Diabolik Lovers: More Blood Review
We are back with more hot crazy vampires. Now to be fair, I’m not sure how much I remember about More Blood. I know I watched the anime for season 2 which covers More Blood, but I’m not sure what all I remember. I know there is another group of brothers, but I don’t remember their connection to the Sakamaki brothers. I know the other brothers are vampires too, but I want to say that they are something else as well? Like they aren’t pure bloods. And something with wolves. But I could be misremembering that. I also vaguely remember Yui/MC being referred to as Eve, but I don’t remember why?
I’m so excited to play this game! I really enjoyed the first Diabolik Lovers game, so I figure I’ll like this one as well. I’m starting this game only 3 days after finishing the last game, so clearly I’m excited! I’m not totally sure if More Blood is a fandisc or a sequel? I want to say it’s a sequel, but I suppose we shall see!
I decided to go with Ayato first again, since I like him a lot. But also you have to start with the Sakamaki brothers. Personally, I would’ve started with the Mukami brothers, to get the new guys out of the way. But since I can’t, I’ll start with Ayato. I’m excited to see his route, and how this plays out! It’s looking like this will be a proper sequel, so I’m interested in what’s in store.
Y’all, they nerfed my man, they knew he was too powerful and so they tried to take him down. Seriously though, I love Ayato so much. He’s still so adorable, he’s so sweet, kind, and stupid, but horrible about expressing his feelings. Not only that, but I feel this confirms some of my previous theroies about him. Being raised to be the very best and having exceedingly high and impossible expectations placed on you is crushing, and it causes a lot of insecurity. Ayato masks this insecurity by outwardly being overly confident and egotistical. However, his true self is insecure, which is why he is so possessive and jealous. He can’t trust anyone, and doesn’t believe anyone could actually love him, so he refuses to believe he can care about anyone either. It’s actually really sad, and I just want to hug him and comfort him. I will say, I was pretty annoyed with MC this time, since she never expressed her feelings to him. His route is basically a big miscommunication trope, and it sucked. It was all resolved by a single conversation, which really just shows how bad at communicating they both are. I feel like they kind of did Ayato dirty this game. They made him super mean most of his route, barely any cute scenes, and just a lot of bad stuff. It felt like the writers hated him, and I wonder if it’s because he didn’t do as well as they thought he would in popularity polls. It had me very upset. I really like Ayato, but dang, his parents messed him up so bad. Then they also never really explained why his thirst got so bad, or why he had sleeping spells? Which is so weird. But I was crying in his good end, so you can’t say I didn’t feel anything. I think there were some good moments, and I love Ayato so that helped a lot, but I’m sad they kind of gave him a bad route this game. But they could never make me hate this lovable idiot.
Next up, the one we’ve all been dreading (mostly me), is Laito. I like putting Laito between his twin brothers, since I like both of them a lot. I am really dreading Laito’s route, but I’m hoping I can push through it. I’m curious to see how it differs from the first game. Someone did mention in my last review that Laito gets better in this one, so I can hold out some hope there.
This route was hard for me to get through. Now to be fair, that’s because I really don’t like Laito, he’s just not for me. So far, despite this game being a sequel, for the Sakamaki brothers you’re restarting the relationship in essentially an AU. So you really don’t learn much in these routes, except for learning a little more about the brother of that route. So other than learning about Laito, you don’t get much from this route. I will say, this route had Kou, and I am quite interested in him. Even though Kou has the same flirty and pervy character as Laito, I somehow find him much more bearable. A few things of note from this route is that Laito also doesn’t believe in love, so he throws around “I love you” because it doesn’t mean anything to him, but is a good way to manipulate people. Cordelia and Karlheinz really messed up the triplets, because so far two out of three of them don’t even believe in love and doesn’t want anyone to be special to them. Additionally, he also gets super thirsty, but we don’t get real answers as to why this happens. I’m assuming it has something to do with MC becoming Eve, and when they reject their love for MC their bloodlust for her grows? But the game hasn’t really explained it, I’m hoping we’ll get answers in one of these routes. Overall, since I don’t like Laito, this was not enjoyable for me. But I did like the ending for his a lot more than Ayato. Maybe it’s because I’m a little sadistic myself, but I love seeing him suffer. It was great seeing him break down and cry for MC, so I liked the ending a lot. But I think I did like him more in this game than I did in the first game, even if he is not my preferred type. I think overall, if you like Laito you’ll love it, if not, you won’t be the biggest fan.
Time for my favorite unhinged Sakamaki brother, Kanato! He’s so cute, and knowing I was going to play his route next was the only thing getting me through Laito’s route. Starting off, I’m already so excited, I love his new outfit, it’s so cute! I’m a little scared to see how the never ending thirst affects him, since he’s already very temperamental. I also think like Ayato, he is not going to handle the Mukami brothers well. So I’m excited and intrigued going into this route!
