Introduction
Delico’s Nursery is a 2024 original anime directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori. It was not well-received, partly because of production issues and delays in airing the episodes. But in my opinion, this anime is creative, wholesome, and sadly underrated. It deserved better reception, as it’s a story with subtle significance. It’s not some epic, amazingly crafted story. But Delico’s Nursery has something salient to say. What is the anime really about?
Story
Score: 6/10
The story follows Dali Delico, an unusual vampire noble who became a single parent of two children after his wife died tragically. Much to the disapproval of high vampire society, Dali started a nursery for taking care of his kids and those of the other vampire nobles. At the same time, he and three other aristocrats were tasked with tracking down a group of violent criminals that could endanger vampire society as a whole.
The story concept was solid. Though the pacing was a bit slow and the plot seemed to wonder a bit at times, I wouldn’t say these were major issues. But there were definitely a few problems with the story category, including poor world-building. The world and workings of these vampires are interesting, and I loved learning about them at every opportunity. But there are still more questions than answers in my head about how things work. Long story short, there was insufficient development and exposition of the setting, world, and important fantasy elements.
(Example: Do vampires and humans coexist side-by-side in this society? It’s never clearly explained if or how this works.)
Now we have to talk about “Trump.” I’m not talking about the dictator ruling the United States at present, but about a fictional entity known as the “True of Vamp” – thus “Trump” for short. Trump is the original vampire who can influence all others with a mental link. Why in the world did this original anime choose to name a character after an infamous public figure? It doesn’t seem to have a political meaning, so I have no idea. But because of this choice, at times, it was difficult to take the show seriously. There was no need to come up with a dumb, campy name for the vampire god. Just call him The Original or something.
The story has some issues but is adequate overall. If you go into this anime with a lot of preconceived notions, you will almost certainly dislike it. That’s because Delico’s Nursery is not a typical vampire tale. It’s not a thriller or horror story and it doesn’t try to be remotely spooky. Most vampires are peaceful and good-natured. They don’t seem to require human blood at all. Rather than being a story about predators, Delico’s Nursery is decidedly wholesome. It’s actually not about vampires per se, but about developing one’s humanity, including emotional intelligence and empathy.
Visuals
Score: 7/10
Delico’s Nursery was produced by J.C. Staff, a well-respected studio in the anime world. The visuals are unusual and highly stylized. Everything looks very textured, the linework is light and thin with no variation, and there’s no shading and few highlights on the characters. Colors are rather muted. It’s dangerous to use unique styles like this in an original anime because the audience could think it’s too different from the norm. The hit-or-miss nature of art hasn’t changed, but I personally think the visuals in Delico’s Nursery are beautiful. I like this style and would love to see more shows get creative and change up the art.
Though the general art style is a bit minimalistic, the expressions and faces are still appropriately detailed and emotive. I like the way faces are drawn in this anime and I love how cute the kids can be. In addition, the character designs for the main four vampire nobles are awesome. I love each of their hair-styles and general vibes. I also liked the designs for some of the antagonists, including Kiki, Catarina, and Juras.
Audio
Score: 8/10
The audio quality is excellent in Delico’s Nursery. I mostly enjoyed the voice-acting, but also some of the OST and the OP/ED songs. The opening song is “Unfair” by Mika Nakashima, the same singer who (along with Hyde) performed the famous opening song for Darling in the Franxx. (It’s called “Kiss of Death” and it’s one of my favorite anime songs in existence.) “Unfair” isn’t quite as memorable, but I still enjoyed it for the dark vibes, unusual rhythms, and deep female vocals. Also, take a minute and listen to how amazing the instrumental version sounds! It stands on its own even without the cool vocals.
The ending song is “Prayer” by Anonymouz. This talented performer sings in English and her songs usually sound similar to western pop music. I really enjoy the melody of “Prayer” and I empathize with the theme of helplessness (though I personally don’t pray). As for the original soundtrack, it was composed by Shunsuke Wada with many tracks having vocals or lyrics sung by Etsuko Niira. The OST has a certain vibe that I can’t describe well – melancholy and mystical, but also charming or dramatic at times. If you like classic music and high, operatic female vocals, you will probably enjoy the OST for Delico’s Nursery.
