Hitsuji no Uta (Lament of the Lambs) is a short OVA from eight years ago. It tells the story of a high schooler named Kazuna, who is reunited with his sister whom he hasn’t seen since he was three years old. The two have a hereditary vampiric disease where they desire blood, and begin to live together as a family, pushing away their friends and Kazuna’s adopted family.

The creators did a good job at building a tense, dark atmosphere. The colors in the animation are used to especially good effect. There are no people with random blue, green and pink hair colors here: everything is dark shades of black and brown. The character designs actually look like real people and not animified. They even have freckles and hair that could conceivably grow on a human head.

On the negative side, the use of flashbacks was a bit much in the first two episodes. The final episode was much stronger than the first three, if only because a lot more happened then. The doctor is just kind of hanging around for the first three episodes, but he really becomes an interesting character in the final episode. Revelations from the final episode also make you see the sister and the family in a quite different light. This is probably more a reflection of how good the final episode and its build up were than any issue with the earlier episodes.

• Plot / Script – 8  / 10 – A strong storyline, but plot and dialogue repeat themselves a bit much especially with flashbacks
• Characters – 9 / 10 – The main character’s choices particularly regarding his family could have been better explained. The sister and doctor are very interesting characters, although their stories aren’t revealed until the end.
• Production – 9  / 10 – Good use of color, although looking aged now.
• Overall – 8.5 / 10

Recommendations – Ghost Hound, Tsukihime