Tokyo Vampire Hotel (2017)

Holy Crap! I can't believe I almost didn't watch this show because of some poor reviews. This is a masterpiece! Sono Sion is a god among men when it comes to film making. I guess a lot of normies watched this, and got angry because it didn't fit a nicely packaged storyline, but Sono Sion's films aren't about that. They're art, very visceral art, with lots of symbolism and dialogue that ask hard questions about existence and society (mostly Japan's modern society). For example, didn't you wonder why Yamada was so mad at his politician father? Maybe the isolation inside a small hotel with a dwindling population while the youth long for the "outside world" represents Japan's isolationism and birthrate decline. The walls of the "hotel" are made up of people who have given up on fighting for a change. And that's just one example of how you can interpret it. And that's what art often is, a beautiful chaotic mess that is left open for interpretation, i.e. Tokyo Vampire Hotel. The visuals were stunning. I cinegasmed every time the characters walked into a monochromed room. The characters were enthralling. The story was exciting and gripping. The music was great. I loved the opening theme by Tricot, and the bump in the night song was fun for the ending theme. Overall it was just freaking amazing! I highly recommend it to anyone who is ready to look deeper into a dark, violent, fun film, rather than your average run of the mill fantasy story.

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So much potential, but sadly fell short

To get this out of the way, I know that many viewers love this series, and that is great! I don't want my review to hate on this series, but I do want to present a different opinion.
The first few episodes are great! They are visually appealing, have an exciting tone with compelling characters, and the plot progresses at a perfect speed. I was excited and eager to see its potential. However, as the show progresses, everything gets muddy, repetitive, and pointless.

THE BAD: Without spoiling anything, the plot ends up going in boring, unnecessary directions. The main characters had so much potential and what could have been more active, strong roles ended up becoming pitiful puppets or just plain pointless. There were also so many relationships(romantic and platonic) that could have gone in different directions that would make sense and be satisfactional, but these too fell short. Additionally, the once interesting fighting and massacre scenes became tragically repetitive in the latter half of the series and felt like cheap tactics to create some sort of tension. The main character's focus is also changed later on to different people and flip-flops, as well as the main plot. These changes only furthered my confusion and frustration. As for the setting, I quickly got tired of seeing the interior of the hotel.

THE GOOD: The soundtrack was befitting, especially "Bumps in the Night" (a real bop!). The actors were cast perfectly and I enjoyed the costume design and set design at certain parts. The plot (at least at the start) is very unique and interesting.

OVERALL: All of my review is subjective, but I personally did not enjoy this series. There was a lot of potential with such a unique plot and wonderful cast, but it became frustrating instead. I wish I would have stopped watching maybe around the 3rd episode.

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