue to his plan. Giving birth to subaru just drove her madder, but she too still loves subaru actually. It is hinted too that stockholm syndrome is in play here too as even despite her hating karl, when cordelia comes to gloat to her how much karl does not like krista and loves her the most, krista would stand her ground and says that she is basically the only one karl married out of love unlike her who is only good for her linage. And yes it is hinted too that karl only ever loved krista. BUT we do not know if its just from siblings love cus they do grew up together (guess he still has a heart idk) or actual *uc*ed up love. Man, this series was a ROLLAR COASTER. Like i picked it up thinking its vampire knight level shit where i get to romance one of the vampire this time (i was pissed at yuuki for not picking my best boy zero back then, now looking back both series sucks ok) and OMG I WAS FOREVER CHANGED. I mean, when i pick up this game, I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IS S AND M. This game is just a popular vampire game so i tried it. OH LORD. This franchise really is for a SPECIFIC audience thats for sure. Definitely for the hard core audience. As shitty as it all is in general, i have to say, the art is MAD pretty. Especially if you like the goth grandiose kind of vibe. The songs and the voice actors does great too. Even the mum voice actresses.
Diabolik lovers could have been an amazing anime/game showing case the darkside of romance. Hear me out, I love the concept of it the whole fact of the brothers been half demon and vampire just show no remorse of any type of human feeling or attraction. It's logical why they treat Yui or other human the same cause they see them nothing more as food and weak life which is just beautiful of how it play into how evil demons actually are. And they childhood is just perfect adding onto the dark theme, I love the way it take on deep like very deep topic of violence especially in the family, it just add onto the brothers mental state play on how they treat human just as how they're mother's treat them. My personal favorite is Laito and Subaru I love their story, laito not understanding the concept of love and Subaru not understand it either making them knowing it through two ways: Sex or Hatred. It's so fucking perfect, but the author just mess up the story plot so bad they're is no bring it back if we pull out the shit of literally anything to do with Yui focus more on the brothers, mothers, the father and the whole world building itself. Diabolik lovers could have stand out from been a beautiful well written anime/game. Anyway great video, love it. You analysis is perfectly! 👍🏼
I agree that there are a lot of elements to the story that had potential to be something deeper and more meaningful. If written better it could've been a story about the brothers learning to gain humanity and love, despite their upbringing and nature going against that. It sucks that instead of this, the main focus of the story was this horribly executed s&m plot that fetishized the brothers' trauma and threw away any chance for the story to be taken seriously.
@@CHABIIICHABIII dark fate and chaos lineage do go into this, as do the drama CDs (the drama CDs canbe either much better or much worse than the games, whereas the games are a nice middle ground IMO writing wise). technically more blood goes into this as well, but that game is an atrocity of writing. Lost Eden has the most triggering solution to abuse victims and i hate it.
The only way to do it right would be to make it NOT a romance and a horror instead, OR to have them learn how to function in a relationship with time, through understanding on the part of the abused. As in, her understanding that while they are evil, this may not be something they understand the weight of- and teaching them why it's important, so they can learn to be kind to her regardless of having a natural lack of the feeling of remorse. They could learn empathy, like real world psychopaths do. Logical empathy exists, not just emotional empathy. And once you learn that logical empathy, you're able to choose not to do wrong things out of a sheer desire to be good- regardless of the arsenal of emotions you were born with. Of course, this would also require an exceptionally strong-willed and tough main character, for her to suffer abuse at the hands of beings with NO CAPABILITY OF REMORSE OR EMOTIONAL EMPATHY, but choose to empathize with them for the fact that their lack of remorse is not their fault. That would take SERIOUS emotional maturity that no person is obligated to give to someone who abuses them, and the series would have to make it very clear this is a choice she made, not a choice everyone should be obligated to make. They should also represent that not everyone can be 'fixed' by making only a few, maybe even only one, of the boys learn how to be kind. Or at LEAST have one or two of them remain evil. In other words, it'd be VERY hard to keep the whole remorseless demon thing intact and also keep it a romance. But it is possible.
i think you should really look at ALL the games. the last 3 games are definitely more story based than romance! DL is my absolute favorite franchise, and i think in the end, it was done justice 🤎
Ok well to be fair, after I watched this anime, I wanted to play the games to see how terrible it could get (i ended up loving, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine). So technically the marketing worked
I remember watching this as a teen. I was watching every vampire romance I could find (I blame twilight and vampire knight). But this one was definitely a guilty pleasure at first, but it got too f*ck up!
I was 9-11(?) years old. I just got bored by the time they went to school and dropped it. I didn't even register the fucked up or even 'romance' parts.
Glad to see you back with another video! I hope you’re still enjoying the process. I know content creation can be an absolute slog. Don’t feel like you’re obligated to put out a video in a timely fashion, I’m plenty happy to wait for things to come out at their own time!
Thank you so much! I really do enjoy making videos and I still find the process fun in it's own way, I just have to work a lot irl so I don't have that much time to make videos as often as I'd like to. I guess it's just a thing of having a lot of ideas but not enough time 😅 and that's the only thing that feels a little draining at times. I'm working on finding a good balance between the two. Thank you for keeping up with the content!
in order to understand all the complicated lore, i just realised, you have to play all the main games (so, not the two fandisks, and lost eden is also retconned so its a bit useless lore-wise), you have to listen to the drama CDs, AND you have to read the multiple mangas,,, The series gets good and has some very fascinating character work (specifically for the triplets tbh, the others are very weird characters with subaru and shuu being very standard bad boy with a heart of gold types and reiji being an absolute menace for no reason. Omg his ending where he becomes a manservant is so satisfying.) but you can only get that depth if you go through all the content,,, so the series is super convoluted and the parts which are GOOD are obscure for the english fandom. Anyway, I started out ironically liking it and now I unironically like a lot of things about it - the music, the art (not designs, but the overall artist for first two games is so talented!), and the triplets relationship with each other -esp Ayato and Laito's relationship. I'd say the first game is decent to good depending on the route, with laito having the best written route (but least character development), the second game sucks overall but has good development for Laito ONLY, and the third one, dark fate, is overall probably the best - character development is finally around to the point where its not insane torture porn, and the plot kind of makes sense. Lost Eden is absolute TRASH, but if you enjoy the anime for its absurdity and absolutely WILD lore, Lost Eden is the perfect game LOL. I haven't played Chaos Lineage yet so idk about it. Its decent, but very fan service-y from what I've read. Also the og x vs x drama CDs (esp laito vs Ayato) for each era are good, and I also like Laito's para selene CD. Also, most of the manga is just... covering the game plot, BUT I did like the one based on the sakamaki brother's childhood. It was cute and sad seeing them as kids, and seeing the role each of them play. Overall, the triplets have the closest relationship, with Ayato being arrogant, Kanato being a crybaby, and Laito being their protector - this manga takes place before he goes through the heavy abuse, so he's pretty much the glue holding his brothers together, and the most mature out of... maybe all the brothers, lol. He's also canonically the most intelligent, which is acknowledged by Carla in Dark Fate, but doesn't apply his intelligence at all. I want to point out that the anime is an absolute disservice to the game and its characters, most of all, YUI. She is pretty cool in the games, but a victim of abuse, which means the games are ultimately like... an erotic tragedy? Kinda sadean, because the games also work AGAINST locke's assertion that human nature is ultimately good. BTW if you're unfamiliar with the marquis de sade, his novel justine is like an unnecessarily violent, misogynistic and boring version of voltaire's candide. Which, diabolik lovers is one of the most absurdly misogynistic anime to ever exist esp bc os how the moms are the route of all evil + yui vs cordelia being the madonna whore complex redone LOL. its mostly a badly written series which has moments of brilliance in how accurately it portrays the cycle of abuse and the absolute brainrot one will suffer if they do not GET THERAPY Anyway, rant over. I'm autistic and diabolik lovers is one of my special interests, so I've been into it for a good 6-7 years now lol.
Honestly this is just giving me Homestuck. An absolute mess with moments of accidental brilliance that are not indicative of the author's skill at all.
Dialover fan here (since I was 13 lolol)! I love this saga unironically AND ironically. The anime does suck (a lot), it gives me nostalgia since it is how I got to know the saga but I still laugh at it. I now watch it for ironic consumption and laugh at how bad it is 😂. However, I feel like people find it so easy to brush away this story when I think the games (not the anime lolol) present such an interesting plot and lore. The stuff with Karl Heinz, the Founders and the Apple of Adam is truly interesting and I found it entertaining to watch unfold. I stopped paying attention to DL when I was 15 so I still do not know how Lost Eden ends (I am looking forward to experiencing this story fully as an adult now!). The games have truly dark themes and show how trauma of many kinds can truly scar someone, as a Psychology student I found this super interesting. Now, I will say the anime did a crappy job at portraying Yui. In the games she is very optimistic and can sometimes banter with the guys (her dynamic with Ayato is hilarious). Moreover, I tend to twitch at people saying that Yui is a ‘weak’ character because she does not swear at the guys. She was raised in the church and had a very sheltered upbringing, of course she would not be able to kung fu her way out of the situation (not to mention her dad put her there…yikes). As a teen and even now, I much more relate to Yui’s empathy and caring nature than many other characters. I find her a strong character because she stays optimistic and empathetic despite the difficult circumstances she is in; I find her strong due to how she looks for the good in people despite the circumstances. A strong character is not defined solely by physical strength, in my opinion. DL is 100% a guilty pleasure that fulfills S&M fantasies as well as CNC fantasies. Yui is a masochist through and through; of course she would not admit this though, with the religious upbringing she had as well as being from such a conservative society like Japan of course she would not find it easy to admit it. In the games you can see in the good endings how she embraces it. There is really good criticality of religion in the games and as someone who also grew up Catholic I related to many ways she thought or what she believed previously. I feel like as long as the individual practices critical consumption and has a clear divide of fantasy from reality, people should be able to consume guilty pleasures. Humans are strange and sometimes like weird things, humanity is strange! I feel like media like this can help people explore these fantasies safely. I am also aware that the first C in CNC for this show is highly debateable (at least before the good endings) but I think it feeds into the fantasy for the consumer (people watching/playing). In conclusion, do I think DL is the best piece of media in history? Oh God, no. It is entertaining and, to me, fascinating. Does not stop me from laughing at it though. I can genuinely enjoy it while acknowledging its cringy elements lolol.
Same i found it when i was younger now that im older im seeing these animes diabolik lovers,amnesia,brothers conflict,kiss him not me as so weird now that im older but i need to rewatch so i can see how bad they were 😭😭😭
EXACTLY you totally explained the appeal. I don't even think the characters are fascinating on purpose, its just the bits we get between all the ... kink and cringe... which are SO interesting! especially for the triplets (and personally I'm a laito lover so I could analyze him and go on FOREVER. I just want to get that boy THERAPY... and jail time...)
You explained how I feel as a DiaLovers fan perfectly! I don't think it's a masterpiece and it definitely has its flaws, but the themes and content is just so interesting and enjoyable in the weirdest way lmao. I like the franchise, but that's why I enjoy playfully making fun of it!
