Offbeat Vampire Comedy Anime Is The Most Original Series Of The Year

Delico’s Nursery focuses on four vampire aristocrats who are on the hunt for the “True of Vamp” or TRUMP (yes, yes, I can already hear the jokes). However, the one meant to lead the search, Dali Delico, refuses so that he can care for his family. Unwilling to have Delico step down, the other members of the team agree to find a balance between raising their children and handling the mission despite having barely laid eyes on their kids previously.

The first thing I noticed about the first episode of Delico’s Nursery was that I really like the art style. The characters, background, and animation are all different styles that blend well together. I know a lot of people reviewing the series so far aren’t a fan of the background, considering it weak, but I thought it was quite fun and fitting for the story. I wouldn’t want it with every anime, but I think it worked well with this one.

The first episode of Delico’s Nursery starts as an introduction to the main plot and the cast. We get to meet not only Dali Delico (Masakazu Morita) himself but also the other three vampires that are to make the cast: Gerhard Fra (Katsuyuki Konishi), Henrique Lorca (Hiro Shimono), and Dino Classico (Takuya Satou), as well as all of the children.

I haven’t done much research into the original source of Delico’s Nursery, so I am a little confused about the backstory, and the idea of the antagonist, TRUMP. Hopefully, since many people coming into the series are going to be in a similar boat to me, they cover more information about the world and people over the next few episodes.

My biggest gripe with the first episode of Delico’s Nursery is that it was a little unsure in which direction it wanted to go. You have hilarity any time the children are involved, juxtaposed with the horror of Delico’s wife’s death and a potential threat to all vampires if the TRUMP gets too upset or angry. Overall, it felt darker and lighter than I expected it to be, all at the same time.

This could be done well, as we have seen similar shows that combine darker themes with comedic moments, like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. However, I’m not sure that Delico’s Nursery has the balance quite right yet, and I’m a little worried that they may not figure it out as the series progresses.

I do have to say, and there is something satisfying in knowing that these men, who have nothing to do with their children normally and have no idea how to take care of kids, are about to have a rough time as their offspring walk all over them. I think that alone will make me continue Delico’s Nursery. But I am also interested in the plot at the moment and curious how the season will progress.

Overall, I’m left with a lot of questions after watching Delico’s Nursery, which isn’t necessarily bad as long as they get answered at some point. I would like to learn more about TRUMP and their supposed power over the other vampires. I’m also quite curious about whatever happened to Delico and Gerhard at the beginning that led them to kill a lot of other vampires.

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I’m also a bit confused about the vampires as a whole. I spent a lot of time during the first episode of Delico’s Nursery looking for any sign that these people are vampires, but I didn’t really see anything that made them stand out from the average human. They can go out in the sun, appear to eat food.—or at least drink milk—like normal, and have fairly normal lifespans.

I’m also curious if there are any humans in Delico’s Nursery, or if everyone is a type of vampire. Normally, I’d say that there had to be humans, or how else would vampires feed? But I haven’t seen any sign of these vampires needing blood.

I think Delico’s Nursery has the potential to be a pretty interesting show. Maybe not the most memorable or notable, but a series solidly worth watching if done right.

Delico’s Nursery is available on Crunchyroll if you want to get started on the series and see for yourself if it’s worth your time.