English Dub Review: Dark Moon: The Blood Altar “Crescent Moon – The Wolves Who Climbed Over the Wall”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Sooha runs into some Sunshine City School students.  They suspect Heli and the boys murdered their classmate.

Our Take:
After reading the show’s synopsis, I was intrigued to see the werewolves come into play sooner or later.  However, I didn’t expect those furry, ferocious canines to show up at the tail end of the first episode.  Yes, that pun was intentional, but only for the sake of this review.  In this anime, the werewolves who suddenly appear are actually students from Sunshine City School, a rival of Decelis Academy.  However, these students, including Khan, Najak, and Enzy, are anything but full of sunshine, as they’re accusing Heli and the boys of killing their own, symbolizing the feud between vampires and werewolves.  So, it’s very clear that this popular conflict is taking notes from not just the Twilight Saga, but also the “Underworld” films.
Amidst the feud, the episode also explores certain characters who will play crucial roles in the episodes ahead.  One example is that Solon is facing an identity crisis as he’s hiding the fact that he’s a rare vampire-werewolf hybrid.  Given the vampire’s hatred towards the wolves and vice versa, it appears that hiding his vampire identity from Sooha isn’t the only issue Solon is facing.  Speaking of Sooha, the episode also reveals that she despises vampires because a friend of hers was killed by one years ago, not just because of the discrimination she received because of her powers.  There’s no doubt that there’s no school drama without a secret or two, and this episode is no exception.  Even with its usual murder-mystery and teen-romance elements, the series continues to gradually draw me in with its approach.