I don’t think DL is really a good depiction of BDSM, BDSM is a consensual practice and has explicitly both parties stating what they want and what they don’t, DL is abuse being targeted as BDSM as the brothers constantly ignore and disrespect Yui’s boundaries and space and they all do what they want with her without taking her desires in consideration On a personal opinion I think after the first game they just use trauma for shock value and exploit that aspect but as I said this is just my perception
i remember i was an older teenager when the anime aired and tried it for the sweet sweet gothic vibes, it was an utter FLOP and the only fantasy i had was beating these lanky anemic twinks into a pulp it was at the time i was done with the constant and plain misogyny/ objectification in anime in general and stopped interacting with it as a whole for years, seeing girls nearly my age being abused, humiliated, brutalized triggered my fight responses.
I think I got somewhere into the second season of anime but dropped it because it got somehow even more nonsensical and I was just done with stupid MCs xd
I remember watching this when I was younger, and while I was watching it all I could think about was 'So...When is this all supposed to get better for protag?' and it never really did.
No but the games' character writing is really good. Like my favorite route is Laito's because of how actually terrifying it is. He harasses, abuses, manipulates and gaslights Yui until she loses it and goes crazy too. And at all this time it's very hard to tell when he just straight up lies and puts an act to further push Yui into madness compared to moments when he actually beliefs in some really crazy sh*t because of his countless traumas. You just never know what he is and what to expect from him, except that whatever he does will be bad for Yui. That's what makes him terrifying from the self-insert point of view but fascinating from the observer point of view. And I love it.
The anime is just for promotional material and not to be taken seriously but when others come in blind and don't know that, which continues to happen, is the reason why the anime has the reputation it has. It's an incentive to buy the games and it succeeds in doing so (at least in Japan) and it promotes others over here in the west to translate said content since REJET refuses to localizes- which tbh for this franchise is for the better, and shouldn't be because of how it will be perceived by the current climate of the internet. As an (obvious) DL fan myself, my view on the anime keeps going back and forth from "horrible" to "ehh, it's okay" and I feel like nowadays it is towards the latter because I have fully respect for the games even if it's own lore Dies multiple times and is horribly inconsistent. The heart of DL is about love and overcoming trauma amongst the S&M elements and it's unfortunate that the anime does not explore this but I can understand why they wouldn't. The art is beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing-- even seeing the characters move and talk to one another is also nice to see! Regardless, I like watching other DL deep dive videos when they pop up cause I like to hear all of your thoughts! Good video
I’m in the same exact boat as you, and couldn’t have written this comment better myself. This series is my ultimate guilty pleasure and while it does make me cringe and is nonsensical at times, the themes of the characters and games are why I’m unironically a fan of it.
i must say tho, one man's trash is another man's treasure. again, in the end its all fiction i think it's the safest way to explore themes you normally never would've thought. there will always be people who gets into it. maybe they like more violence 😂 or their favorite seiyuu is there! 19:14 also you took me back to memory lane!!! i know binaural audio dramasfrom seiyuus still exists but thar was the time i literally kept looking around for links on my favorite seiyuus. imo those were so good!
i know op hates brothers conflict but it really is one of my fav otome games of all time (still is 🫶) it's one of my first otome game and one of my first reasons to learn a new language and a reason why i liked coding as a kid! but doing unsavory things to my siblings or cousins never crossed my mind. hell I'd kill myself if i did 😂 i loved the characters, the big cast, the seiyuus, the bussing character songs (very underrated btw) and the fact they love you to death! brocon still precious to my heart and i thank the game for being pretty much a formative memory of my life.
When I was 13, me and a friend found the anime and we watched and loved it because we were both very weird kids lmao Oh, and for context, we barely knew any english and didn't understand most of the subtitles, so we were going off the visuals and like 30% of the subtitles on our little 12&13 year old brains
I watched this at the age of 14 because a friend back then was crazy about it, and spent every episode being like "straight people are crazy". The funniest thing to me is that, whenever they bite Yui, it sounds like they are biting an apple. XD
I will say though. My next life as a villainess is actually super fun and you just feel for the bimbo that is the protagonist cause all she wants is to stay alive and keep living her carefree life with her besties that are all in love with her because she is in fact best girl. Also, kiss him not me is also a genuine guilty pleasure for me cause it doesn’t take itself seriously, the protagonist is cringy as hell but still really fun and relatable, and I kid you not, the long haired dude is absolutely best boy and there is no other correct option other than him.
So.... I played the game, the first one at least (how this info got out of me without waterboarding I dunno) and for what I picked up 1. The whole sacrificial bride thing is insinuated to be just an excuse to give the boys a source of blood and stop them from going after the general population 2. For what I understood I think the series was trying to talk about is that usually the protagonist is the one to "change" the romantic interest but through each route Yui that ends up changed to survive her chosen abuser, there is no actual happy ending, she did all she could (the game put much more emphasis on how insanely more powerful in every aspect the brothers are than Yui) to survive her circuntances but inevitably she is forced to change, almost being distorted from who she once was (this was VERY prevalent in Laito's route) and I think that is kind of the point, she was only 17 while they were centuries old how she could ever hope a happy ending out of this? Anyways, that is the shitty take I got from playing the kinky vampire horror game
@@eidolonicentipede damn bro I was all over the place on that route, I think that one was one of the routes that better showcased how basically every one of the triplets were seeing Cordelia on Yui. But it got me genuinely curious, rumour has it that he goes a lot of character development on the later games
@@luci7034 he does, but only dark fate handles it well. Also, the drama CDs are good for his development - you can find translations online so its quick to read. Anyway, Laito is the best written character in the series imo and the anime does him such injustice. I want to see his mental illness animated thank you very much...
Thank you very much for making the sound in your videos so quiet and smooth without any drops. I have been suffering from serious insomnia for a very long time and your videos help me. thank you very much. and yes, you do good plot analyses. I’ve heard about all the anime and manga you talk about in your videos, but literally no one has done a detailed analysis yet.
Please i need a more blood version too x'DD oh and for the mystery of why yui suddenly woke up wanting to drink blood at the end of season 1 but is back to nothing happen in season 2, the reason is that in some of the route endings in haunted bridal, cordelia is awaken in yui's body. So Its basically yui, with cordelia's conscious, but the guy she is with does not want to harm yui, believing that she would be back some day so they still......do STUFFs with her. And yui(cordelia) behaves more sadistically now. There is another type in which cordelia's heart awaken in yui, so she is yui now has her own mind and conscious, but she craves blood too like a vampire cus of cordelia's heart (is she a vampire?WHO KNOWS. THEY DONT STATE IT CLEARLY). So this ending in the first season is to show that cordelia has awakened the cordelia's heart in her so she is now a vampire too.
I'm a girl who watch for plot,I watch that show when I was a teenager and remember being confused how is this romantic. Like it's just chaotic. And I watch season 2 and she died at the end? It was so long ago I might be wrong. I know girls watch that show mainly just to see pretty guys, but I was there for the plot and it was just messy I just totally forgotten what happened in the show because I watch that one time and never again. I'm a girl who watch for plot, I don't care the guys are handsome, treat her with respect at least, but no she's just there as their blood. I was still watching because my friend like the show and it was popular among the girls
Fun fact: Somebody on the Diabolik Lovers' Amino was mad enough to do a full one year research dedicated to study the character of Kanato Sakamaki, throughout every adaptations. Legit one of the best passion projects I had the pleasure to sit and read through as Kanato really is a fascinating character. Sadly, even if I still have the link, the article was deleted for unknown reasons. If anyone is interested though, I still mostly know it by heart so I can explain its point.
@@megitsune1793 'Kay so. It went something like this: Introduction: No excuse for his behavior he's a POS but let's try to figure out how he got like this. Part 1: His backstory Kanato's past was kinda downplayed in the video because it's the hardest to relate to. Picture this: You're the youngest of three triplets. However, you're not as talented as the first born, nor as desirable as the second one. You're kind of an afterthought and so the first few years of your life have nothing bad or good happen to you. Doesn't sound as bad as say Laito, right? After all, there is nothing. But that's kinda the point, Kanato at first had nothing. Not even a goal like Reiji, he just didn't exist for Cordelia. In all of the adaptations there is always a scene of young Kanato trying to get his mother to notice him and it's heartbreaking. He legit even tries to kill himself multiple times to see if the woundd will get her attentions but Cordelia just asked him to stop messing around and clean them. Then two things happened: Firstly, Cordelia realized Kanato's singing voice was beautiful and turned her on. So she locked him in a cage and forced him to watch her having s3x with Richter while he sang. (By the way this is touched upon in the Amino analysis but not this vid, so just to be clear Kanato is also confirmed to be as fucked with his sexuality as Laito, except he's more child-like. He genuinely does not get what it's supposed to represent and so he only uses it like Cordelia, as a weapon of submission and control.) This is already gross but Kanato was so over the moon by finally having a purpose that he sang until his throat hurt and his vocal cords bled. The kid just wanted to be useful and noticed by his mom. Then Teddy happened. Basically Cordelia was gifted the bear, found it ugly and useless, and decided to simply dump it on Kanato. Except this was literally the only thing she had ever given him so he kept it preciously. Thinking it was a proof that his mother loved him. (Also, while Kanato is one of the few characters who never undergoes a positive character arc as he simply replaces his obsessions with something else, he does always end up getting rid of Teddy, mostly by himself, as a sign that he acknowledges his mother never loved him. It's just that in Azuza's route and the anime, he lost Teddy before being able to accept that.) So he felt empty due to the neglience of Cordelia for most of his life. He craves love. Lastly, if I remember correctly, he was never actually involved in the plan to kill Cordelia. Instead he just found her body after she fell from the window while looking for her. So he decided to honor her and make her, his forever, by hiding her ashes inside Teddy to comfort himself. Part 2: The Crybaby With No Self-Respect Kanato's emotions are a mess for three reasons: -Firstly since he was so neglected he was never taught how to behave. He only has a vague idea on what it means to appear strong and powerful. -Secondly, he's haunted by his trauma. Finding his mother's corpse in the rain, whilst only ever loving her and yearning for her approval, devastated him. So whenever it rains, he breaks down and cries, remembering his past. -And thirdly, even if it was negative attention, throwing tantrums was the only way he could get regular attention from his mother so he continued doing it. He IS insufferable and he knows it. No sane person will give him the time of day, or just the affection he needs. This is why he tries to dominate Yui so much since he views her as lesser. He doesn't want her to leave, he wants her to have her eyes only on him 24/7 now that he has power over someone. But that's not the only way he remedies his loneliness ans crave for love: Part 3: "I prefer the dead and the broken." Once out of boredom and desperation, he decided to take the corpse of a bride of his father, or a simple fling, and sew her corpse into a beautiful doll. (All of his dolls are actually still alive thanks to magic, but trapped with no mouth so they can never express their disgust at him.) His mother found his new hobby extremely convenient to get rid of annoying people so she encouraged him to continue. He's such a control freak because in his broken heart, when he reasonably evaluates his situation in-between his delusions or manic phases, he knows that no matter how much he dominates someone and that someone say they love, he knows... That they will leave him first chance they get. So he kills his companions to turn them into dolls to keep in company for eternity. The irony is that, again, Kanato knows they are just lifeless corpses who's spirits hold nothing but resentment towards him. So he feels empty with this companionship. Also he heavily dislikes his family and either him or Yui kill them all. That's also why he has a beautiful speech in the VN surrounding his love of breaking beautiful things. He enjoys looking at them but through the process of destruction identifies with them, drags them to his levels to enjoy them even more for a short while, before leaving them. He's in a constant cycle of self-destruction and genuinely just wants to die to end it all but can't. (He's immune to basically anything.) Part 4: Can he ever be healed? Not really. His behavior has been hopelessly repeated through three centuries with no hope for a better future. Even the most understanding, kind and caring Yui in the VN can only be dragged down to his level. How? By being mentally drained of all her personality and become a vampire amnisiac solely devoted to him. There is an after credit scene actually where vampire Yui, after years of living peacefully with Kanato all alone, stumbles accross her old rosary and stops in her routine for a second to wonder what it is. Kanato immediately panics and demands she discard it which she happily does. Then they embrace. They can never truly be happy. Conclusion: This guy is definitely not a healthy LI but damn isn't he fascinating. Also screw Cordelia. (Hope this abridged version of the essay satisfied you.)