Once again, I love Kanato! I don’t know what that says about me, especially since MC always gas to go a little crazy to stay with him in his good endings, but I just love him so much! He’s so freaking cute, and I find his possessiveness to be endearing. I’m so happy we get to actually hear him sing in this game too! The last game his singing wasn’t voiced, but we got him singing as both a kid and adult in this one, which made me super happy! Which we also saw little Kanato! He’s so adorable as a kid too! But dear lord, Cordelia messed her kids up so much. The fact she only used Kanato to sing for her, and doesn’t even care when he’s bleeding is so messed up. Like if you are bringing your very young son to self harm just to get you to pay attention to him, that’s so bad. Poor little Kanato, I felt so bad for him! As far as the route goes, Kanato was pretty bad in his route, but he is already the most mentally unwell of the brothers, so add this weird thirst thing on top of that, and he was super violent and aggressive. Sometimes it’s endearing, like when he gets jealous of a book, much like his twin Ayato did in the last game. Also when he was beating up Azusa, as much as I liked Azusa, I can’t lie, I enjoyed seeing him crash out on him like a psycho. The CG was very good, and I enjoyed seeing him very possessive. Also big win for the ending, it was a lot better than his in the first game! However, it had its downsides too, like the fact he almost kills her at multiple points. He strangled her so much, poor MC’s throat. I’d say overall, I loved Kanato, so I enjoyed his route for the most part. Any real complaints I have I think I’ll reserve till the end, as it seems to be an aspect of this game as a well, not just Kanato’s route. Kanato is just so cute and so sweet, and I love him so much.
Up next is Reiji! I won’t lie, I was debating whether or not to do all the Sakamaki brothers or split them up with the Mukami brothers. But I think I’ll try finishing the Sakamaki brothers, and we’ll be doing the oldest brothers next. First being Reiji since I like him a little more than his older brother, and saving the youngest (Subaru) for last! Honestly I’m a little worried going into this route. But it could be fun, depending on how uncomposed Reiji becomes. I feel pretty mixed on him, part of me likes him, but he’s also so weird. Especially since he seems to just be kind of evil for no real reason, maybe we’ll see why this game, but the more I learn about him the more he seems to just want to cause pain to his brothers (mainly Shuu), and really doesn’t care who he kills. It’s very strange, especially since it seems he has a fairly good childhood? So I’m very curious about him, but also very conflicted because he’s kind of just an evil freak lol.
Wow, this was my favorite route so far! So far this one felt the most different from the first game, it was also the first I liked more than the first game! I also think his sprite and biting sounds are so much better this game! I like that this one gets into the lore a bit more since Reiji was trying to investigate the situation. I love that we get the usually stoic guy loosing his composure and fighting against his desires, I love that trope. Plus he is possessive, which I also enjoy. Also we had a scene that is like a scene from Scorpio’s route in Star Crossed Myth, where MC cuts an apple for him and makes them bunnies, to which he’s confused and complains, but secretly loves them. I won’t lie, I thought that was very cute, I love that trope. I also really like Yuma! This was the first route I really got to interact with him, and he’s surprisingly funny and sweet, which makes me super excited for his route! Not to mention, I laughed when he was trying to get a leaf out of her hair, and she assumes he’s trying to bite her, and he’s just like “uhh wtf??” And she has to be like “oh sorry, I just have been through a lot, and kinda just assume that” and he’s like “that’s fair” lmao. Also speaking of Yuma, he might be Edgar or from Edgar’s village??? That’s VERY interesting! I’m curious to see if that’s true in his route! Now one thing I struggled with this route is I really don’t get Reiji. He has a fairly good childhood, a pretty loving and caring mom, and isn’t very traumatized. But even with all that he’s kinda just really evil even as a kid? I really don’t get why this is. Like even as a kid he is planning world domination, because he thinks his family should use their power and influence for that, but since they don’t, he starts to resent them. That’s just so wild to me. His hatred of his mom is also just so wild to me, because she really didn’t do anything to make him hate her, he even thinks he’d prefer having Cordelia or Christa as his mom, which is just so wild since both of them are deeply troubled people who deeply traumatized their kids. But MC seems to realize deep down he’s really a kind person, which made me laugh. Because, is he? Like is he really? He did kill his mom, wants to kill his family and plan world domination, just because he’s not his parents favorite and his older brother doesn’t play with him. That is not normal. But I also kinda see where MC coming from, because he can be kind and caring, he’s just in a lot of denial. But I did get a kick out of Reiji calling her out for being delusional when she said he’s kind, because that was my reaction at first too lol. But seeing a little more of his childhood in the vampire ending, I think does make me like him a bit more. He does seem to be a kind person who is just kind of blunt, insecure, and bad at expressing himself. He gets into apothecary by wanting to make medicines for his family and staff, which is very sweet. But since he does give off evil vibes, no one ever uses them since they are scared of him. And he believes all his brothers and parents are scared of him too, and that’s why he’s always left alone and not the favorite. That did make me feel sad for him, and explains why he represses his emotions and kindness, since he seems to project himself the way he feels others see him, and that is sad. But with all that said, I still think he is low-key kinda evil, because even with all that, that’s still not enough to make you want to kill your family and rule the world lmao. Like, maybe they have good reason to be kind of scared of him lol. Overall, this was my favorite route so far, but I don’t think Reiji is my favorite. As of now he ranks third out if the four routes I’ve played thus far. We’ll see how the others stack up.
Next up is Shuu. I’m not super excited for his route, since I’m not the biggest fan of him. However, since I liked Reiji’s route a lot more in this game, I’m hoping the same will be true for Shuu. I want to see some desperation, passion, and loss of composure, from Shuu, I think that’s when I like him most and what would sell the route for me. I am also hoping we get more depth for his character. So here’s to hoping for the best, and we’ll see what happens.
