Lunar Legend Tsukihime, for me, wins the distinction of being the 2005 title release that turned out to be a much better program than I had initially thought. Although I can't exactly give the creators of this title an award or anything, I will say that the criterion for me saying such is pretty demanding to begin with. There are only a few long-time anime fans that will stick through watching a complete anime series for the sake of doing the program some justice. And to be honest, I myself have little patience for an anime series without noticeably strong characters and a story with impetus; and so, when I first saw something like Lunar Legend Tsukihime--a series with characters that lacked some definition and a weakly sustain storyline--I began to worry.

This anime tells the story of a young man by the name of Shiki Tohno, and how he endeavors to fight vampires and demons, understand his estranged family, fall in love, and much more. At only twelve episodes in length, I was worried early on in the series when a good deal of the characters seemed devoid of motivation. Shiki is the type of guy that is too nice for his own good, the type of guy that is so kind he's naïve, this to which means that his sincerity almost always ends up hurting him in the end. Shiki, for the past eight years and ever since an accident from childhood, has been suffering from a horrible curse. The young man is capable of using a particular "death perception" by which he can see the lines that construct every object, live or inanimate. If by chance Shiki runs a blade along these lines of death he sees, he is able to dice and shard any object, or person, into dozens of pieces. He can be an efficient killer if he wants. However, Shiki's good heart and humble nature force him to withdrawal into a more sedate persona.

Shiki comes into contact with a descendent of the vampire nation, a gorgeous young woman whose person and past is just as mysterious as Shiki's curse. The woman is Arcueid, and although she is of vampire heritage, she's hardly one out to suck your blood or vanish in the daylight. Nevertheless, when she first comes into contact with Shiki, the guy freaks out and cuts her up into nearly two dozen pieces... supposedly killing her. But as our reluctant hero is about to find out, not only is Arcueid still alive, but considering that the woman is now injured as thanks to her run-in with Shiki, she now needs the protection of Shiki and his unique ability so that she doesn't fall prey to other beasts that lurk in the shadows.

(The story of Lunar Legend Tsukihime isn't by any means far fetched or relatable; but there is an aspect of the animation fan in me that has seen and heard of too many titles that try to fit into similar molds, that have failed. Lunar Legend Tsukihime is an anime that tries to soften the horror genre by applying likeable characters to inherently multifaceted circumstances.)

Arcueid's sensual, dark red eyes emit a fleeting sense of desire and intrigue that our protagonist could only dream of up until now. Naturally, as an ageless being that has come and gone throughout humankind's history for the past 800 years, Arcueid is a lonely woman with the guise of a twenty-something young woman. She's obviously a love interest for our main man Shiki, and although such a set up is rather obvious from the anime's beginning; this relationship becomes rather interesting once we find out that there are at least three other women in Shiki's life that have an affection for him as well. One girl is a simple, mortal classmate of his; another is a demon slayer from the Church; and another is Shiki's estranged younger sister… ah, what to do, what to do.

Arcueid --	-- Shiki