@@realfromtherealreality4148 my god that's so much complexity. They completely nuked that in the anime. I very much appreciate your dedication to write this all down!!
I remember watching this with my sister, as she likes it more than Twilight Saga. She knows all their names and ever write fanfics. Me, on the other hand, only remember the "vampire-lunch" girl, fedora hot boy (which was impossible irl) and purple hair boy who has his mom's ashes in his plush toy.
Something I want to mention that wasn’t touched on in this video (or if it was I missed it) is that DL originally started as an erotic SM Drama CD series that was so popular it led to the creation of the games. The first game is following that by having the worst abuse and heaviest content in the series, but as the series became more popular and mainstream it got a little lighter on the tone. The Sakamakis were extremely abusive in the first game but over time became boyfriends who just happen to be assholes at times. Laito in Haunted Dark Bridal and Laito in Dark Fate are almost two entirely different characters. This is also the reason why every character has a nickname for Yui. While her name canonically IS Yui Komori, the Drama CDs are self insert based, so the actors and characters needed something to refer to the listener that was both in character but was vague enough for it to apply to virtually anyone. This is something of a tradition for the series, as while the main character has a canon name as Yui, even in current CDs they refer to her by nickname.
The description you gave for the target audience or what this anime is supposed to be in a nutshell at the beginning, was literally the perfect description for 11-year-old me getting into anime and boys. I was a little Christian girl who JUST got into boys (not because I wanted to or because of hormones) and I found this anime to be the most attractive thing in the world at the time. It was my second anime EVER (first was Rosario Vampire because my literal stalker made me watch it. It was his inspo..) and my god all I remember is the dude with the fedora calling her a bitch and me having some f'ed up crush on the red haired one. I haven't watched this since and don't remember a lot, but I am SCARED. I will give my reaction as I continue watching.
I feel like I can summarise this show with the first part in EP&BW from le seraphim: I’m a mess in distress (we know) but we’re still (not) the best dressed, fearless (naw I’m fearful) say yes (NO!) We don’t dress to impress (clearly💀)
32:52 From what I saw in another video, in the game there is a good chunk at the beginning where we follow Yui before she gets sent to the house. Like from what I heard that part is actually crucial because it allows the player to progress with Yui in the story, and since the players follow her from the very start of her story, the player doesn't feel like they are an outsider just watching but passengers in the same car, It seems like it's a way more interesting experience.
A deep dive i didn't knew i needed. I watched this anime as a teen and I remembered I kinda liked it. Maybe because "vamipres are hot" or "but I can fix him" reasons? But girl, this can't even be fixed by an army of psychiatrists.
I blame "Twilight" and "Shall we date: Blood in Roses+" for Diabolik Lovers being my guilty pleasure. 😌 Though i'm surprised that I never liked Vampire Knight as it was similar. 😅
3:27 “light it up all on fire.” But, if you can’t make your hellfire from home, store bought is just fine. I recommend canned Purgatory Psychosis in the flavor “just why!?”
I love the anime because its absurd and hilarious, and I love the music, games, manga, and drama CDs because among the CRINGE there's a lot of wholesome development for traumatized people (help me i have trauma)
I think a good way to show the worlds lore would be a series based on the perspectives of the brides. That would be fun to watch especially the different eras they would need to be from
omg ive never seen an analysis video of this famous guilty pleasure!!! TT thank you for the video i feel so recognised... i have a few thoughts i just wanted to share. i really agree with the game using the guise of sm to get away with the boys treating Yui inhumanely and CONTINUING to do so without developing as Yui just ends up accepting it over time, because real sm must be consensual i also really agree with the other commentor that it had a lot of potential to be a great dark romance story, w the boys LITERALLY not being human, the mad backstory etc. and the writing is what fails it. instead of the resolution being that Yui accepts herself an M it should be that the boys learn to love, especially Laito and Subaru w the two different personalities they have due to their misconceptions of love. i do think the funny moments is because over the longer course of the game theres wholesomeness + the sussy times but its very off beat in the anime ofc. i think it helps you understand Yui a little bit as shes constantly letting her guard down and thinking theyre ok , they changed and laughing but then they switch in one second and degrade her which is why she keeps staying, being nice, etc which is well quite accurate for toxic relationships. i think sacrificial brides are typically supposed to choose one boy to try to help awaken, which is why each boy is fighting over Yui. And why Kanato keeps his previous ones as dolls. Theres also smth about how we used to sing for his mom cuz it made her... yeah :( AND MY MOST IMPORTANT THOUGHT that the manga/visual novels is so much better, its treated as routes, with all of them each having their own route. as someone else said, some of them r even worse in the manga LOL but they do develop and feel remorse and theres actual cute moments. i'd say the best are SHU, AYATO and SUBARU!!! which makes sense cuz they r the more normal ish ones. (Reiji's one is also aight) Shu''s laziness and Yui's determination (to not leave him behind napping sch) go well and she even helps him with his fear of fire (from edgars death), Reiji basically kills her and Shu just barely revives her but she is severely disabled, not being able to move or see but Shu loves her nonetheless. Ayato's insecurity masked as arrogance and Yui's endless kindness and acceptance lol jive, and they LEGIT have very cute scenes. Where Yui is cooking and patting his hair and smiling/tolerating his childishness which is the kind of love which he never got from his mother. sad backstory resolving. After he saves her from Ricky there is a marriage scene, that is really well written and wholesome. Subaru's bitterness and protectiveness of his heart and Yui's tenderness are on top!! id say these 3 brothers bring out very goofy interactions which make Yui and them much more likable. Yui knees Subaru in the head even... His complexes are also explored. One scene i like is when he crushes white roses, his moms symbol of innocence (tainted by his father lol) Yui allows Subaru to drink her blood and asks for favor which is to let her check his cut, if it hurts. Subaru says 'r u dumb like im a vampire' Yui replies 'i know, but the pain from the moment isnt gone right?' and asks him to let her hold his hand. When Yui and Subaru dance that certain dance its really very sweet, where he asks how she can still have her faith and she says she can believe in God and love him (since he believes hes dirty). He eventually ends his mom to get closure and happy end! manga also provides more insight or little things she notices on why Yui actually LIKES them SO ITS ACTUALLY ROMANCE (sobbing.) Not saying any of the things she thought arent stockholm/unhealthy but here. for e.g. Subaru's tight, frustrated expression loosens when hes drinking blood or sleeping, or Kanato always bites harshly but there is always such a sweet kiss afterwards(toxic bye) really sorry i went on a tangent. thats my ted talk. thank you again!
It's your description of the plot being more interesting and well put together than thw actually story for me. Ooooh i remember wantting to play the games and finding the anime through a drinking game video
everytime i come across these deep dive videos into dialovers i always get so pissed off when they only look at the anime like i understand that dialovers has a looot of different foems of media that need to be consumed to really get the full picture but everything wlse gets hardly touched upon so seeing that you actually take the games into account made me really happy even if you havent played all of them cause even with just the first game you really get a lot more context compared to the anime to where i think its enough to have a more solid opinion 😭😭😭
Same thank you for saying this. I've played haunted dark bridal, more blood, and dark fate and I get mega pissed off too when people only judge the series based off the anime that's only meant to promote the games. The games are a guilty pleasure of mine and I love the story, themes and the character development in them that the anime definitely does NOT have. Its very easy to play the games in english nowadays too with the numerous fan translations out there. I was ready to get mad at this video until they mentioned the games thankfully Q w Q
Yui isn’t a very well written character but so much of the hate she gets for being useless and weak is not only misdirected but borderlines on misogynistic.
Oh Gosh the nostalgia- I was OBSESSED with this anime when I was 12, especially Kanato for some reason. Now that I think about it, I think it was my first special interest, which is... I do have some things to thank it for, though - I learnt how to speak English by trying to read god awful fan comics, I drew a lot, I started some roleplaying groups that were really fun back then and helped me tons with my grammar... It was definitely a strange thing to like in the age of 12 but, you know, I still think back of it fondly lol.
Very well done video! The majority of the information here was correct but there are a couple of things I want to point out that either lack context or are minor errors. This is coming from a longtime fan of the series so this isn’t supposed to be negative feedback, just more info about a JP exclusive series. 28:41 Christa being Karlheinz’s cousin doesn’t inherently make this series worse than Brothers Conflict (imo) because it’s treated in the narrative as being bad and it’s the crux of Subaru’s character arc. Although it could be argued this is indeed a retcon, it was explained in one of the games that she always liked him but he manipulated her into thinking she *loved* him, which is where the “she loved him after all” comes from. She felt immensely betrayed once she realized his intentions and it started her mental turmoil. The distaste for the incest is valid but it’s not like Brothers Conflict where it’s glossed over or endorsed. 30:53 While the majority of Reiji’s mommy issues does come from neglect like you said, the reason why he was so upset over this was because he felt like everything (specifically his mother’s pride and love) was given to Shu without reason. Shu didn’t work hard and actively seemed to avoid responsibility as heir, while Reiji worked tirelessly to impress his mother and she never paid him the time of day. Him burning down Edgar’s village wasn’t just out of jealousy or mean spirit, part of the reason why he did it was so that his mother would be proud of him for eliminating the cause of Shu’s distraction. The only purpose of his life was to be a better assistant to Shu once Shu inherited the throne, which caused a massive inferiority complex that spiralled into intense jealousy. I’m not saying that he had it easier or harder than everyone else, but there’s more to this than mere jealousy. 32:59 Something worth mentioning is that Cordelia tended to give Kanato her gifts from her various lovers, and she made Kanato sing while she “got it on” with men. He sang even to the point where his throat bled. 33:03 Something to note is that Laito had no inherent purpose compared to his brothers (heir, entertainment) so he was neglected for the majority of his early years and didn’t question it when Cordelia started getting “close” to him as an adolescent. He says in one of the games that he knew their relationship was wrong, but he was so desperate for her love that he just tried to ignore it. 35:11 Canonically, vampires think that being killed by someone is the ultimate display of love because of their long lives. So Christa’s request for Subaru to kill her was both out of self hatred and love for him. She loved Subaru but he was the epitome of the man who ruined her life, which made her develop something akin to bipolar disorder. Subaru cares deeply for her because he knew she loved him and her moods and moments of hatred weren’t his fault, but he has really complicated feelings about his mother. 38:47 Sacrificial Brides are women given to the Sakamakis with the hopes of triggering the Sakamakis to become powerful and thus be the head of the family. Yui’s role as a bride is unique because of her powerful blood, so whoever ‘obtains’ her will become stronger than the rest.
i absolutely love your videos, i just recently found your channel and i'm so happy i did because as a kid i used to be into these sorts of anime and manga and the fact that i was 11-13 eating up this kind of content is so bizarre to me now when i look back on it lmao, keep up the great work i really like listening to your reviews! ^^
Look, I do ironically like the anime. But the music and songs I enjoy unironically they are so good for me personally and I hate it but I am not sorry.