I feel kind of mixed about this route. I think it struggles from the issues with Shuu’s route in the first game, where it’s just kind of boring since Shuu is so nonchalant and lethargic. The only parts I really liked were the flashbacks to Shuu’s childhood, and scenes with Yuma. Which we did get confirmation Yuma is Edgar, which is very cool! I know it was implied in Reiji’s route, but there was always a possibility he was wrong. But after the flashbacks we can know for sure it was Yuma. I was hoping to see Shuu and Yuma become friends again, but we didn’t get that this route. Maybe in Yuma’s route we will. I might have to find some Yuma x Shuu fanfiction at this rate, I think that could be very good. I also really like Yuma, I can’t wait for his route! I’ve just really liked him so far in this route and Reiji’s route. At points I was wishing I was playing his route instead of Shuu’s… But overall, I’d say I wasn’t a huge fan of this route. I liked it better than his route in the first game, and found Shuu to be a little more likable, but I just still didn’t like it. I think if you like Shuu, you’d probably enjoy this route. But I just didn’t, I also feel like we didn’t get to see Shuu desperate enough or loose his composure too much, I wish we got more of that. So not my favorite, but I’m not too surprised based on how the other routes have gone in this game.
It’s finally time for Subaru! The youngest of the Sakamaki brothers and our consensual king of the first game. I’m quite excited for his route, I’m hoping it’s good. However, some of my other favorites had routes I felt mixed on, so I’m curious to see if that’s the case with Subaru’s as well. But I’m optimistic going into this route. So we’ll see what’s in store for us.
I actually really liked Subaru’s route! I’m really glad I saved him for last! I also really like his new sprites as well. Subaru really is one of my favorites. He’s very violent and scary, but he’s never violent with MC, and you can see he’s genuinely a very kind person. I think this route shows that even more so than his initial route. You can really see throughout how scared he is that he’ll hurt MC, and how much he wants to protect her. Even with the extra bloodlust and irritability on top of his normal anger issues, he still tries to protect her and not to hurt her. He also seems to be the only brother who takes protecting her seriously. The rest just took her choosing them as a free pass to monopolize her blood, but Subaru actually watches over her at school and is actively trying to keep her safe. Not only that, but you can tell very early on that he loves MC and cares about her a lot, he gets jealous super easily, and gets mad when others talk bad about her or treat her badly. He’s actually so freaking adorable. We also get a bit more of him being able to smell emotions, which is something I vaguely remember from the anime. We learn a little more about Kou, and discover he has a glass eye, which I remember being curious about in Laito’s route, why one eye sometimes looked kinda weird. So that was cool, I actually am intrigued by Kou as a whole as well. Overall, I really loved Subaru and his route. I feel his was the best out of my top three. I don’t have too much to say, since most of my notes are just me fawning over how cute he is, how jealous he gets, how he’s a tsundere, and just overall me gushing over him. Which to be fair, these are all true, and he’s easy to gush over. He’s just such a sweetie, it’s hard not to love him. Some last things of note that I liked was that he tells her not to apologize so much, and he also asks multiple times why she hasn’t escaped, and I just love that he’s looking out for her. I love that he realized something is wrong with him, but wants to keep MC safe, and is so scared he’ll hurt her, it’s so sweet. And I also almost cried when he told her he doesn’t want to live without her, and knowing as a human she’ll live a much shorter life, makes him upset. So he asks her to kill him before she dies, and I just found that so sweet. I love Subaru so much! This was such a great route!
It’s finally time for the Mukami brothers! I’m very excited since this will be all new content. We are starting with Ruki as he seems to be the face and leader of this new group. So far from the prologue I don’t find Ruki to be all that likable, but to be fair all the Mukami brothers don’t give the best first impressions. Ruki seems to be a combo of Ayato and Reiji where he’s one of the faces of the game and mean like Ayato, but has the class and leadership of Reiji. I kind of liked Ruki in Ayato’s route, so I’m hoping that’ll mean I’ll like his route as well. I’m also very curious to see what all we can learn in this route! Super excited to get into it!
