Warning: The following contains spoilers for Vampire Dormitory episode #9!!

A new Crunchyroll series called Vampire Dormitory essentially just became a gender bender so late in the first season that it inadvertently revolutionizes the very genre that it only now joins. What makes this development even more effective is that it fits in well with the series’ already well-established exploration of gender identity thus far, making it the next logical step in a journey that would have naturally concluded if not for this shocking, albeit now highly conceivable twist.

Most series that are considered official gender benders begin with the protagonist transforming from male to female or vice versa almost immediately or as soon as possible. It usually transpires either in the first few chapters of the original source material or no later than the first episode of the anime adaptation.

However, Vampire Dormitory just saw the female human Mito becoming a man in episode #9 after posing as such for the first eight installments to ensure that the vampire Ruka would continue sucking her blood.

Vampire Dormitory’s Has Exacerbated Its Negative Take on Gender Identity

Produced by Studio Blanc; based on the original manga by Ema Toyama

What makes this twist so incredible is the stunning irony of the overall situation. Mito concealing her true gender identity originally served as her salvation regarding love. Up until that point, she had never loved or been in love, and Ruka was able and willing to fill that void, since he only sucked the blood of men. The new ironic twist lies in the fact that Mito had just discovered that her true identity as a woman would have ensured Ruka loving her for eternity, since she was his so-called “eternal partner”, but when the series became a gender bender by making her a man, she could – because of established lore – no longer be Ruka’s eternal partner.

Incredibly, viewers have been aware for quite some time that the gender Mito had been identifying as had actually been preventing her from obtaining the true love that she had been pursuing her whole life. On one level, vampires usually seduce their prey without loving them, while being successfully seduced doesn’t denote love either, so the initial contract or promise was void. Even though he eventually began falling for her, that love was based on a lie on yet another level once viewers learned at the end of episode #1. Now, the gender bender aspect of the series is now enhancing this earlier deceit; Mito now has no means of gaining that happy ending, since Ruka confirmed not too long ago that only the female Mito who now no longer exists would be his true romantic partner.

Vampire Dormitory Exposes a Sad Truth About Its Own Lore

The series’ attempt at shaking up vampire mythos has inadvertantly made its take on the supernatural creature deeply problematic

Sadly, this whole dilemma reveals a harsh reality about the vampiric power system in Vampire Dormitory. Ruka’s instincts have only been able to react based on how a person presents themselves, even when it’s a lie. When Mito presents herself as a female, Ruka’s vampiric instincts are able to identify her as his destined partner. But when she perpetuates the lie that she’s a male, the facade blocks Ruka’s vampiric insights from being able to recognize that Mito is his destined partner. In essence, his powers are gender biased rather than being able to identify Mito as Mito.

Even more tragic is that the dhampir Ren has already accepted Mito whether she’s a man or woman, but he’s forced to transform her into a man, since he is also limited by his gender-biased vampiric powers. He wouldn’t be able to steal Mito away unless she could no longer be Ruka’s destined partner, and this was only possible once Mito officially became a man, even though Mito is still Mito. Regardless, Vampire Dormitory is still quite unique since it began as a romance about gender identity before embracing the gender-bender genre.