@@eidolonicentipede I just sit there and wonder what it would have been like if this show was actually good... or at least if these songs were attached to an actually good show or series like man they deserved sooo much better then this.
Still have no idea how 9 year old me got ahold of this anime. It’s super nostalgic for me tbh. I don’t care how bad or cringy it is, it’s such a guilty pleasure LMFAO.
i've had a literal trauma flashback when i saw DL on the Netflix catalogue. Also, portraying those abusive relationships as S&M is harmful to the bdsm community that literally has *consent* and *healthy dialogue* as vital pillars, claiming it is S&M just shows that they don't know shit about S&M (and the fact majority of the fanbase of diabolik lovers are minors is just🚩🚩🚩)
I remember I gave DL a shot when it was still pretty new because I wanted something otome and the art style looked nice with the ombre hair tones and the interesting candy-like eyes. Hoooo boy I was NOT prepared xD I finished it hoping there would be some...development, i guess? but I was NOT rewarded. I just remember one scene with Richter standing in front of Cordelia's dress with some sick green fire and that visual is the only thing that's stuck with me that I actually appreciate. Oh yeah, and Ayato yeeting Yui into the pool that was fucking hilarious with him just standing there staring as if he was waiting for her to surface.
Geez😨 i knew this anime had issues but i didn't know it was this bad..but yeah this anime kinda makes me uncomfortable I'll say because of those themes but after hearing about the lore that was left out yeah now im even more uncomfortable...... only thing i like genuinely really is just the artstyle but thats it honestly it.. anyways good video btw.🌸✨
I always considered the game series as my guilty pleasure. Even though the writing is bad at some parts, it’s one of the rare visual novels with a dark theme . most of them just end up being cute or wholesome.
I can’t believe I forgot that their dad’s name was Karl-Heinz……. I’m scream-laughing every time (Karl-Heinz is basically a stand-in name for any old grandpa person in Germany. Which. Considering dude’s a vampire. I mean. It kinda tracks ngl) I also love that the kid versions of the brothers look just like they do as grown teens lmao
This series had me by the balls as a teenager. It makes Vampire knight look like a Shakespearean tragedy , but maaaan. I can’t look away from this dumpster fire
As someone who is a sadomasochist, yes, consent is NUMBER ONE. It's really tiring how media makes it seem like sadism/masochism is a non consensual act.
I randomly found your videos through youtube recommendations and i know nothing abt the romance genre in ani/manga but youre really funny and ive enjoyed all 3 of your videos and learning about this stuff 💜💜 i dont want to place any pressure on you but i just wanted to let you know that if you're continuing doing content creation im seated and ready for sure 😂
I saw like a chunk of the first episode of that series some years ago, back when my English knowledge was like really bad. I was pretty confused but liked the hair colors that all the guys had. Only reason why I remember it lol
When I was like 12 I discovered Ouran high school host club and loved it and it was the only anime I was in to for the time and took my attention for more than I care to admit. I’m laughing hearing about this wild ass anime because I feel like my personality would have turned out completely different if I found this anime first lol
![[ENGSUB] UNPRODUCTIVE DAY ใช้ชีวิต (เปื่อยๆ) ด้วยกัน 1 วัน! | OUROAD CLOSEFRiEND SS2 EP.9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pyYKZ3kra9w/mqdefault.jpg)
The anime is horrendous because it literally took the sadistic routes from the visual novels and trashed the character development and the story. Apart from Subaru, none of the characters go through any development whatsoever nor do they learn anything. Yui is treated horribly in the visual novels, worse than the anime. But the difference is that the vampires do feel remorse in the visual novels and come to terms with humans, whereas in the anime, it's completely non-existent. The visual novels are VASTLY superior to the anime. There's a reason why there are 7 of the visual novels and only 2 seasons of the anime.
In My Opinion the anime Was to show parts of each characters routes rather then have them all fall in love with Yui and have character progress, I see why they didn’t do that as it would be hard to make into a show if every character had their routes in it BUT I can agree she is abused a bunch in the show as for the games/mangas the characters route u pick they end up loving Yui and developing rather then just sucking her blood
Nah the VNs also suck ass, you’re making the incorrect argument by thinking quantity=quality but just because a product (in this case an otome game) has a large number of games it doesn’t mean it’s good in terms of story just that it’s profitable, diabolik lovers had a lot of issues back in the first game (HDB) but the games starts to decline in MB and then after lost Eden it just goes downhill, a lot of the Japanese public (which is the main public the company takes consideration and not the outsiders just like kpop companies with the K-nets) buy the games mostly because of the seiyuus, DL has some of the most recognized and large profitable seiyuus on the industry and no matter how horrible your game might be the names of the seiyuus alone is just enough to save your game, seiyuu culture and the loyalty of fans towards them is a huge thing in Japan
As for the characters the real development they had was really on the first game, on MB not only the game but the character’s are totally rewritten to the point is other characters being introduced here, not the og brothers of the first game
You've played in vita?
@@-dark-paradiseremembering that Eren and Kanato both have the same seiyuu troubles me.
@@jojosparkels6962If they even simply followed the manga plot, the anime could have been MUCH better
"The plot. Incoherent💥 The romance. Psychologically damaging💥 The Character writing. Nonexistent💥"
Geniuenly almost spat out my drink, that was hilarious
i remember binging this anime thinking it was just going to be a regular old vampire anime...
man was i wrong💀💀
To BE honest Most Vampire Anime are weird but considering that Twilight was popular WE have No Position to lecture Japan about IT, maybe its Just the Vampire romance Genre attracts Masochists women want to BE eaten by These pretty Bad Boys and men want to BE stepped on by dommy Vampire Ladies.
@@laisphinto6372 I think it's a self reciprocating cycle tbh. A lot of popular media like that is filled to the brim with toxic relationships with not a single example of healthy ones and it ends up speaking to the people who've been conditioned that that's how it's supposed to be. Twilight was written by a cult (which is hella misogynist and racist, but they all prolly are) member
a fun japanese lesson for all of you:
in japanese, there’s a ton of loanwords from other languages. someone if these loanwords can get a bit… lost in translation. for example, the japanese word for bitch is ビッチ, which is pretty much pronounced the same way as “bitchy”, but instead of meaning the actual word “bitch”, it means “slut” instead! it’s a common thing for translators to just translate it directly so i wouldn’t be surprised if they are all calling yui little slut actually instead lol
That hurts more 😭
yes he is calling her a little slut
Yeah they were definitely calling her a slut.
I think Ayato calls her tit-less, pancake, and Latio calls her little bitch or slut (slut makes more sense considering Latio and the way he is)
Is that Airi Momoi i see?
32:57 teddy also contains cordelia's ashes, and another thing which traumatized kanato was that cordelia would make him sing while she,,, had relations with men,,, until his throat would start bleeding
WHO is coming up with these plot lines Jesus
@@kuya8329 LITERALLY the lore is like someone was on crack while writing it its absolutely ABSURD LMAOO
IM MORE TRAUMATIZED NOW 💀💀
No..............(dies)
Diabolik Lovers is basically just a S&M hentai without the sex.
The drama cds are where the smut lives
@@SmartArtzzzHow- how do you know that? 😂
I never got how the fandom was trying to push that yui was a masochist when she is never seen as one. She never enjoys when the boys bite or ever expresses that she does. They all call her demanding names against her consent.
Also why is yui constantly surprised when the boys do something to her when its always happening. She surrounded by horrible people and doesn't understand they are horrible. It makes her unlikable since shes constantly doing stupid things and has no personality or character growth. Like why would i want to watch an anime where i am supposed to project myself into the protagonist.
the anime is based on a visual novel, where you are the protagonist, so they don't give them developed personalities in order for people to be able to relate to the character. This is why she is like this. Just like Togainu no Chi, Dramatical Murder and other animes based on visual novels. Also, yes these are BL, but the principle is the same.
@@Laura-vs6fs that's why I really dont like animes based from visual novels because the protagonist is so bland.
@@Laura-vs6fs Yui has a lot of personality and internal voice in the game so its just funny that anime her is so bland.
I honestly think of it was horror. The story of abuse😊
@@eidolonicentipedei think its because WE are technically yui. we make decisions as her in the game, so the anime made her bland so that her personality can be used when we play the game if that makes sense ?
I AGREE WITH YOU THE MOUTH SOUNDS ARE FUCKING NASTY💀😭
Fr they be CHOMPING on that girls neck sounding like biting into a damn apple 😭
@@voussmevoyezz her neck be crunchy and juicy like an literal Apple! 🍏🍎
47:18 I want to point out that a scene actually occurs in the game where Laito pushes Yui into a lake, and then saves her - she ends up thaning him, and he's like? why are you thanking me? I threw you in LOL
idk its just
something
I promise this will be my last time spamming the comments
No fr, I never like Yui because of how badly she's written z she's actually a dumbass 💀. I understand that she's stuck with a bunch of powerful vampires but when you got vampires questioning your intelligence and innocence then you gotta switch up your game plan.
Imagine a rewrite of that show where they are a bit self-aware of how fuck up it all is. It's not stoping them from doing their thing but their inner monologue has a bit more "dafuq ". Them purposefully saying cryptic shit to fuck with her
I think that was Ayato.
@@overdramaticgoddess9696 no it was laito, maybe both? ive played laito's route 5 times so i remember every detail and havent ever played ayato's
You did NOT need to play the audio of the dialogue while they’re sucking her blood 😭😭😭 I didn’t need that in my life
24:33 "Asscheeks on FULL CLENCH, 24/7..." that shit caught me off guard, ngl 🤣🤣
Diabolik Lovers is such a guilty pleasure for me not because I like it fr but because the art and the music to this show/game are SOOO GOOD!!! The character songs ESPECIALLY THE DUETS like they did their big one on that they really did
THE GAME AND MANGAS ARE GREAT!! THEY HAVE CHARACTER GROWTH BUT IN TBE SHOW EVEN THOUGH I ENJOYED IT I AGREE THEY COULDN’T SHOW ANY CHARACTER GROWTH (maybe expect Subaru)
@@jojosparkels6962love the manga
a point to add, cordelia does.......those stuff with laito only mostly becus in her eyes, laito looks the most like karlheinz.
