The 4th review in my shitty anime review series. Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, holy crap I actually enjoyed this one. No caveats, no "get shitfaced", no "watch with a friend", I actually deadass enjoyed "sinking my fangs" into this one. Story: 8/10, it's a pretty decent vampire story to be fair. Following Dracula as he attempts to protect himself and his wife from Satan, God, and a group of vampire hunters who are all after his life. For the constant absurdities the story spews, it flows surprisingly well and honestly was a joy to watch. Sure some bits felt insane or nonsensical - but, thisis an anime that does *not* have the "Slice-Of-Life" genre and deals with supernatural creatures and demons, I think it's unfair to slash at the film for something that it clearly *doesn't* need to do.

Characters Design: 8/10, I love Dracula's design, both aesthetically and his actual personality. He comes off as a very tragic figure, being a revived Vlad the Impaler (who in this was a patriotic Ruler who cared and protected his people) cursed with vampirism and immortality. He falls in love with a mortal human and has a child, the wife however was initially the promised bride to Satan and so sparks to plot. Dracula unironically comes off as a great person, he's shown to care deeply for his wife and son, consistently puts himself in harms way to protect others. Sure it's not your conventional Dracula retelling where he's a smug bastard who revels in his power and cares for no-one but himself, but it still holds a certain charm that makes it fun to watch. The other *relevant* characters would be spoilers to the film, so I'll just say while not as developed as the Count himself, they aren't detrimental to the plot and I have no qualms with them.

Animation: 5/10, cut this some slack. "oh it looks choppy, it looks bad" boo fucking hoo, this came out in the 1980s, and it looks pretty goddamn good. If you can't watch something because it's old or whatever, then simply stay away from this to begin with. Otherwise, it doesn't take away from anything, and I'd go as far as to say it's decent considering the age of the film.

Sound: 9/10, the OST in this is amazing. It actively captures the right kind of atmosphere it wants to whenever it tries, sure some sound effects hold me back from giving it a 10, but otherwise it's right up there. The VA is pretty good as well and no complaints there.

Ending: 6/10, honestly I can't say too much here without spoiling it. But, I will say the ending felt a tad bit rushed and kept me from rating it a 9.

Overall: 8/10, this is actually a fun watch. Compared to the other low rated shows I've seen so far, this was actually entertaining without me looking for things to poke fun at. I fully recommend checking this out if you ever get the chance, it's only one and a half hours and it's bloody fun.