Spring 2022 has ended and Summer has finally come upon us. With the new season also comes a new set of anime. To be fair, Spring 2022 has proven to be a great season for anime. With titles like Spy x Family, Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie, and Summer Time Rendering, winning anime fans over.
That means Summer needs to offer its own slew of really heavy hitters to compete with the Spring line-up. Thankfully there are indeed some great anime that you can watch this Summer. One of them is Call of The Night, and here’s everything that you need to know about it.
From The Creator of Dagashi Kashi
Back in 2016, there was an anime about a traditional Japanese sweet shop called Dagashi Kashi. It's a heartwarming slice-of-life anime that was based on the manga of the same name, written and drawn by Kotoyama. Though it may not be a mainstream hit, it still has a strong and dedicated audience.
After Dagashi Kashi ended, Kotoyama immediately began work on a new series called Yofukashi no Uta, better known as Call of The Night. This time around, however, the mangaka strayed away from the slice-of-life genre and ventured into new and more exciting territory; vampires.
Make no mistake, Dagashi Kashi was a good and informative series, but it is Call of The Night that finally put Kotoyama on the map. There are currently more than 10 volumes of the series that have been published. So the adaptation has more than enough material to cover two seasons' worth of anime.
The Story
The story begins with a middle schooler boy named Kou Yamori. He is a straight-A student who finds his life excruciatingly boring. What’s more, he also suffers terrible insomnia. So to kill some time before repeating the same routine every day, he wanders off during the night to see the empty city who now has a somber and mysterious feel to it. One day during his regular night stroll, he meets an eccentric girl named Nazuna Nanakusa. Just like him, Nazuna also loves exploring the city at night. Kou feels a strange attraction towards this mysterious girl and can’t wait to spend more time with her.
And that is when Nazuna nonchalantly confesses that she is actually a vampire. Needless to say, he thinks she is joking. After hopping around from one building to the next, Kou finally believed her. Not only that, he finally feels the one thing that has been missing in his life. A sense of freedom. So he asks Nazuna to turn him into a vampire. Unfortunately, a simple bite won’t be enough to turn a regular human being into a vampire. A human has to genuinely fall in love with the vampire first. So begins the journey of Kou trying to fall in love with Nazuna so that he too can be a carefree vampire like her.
The Characters
As mentioned in the previous section, the main characters in Call of The Night are Kou and Nazuna. They will appear heavily in this series, especially in the beginning. As the story progresses, there will be more characters introduced.
The supporting characters that will likely make appearances in this adaptation are Kou's close friends, a diligent girl named Akira and an energetic boy named Mahiru. Nazuna’s fellow vampires will also likely appear, such as the seductive Kabura, the gorgeous Nico, the playful Arisa, and many more. Some of them are allies, while others are enemies.
What To Expect From Call Of The Night
Call of The Night is a slow-paced story. This is especially true during the early stages of the story. The series' first arc takes a while to really get going, so if you love fast-paced action anime, then you might struggle to enjoy this part of the series.
However, if you soldier on and pass-through this part, then the story will finally begin to open up as more characters come into the picture. It will pick up the pace and lots of interesting and thrilling sequences of events will finally happen.
If you’re remotely interested in the premise of Call of The Night, then be sure to stick around for at least the first three or four episodes. It will be great if you turn out to like this first arc, because it is actually quite interesting. But if you find it boring, just know that once the second arc begins, your patience will be rewarded. You will see a story that is filled with drama, comedy, action, and mystery. So don’t forget to add Call of The Night to your watch list for Summer 2022.