Tetsuo falls asleep in his office, and Hikari accidentally wakes him up. She has a question: do her eyes glow in pictures for the same reason why animals’ eyes glow at night? The answer is yes!  Thanks Demi-chan for the impromptu science lesson.  ^_^v

Hikari also has another question: she wants to know if Kyouko, Yuki and herself can use the school pool on Saturday so they can hang out and have some girl time. Tetsuo checks with the principal, who gives the ok, then asks Sakie if she’d be willing to be the chaperone for the event.

Once Saturday rolls around, it’s a very bright, hot, sunny day. Tetsuo is worried about Hikari’s eyes being damaged by the bright light and her skin burning in the hot sun, but after a conversation with Himari in which she tells Tetsuo to just let her sister do as she pleases, Tetsuo decides to let things play out. The three girls and Sakie show up at the pool and Tetsuo hands the keys over to Sakie before attempting to leave. This initially appears like he’s trying to dump the chaperoning on her shoulders, but really it’s because he wants her to relax and swim with the others with no men around. How considerate!

Sakie persuades Tetsuo to stick around for a little longer, and they have a couple of awkward conversations by the poolside. Sakie shows Tetsuo her bikini, which he tries VERY hard to not ogle, but they both continue to resist going in the pool and instead just watch the girls splash around. Satake is watching too, from a ways away using binoculars, the little pervert.

Imori and Kimura (the girls who bullied Yuki) show up and join in the girls’ games. Sakie even throws everything to the wind and gets in the water too! Kyouko watches her body play with everyone from her poolside spot, and when Tetsuo strikes up a conversation with her about dullahan myths throughout history, she gets so absorbed that she stops playing. Hikari comes over to playfully chide her for being distracted, and this leads to a conversation about how Kyouko’s head has never been underwater.

Tetsuo calls Kyouko’s dad to get permission to let his daughter go underwater, and once he obtains it, he removes his clothes to– hot damn, Tetsuo is RIPPED AF! Whew!  *fans self*  Ahem. Anyways, Tetsuo is the one to cradle Kyouko’s head underwater. Kyouko’s initially nervous, but when she she opens her eyes, she’s amazed at how beautiful everything looks under the water.

The pool party is a success, and afterwards Tetsuo finds Hikari lingering outside the school. Hikari did get a sunburn, but says it will go away in a day or so. Hikari thanks Tetsuo for being so considerate of her vampire nature while still trying to ensure she had fun with her friends.

On Monday Tetsuo is waiting outside the school for Hikari. She tries to distract him by getting him to remember how they first met, but Tetsuo will not be dissuaded. Hikari is late, and he makes her sign her name on a tardiness list. Her punishment? Staying late after school to clean!


Final Impression

Demi-chan is easily one of my favourite shows that I’ve covered while writing for AAB. Going into the winter season, I was worried that it might be too cutesy, but once I started watching that concern melted away. Demi-chan is the perfect mix of cute, seriousness and fun, with some real-life lessons mixed in.

Story: In a nutshell, Demi-chan is about Tetsuo interviewing and learning about his school’s three demis: a vampire, a dullahan, and a snowwoman. He also gets to know the school’s resident demi teacher better, and learns about succubi through her and Ugaki-san.

In the process of getting to know the four demis, he becomes closer to them all. Yes he learns about their demi natures, but in doing so he also finds himself caring about their well-beings and wanting to support them so they will fit in at school and in life.

I also appreciated that Demi-chan covered issues like consent, independence, growing up, and societal stigmas.

Demi-chan‘s story gets an A+ from me. No complaints here!

Characters: I think this is where Demi-chan really shines. In the span of twelve episodes, almost all the main characters undergo some degree of character growth. Tetsuo grows attached to his demi students and becomes a more caring, supportive teacher as a result; Hikari slowly becomes less of a brat and shows some maturity; Kyouko becomes more interested in her dullahan nature throughout the season, culminating of her idea to possibly become a dullahan researcher when she’s older; and Yuki learns her demi nature can’t hurt those around her, and allows herself to open up to others and have friends. Even Sakie allows herself to gradually explore her succubus nature (mostly in the context of her crush on Tetsuo, but I’d still consider it progress).

Even some minor characters, with the exception of Kurtz, have recurring appearances throughout the season. Ugaki-san and Satake are the two who come to mind, but the list also includes Imori and Kimura, and most of the aforementioned also show some character development too.

All in all I feel like most viewers can find at least one or two favourite characters on Demi-chan’s cast. I know I can. Another A+!

Music and Animation: The animation is a little “simple” to me, if that makes sense – lots of clean lines and basic colors, nothing too jarring that stands out. But it’s well-executed and easy on the eyes, which I appreciate.

I’d also like to mention that Demi-chan is a perfect example of how anime can successfully incorporate 3D animation with 2D animation. Actually this last episode is one such example – watch the water shots near the end when everyone is splashing each other. Do the two animation types not blend together well? Is the water not gorgeous to look at? I don’t know, maybe I’m just really easy to please, but I thought it looked beautiful.  *0*

As for the music, I adore both the opening and ending themes and will be adding them to my playlist. The music played within the episodes fit each scene appropriately, and I can’t think of any instances where a music choice seemed out of place for what was going on onscreen.

Overall Thoughts: Demi-chan really shines as an example of a light, fun supernatural show. Despite talking about demi-humans, it manages to hold onto its slice of life genre and remain down to earth. I literally can’t think of anything to complain about, that’s how much I like it. I absolutely loved this show and will be recommending it to others in the future.

 

Final Score: 10/10