I’m very conflicted on Ruki. I really don’t like how he calls her livestock constantly. He’s also just as bad as the Sakamaki brothers when it comes to talking down to her just because she’s human, which is extra dumb because he also used to be human. I also really don’t like that he gets mad at her or thinks she’s a liar or a hypocrite whenever she’s worried about him. He also insults her looks pretty early on, so he was already starting off not on a good note for me. However with all that said, as much as I don’t like Ruki, he is very hot, he has some very attractive lines, and his biting noises are amazing. I also love how possessive he is, and he has a lot of very good possessive lines. So I can’t deny he’s attractive, I just wish he wasn’t so mean. Especially when he made such a fuss in Ayato’s route that they only treat her like livestock, but he’d treat her better. Speaking of Ayato, I was so sad when I saw him trying to get MC back, it made me really miss him. I really don’t like seeing Ayato sad too, so it was hard to see him be so upset and desperate to get MC back. Another thing I liked in this route, was there was a scene where Ruki was telling MC she should be a certain way if she wants him to like her and she straight up says “I don’t exactly want to be liked by you” to his face, which I was so happy for her. Like yeah, stand up for yourself. Because Ruki is very conceited and thinks people are only ever nice out of self-interest, and is constantly mean to her when she’s being genuinely kind. Not to mention he had the nerve to say it’s a bad thing to assume others love you or should treat you nicely, all because she wants basic human decency and doesn’t doubt her father loves her. So I was glad to see her tell him she’s not really trying to get him to like her, it was very satisfying and I love seeing MC stick up for herself. The last two big things I have to say about Ruki is his childhood, and his dealbreaker. Starting with his childhood, Ruki is unfortunately another evil child, so he gets to join Reiji in the evil child club. Now whether you think Reiji or Ruki was more evil I guess just depends on you, but Ruki was a normal human child, and yet he enjoyed tormenting and abusing his servants. Including physically abusing them, which is just horrible. Also, you would think him being so awful and then all the bad stuff that happens after, would humble him, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case. Also, it’s kinda crazy, but Karlheinz seems to have been a better father to the Mukami brothers than he was to his own kids, which is just wild. Which brings me to the dealbreaker, he kills a kitten. I know this is probably a decisive topic, but this really is hard for me to get past. I’m a big animal lover, and I’m a huge cat person, so killing a defenseless kitten seems so cruel. He says it’s because the kitten is better off dead than without its freedom, which is ment to be symbolic of how he feels about his childhood. However, I don’t think it fits. For one, cats are much happier domesticated than when they are wild. Once they have a home they no longer have to fight for food, don’t have to face difficult weather, they get to be comfortable and loved, so cats aren’t sad to loose their freedom. But even if that wasn’t the case, he’s still a hypocrite because he’s taken away MC’s freedom, but she’s not allowed to die because that would in inconvenience him. So this really upset me. I’ve seen people argue this isn’t fair to say because other guys have “done worse”, but I guess to me there are just certain things that are too far for me even in a game. To me, killing an innocent kitten for no reason is just too cruel, and it’s very hard for me to get past that. Not to mention, he literally could’ve just told her not to take the kitten, or just bring it back outside. Overall, I’m not sure how I feel about Ruki. There are points where I see his appeal and even like him. But other parts of him are just too much for me. So I really don’t think he’s going to be my favorite.
Next up is Kou! Now I have a feeling Kou could end up being my least favorite of the Mukami brothers. This is because he’s a playboy type, which I personally am just not a fan of. However, I do actually kind of like his nickname for MC, M-Neko-Chan aka “maso-kitty”, I think it’s kinda cute and accurate for MC. I also didn’t totally hate him in Laito or Subaru’s routes. I think he has potential for me to like him, similar to how I liked Ikki in Amnesia, but it’ll depend on how he treats her. I am also curious to learn more about him, since so far all we know if that he has a glass eye, he was a poor orphan, and he’s now an idol playboy. I’m very curious to see how his route goes and if I end up liking him.
I feel super conflicted about Kou. To start off with, he is possibly one of the most traumatized characters in the entire game, and it’s really screwed him up mentally. As a kid he’s so cute, but clearly has lived in hardships his entire life. He was living in the sewers starving and barely surviving, even going blind in his right eye. He’s “saved” by being taken to an orphanage where he’s cleaned up and feed well, but in exchange his body is being sold to the ultra rich so they can beat him up and torture him. It made me feel sick to read, although I’m glad he wasn’t sexually assaulted as well. He stabs himself in the eye to try and disfigure himself enough to no longer have his body sold, but even that doesn’t work. His childhood genuinely really upsets me. So he understandably doesn’t trust people and has no real understanding of love and respect. However, I don’t think that should justify his actions as an adult. His whole give and take schtick is so dumb, and he can’t even do it right. He also tries love bombing her, but in my opinion he doesn’t even do that well, as he’s never nice enough to her for it to be considered love bombing. He is one of the most abusive and mean LI we have seen in a while. He’s constantly getting upset with her for no reason then hurting her. He is also constantly insulting her looks, which I really hate. He also instigates to get her beat up and bullied by girls at school. I won’t lie, I spent most of his route really disliking Kou and really wanting to punch him in the face. The MC and Subaru were mostly the saving grace for this route. MC was just super real for most of the route. She tries her best to appease him, but realizes he’s treating her poorly for no reason. She’s even kinda hardcore at the end of the route, which I kind of respect. Subaru was also great, he’s still our consent king and I love to see it. Honestly Subaru doesn’t even cause problems this route, he just wants to make sure MC is with Kou because that’s what she wants, and not because she’s being forced, which I love. I honestly just wished MC would defend Subaru more, but it figures she wouldn’t as this isn’t his route, I still wish she did though. But Kou becomes kind of obsessed with the idea she loved Subaru which is kind of funny since there was no real reason for him to think this, but he treats her worse due to this. Which leads to him biting her in front of Subaru, and Subaru literally punches him in the face. I actually screamed from joy when Subaru punches Kou. It was just nice seeing Subaru looking out for MC, and very satisfying to see Kou get decked when I was wanting to punch him myself. Subaru is also kinda iconic since he makes Kou realize that he actually is attached to MC and low-key obsessed with her. However even with all that Kou is still a hypocritical jerk. He can’t stand her even smiling at other guys, yet he refuses to be nice to her. Then he’s off flirting with and kissing other girls, like a hypocrite. I just really didn’t appreciate it at all. I was actually very heated and mad playing this route. I think I wish Kou was better at love bombing. Like if he just peppered in a few more complements and sweet moments throughout the route me and MC could’ve liked him a lot sooner, but instead he decides to be super mean and abusive.
