English Dub Review: Dark Moon: The Blood Altar “Waxing Moon – Bite My Neck”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
After a girl who hates vampires transfers to a school with seven of them, their paths—and lives—intertwine.

Our Take:
Sooha has really made herself clear that she’d prefer werewolves over vampires, despite her unawareness that her new friends are actually blood-suckers.  So, what does this mean for the heated rivalry between the sexy vampires and the good-looking werewolves?  Well, the most obvious answer is a boatload of school drama, especially when they’re preparing for the upcoming Nightball championship.  But before we even get to that sporting event, this episode showcases the vampiric students at Decelis Academy preparing to celebrate their birthday party, but it isn’t just another basic party.  Instead, this occasion highlights their years since leaving the orphanage, underscoring that they were once orphans.
This further symbolizes the show’s reflection on discrimination, particularly for vampires.  Regardless of whether they’re monstrous or kind, a vampire is still a vampire from people’s perspective at the end of the day.  With this in mind, the boys are finding it challenging to hide their vampiric identities from Sooha, especially when they’re celebrating their “birth”.  The same goes for Sooha, whose superhuman strength would make people accuse her of being a vampire herself.  However, that didn’t stop her younger self from rescuing Chris from a house fire, so at least there’s some benefit to her unexpected ability.  But what really matters is whether everyone outside the vampiric students would feel the same way when Sooha is put into a similar situation again.
“Waxing Moon – Bite My Neck” doesn’t slow down amid the gradual character development and dramatic stakes, particularly for Heli and the boys as they hide their vampiric nature.  Thankfully, it also saves some extra room for its comedy, notably the chemistry between the students.  Shion continues to be a solid comic relief through his idea of sacrificing only Solon to retain their friendship with Sooha, and the party preparation is enough to put a smile on my face regarding their innocent mishaps.  Now, if only that type of levity would remain for the actual party, especially when Sooha and the Sunshine students are now in the same building as the Decelis students.