The Vampire Dies in No Time has finally revealed how its most famous character John the Armadillo came to befriend the fragile vampire Draluc.
Kodoani.com – WARNING: The article below contains additional sections for Episode 11 of Vampire Dies in No Timecurrently streaming on Funimation.
Vampire Dies in No Time is a supernatural comedy about vampire Draluc and his vampire hunter roommate Ronaldo, but the series’ breakout star may just be John, Draluc’s familiar arm. Episode 11 of the anime finally revealed John’s origins and how he came to live with Drake. Over the course of two segments, the anime explores the turbulent origins of John and Drake’s relationship and explains that the vampire really knows what he’s doing with his unyielding arm.
The segments begin with Ronaldo punishing Drake for using John as a bowling ball. John doesn’t seem to mind, happily making his own unique “nu” sounds until Ronaldo turns Drago to dust. Ronaldo’s overprotection of John in this scene heralds the theme of these segments, as John tells Ronaldo the story of a time when Draluc also made assumptions about the guy’s life.
The story begins when Drake recounts meeting John during a family trip to South America. In the flashback. Draluc’s famously tired grandfather, known only as the Progenitor, insisted on giving Draluc and his father Draus pets as gifts. Inexplicably, Draus received an alien-looking cryptid, causing Draluc to understandably fear his gift. Fortunately, the Progenitor revealed a small wounded armadillo in the palm of his hand.
John’s voice actress Tamura Mutsumi even voiced John’s “nu” sound at a younger age, when Draluc treated him with the help of some sort of little clothing. His family suggested many unusual names, making Drake’s rejection of the relatively generic “John” all the more ironic. Draluc then witnesses John use his Sonic the Hedgehog-esque ability to curl into a ball and lunge forward to protect another armadillo from a mosquito-like incompetent vampire. It’s important for the flashback to establish that even when John was young, John had this ability, as he uses it again at two key moments later.
Seeing the other gunmen cheering for John, Draco decided that he would be happier with his kind. An armadillo elder explains to John that Draluc and his family left for this reason, but in the end John is determined to reunite with him. What’s interesting is that John knows that Drake is gone for his own good. Had John gone back to Drake to find out if he still cared about him, his journey would have been even more dramatic and remarkable. But the fact that he understands but disagrees with Drake’s assumptions about what’s best for him reinforces the episode’s theme that John is more capable and independent than people think.
The adventure that follows finally fills the void in the series’ standout opening, confirming that the guy has returned to Drake’s castle with the help of strangers willing to help him. . In the series’ proper setting, John’s perilous adventures are even more awe-inspiring, accompanied by beautiful Celtic flutes that further add to the impression of an epic journey.
At this point, Draus visits Draco in his room. Draluc claims to have moved in from John, but his room is filled with various sports and exercise balls that probably remind Draus of him. This comes right after the bruised John crouched in the rain shelter in one of the series’ truly moving moments, so comic relief couldn’t have come at a better time. Draus even revealed that he kisses a picture of his hardworking wife every time he goes to sleep in his coffin, making Draluc feel disgusted at being immature.
John finally catches up with Draluc as he walks through the woods, using his charge abilities to rescue Draluc from an Old Footed Ostrich. Then he charged again, this time at Drake. This could be because he was so frustrated that Draco was trying to decide what was best for him or as punishment for accidentally sending him on such a perilous journey. John explains everything to Drake, who can’t believe his stupidity – and hugs John.
In the end, Draco gives John a sip of his blood to make him his immortal acquaintance, and he agrees. The scene seems designed to reassure John’s fans that he wasn’t forced to somehow become an acquaintance of Drake, and loves his turbulent life. In fact, the entire episode seems to be this, given that John is dedicated to watching him again. When John was a baby, Draco even said that he would only turn John when he was older, perhaps so that he wouldn’t be an infant forever.
When Draluc recounts the story to Ronaldo, he can barely contain his frustration and jealousy because Draluc has a closer relationship with John than he does. Ronaldo responded by punching Draluc, once again turning him to dust and criticizing him for using John as a bowling ball, much to John’s distress. This shows that, although Ronaldo cares about John in his own way, the blushing hunter misses the main message of his story. John knows what’s best for himself and doesn’t always need good friends to protect him.
Via: Kodoani.com