For krista. Going from more blood's story, She actually genuinely love subaru. Its just after finding out karl's plan, she starts to doubt everything and starts declining. She cant tell if shes looking at subaru or karl whenever she looks at him as well, subaru has karl's blood in him as well. But near the end i think she finally see subaru as himself after yui's encouragement to subaru to go and visit his mum at a good timing and manage to have a good moment for subaru to come in terms with his relationship with krista. She is the only mum still alive till the end.
In more blood, they pull a vampire knight logic and is like "vampires are not human so we don need to follow human's rules, incest is ok cus we're a form of animals too". So krista who is considered the most beautiful white rose, she willingly marries karlheinz, strongly implied that she actually is in love with him. But after finding out karl is only using her, and that he never loved her (he don give a crap for love to begin with i bet) so she broke down.
BUT IN HAUNTED BRIDAL, HOHOOOOO it got DARK. She is still the most beautiful white rose, so karl, for his plan to have a incest baby, forcefully make krista marry him even if she doesn't want to, and r***s her. She broke down over time and was locked up by karl so she can't die on her own and cause issue to his plan. Giving birth to subaru just drove her madder, but she too still loves subaru actually.
It is hinted too that stockholm syndrome is in play here too as even despite her hating karl, when cordelia comes to gloat to her how much karl does not like krista and loves her the most, krista would stand her ground and says that she is basically the only one karl married out of love unlike her who is only good for her linage.
And yes it is hinted too that karl only ever loved krista. BUT we do not know if its just from siblings love cus they do grew up together (guess he still has a heart idk) or actual *uc*ed up love.
Man, this series was a ROLLAR COASTER. Like i picked it up thinking its vampire knight level shit where i get to romance one of the vampire this time (i was pissed at yuuki for not picking my best boy zero back then, now looking back both series sucks ok) and OMG I WAS FOREVER CHANGED. I mean, when i pick up this game, I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IS S AND M. This game is just a popular vampire game so i tried it. OH LORD.
This franchise really is for a SPECIFIC audience thats for sure. Definitely for the hard core audience.
As shitty as it all is in general, i have to say, the art is MAD pretty. Especially if you like the goth grandiose kind of vibe. The songs and the voice actors does great too. Even the mum voice actresses.
Diabolik lovers could have been an amazing anime/game showing case the darkside of romance.
Hear me out, I love the concept of it the whole fact of the brothers been half demon and vampire just show no remorse of any type of human feeling or attraction. It's logical why they treat Yui or other human the same cause they see them nothing more as food and weak life which is just beautiful of how it play into how evil demons actually are.
And they childhood is just perfect adding onto the dark theme, I love the way it take on deep like very deep topic of violence especially in the family, it just add onto the brothers mental state play on how they treat human just as how they're mother's treat them.
My personal favorite is Laito and Subaru I love their story, laito not understanding the concept of love and Subaru not understand it either making them knowing it through two ways: Sex or Hatred.
It's so fucking perfect, but the author just mess up the story plot so bad they're is no bring it back if we pull out the shit of literally anything to do with Yui focus more on the brothers, mothers, the father and the whole world building itself. Diabolik lovers could have stand out from been a beautiful well written anime/game.
Anyway great video, love it. You analysis is perfectly! 👍🏼
I agree that there are a lot of elements to the story that had potential to be something deeper and more meaningful. If written better it could've been a story about the brothers learning to gain humanity and love, despite their upbringing and nature going against that. It sucks that instead of this, the main focus of the story was this horribly executed s&m plot that fetishized the brothers' trauma and threw away any chance for the story to be taken seriously.
@@CHABIIICHABIII EXACTLY!!! Thanks you for understanding, this story have so much potential but they really messed it up big times.
@@CHABIIICHABIII dark fate and chaos lineage do go into this, as do the drama CDs (the drama CDs canbe either much better or much worse than the games, whereas the games are a nice middle ground IMO writing wise). technically more blood goes into this as well, but that game is an atrocity of writing. Lost Eden has the most triggering solution to abuse victims and i hate it.
The only way to do it right would be to make it NOT a romance and a horror instead, OR to have them learn how to function in a relationship with time, through understanding on the part of the abused. As in, her understanding that while they are evil, this may not be something they understand the weight of- and teaching them why it's important, so they can learn to be kind to her regardless of having a natural lack of the feeling of remorse. They could learn empathy, like real world psychopaths do. Logical empathy exists, not just emotional empathy. And once you learn that logical empathy, you're able to choose not to do wrong things out of a sheer desire to be good- regardless of the arsenal of emotions you were born with.
Of course, this would also require an exceptionally strong-willed and tough main character, for her to suffer abuse at the hands of beings with NO CAPABILITY OF REMORSE OR EMOTIONAL EMPATHY, but choose to empathize with them for the fact that their lack of remorse is not their fault. That would take SERIOUS emotional maturity that no person is obligated to give to someone who abuses them, and the series would have to make it very clear this is a choice she made, not a choice everyone should be obligated to make. They should also represent that not everyone can be 'fixed' by making only a few, maybe even only one, of the boys learn how to be kind. Or at LEAST have one or two of them remain evil.
In other words, it'd be VERY hard to keep the whole remorseless demon thing intact and also keep it a romance. But it is possible.
i think you should really look at ALL the games. the last 3 games are definitely more story based than romance!
DL is my absolute favorite franchise, and i think in the end, it was done justice 🤎
Ok well to be fair, after I watched this anime, I wanted to play the games to see how terrible it could get (i ended up loving, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine). So technically the marketing worked
The game is better than the anime, even yui were god there but I never hate yui in the anime tho.
Im running to watch this, i lpve a dumster fire 😂
I remember watching this as a teen. I was watching every vampire romance I could find (I blame twilight and vampire knight). But this one was definitely a guilty pleasure at first, but it got too f*ck up!
IKR at VERY VERY LEAST, yuuki in VK is treated right even if its by the principal and bella is not treated too horribly by them 2 suitors.
Vampire knight gives me nostalgia but it was TRASH. DL tho is…geez
I was 9-11(?) years old. I just got bored by the time they went to school and dropped it. I didn't even register the fucked up or even 'romance' parts.
Do you know any good vampire anime’s with romance
Glad to see you back with another video! I hope you’re still enjoying the process. I know content creation can be an absolute slog. Don’t feel like you’re obligated to put out a video in a timely fashion, I’m plenty happy to wait for things to come out at their own time!
Thank you so much! I really do enjoy making videos and I still find the process fun in it's own way, I just have to work a lot irl so I don't have that much time to make videos as often as I'd like to. I guess it's just a thing of having a lot of ideas but not enough time 😅 and that's the only thing that feels a little draining at times. I'm working on finding a good balance between the two. Thank you for keeping up with the content!
if this is the only hearted comment in the comment section I'd 100% understand. that's so sweet and understanding.
From my understanding, the sacrificial bride was meant to sate the thirst of the brothers so that they don't just randomly attack the villagers.
in order to understand all the complicated lore, i just realised, you have to play all the main games (so, not the two fandisks, and lost eden is also retconned so its a bit useless lore-wise), you have to listen to the drama CDs, AND you have to read the multiple mangas,,,
The series gets good and has some very fascinating character work (specifically for the triplets tbh, the others are very weird characters with subaru and shuu being very standard bad boy with a heart of gold types and reiji being an absolute menace for no reason. Omg his ending where he becomes a manservant is so satisfying.) but you can only get that depth if you go through all the content,,, so the series is super convoluted and the parts which are GOOD are obscure for the english fandom. Anyway, I started out ironically liking it and now I unironically like a lot of things about it - the music, the art (not designs, but the overall artist for first two games is so talented!), and the triplets relationship with each other -esp Ayato and Laito's relationship. I'd say the first game is decent to good depending on the route, with laito having the best written route (but least character development), the second game sucks overall but has good development for Laito ONLY, and the third one, dark fate, is overall probably the best - character development is finally around to the point where its not insane torture porn, and the plot kind of makes sense. Lost Eden is absolute TRASH, but if you enjoy the anime for its absurdity and absolutely WILD lore, Lost Eden is the perfect game LOL. I haven't played Chaos Lineage yet so idk about it. Its decent, but very fan service-y from what I've read. Also the og x vs x drama CDs (esp laito vs Ayato) for each era are good, and I also like Laito's para selene CD. Also, most of the manga is just... covering the game plot, BUT I did like the one based on the sakamaki brother's childhood. It was cute and sad seeing them as kids, and seeing the role each of them play. Overall, the triplets have the closest relationship, with Ayato being arrogant, Kanato being a crybaby, and Laito being their protector - this manga takes place before he goes through the heavy abuse, so he's pretty much the glue holding his brothers together, and the most mature out of... maybe all the brothers, lol. He's also canonically the most intelligent, which is acknowledged by Carla in Dark Fate, but doesn't apply his intelligence at all.
I want to point out that the anime is an absolute disservice to the game and its characters, most of all, YUI. She is pretty cool in the games, but a victim of abuse, which means the games are ultimately like... an erotic tragedy? Kinda sadean, because the games also work AGAINST locke's assertion that human nature is ultimately good. BTW if you're unfamiliar with the marquis de sade, his novel justine is like an unnecessarily violent, misogynistic and boring version of voltaire's candide. Which, diabolik lovers is one of the most absurdly misogynistic anime to ever exist esp bc os how the moms are the route of all evil + yui vs cordelia being the madonna whore complex redone LOL. its mostly a badly written series which has moments of brilliance in how accurately it portrays the cycle of abuse and the absolute brainrot one will suffer if they do not GET THERAPY
Anyway, rant over. I'm autistic and diabolik lovers is one of my special interests, so I've been into it for a good 6-7 years now lol.
Honestly this is just giving me Homestuck. An absolute mess with moments of accidental brilliance that are not indicative of the author's skill at all.
basically yes LMAO@@crazydragy4233
Dialover fan here (since I was 13 lolol)! I love this saga unironically AND ironically. The anime does suck (a lot), it gives me nostalgia since it is how I got to know the saga but I still laugh at it. I now watch it for ironic consumption and laugh at how bad it is 😂. However, I feel like people find it so easy to brush away this story when I think the games (not the anime lolol) present such an interesting plot and lore. The stuff with Karl Heinz, the Founders and the Apple of Adam is truly interesting and I found it entertaining to watch unfold. I stopped paying attention to DL when I was 15 so I still do not know how Lost Eden ends (I am looking forward to experiencing this story fully as an adult now!). The games have truly dark themes and show how trauma of many kinds can truly scar someone, as a Psychology student I found this super interesting.