With all that said, I think the ending is where my feelings for Kou get complicated. He stars trying to kill himself everyday to test MCs love for him, which is objectively bad, but I kinda enjoyed seeing his desperation, and since he is so screwed up in the head it does make sense for him to be like this. But he goes too far and gets locked up in the dungeon, which is where MC gets super hardcore and I kind of respect her for it. She basically uno reverses him. He doesn’t know if he loves her, so she cuts her own throat like a baddie, and he stops her and starts freaking out which I enjoyed. Then after this Kou makes a huge turn around and starts actually trying to understand his feelings and becomes much sweeter and kind to MC which I loved! The last two chapters of his Ecstasy route, the epilogue and good ending I really liked all of it! It even made me emotional! I do kind of like Kou at the end. I just feel conflicted, because that is not who we had the majority of this route. So I’m not sure how to feel about him. I feel very conflicted and confused.
Next up is Yuma! Now I think Yuma or Azusa will end up being my favorite of the Mukami brothers, just based off what we’ve seen of them so far and who my favorites tend to be. So I’m actually really excited for Yuma’s route! I think Yuma is like Subaru in the sense they both have a rough delinquent exterior, but are actually very sweet. Yuma just seems like he’s actually a pretty good guy, so I’m excited for his route. I’m also curious to see if the whole him being Edgar thing is more prominent in this route, because I think that could be very cool. Overall, I’m just very excited to see where this route goes.
I think Yuma might be one of my new favorites. I really enjoyed Yuma and his route a lot! We get to see some of his childhood, and he’s had it rough. It seems like he has to keep starting over, having new lives. We obviously know his first life as Edgar a poor but good hearted village boy, who befriends a noble in the woods (unknowing he’s a vampire). Which leads to his village burning down with him in it, but he somehow survives. I was hoping we’d learn how he survived, but we unfortunately do not. Then he becomes Bear a kid living on the streets, part of a gang of other orphan kids. Next he lives at the orphanage, still as Bear, where he meets his future brothers. Lastly, he becomes Yuma, one of Karlheinz’s adopted sons, who are turned to vampires. I think it’s sad he’s had to start over so often, and he doesn’t know his past. I like Yuma’s appearance and voice a lot, I find him to be very cute and very handsome. I love his full tooth smile, it’s so wholesome and adorable. I also like his voice, hair, and style. He appeals to me quite a bit. I also enjoyed that he prefers when MC is vocal and voices her thoughts rather than staying silent. I liked this a lot actually, and while it took MC a while before she would regally talk back, I really enjoyed this dynamic. It reminded me a little of Kanato in HDB, where he’d rather she be truthful even if he disagrees. I like it when they would rather MC honestly speak her mind even when they are temperamental, and don’t hold the things she says against her. Speaking of Kanato, you’d think after she lived with him she would know better than to steal a scary temperamental vampire’s sweets, yet she still takes one of Yuma’s sugar cubes without asking. I found this to actually be really dumb move on her part, she should definitely know better. But that does remind me of some more things I find to be endearing about Yuma. I think his addiction to sugar cubes and sweets, and well as his gardening to be very endearing and sweet. Although, this did make me want to get some sugar cubes. I also really liked that Yuma actually asks her what her life was like with the Sakamaki’s instead of totally assuming everything like his brothers do. Some other things I liked were that Yuma is just so cute and sweet, but he’s also a tsundere and bad at admitting when he’s trying to be sweet or kind. Like when he makes her soup or carries her or just gets worried about her. I also really loved Yuma’s empathy for MC’s situation. He knows she’s in a difficult position, and he knows it’s out of her control, so he feels kind of sorry for her.
I will say, the last third of the game really brings all his worst traits to the forefront so I guess I’ll discuss some aspects I didn’t like. I don’t like the nickname he gives her of Sow. In principle calling her a female pig is just kind of rude, but the translation notes say this is also a way of calling her a whore or a slut, which is double bad. It’s worse because he still uses this nickname even when they are on good terms. He also refers to her as his personal toy, which is also just not great. He also insults her chest size as many of the guys do, and some insults to her body as a whole. But I appreciate he at least doesn’t call her ugly or not cute, but that’s not very high praise. Yuma is also very scary in the same way Subaru is. He’s very easy to get angry, and when he is angry he gets violent and aggressive. Only it’s worse than Subaru, because he will get violent with MC as well, and actually hurts her quite a bit. He throws her around, grabs her harshly, chokes her, pushes her, and even hits her. So as much as I like Yuma, he is not without his flaws, and him being so violent and rude is a serious issue. I am glad that MC does finally start speaking up and defending herself towards the end. She actually gets very angry which was refreshing to see. This actually lets her get through to Yuma and they have a very sweet heart to heart, that I really liked. After their talk Yuma becomes so much sweeter and so gentle with her and that made me so happy. Their relationship is very cute and they have some very sweet banter. He even ends up proposing to her with a rose he grew for his fallen friends, which is just too sweet, and they end up eloping. I actually got really emotional at the end of this route, it’s just so wholesome. I also just loved seeing Yuma and MC be so domestic together. I really liked this route! Not to mention, I could be misremembering, but I feel like even in the first third of the game Yuma was way more affectionate and kissed her a lot more than the other guys do, but maybe that’s just my bias showing? I also think Yuma has some of the best CGs in the entire game so far, I really liked all of his. Overall, I just really loved Yuma and I really loved his route!
