Call of the Night Season 2

Episode 9

It's appropriate that this episode begins and ends with Anko confronting Nazuna. Now that we know their history together, there's too much unresolved tension for either of them to ignore, as much as both of them would like to do otherwise. Seriously, they've been acting like exes who spot each other at a coffee shop and don't know how to initiate the conversation. Nazuna, for example, guessed Anko's identity a while ago, yet she chose to neither confirm nor deny it. Anko, for her part, definitely knew that it was her old flame cavorting with Ko, but she too decided to go after Nazuna's cohorts first. The situation would be charmingly awkward if not for all the bloodshed.

The ensuing confrontation on Halloween night turns into Call of the Night's most complicated segment yet. Structurally, it has a lot of moving parts and a large cast of characters to keep track of, at least when compared to prior story arcs. Anko flits around the city as part of her grand scheme. Nazuna runs off somewhere. Ko and Akira explore the streets. And the other vampires hang out before they decide to actively pursue their would-be slayer. Kotoyama admits in some of his afterwords that he went outside his comfort zone as the manga progressed, moving away from slice-of-life and into action territory. I think that exploration works here, and the Halloween setting still provides opportunities for lighthearted moments, like Ko donning a stereotypical vampire costume.

The adaptation has one big change that simplifies this arc compared to the manga, and it's a smart one. I previously pointed out the presence of Rila, one of the students in Niko's class, and she returns here as the girl Anko rescues from that serial adulterer. In the manga, Rila then goes to meet up with Ko for their Halloween “date,” which is the culmination of a storyline the adaptation entirely foregoes. While Ko doesn't seriously date her or do so behind Nazuna's back (in fact, Nazuna encourages it), it's meant to function as a means of distinguishing Ko's relationship with Nazuna from a more typical one. While Ko may not be in love with Nazuna yet, he nevertheless has a precious bond with her. Unfortunately, Rila herself is a flat character, and the wackiness of her scenes and personality doesn't gel nicely with the more severe tone of Anko's arc. I suspect Kotoyama was initially hesitant to go all-in on drama, so Rila was a way to inject more levity into this part. In retrospect, though, the adaptation correctly surmises that it's better to focus on the actions and emotions. Plus, this gives Akira more screentime, and I've missed her.

I think Anko is plenty amusing on her own, too. She plays a fun villain and clearly has a ball enacting her big Halloween plan. She relishes putting the fear of God into that back alley lech, pretending to shoot him before lighting her cigarette. She also enjoys using subterfuge to sneak up on her targets—she's had ten years of detective work to brush up on her disguises, after all. She's no slouch in the combat department either, skillfully disarming Akkun a second time with her martial arts and a well-placed trash can. Anko even sneaks in some direct comedy with the montage of her running, getting winded, taking a smoke break, and repeating the process. Backed by Creepy Nuts, it proves that she's having the time of her life while putting herself in mortal danger.

Anko, however, is Not Okay. Her vendetta against vampires is fueled by a tragedy she's been carrying with her for the past decade, and you don't do that without incurring some serious psychological damage. Case in point, she puts a revolver to her temple while wallowing in the darkness of her apartment. While we can't tell if that's the fake revolver she uses as a lighter or the real one she shoots the vampires with, the visual language is clear. From that, we can extrapolate where her headspace is at, and to put it lightly, it's not good. When she uses poetic and apocalyptic language like “ending the night,” it further signals that she has self-annihilation on the brain. And to Sawashiro's continued credit, she plays Anko's swirl of emotions spectacularly, capturing both her playful side and her bouts of fear.

The biggest open question is what Anko's endgame really is. While Ko correctly predicts her Halloween attack, he can't figure out what she hopes to accomplish, and that prevents him from taking action. Her attacks don't make sense, and she should have no means of weakening Nazuna, who has no human past. On the other hand, Anko has surprised them before, so everyone suspects she has an ace up her sleeve. That unknown factor carries the tension into the next episode, and overall, it makes for a strong start to this arc.

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Call of the Night Season 2 is currently streaming on HIDIVE.