Now, I will say the anime did a crappy job at portraying Yui. In the games she is very optimistic and can sometimes banter with the guys (her dynamic with Ayato is hilarious). Moreover, I tend to twitch at people saying that Yui is a ‘weak’ character because she does not swear at the guys. She was raised in the church and had a very sheltered upbringing, of course she would not be able to kung fu her way out of the situation (not to mention her dad put her there…yikes). As a teen and even now, I much more relate to Yui’s empathy and caring nature than many other characters. I find her a strong character because she stays optimistic and empathetic despite the difficult circumstances she is in; I find her strong due to how she looks for the good in people despite the circumstances. A strong character is not defined solely by physical strength, in my opinion.
DL is 100% a guilty pleasure that fulfills S&M fantasies as well as CNC fantasies. Yui is a masochist through and through; of course she would not admit this though, with the religious upbringing she had as well as being from such a conservative society like Japan of course she would not find it easy to admit it. In the games you can see in the good endings how she embraces it. There is really good criticality of religion in the games and as someone who also grew up Catholic I related to many ways she thought or what she believed previously. I feel like as long as the individual practices critical consumption and has a clear divide of fantasy from reality, people should be able to consume guilty pleasures. Humans are strange and sometimes like weird things, humanity is strange! I feel like media like this can help people explore these fantasies safely. I am also aware that the first C in CNC for this show is highly debateable (at least before the good endings) but I think it feeds into the fantasy for the consumer (people watching/playing).
In conclusion, do I think DL is the best piece of media in history? Oh God, no. It is entertaining and, to me, fascinating. Does not stop me from laughing at it though. I can genuinely enjoy it while acknowledging its cringy elements lolol.
Same i found it when i was younger now that im older im seeing these animes diabolik lovers,amnesia,brothers conflict,kiss him not me as so weird now that im older but i need to rewatch so i can see how bad they were 😭😭😭
EXACTLY you totally explained the appeal. I don't even think the characters are fascinating on purpose, its just the bits we get between all the ... kink and cringe... which are SO interesting! especially for the triplets (and personally I'm a laito lover so I could analyze him and go on FOREVER. I just want to get that boy THERAPY... and jail time...)
You explained how I feel as a DiaLovers fan perfectly! I don't think it's a masterpiece and it definitely has its flaws, but the themes and content is just so interesting and enjoyable in the weirdest way lmao. I like the franchise, but that's why I enjoy playfully making fun of it!
Honestly, everything said here and the crack videos all across this site are what keep me invested in the background
I don’t think DL is really a good depiction of BDSM, BDSM is a consensual practice and has explicitly both parties stating what they want and what they don’t, DL is abuse being targeted as BDSM as the brothers constantly ignore and disrespect Yui’s boundaries and space and they all do what they want with her without taking her desires in consideration
On a personal opinion I think after the first game they just use trauma for shock value and exploit that aspect but as I said this is just my perception
i remember i was an older teenager when the anime aired and tried it for the sweet sweet gothic vibes, it was an utter FLOP and the only fantasy i had was beating these lanky anemic twinks into a pulp
it was at the time i was done with the constant and plain misogyny/ objectification in anime in general and stopped interacting with it as a whole for years, seeing girls nearly my age being abused, humiliated, brutalized triggered my fight responses.
I think I got somewhere into the second season of anime but dropped it because it got somehow even more nonsensical and I was just done with stupid MCs xd
I remember watching this when I was younger, and while I was watching it all I could think about was 'So...When is this all supposed to get better for protag?' and it never really did.
No but the games' character writing is really good. Like my favorite route is Laito's because of how actually terrifying it is. He harasses, abuses, manipulates and gaslights Yui until she loses it and goes crazy too. And at all this time it's very hard to tell when he just straight up lies and puts an act to further push Yui into madness compared to moments when he actually beliefs in some really crazy sh*t because of his countless traumas. You just never know what he is and what to expect from him, except that whatever he does will be bad for Yui. That's what makes him terrifying from the self-insert point of view but fascinating from the observer point of view. And I love it.
I honestly don't know if I like the character designs or not. They are unique, I'll give it that (they are better in the VN though)
The anime is just for promotional material and not to be taken seriously but when others come in blind and don't know that, which continues to happen, is the reason why the anime has the reputation it has. It's an incentive to buy the games and it succeeds in doing so (at least in Japan) and it promotes others over here in the west to translate said content since REJET refuses to localizes- which tbh for this franchise is for the better, and shouldn't be because of how it will be perceived by the current climate of the internet.
As an (obvious) DL fan myself, my view on the anime keeps going back and forth from "horrible" to "ehh, it's okay" and I feel like nowadays it is towards the latter because I have fully respect for the games even if it's own lore Dies multiple times and is horribly inconsistent. The heart of DL is about love and overcoming trauma amongst the S&M elements and it's unfortunate that the anime does not explore this but I can understand why they wouldn't. The art is beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing-- even seeing the characters move and talk to one another is also nice to see!
Regardless, I like watching other DL deep dive videos when they pop up cause I like to hear all of your thoughts! Good video
yeah its such an awesome epxploration of overcoming trauma, it speaks to me. I love the games.
I’m in the same exact boat as you, and couldn’t have written this comment better myself. This series is my ultimate guilty pleasure and while it does make me cringe and is nonsensical at times, the themes of the characters and games are why I’m unironically a fan of it.
You should make more videos on the series about further games and further lore. Especially with the Mukami and Tsukinami brothers
i must say tho, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
again, in the end its all fiction
i think it's the safest way to explore themes you normally never would've thought. there will always be people who gets into it. maybe they like more violence 😂 or their favorite seiyuu is there!
19:14 also you took me back to memory lane!!! i know binaural audio dramasfrom seiyuus still exists but thar was the time i literally kept looking around for links on my favorite seiyuus. imo those were so good!
i know op hates brothers conflict but it really is one of my fav otome games of all time (still is 🫶)
it's one of my first otome game and one of my first reasons to learn a new language and a reason why i liked coding as a kid!
but doing unsavory things to my siblings or cousins never crossed my mind. hell I'd kill myself if i did 😂
i loved the characters, the big cast, the seiyuus, the bussing character songs (very underrated btw) and the fact they love you to death! brocon still precious to my heart and i thank the game for being pretty much a formative memory of my life.
I have to say, the full opening song is an absolute BANGER, Yuki Hayashi put his whole soul into that
REALL
When I was 13, me and a friend found the anime and we watched and loved it because we were both very weird kids lmao
Oh, and for context, we barely knew any english and didn't understand most of the subtitles, so we were going off the visuals and like 30% of the subtitles on our little 12&13 year old brains
The reason why yui was chosen is because she was a random child, also her dad sold her to them after raising her for them
I watched this at the age of 14 because a friend back then was crazy about it, and spent every episode being like "straight people are crazy".
The funniest thing to me is that, whenever they bite Yui, it sounds like they are biting an apple. XD
I watched one episode of this years ago and instantly dropped it. I couldn’t take the disrespect lol even as a hate watch
I will say though. My next life as a villainess is actually super fun and you just feel for the bimbo that is the protagonist cause all she wants is to stay alive and keep living her carefree life with her besties that are all in love with her because she is in fact best girl.
Also, kiss him not me is also a genuine guilty pleasure for me cause it doesn’t take itself seriously, the protagonist is cringy as hell but still really fun and relatable, and I kid you not, the long haired dude is absolutely best boy and there is no other correct option other than him.
yona of the dawn sill best reverse harem (EVEN IF ITS NOT REVERESE HAREM, ITS STILL TAGGED)
So.... I played the game, the first one at least (how this info got out of me without waterboarding I dunno) and for what I picked up 1. The whole sacrificial bride thing is insinuated to be just an excuse to give the boys a source of blood and stop them from going after the general population 2. For what I understood I think the series was trying to talk about is that usually the protagonist is the one to "change" the romantic interest but through each route Yui that ends up changed to survive her chosen abuser, there is no actual happy ending, she did all she could (the game put much more emphasis on how insanely more powerful in every aspect the brothers are than Yui) to survive her circuntances but inevitably she is forced to change, almost being distorted from who she once was (this was VERY prevalent in Laito's route) and I think that is kind of the point, she was only 17 while they were centuries old how she could ever hope a happy ending out of this?
Anyways, that is the shitty take I got from playing the kinky vampire horror game
i love that theme in the game, laito's route is a goldmine of interesting themes and absolute CRINGE
I love this series lmfao
@@eidolonicentipede damn bro I was all over the place on that route, I think that one was one of the routes that better showcased how basically every one of the triplets were seeing Cordelia on Yui.
But it got me genuinely curious, rumour has it that he goes a lot of character development on the later games
@@luci7034 he does, but only dark fate handles it well. Also, the drama CDs are good for his development - you can find translations online so its quick to read. Anyway, Laito is the best written character in the series imo and the anime does him such injustice. I want to see his mental illness animated thank you very much...
@@eidolonicentipede oh you heard the CDs as well?? I was looking forward for those but didn't knew where to start, do you have any recomendations?
@@eidolonicentipede oh you heard the CDs as well?? I was looking forward for those but didn't knew where to start, do you have any recomendations?
Me remembering being into this before I got into DRAMATICAL MURDER y'all on another level of traumatized
Oh god the memories
Thank you very much for making the sound in your videos so quiet and smooth without any drops. I have been suffering from serious insomnia for a very long time and your videos help me. thank you very much.
and yes, you do good plot analyses. I’ve heard about all the anime and manga you talk about in your videos, but literally no one has done a detailed analysis yet.
Please i need a more blood version too x'DD
oh and for the mystery of why yui suddenly woke up wanting to drink blood at the end of season 1 but is back to nothing happen in season 2, the reason is that in some of the route endings in haunted bridal, cordelia is awaken in yui's body. So Its basically yui, with cordelia's conscious, but the guy she is with does not want to harm yui, believing that she would be back some day so they still......do STUFFs with her. And yui(cordelia) behaves more sadistically now.
There is another type in which cordelia's heart awaken in yui, so she is yui now has her own mind and conscious, but she craves blood too like a vampire cus of cordelia's heart (is she a vampire?WHO KNOWS. THEY DONT STATE IT CLEARLY).
So this ending in the first season is to show that cordelia has awakened the cordelia's heart in her so she is now a vampire too.
omg i watched this anime in middle school and it did irreparable damage to my psyche. thank you for making this video its crazy looking back..
I'm a girl who watch for plot,I watch that show when I was a teenager and remember being confused how is this romantic. Like it's just chaotic. And I watch season 2 and she died at the end? It was so long ago I might be wrong. I know girls watch that show mainly just to see pretty guys, but I was there for the plot and it was just messy I just totally forgotten what happened in the show because I watch that one time and never again. I'm a girl who watch for plot, I don't care the guys are handsome, treat her with respect at least, but no she's just there as their blood. I was still watching because my friend like the show and it was popular among the girls
Girl I found you today and binge watched all 3 of your videos. I am in love with your Chanel hope you upload soon again!
Fun fact: Somebody on the Diabolik Lovers' Amino was mad enough to do a full one year research dedicated to study the character of Kanato Sakamaki, throughout every adaptations.
Legit one of the best passion projects I had the pleasure to sit and read through as Kanato really is a fascinating character.