Lastly is Azusa, and then we are done with the game! Like I mentioned before, I do think I’ll like Azusa, just based on my favorite types and tropes. He seems very cute, but is also a little unhinged. Not to mention he apparently is a masochist and loves to get hurt, even asking to be beat up by multiple people, and naming his cuts. So I’m curious to see what happens in his route, I’m a bit worried he’ll cut MC quite a bit, but we shall see. I think there is a lot of potential for me to like him and his route!
Oh my!!! I really liked this route too! I had a feeling I’d like Azusa, and he’s definitely in my top favorites! He started off super strong as he already said he liked her and that’s she’s cute pretty fast. He’s also a sad boy, which I think is one of my types, he also fits into that same adorable but insane shota category that Kanato falls into, which I LOVE! I think him and Kanato have a lot of similarities, so it makes sense I’d like them both. His unhinged personality can also be seen in the fact that all of Azusa’s brothers double check if MC is sure she wants to pick Azusa as he’s a “troublemaker”, which is super ominous at the start. But I found Azusa to be very cute, and I liked his voice a lot. I think Azusa is very polite and respectful in his own way, which can be seen throughout his route. Which I appreciate when they are respectful of MC. Not only that but he gets possessive of MC very early into the game, is very sweet and cuddly, and even refers to her as his girlfriend all in the first third of the game! I loved that he loves when she thanks him, it’s just so sweet. He also, I think, is the first to notice he can’t awaken very early, I think, the earliest of all the Mukami brothers. He thinks he might not be able to awaken as Adam, but he still wants MC and won’t let Kanato awaken instead, which is very interesting. I enjoyed seeing Kanato and Azusa fight over MC, there’s just something about seeing the two unhinged shotas fight over her that made me so happy. It might honestly just be because I like them both so much. This route also deals a lot with depression and loss of hope and purpose. Azusa is only a masochist because he thinks his only worth is being a punching bag for others, without being hurt he feels hopeless and that his life has no meaning. His scars he names and talks to since they remind him of the people who have hurt him and therefore given his life meaning. MC doesn’t really understand him at first, although she does seem to realize that he cares in a weird way.
But it isn’t until MC has also become hopeless and reaches her rock bottom she truly understands him. This is because after pushing Azusa way, she runs away, and finds her dad. But he rejects her, claiming she’s no longer his daughter but a vampire monster who must die. He tries to kill her, and she gives up thinking maybe she should just let her dad kill her, but Azusa saves her. However even after getting away MC has fallen into her own depression. She’s lost her hope, her meaning, her possible humanity has been stripped of her, and she’s lost her only family. She’s so heartbroken and depressed she really can’t cope. This whole section made me super emotional and I cried so much. Azusa then tries to comfort her, and it’s very sweet. He at first thinks she must be injured since she keeps looking like she’s in pain and crying, but she explains it’s her heart/emotional pain, not a physical pain/injury. Azusa then embraces her and bites her very gently while giving her reassurance, telling her that her life has meaning as Eve. It’s very sweet, and once again I cried. This is even more emotional to me, because like I said, Azusa often feels like his life has no meaning, so he’s reassuring her in the same way he would want to be reassured which is so heartwarming. The whole like 2 or 3 chapters where he is comforting her and helping with her depression are just so freaking sweet, it made me love Azusa so much more than I already did. He even shows empathy, saying how he knows what’s she’s going through, since that is how he felt when his family was hung back when he was human. That she can cry, because he know she can’t control it, but he wants to always be there for her when she does cry. It’s just so sweet, and I was such an emotional wreck playing this section. But I really like how it was done. However, after this we deal with the last big conflict which is that Azusa doesn’t want to get his arm, which was shot by MC’s dad, treated because he’d loose his scars, so he’s letting the silver bullet slowly kill him. Now, I think I’m kinda confused about this part. I believe they have to fully amputate his arm, so he’d loose two of his three favorite scars. However I was a little uncertain as it doesn’t look like the sprite changes. But I’m going to assume, his full arm is coming off. Now obviously Azusa doesn’t want to loose his arm, he’d rather just die. Ruki tries begging him, but it doesn’t work. So Ruki begs MC to get Azusa to amputate his arm, since she’s the only one he’d listen to. MC doesn’t want Azusa to die, but struggles to bring it up to him, since she now fully realizes how important those scars are to him. When she does bring it up he gets super angry and locks himself in his room. However she’s able to get in and have a heart to heart with him. She is able to convince him that she loves him, and his brother love him, and that that’s why they don’t want to hurt him. That she needs him and he does have a purpose with her, and this finally convinces him to amputate the arm.
After the amputation, Azusa and MC become extremely clingy and codependent. Which leads to Ruki and the other Mukami brothers trying to separate them, which mad me so mad! Because what the heck?! MC saved their brother, who cares if she’s Eve, let them be together! Obviously it all works out in the good end, and They can run away together. Azusa’s ending and after ending also was super sweet and made me emotional. They end up opening an orphanage together, where they can foster orphans in need. They even name the kids after Azusa’s dead family, it’s so sweet. I just wish we got a CG of them and their kids. Overall I really like Azusa and his route, he’s actually very polite and sweet which I loved. Even when he was more unhinged I think I matched his energy a little too much. Because when he wants her to describe the scars on his back to him, I was already wanting to trace his scars, before he even asks her to do that very thing. I’m also kind of into it when he was wanting her to drink his blood and bite him. So I don’t know, maybe I’m easy to please, but I really do love the unhinged guys in this game, alls it takes us them to be a little sweet to me. Another aspect I found interesting in this route, is this was possibly the longest we went without any kisses in the game, which I think goes to show Azusa is pretty respectful. I really do love Azusa though. He’s another one of my favorites. Which sucks because I really don’t know how I’m going to pick my top favorite now.
