English Dub Review: The Vampire Dies In No Time “The Hunter Comes and Flies in the Sky”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Ronaldo is a top level vampire hunter. He’s famous, good-looking, and even wrote a best-selling memoir beloved by fans around the world. So when he goes after a missing kid in the castle of the dreaded Draluc, he’s expecting a major fight. What he gets is the world’s lousiest vampire, a creature so weak that even clapping in his direction turns him into sand. The kid wasn’t kidnapped—he just snuck into Draluc’s castle to play his video games.

Our Take:

The Vampire Dies In No Time may be about vampires, but it’s nothing like other vampire shows of recent memory. There’s not really any spookiness to be found; it’s all about the comedy here. Ronaldo is a serious vampire hunter, but when he meets the vampire lord Draluc, his life gets a whole lot more hectic. It’s a fun premiere, even if it doesn’t give a whole lot of hope for the future plot.

This kind of buddy comedy show relies on the two leads, and luckily the show succeeds pretty majorly in this aspect. Ronaldo is a formidable hero character. He’s smart and likable and shows just enough humility to not be an asshole about his pedigree. Draluc on the other hand may look like a formidable vampire lord, but really he’s just kind of a wimp. The dynamic isn’t necessarily anything special, but it hits the ‘straight vs silly’ target squarely in the center.

There doesn’t seem like there’s going to be any kind of ongoing plot per sey, as the premise doesn’t even have enough plot to sustain a single storyline for the full runtime. Instead, there are a handful of segments that divide the episode into different parts. The first one is spent on searching for the kid who has invaded Draluc’s castle. It’s a good introduction to the overall concept, but nothing too hilarious (and the kid is kind of cringe-y). The segment I enjoyed best was probably the last one where Draluc is helping Ronaldo talk a kid who wants to become a vampire down from the ledge. The two of them working together is bound to produce some fun stuff in the weeks ahead.

As for the English dub, the casting is spot on for the leads. Ian Sinclair’s deep, authoritative voice is a good fit for Ronaldo, and gives him a certain gravitas that the character design alone might not. And Frank Todaro has a ton of fun with his vampire voice as Draluc—definitely a show stealing performance for sure. The script had a few cringe-inducing lines, like when a teenaged character says ‘bruh’, but the overall tone of the show is kind of campy so it doesn’t stand out too badly.

The only concern I have at this point is how long the show can sustain this concept. It’s fine and dandy to laugh at Draluc turning into sand at some innocent action once or twice, but I can already tell that I’m going to get bored with this pretty quickly if the series keeps leaning on that one gag. If this vampire wants to spread its wings, it’s going to have to come up with more than just that as the season progresses.