Sadly, even if I still have the link, the article was deleted for unknown reasons. If anyone is interested though, I still mostly know it by heart so I can explain its point.
Oh? I am interested
@@megitsune1793 'Kay so. It went something like this:
Introduction: No excuse for his behavior he's a POS but let's try to figure out how he got like this.
Part 1: His backstory
Kanato's past was kinda downplayed in the video because it's the hardest to relate to. Picture this: You're the youngest of three triplets. However, you're not as talented as the first born, nor as desirable as the second one. You're kind of an afterthought and so the first few years of your life have nothing bad or good happen to you.
Doesn't sound as bad as say Laito, right?
After all, there is nothing.
But that's kinda the point, Kanato at first had nothing. Not even a goal like Reiji, he just didn't exist for Cordelia. In all of the adaptations there is always a scene of young Kanato trying to get his mother to notice him and it's heartbreaking.
He legit even tries to kill himself multiple times to see if the woundd will get her attentions but Cordelia just asked him to stop messing around and clean them.
Then two things happened: Firstly, Cordelia realized Kanato's singing voice was beautiful and turned her on. So she locked him in a cage and forced him to watch her having s3x with Richter while he sang. (By the way this is touched upon in the Amino analysis but not this vid, so just to be clear Kanato is also confirmed to be as fucked with his sexuality as Laito, except he's more child-like. He genuinely does not get what it's supposed to represent and so he only uses it like Cordelia, as a weapon of submission and control.)
This is already gross but Kanato was so over the moon by finally having a purpose that he sang until his throat hurt and his vocal cords bled. The kid just wanted to be useful and noticed by his mom.
Then Teddy happened. Basically Cordelia was gifted the bear, found it ugly and useless, and decided to simply dump it on Kanato. Except this was literally the only thing she had ever given him so he kept it preciously. Thinking it was a proof that his mother loved him. (Also, while Kanato is one of the few characters who never undergoes a positive character arc as he simply replaces his obsessions with something else, he does always end up getting rid of Teddy, mostly by himself, as a sign that he acknowledges his mother never loved him. It's just that in Azuza's route and the anime, he lost Teddy before being able to accept that.)
So he felt empty due to the neglience of Cordelia for most of his life. He craves love.
Lastly, if I remember correctly, he was never actually involved in the plan to kill Cordelia. Instead he just found her body after she fell from the window while looking for her. So he decided to honor her and make her, his forever, by hiding her ashes inside Teddy to comfort himself.
Part 2: The Crybaby With No Self-Respect
Kanato's emotions are a mess for three reasons: -Firstly since he was so neglected he was never taught how to behave. He only has a vague idea on what it means to appear strong and powerful.
-Secondly, he's haunted by his trauma. Finding his mother's corpse in the rain, whilst only ever loving her and yearning for her approval, devastated him. So whenever it rains, he breaks down and cries, remembering his past.
-And thirdly, even if it was negative attention, throwing tantrums was the only way he could get regular attention from his mother so he continued doing it.
He IS insufferable and he knows it. No sane person will give him the time of day, or just the affection he needs. This is why he tries to dominate Yui so much since he views her as lesser. He doesn't want her to leave, he wants her to have her eyes only on him 24/7 now that he has power over someone.
But that's not the only way he remedies his loneliness ans crave for love:
Part 3: "I prefer the dead and the broken."
Once out of boredom and desperation, he decided to take the corpse of a bride of his father, or a simple fling, and sew her corpse into a beautiful doll. (All of his dolls are actually still alive thanks to magic, but trapped with no mouth so they can never express their disgust at him.)
His mother found his new hobby extremely convenient to get rid of annoying people so she encouraged him to continue.
He's such a control freak because in his broken heart, when he reasonably evaluates his situation in-between his delusions or manic phases, he knows that no matter how much he dominates someone and that someone say they love, he knows...
That they will leave him first chance they get.
So he kills his companions to turn them into dolls to keep in company for eternity.
The irony is that, again, Kanato knows they are just lifeless corpses who's spirits hold nothing but resentment towards him. So he feels empty with this companionship.
Also he heavily dislikes his family and either him or Yui kill them all.
That's also why he has a beautiful speech in the VN surrounding his love of breaking beautiful things. He enjoys looking at them but through the process of destruction identifies with them, drags them to his levels to enjoy them even more for a short while, before leaving them.
He's in a constant cycle of self-destruction and genuinely just wants to die to end it all but can't. (He's immune to basically anything.)
Part 4: Can he ever be healed?
Not really. His behavior has been hopelessly repeated through three centuries with no hope for a better future. Even the most understanding, kind and caring Yui in the VN can only be dragged down to his level.
How? By being mentally drained of all her personality and become a vampire amnisiac solely devoted to him.
There is an after credit scene actually where vampire Yui, after years of living peacefully with Kanato all alone, stumbles accross her old rosary and stops in her routine for a second to wonder what it is. Kanato immediately panics and demands she discard it which she happily does. Then they embrace.
They can never truly be happy.
Conclusion:
This guy is definitely not a healthy LI but damn isn't he fascinating. Also screw Cordelia.
(Hope this abridged version of the essay satisfied you.)
@@realfromtherealreality4148 my god that's so much complexity. They completely nuked that in the anime. I very much appreciate your dedication to write this all down!!
@@renaissancemess851 Np.
This analysis and Kanato are what made me love Diabolik Lovers despite its flaws. :)
@@realfromtherealreality4148he was and still is my favourite out of the sakamakis bro its been like 9 years i need help😭
I remember watching this with my sister, as she likes it more than Twilight Saga. She knows all their names and ever write fanfics.
Me, on the other hand, only remember the "vampire-lunch" girl, fedora hot boy (which was impossible irl) and purple hair boy who has his mom's ashes in his plush toy.
I watched it a bit less than a year ago and have forced all my friends to watch it dubbed, it's so dumb and hilarious, I love it
Your editing is hilarious 😭 I’ve never actually seen diabolik lovers but I’m a HUUUGE otome games player / fan and watching this was a real treat lol
Broooooo why do I still remember Laitos back story it’s been years. It’s so fucked up that’s it’s rememberable 🙃😖
The fact that these voice actors said all these lines like I can't I just...can't this is soooo unconftable
Something I want to mention that wasn’t touched on in this video (or if it was I missed it) is that DL originally started as an erotic SM Drama CD series that was so popular it led to the creation of the games. The first game is following that by having the worst abuse and heaviest content in the series, but as the series became more popular and mainstream it got a little lighter on the tone. The Sakamakis were extremely abusive in the first game but over time became boyfriends who just happen to be assholes at times. Laito in Haunted Dark Bridal and Laito in Dark Fate are almost two entirely different characters.
This is also the reason why every character has a nickname for Yui. While her name canonically IS Yui Komori, the Drama CDs are self insert based, so the actors and characters needed something to refer to the listener that was both in character but was vague enough for it to apply to virtually anyone. This is something of a tradition for the series, as while the main character has a canon name as Yui, even in current CDs they refer to her by nickname.
The description you gave for the target audience or what this anime is supposed to be in a nutshell at the beginning, was literally the perfect description for 11-year-old me getting into anime and boys. I was a little Christian girl who JUST got into boys (not because I wanted to or because of hormones) and I found this anime to be the most attractive thing in the world at the time. It was my second anime EVER (first was Rosario Vampire because my literal stalker made me watch it. It was his inspo..) and my god all I remember is the dude with the fedora calling her a bitch and me having some f'ed up crush on the red haired one. I haven't watched this since and don't remember a lot, but I am SCARED. I will give my reaction as I continue watching.
I feel like I can summarise this show with the first part in EP&BW from le seraphim:
I’m a mess in distress (we know) but we’re still (not) the best dressed, fearless (naw I’m fearful) say yes (NO!)
We don’t dress to impress (clearly💀)
“Why do they still go to high school?”
Have you seen how creepy they are to this teenage girl???
Why do you THINK?
32:52 From what I saw in another video, in the game there is a good chunk at the beginning where we follow Yui before she gets sent to the house. Like from what I heard that part is actually crucial because it allows the player to progress with Yui in the story, and since the players follow her from the very start of her story, the player doesn't feel like they are an outsider just watching but passengers in the same car, It seems like it's a way more interesting experience.
I'm probably going to rewatch both seasons after this 😭😭😭😭
A deep dive i didn't knew i needed. I watched this anime as a teen and I remembered I kinda liked it. Maybe because "vamipres are hot" or "but I can fix him" reasons? But girl, this can't even be fixed by an army of psychiatrists.
ur videos are so entertaining i hope ur channel blows up some day gurl
I blame "Twilight" and "Shall we date: Blood in Roses+" for Diabolik Lovers being my guilty pleasure. 😌
Though i'm surprised that I never liked Vampire Knight as it was similar. 😅
3:27 “light it up all on fire.”
But, if you can’t make your hellfire from home, store bought is just fine. I recommend canned Purgatory Psychosis in the flavor “just why!?”
16:15 i died when you pointed out their leg show style 😂
It's interesting how each brother perfectly exemplifies a different type of domestic abuse
I love the anime because its absurd and hilarious, and I love the music, games, manga, and drama CDs because among the CRINGE there's a lot of wholesome development for traumatized people (help me i have trauma)
You are a true weeb
@@laisphinto6372 im just really really gay for the main character and relate to her a lot
honestly , i dont think anyone watches (reverse) harem for the plot but for the fanservice.
I think a good way to show the worlds lore would be a series based on the perspectives of the brides. That would be fun to watch especially the different eras they would need to be from
omg ive never seen an analysis video of this famous guilty pleasure!!! TT thank you for the video i feel so recognised... i have a few thoughts i just wanted to share.
i really agree with the game using the guise of sm to get away with the boys treating Yui inhumanely and CONTINUING to do so without developing as Yui just ends up accepting it over time, because real sm must be consensual
i also really agree with the other commentor that it had a lot of potential to be a great dark romance story, w the boys LITERALLY not being human, the mad backstory etc. and the writing is what fails it. instead of the resolution being that Yui accepts herself an M it should be that the boys learn to love, especially Laito and Subaru w the two different personalities they have due to their misconceptions of love.
i do think the funny moments is because over the longer course of the game theres wholesomeness + the sussy times but its very off beat in the anime ofc. i think it helps you understand Yui a little bit as shes constantly letting her guard down and thinking theyre ok , they changed and laughing but then they switch in one second and degrade her which is why she keeps staying, being nice, etc which is well quite accurate for toxic relationships.
i think sacrificial brides are typically supposed to choose one boy to try to help awaken, which is why each boy is fighting over Yui. And why Kanato keeps his previous ones as dolls. Theres also smth about how we used to sing for his mom cuz it made her... yeah :(
AND MY MOST IMPORTANT THOUGHT that the manga/visual novels is so much better, its treated as routes, with all of them each having their own route. as someone else said, some of them r even worse in the manga LOL but they do develop and feel remorse and theres actual cute moments. i'd say the best are SHU, AYATO and SUBARU!!! which makes sense cuz they r the more normal ish ones. (Reiji's one is also aight)
Shu''s laziness and Yui's determination (to not leave him behind napping sch) go well and she even helps him with his fear of fire (from edgars death), Reiji basically kills her and Shu just barely revives her but she is severely disabled, not being able to move or see but Shu loves her nonetheless.
