Sirius the Jaeger shows a world of vampires and werewolves in the middle of historical Japan around the 1920s, and the culture in this story seems to ground the story into a sense of reality. Japan is out of its isolation with other countries -- allowing immigrants in -- some want peace with foreigners such as our main characters while others still distrust their presence in this land.
The first story already reverses expectations somewhat. You expect the usual casual villain as a first challenge, but you begin to realize that things aren't as clear cut as they seem. Not in the villains, but in how our characters act. They're all lovable characters -- the stoic guy who has a gentle side to him, the flamboyant yet mature action woman, the buff friendly guy who acts as the peacemaker, the tsundere kid who has some kind of violent history, and the intellectual professor who has both brains and balls. But there's more to them than you think.
While the action and the strategy pulls you in, what I love about about the show is its heart. It's a very character driven story, and the world shakes you into its foundations by placing classic wars with vampires and werewolves -- into something placed into an issue in history. On how the hatred between them isn't just out of the generic villanous reasons of power and taking over the world, but from a distrust of the outside world. The distrust of people who are different -- not because you just want to hate them for the sake of hating them -- out of anger -- but really, really about acting out of hatred from fear.
Other than the main crew, and some newer characters who come in later in the show, most of the other characters didn't get much emphasis on their development. This show wasn't supposed to be this short because there wasn't much to explore from the villains' perspective of this show, and often a good story needs much more fleshed out villains. It's a little disappointing on how it wasn't explored well enough.
But hey, still, it's a pretty good show. The characters and the worldbuilding are all deep and complex, and the shaking honesty to their emotions is a lovely sight to see.
Take a sip of this world, and maybe you'll find jewels in its majesty.