Like I did with with the first game, I wanted to watch season 2 after completing the game. This time I’m joined by my best friend who has no experience with this series. So we actually watched both seasons together, which was a lot of fun!
Starting off with my thoughts on season 2, I was immediately very confused, because I do not know who these brothers with the wolves are. I think these are the guys from the next game DarkFate, I think? But I was happy to see the Sakamaki brothers animated again. I love seeing their dynamics in the anime, I feel like we get to see them interact with each other more. I just love getting to see them bicker with each other. It was also great seeing the opening triplets scene animated. I also think the animation is actually better in the second season, but that could just be my imagination. Another thing I noticed, is we don’t actually get to see Karlheinz animated, and the only scene we do see him, we don’t see his face. I thought that was kind of a bummer. Instead we got this weird tree room dream thing, and I don’t think that’s in any of the games, but maybe it’s in the next one. We do get to see the Mukami brothers, and I love them! It was also just so nice to see them animated. I also loved seeing them interact, their relationship with each other is so sweet and wholesome. They also changed the roof scene between Subaru and Kou, which I was a little sad to see. I was hoping I’d get to see Subaru punch Kou, but alas I was not so lucky. Another interaction I enjoyed was seeing the scenes with Yuma and Shuu together. It really makes me want to read a Yuma x Shuu fanfic, or even a Yuma x Yui x Shuu fanfic. I really like their relationship, I wish it was used more in the game and show. I also liked Ruki a lot more in the anime than I do in the games. Like I got emotional during Ruki and Yui’s chat about how he can’t awaken. Another thing of note, is seeing the Mukami’s childhoods animated was so depressing. Those poor boys deserve better. Then the show ended on a cliff hanger which sucked. I totally forgot about this, but once I saw the last episode it made sense. I remembered watching it for the first time and being devastated there wasn’t going to be a third season. It’s still kinda sad, even though I know it’s just an ad for the games. I really wish Rejet cared about their international fans, because I would take anything lol.
My friend had a pretty good time watching the show. She was able to actually enjoy the fan service which was a lot of fun. She ended up liking Ayato, Laito, Shuu, Subaru, Yuma, Kou, and Ruki. So most of the boys were enjoyable for her, which was good. I think her favorites were Ruki, Ayato, and Yuma though. She was pretty confused with the plot in both seasons, and there were a lot of things that just didn’t make sense to her. I think this is fair, I don’t think the show does a good job with making the plot understandable. But despite that she enjoyed it and had fun. It did actually make her read and research more about the games. I don’t think she’ll ever play them, since it’s kind of a lot of work. But she might look into the franchise at least which is cool. I also think that goes to show that the anime is actually pretty effective at its job. It gets you invested in the characters and wanting more.
Overall, I enjoyed season 2. I think it was better quality than the first season. Although the OP is not as iconic, the songs from season 2 did end up growing on me. It was just so nice to see everything animated. I just hate that there’s such a big cliff hanger. But I think season 2 might be better than season 1 in everything except the ending. I might need to try and get my hands on some collectors editions of the anime now!
I really liked the second game! I’ve found out that apparently the first game (HDB) endings aren’t cannon, which makes sense based on how More Blood starts. So I’m hoping that means the future games continue on from this one. Some generally new things I noticed, were the sprites now blink and move their mouth! This is a big change from the first game. I wasn’t sure if I liked this change or not at first, but the more I played I think I actually like this change. The sprites also got new art done, which I actually like, I think it makes them look a bit better and makes them look a bit more like their age. They also got new outfits, which I found to be pretty cute! With the new sprites we also have way more sprites now! There are actually sprites for when they look more disheveled, there are shirtless and underwear sprites! I was really excited about this since this was a complaint I had in the first game. Some other new things in this game is we finally got sprites for them as kids! This was super exciting, and they were all so cute. We also got a lot more flashbacks to their childhoods which I appreciated. Since I feel like we got to get to know the guys a lot better this game. The common route is actually a proper common route this time too, with two choices to make, CGs, and actually setting up the plot a lot more. The common route was also longer this time. So that was cool to see.
With the Sakamaki brothers I don’t think my overall thought on them have changed all that much from the first game. We did get to see a lot more of their past and see a bit more why they are the way they are, but I don’t think that really changes much if they just aren’t my type. I did have kind of mixed feelings on these routes as a whole too, simply because I feel like they didn’t offer up anything that different and interesting compared to the first game. However, it is more content of the boys and that is fun. But I feel like we didn’t learn too much, it would’ve been nice to get a bit more lore, and this also makes some routes feel like they are dragging a little. I think if I had waited longer between the finishing HDB and starting More Blood, I may have liked some of the routes a bit more. I will say, the Sakamaki brothers are much nicer and not as crazy in More Blood as they were in HDB. So I could see why maybe this game is more appealing, however I also kinda liked how unhinged they were in the first game. But I loved we had more fluffy and sweet moments in this game. It also really felt like they all loved MC in this one, whereas in HDB I didn’t always get that feeling. So I’d say overall I liked their routes, I just don’t recommend playing the first and second game back to back.