Ayato's insecurity masked as arrogance and Yui's endless kindness and acceptance lol jive, and they LEGIT have very cute scenes. Where Yui is cooking and patting his hair and smiling/tolerating his childishness which is the kind of love which he never got from his mother. sad backstory resolving. After he saves her from Ricky there is a marriage scene, that is really well written and wholesome.
Subaru's bitterness and protectiveness of his heart and Yui's tenderness are on top!! id say these 3 brothers bring out very goofy interactions which make Yui and them much more likable. Yui knees Subaru in the head even... His complexes are also explored. One scene i like is when he crushes white roses, his moms symbol of innocence (tainted by his father lol) Yui allows Subaru to drink her blood and asks for favor which is to let her check his cut, if it hurts. Subaru says 'r u dumb like im a vampire' Yui replies 'i know, but the pain from the moment isnt gone right?' and asks him to let her hold his hand. When Yui and Subaru dance that certain dance its really very sweet, where he asks how she can still have her faith and she says she can believe in God and love him (since he believes hes dirty). He eventually ends his mom to get closure and happy end!
manga also provides more insight or little things she notices on why Yui actually LIKES them SO ITS ACTUALLY ROMANCE (sobbing.) Not saying any of the things she thought arent stockholm/unhealthy but here. for e.g. Subaru's tight, frustrated expression loosens when hes drinking blood or sleeping, or Kanato always bites harshly but there is always such a sweet kiss afterwards(toxic bye)
really sorry i went on a tangent. thats my ted talk. thank you again!
Looking back on it I just really like the character design
Me too, the art style and designs are so well drawn.
It's your description of the plot being more interesting and well put together than thw actually story for me. Ooooh i remember wantting to play the games and finding the anime through a drinking game video
Loved the abridged version though, it pointed out the plot holes and tied them nicely into an entertaining mess with hilarious characters.
Honestly I didn’t know that I needed this. Too good 😭✨
everytime i come across these deep dive videos into dialovers i always get so pissed off when they only look at the anime like i understand that dialovers has a looot of different foems of media that need to be consumed to really get the full picture but everything wlse gets hardly touched upon so seeing that you actually take the games into account made me really happy even if you havent played all of them cause even with just the first game you really get a lot more context compared to the anime to where i think its enough to have a more solid opinion 😭😭😭
Same thank you for saying this. I've played haunted dark bridal, more blood, and dark fate and I get mega pissed off too when people only judge the series based off the anime that's only meant to promote the games. The games are a guilty pleasure of mine and I love the story, themes and the character development in them that the anime definitely does NOT have. Its very easy to play the games in english nowadays too with the numerous fan translations out there. I was ready to get mad at this video until they mentioned the games thankfully Q w Q
Yui isn’t a very well written character but so much of the hate she gets for being useless and weak is not only misdirected but borderlines on misogynistic.
Oh Gosh the nostalgia- I was OBSESSED with this anime when I was 12, especially Kanato for some reason. Now that I think about it, I think it was my first special interest, which is...
I do have some things to thank it for, though - I learnt how to speak English by trying to read god awful fan comics, I drew a lot, I started some roleplaying groups that were really fun back then and helped me tons with my grammar...
It was definitely a strange thing to like in the age of 12 but, you know, I still think back of it fondly lol.
Diabolik lovers is basically whoops all yanderes.
I sudenly decided this is what Hybe took inspo from for Enhypens "Dark moon" 😂😂
Very well done video! The majority of the information here was correct but there are a couple of things I want to point out that either lack context or are minor errors. This is coming from a longtime fan of the series so this isn’t supposed to be negative feedback, just more info about a JP exclusive series.
28:41 Christa being Karlheinz’s cousin doesn’t inherently make this series worse than Brothers Conflict (imo) because it’s treated in the narrative as being bad and it’s the crux of Subaru’s character arc. Although it could be argued this is indeed a retcon, it was explained in one of the games that she always liked him but he manipulated her into thinking she *loved* him, which is where the “she loved him after all” comes from. She felt immensely betrayed once she realized his intentions and it started her mental turmoil. The distaste for the incest is valid but it’s not like Brothers Conflict where it’s glossed over or endorsed.
30:53 While the majority of Reiji’s mommy issues does come from neglect like you said, the reason why he was so upset over this was because he felt like everything (specifically his mother’s pride and love) was given to Shu without reason. Shu didn’t work hard and actively seemed to avoid responsibility as heir, while Reiji worked tirelessly to impress his mother and she never paid him the time of day. Him burning down Edgar’s village wasn’t just out of jealousy or mean spirit, part of the reason why he did it was so that his mother would be proud of him for eliminating the cause of Shu’s distraction. The only purpose of his life was to be a better assistant to Shu once Shu inherited the throne, which caused a massive inferiority complex that spiralled into intense jealousy. I’m not saying that he had it easier or harder than everyone else, but there’s more to this than mere jealousy.
32:59 Something worth mentioning is that Cordelia tended to give Kanato her gifts from her various lovers, and she made Kanato sing while she “got it on” with men. He sang even to the point where his throat bled.
33:03 Something to note is that Laito had no inherent purpose compared to his brothers (heir, entertainment) so he was neglected for the majority of his early years and didn’t question it when Cordelia started getting “close” to him as an adolescent. He says in one of the games that he knew their relationship was wrong, but he was so desperate for her love that he just tried to ignore it.
35:11 Canonically, vampires think that being killed by someone is the ultimate display of love because of their long lives. So Christa’s request for Subaru to kill her was both out of self hatred and love for him. She loved Subaru but he was the epitome of the man who ruined her life, which made her develop something akin to bipolar disorder. Subaru cares deeply for her because he knew she loved him and her moods and moments of hatred weren’t his fault, but he has really complicated feelings about his mother.
38:47 Sacrificial Brides are women given to the Sakamakis with the hopes of triggering the Sakamakis to become powerful and thus be the head of the family. Yui’s role as a bride is unique because of her powerful blood, so whoever ‘obtains’ her will become stronger than the rest.
i absolutely love your videos, i just recently found your channel and i'm so happy i did because as a kid i used to be into these sorts of anime and manga and the fact that i was 11-13 eating up this kind of content is so bizarre to me now when i look back on it lmao, keep up the great work i really like listening to your reviews! ^^
Loved your videos! I saw that you only have a couple videos up but your editing is great and you have the funniest moments 😂
omg the obsession I had with this anime is insane, I love how this ended up in my recommended 10 years later haha
This anime was, unfortunately, the very first anime I ever watched. I can’t believe I was a fan of this show when I was 11 😖
Look, I do ironically like the anime. But the music and songs I enjoy unironically they are so good for me personally and I hate it but I am not sorry.
omg the character songs are straight fire, and the ost in the anime has NO RIGHT going so hard. why is the art direction so good for this series...
@@eidolonicentipede Righhhtt? Like I watch this and I go "How? HOW?"
@@Averagetrashfire they absolutely wasted real talent for this show... all the voice actors are super famous too 😭😭
@@eidolonicentipede I just sit there and wonder what it would have been like if this show was actually good... or at least if these songs were attached to an actually good show or series like man they deserved sooo much better then this.
Poor Atsushi, he didn't need to see this, he has enough in his own universe to deal with.
This was a great video! Thank you so much for your hard work in making this. Also, I love your voice!
As someone who actually has misophonia...thank you. Thank you so, so much for taking this bullet for us, you hero ❤
Still have no idea how 9 year old me got ahold of this anime. It’s super nostalgic for me tbh. I don’t care how bad or cringy it is, it’s such a guilty pleasure LMFAO.
i've had a literal trauma flashback when i saw DL on the Netflix catalogue. Also, portraying those abusive relationships as S&M is harmful to the bdsm community that literally has *consent* and *healthy dialogue* as vital pillars, claiming it is S&M just shows that they don't know shit about S&M (and the fact majority of the fanbase of diabolik lovers are minors is just🚩🚩🚩)
Ive always wondered what this anime was about but now i will be here eagerly waiting for your review/ commentary on season the 2nd season
I remember I gave DL a shot when it was still pretty new because I wanted something otome and the art style looked nice with the ombre hair tones and the interesting candy-like eyes. Hoooo boy I was NOT prepared xD I finished it hoping there would be some...development, i guess? but I was NOT rewarded. I just remember one scene with Richter standing in front of Cordelia's dress with some sick green fire and that visual is the only thing that's stuck with me that I actually appreciate. Oh yeah, and Ayato yeeting Yui into the pool that was fucking hilarious with him just standing there staring as if he was waiting for her to surface.
Geez😨 i knew this anime had issues but i didn't know it was this bad..but yeah this anime kinda makes me uncomfortable I'll say because of those themes but after hearing about the lore that was left out yeah now im even more uncomfortable...... only thing i like genuinely really is just the artstyle but thats it honestly it.. anyways good video btw.🌸✨
Diabolik Lovers is the teen version of 50 Shades of Grey, it's supposed to be S&M but it's actually poorly written abuse.
Another fire video🙏Can't wait to finish
Thank you!
I always considered the game series as my guilty pleasure. Even though the writing is bad at some parts, it’s one of the rare visual novels with a dark theme . most of them just end up being cute or wholesome.
I can’t believe I forgot that their dad’s name was Karl-Heinz……. I’m scream-laughing every time
(Karl-Heinz is basically a stand-in name for any old grandpa person in Germany. Which. Considering dude’s a vampire. I mean. It kinda tracks ngl)
I also love that the kid versions of the brothers look just like they do as grown teens lmao
I watched this anime FULL 2 SEASONS and I actually liked this anime💀
Ok but when you said cousin I wasn’t even that phased because I feel like there are so many weirder things about this 😭😭😭😭
ebony darkness would have LOVED this shit
This series had me by the balls as a teenager. It makes Vampire knight look like a Shakespearean tragedy , but maaaan. I can’t look away from this dumpster fire
i never want to hear anyone say diabolik lovers one more time thank you
The fact that the art and style is so so very pretty and is WASTED on this story angers me beyond belief
As someone who is a sadomasochist, yes, consent is NUMBER ONE. It's really tiring how media makes it seem like sadism/masochism is a non consensual act.
I randomly found your videos through youtube recommendations and i know nothing abt the romance genre in ani/manga but youre really funny and ive enjoyed all 3 of your videos and learning about this stuff 💜💜 i dont want to place any pressure on you but i just wanted to let you know that if you're continuing doing content creation im seated and ready for sure 😂
I saw like a chunk of the first episode of that series some years ago, back when my English knowledge was like really bad. I was pretty confused but liked the hair colors that all the guys had. Only reason why I remember it lol
When I was like 12 I discovered Ouran high school host club and loved it and it was the only anime I was in to for the time and took my attention for more than I care to admit. I’m laughing hearing about this wild ass anime because I feel like my personality would have turned out completely different if I found this anime first lol
I needed to see a video like that , now let's watch 🙏