The Japanese voice acting was highly enjoyable for me. Today, I will mention three of the cast members so I don’t ramble indefinitely. Dali Delico was voiced by Masakazu Morita, a popular voice-actor who is well-known for playing Ichigo Kurosaki, the main character of Bleach. Katsuyuki Konishi, who I know best as Tengan Uzui from Demon Slayer, played Gerhard Fra. Lastly, I loved the performance of Makoto Yasumura as Katarina. I have no clue if the actor is queer in anyway, but he did a great job playing an LGBT+ character.
Characters
Score: 8/10
The character category is where Delico’s Nursery shines brightest, in my humble opinion. As early as the first episode, I felt a connection to Dali and his story. He was known as talented but arrogant and careless in his youth. Most likely, he was a brat well into adulthood. But with the sudden tragic death of his beloved wife, Dali was forced to mature at a rapid pace. He’s still very confident, but now he sees what’s most important for the first time: protecting and loving the children left in his care. I like to see this type of arc – in male characters especially, as it’s less commonly done in media.
Besides having a cool single dad protagonist, Delico’s Nursery features good character development in general. It’s not astonishingly deep, but it’s adequate for a short anime. The main vampire lords, some of the children, and several antagonists have interesting character growth. Generally, the characters are distinct and memorable. The evolving dynamic between Gerhard and Dali was well-written. Supporting characters like Clara and Katie were great. In addition, the children and their struggles felt realistic. I especially sympathized with Theodore.
The antagonists are lawless and morally corrupt, but the good, nuanced character writing still humanizes them. The best example of this is Katarina. Though Katarina is a criminal who participated in several murders, she was human enough to make sure the captive baby survived. She also entertained and protected the children to some degree when they were hostages. Katarina is deeply loyal to Juras, feeling strong affection for him. This goes a long way to humanize her. Though I wish she wasn’t an antagonist, I still think Katarina is an example of a fairly well-written transgender character in anime.
Personal Enjoyment
Score: 7/10
Despite the weaknesses – especially in the story category – I found significant enjoyment watching Delico’s Nursery. Better world-building would have improved this show immensely, but I still appreciated it. The vampire nobles are dashing, heroic, and easy on the eyes. The kids and baby Ul are so adorable! I loved the unusual art style and unique characters. Kiki, Katarina, and Juras were all great antagonists. The world, though poorly explained, still fascinated me. Clearly, there was a lot to enjoy in this odd vampire anime.
There is one other point to mention. I enjoyed this anime in part because I’m a fan of the “Noblesse Oblige” aesthetic. I grew up reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and other books in the same universe. My views on those stories have evolved over the years, but I still love the idea of rich, handsome men going out of their way to be heroic, solve crimes, or save people. Bonus points if the handsome men have duels with swords or other weapons.
There may be a problem with admiring the noble’s aesthetic. Across cultures, nobility has been historically despicable in its treatment of non-nobles. “Noblesse Oblige” is just a sugar coating on the outside to cover the sour filth of the aristocracy. But damn it if I can’t at least the enjoy the notion of “good nobles” in fantasy stories.
In addition, I recognize the societal contributions of those in privileged positions throughout history, meaning that their legacies are not all evil. Things are not always black-and-white. There’s probably no such thing as a moral billionaire, but there have certainly been philanthropic nobles who helped society’s progress for everyone. I think those people were similar to Dali Delico and the other vampire nobles. They were doing their best to make a better world for their children and society as a whole.
Overall Score
Score: 7.2 out of 10
Delico’s Nursery deserves a solid 7/10 overall in my opinion. The current score for this anime on MAL is 6.79 (Sep 20 2025), which seems way too low. I suppose I understand though, since Delico’s Nursery isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some people expected a regular vampire anime with cool fantasy lore and violent battles, but Delico’s Nursery was not that. That goes back to what I said about preconceived notions ruining the anime. Just enjoy it for what it is: a bunch of handsome vampire daddies taking care of their adorable children!
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 
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