Then we had the Mukami brothers. I was super excited to play their routes, since you get teased about it in the Sakamaki routes. I really do love the Mukami brothers. I love the relationship they have with each other, it’s so sweet to see how they get along and how much they love and care for each other. The Mukami brothers also have a reoccurring theme across all four routes of the blue sky. This had me kind of curious so I looked into the symbolism of the blue sky, as it caught my attention, and I’m not always the best with symbolism. I found that the blue sky can be used to symbolize hope and unlimited possibilities, as well as occasionally representing freedom. This makes a lot of sense as the blue sky is used in the games as something that gives the Mukami’s hope for the future, as well as it being tied to their freedom. So I thought that was pretty cool. This might be morbid, but I also liked the physical imperfections of the Mukami brothers. Something about them having scars, a missing eye, having to amputate an arm, it’s kind of brutally realistic and I like that. I think it’s nice to have representation of different bodies and imperfections. So them having them really stood out to me in a good way as well. Overall, I really liked the Mukami’s a lot.
One thing that I think was kind of overlooked was that Yui seems confused when she hears Adam and Eve, which I feel like having grown up in the church wanting to one day be a nun, she should at least recognize the names. Like I get her not knowing the full plan, but I’m surprised that never comes up. But that could be me being too picky lol. Which speaking of Adam I do think it’s interesting how when the Sakamaki’s awaken as Adam they become more aggressive and bloodthirsty until they admit their feelings. Yet for the Mukami brothers the fact they can’t awaken realizing this causes them to often get more violent and to drink her blood more desperately, making them almost fit the awakening profile. It’s just an interesting parallel. I also found MC/Yui to be very funny and relatable again. Like while she has her dumb moments, sometimes she’s just so funny. Part of this is in every Mukami route she realizes that all vampires treat her badly, it doesn’t matter which house she’s at. Which is kind of sad and funny. Like it’s true, they both treat her poorly, even though they both think they are so much better than the other. They end up being the same.
I do wish that the whole awakening thing was explained better, especially in the Sakamakis routes. I did kind of figure out what was going on and how the awakening worked kind of eventually. But it would’ve been nice if the game had to explained it better because when I was playing the first routes, I was pretty confused and I feel like a lot wasn’t explained very well. However, by the end of the game, I feel like I did understand what was going on. I just feel like it could’ve been handled better, but maybe that’s just me being picky. Sometimes this game is just very vague and it leaves me a little confused.
I realized playing this second game, that most of my favorites are at least a little tsundere, which was interesting to say the least lol. But who are my favorites? This is actually so hard to rank, I feel like with more guys it gets harder and harder to rank them. I think my least favorite might be Ruki, again I see the appeal of him. I just don’t think he does it for me, especially with the kitten thing. I liked Ruki in the anime a lot more than Ruki in the game. Next up I think I’m actually going to put Shuu, so he’s actually moved down in his ranking from the last game. Shuu is just too nonchalant, which I just don’t like, plus his routes are kind of boring. In 8th place would be Laito, so he’s actually moved up from last game. I really wish I liked Laito more, I just don’t think he’s my type, but no hate to him and those who like him. I actually liked some parts of his route a lot, and the ending in this game did make me like him a lot more than before. Next I think is going to have to be Reiji, now, I do like Reiji, kind of. But he really is just kinda evil, and I just haven’t been vibing with him. Kou is actually going to be above Reiji, which I really debated on. But I think by the end of the game I just liked Kou a lot more. Now with the bottom half out of the way, it’s going to get really hard to rank them. I love all the guys in my top five DEARLY. I think Yuma is going to be in fifth place, which makes me sad since I want to rank him higher, but I just don’t think I can. I love him though, he’s so sweet, and I love that he gardens, not to mention he is very attractive. Next I think I’m going to have to put Ayato in fourth place, which once again kills me. I love Ayato, he’s so dumb and he deserves so much better, he’s also very sweet and hot. Third place will be Subaru, I love this consensual king. He’s so kind and protective, I love him dearly. Then I don’t want to have to pick between my favorites anymore, so Kanato and Azusa will be tied for my favorite. I love them, they are such cuties. Like I said, I love unhinged cute boys, and that’s true. But they are both also very respectful and can be kind and sweet, I just love them both and want to protect them at all costs.
Overall, I really did enjoy this game! I will probably play the normal and bad ends for this game at a later point. I also need to figure out how to play the next game since it doesn’t have a switch port. So wish me luck there. The music is once again iconic, the CGs and art are beautiful. The only down side, is with more love interests you get less CGs per guy, but I think it’s worth it. Such a fun game! This game is also quite a bit longer than the first game. For reference I finished the first game in a week with around 60 hours played. The second game took me a month to get through and almost 100 hours to play. I really think I probably shouldn’t have played the first two games back to back lol. But I could definitely see me replaying this! I will for sure be playing more games in this franchise, and I’ll make reviews once I do, although it may be a while. I hope y'all enjoyed, and thanks for all the love on my previous Diabolik Lovers post!
Sorry I couldn't get this posted on Halloween, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. I know I went on a lot more tangents in this review, so i hope you don't mind. I just really enjoyed this game and had a lot of thoughts I wanted to share. But I will probably take a bit a of a break before we get another long review like this 😅.
