Previously on Strike The Blood:

Kojou and Yukina go to an underground laboratory owned by Lotharingia in order to investigate the attacks on the city. Inside they once again encounter Eustach & Astarte, engaging them in battle again. However things go from bad to worse as Yukina is pushed back and Kojou suffers a mortal blow. Spoilers Ahead!

Eustach and Astarte make it to the bottom of Island North and begin wrecking the place, trapping Asagi and a few other workers. Meanwhile up top, Kojou recovers from his injuries and he and Yukina set off to confront Eustach & Astarte for the final time. However when they reach the bottom of the island, Yukina & Kojou begin to realize that Eustach’s rampage may be justified.

Strike the Blood ends its first arc with this episode and gives us a look at things to come as well as some good fights.

Kojou recovers from having his head cut off (you know immortal vampire and all that) and exchanges some dialogue with Yukina. Despite an uncomfortable scene with Kojou basically sexually harrasing Yukina, the moment is there as she laments on him getting hurt so bad to save her and that she should have died instead, with Kojou harassing her to prove that he doesn’t deserve to live more than she does (I guess he forgot he had a little sister he has to look after but oh well). This is also a pivotal moment for them as she allows Kojou to suck her blood so he can both regain his strength and control his familiars. She also tells him that her parents sold her to the LKO.

Eustach gets some development when he meets up with Kojou and Yukina as he spells out just why he came to Itogami Island in the first place. Apparently the entire island is being supported by the magic contained in the severed arm of a priest from the East European church. The designer of Itogami city needed a cornerstone strong enough to hold together the island on the mystical ley lines it was built upon, hoping the energy inside the ley lines would bring good fortune to the island (ironic seeing as how his decision caused Eustach to come and wreck havoc in the first place).

The fight here is pretty decent as Yukina takes on Eustach and Kojou goes one on one with Eustach. Yukina fights Astarte despite her spear breaking and Kojou is able to overcome Eustach with his familiar the “Regulus Arm”, eventually helping Yukina beat Astarte. After the fight is when things start to come together as Kojou reveals he can take control of familiars by bitting the original owners necks…but he needs to be aroused first (he uses Yukina as a “buffer”). Yukina is revealed to Kojou’s friend Motoki, via a talking crow, to be a plant as Kojou sucking her blood makes her his “queen”, however it is uncertain if Yukina knows this or who the person talking through the crow is.

“Right of The Saint IV” is a fitting conclusion to the first arc of STB with some nice revelations, good fights, and some interesting plot threads laid out. The animation can be a bit off model but the story and moments don’t make it too glaring.

4/5