Reviews for Blood+ (6.89)
1. -
xiledragon
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
**Review based on all 50 episodes** It seems that Blood+ isn`t getting all the credit it deserves for what it brings to its audience. In my opinion, it has one of the better action/drama ...
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- Approval: 63.9% (12 votes)
03.10.2006 04:24 - direct link
(rs4284)
**Review based on all 50 episodes**
It seems that Blood+ isn't getting all the credit it deserves for what it brings to its audience. In my opinion, it has one of the better action/drama storylines of recent animes, on par with titles such as Fantastic Children, FMA, and Eureka 7.
The animation is above average, and the show sports quite a few well-done action scenes. There seems to be criticism that Blood+ goes downhill as the anime progresses, because there are less and less action scenes, but I actually find the later scenes more enjoyable, especially those involving the Sif. Besides the action scenes, I also found that the show was very good in terms of portraying the sentiments and emotions of the characters. Blood+ does not fail when trying to portray its emotional moments, which is why I gave it a 8/10.
Sound is also above average. There are 4 openings and 4 endings, so that gives quite a variety. Besides, I enjoyed listening to all the opening songs and most of the ending ones too. But once again, the high grade is due to the fact that the voice actors were able to highlight the emotions felt by the characters. The voices also fit each and every one of the main characters quite well. What comes to my mind first and foremost is how the voices of the villains were just so striking, and well-done.
The story starts with a roller-coaster, slows down, and then gets really dark and sad. The first part doesn't need much explaining: just check the first episodes and you're in. The problem is that the story starts to slow down after a while, and by half-time, you still don't really know what's going on. Most people would start to get annoyed at that point, and I'm no exception. It's mostly because there seems to be too many small story arcs that won't connect with each other fast enough. In other words, you don't know why the main crew is doing what it's doing, so it gets sort of boring. For me, the turning point was with the appearance of the Sif, because that's when u start having a larger picture of the storyline. By episode 30, the story really starts picking up again, and it gets darker as it goes. I'll have to say that what shines the most about Blood+ are the emotional moments of the show, because the emotions are so intense, and at the same time, so well-portrayed, that the audience really does feel something when watching the show.
**minimal spoilers*
The characterization in Blood+ is really awesome, because you truly see the evolution of characters such as Saya and Kai. The whole anime revolving around Saya, it is no wonder she undergoes the most intense changes, but the other characters aren't left out neither. Saya, her protector Haji, the fat black dude, the Sif (a mysterious group), and all of the villains(Diva's followers) are cool, because they are really interesting. However, I found that certain other main characters were kind of boring, such as the Red Shield organization people. They just didn't strike any interest in me, because theirs characters seemed a bit flat. But in general, since Blood+ does revolve around Saya, it's still a great anime in terms of its characters, because you get attached to them to a degree where you will feel their emotions following important events.
As for value, it's totally a rewatchable anime, because the storyline is pretty intense, and you will really get pulled on a roller-coaster ride. The ending was also good, although perhaps a bit cliché, but let's face it, it's what we like. There's also a long enough epilogue following the final battle, which gives the audience a feeling of satisfaction after finishing the show.
I enjoyed watching Blood+, because the intriguing story kept me going even through the slower parts. If you liked FMA and Fantastic Children (I liked it more than FMA), then you will definitely enjoy this one.
It seems that Blood+ isn't getting all the credit it deserves for what it brings to its audience. In my opinion, it has one of the better action/drama storylines of recent animes, on par with titles such as Fantastic Children, FMA, and Eureka 7.
The animation is above average, and the show sports quite a few well-done action scenes. There seems to be criticism that Blood+ goes downhill as the anime progresses, because there are less and less action scenes, but I actually find the later scenes more enjoyable, especially those involving the Sif. Besides the action scenes, I also found that the show was very good in terms of portraying the sentiments and emotions of the characters. Blood+ does not fail when trying to portray its emotional moments, which is why I gave it a 8/10.
Sound is also above average. There are 4 openings and 4 endings, so that gives quite a variety. Besides, I enjoyed listening to all the opening songs and most of the ending ones too. But once again, the high grade is due to the fact that the voice actors were able to highlight the emotions felt by the characters. The voices also fit each and every one of the main characters quite well. What comes to my mind first and foremost is how the voices of the villains were just so striking, and well-done.
The story starts with a roller-coaster, slows down, and then gets really dark and sad. The first part doesn't need much explaining: just check the first episodes and you're in. The problem is that the story starts to slow down after a while, and by half-time, you still don't really know what's going on. Most people would start to get annoyed at that point, and I'm no exception. It's mostly because there seems to be too many small story arcs that won't connect with each other fast enough. In other words, you don't know why the main crew is doing what it's doing, so it gets sort of boring. For me, the turning point was with the appearance of the Sif, because that's when u start having a larger picture of the storyline. By episode 30, the story really starts picking up again, and it gets darker as it goes. I'll have to say that what shines the most about Blood+ are the emotional moments of the show, because the emotions are so intense, and at the same time, so well-portrayed, that the audience really does feel something when watching the show.
**minimal spoilers*
The characterization in Blood+ is really awesome, because you truly see the evolution of characters such as Saya and Kai. The whole anime revolving around Saya, it is no wonder she undergoes the most intense changes, but the other characters aren't left out neither. Saya, her protector Haji, the fat black dude, the Sif (a mysterious group), and all of the villains(Diva's followers) are cool, because they are really interesting. However, I found that certain other main characters were kind of boring, such as the Red Shield organization people. They just didn't strike any interest in me, because theirs characters seemed a bit flat. But in general, since Blood+ does revolve around Saya, it's still a great anime in terms of its characters, because you get attached to them to a degree where you will feel their emotions following important events.
As for value, it's totally a rewatchable anime, because the storyline is pretty intense, and you will really get pulled on a roller-coaster ride. The ending was also good, although perhaps a bit cliché, but let's face it, it's what we like. There's also a long enough epilogue following the final battle, which gives the audience a feeling of satisfaction after finishing the show.
I enjoyed watching Blood+, because the intriguing story kept me going even through the slower parts. If you liked FMA and Fantastic Children (I liked it more than FMA), then you will definitely enjoy this one.
2. -
ThatAnimeSnob
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
So some dudes made this short horror film titled Blood the Last Vampire which was instantly labeled cult. I don’t know why; it was probably the weird presentation of an otherwise si...
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- Unrated
23.02.2011 13:32 - direct link
(rs7730)
So some dudes made this short horror film titled Blood the Last Vampire which was instantly labeled cult. I don’t know why; it was probably the weird presentation of an otherwise simplistic premise. Some years later, some other dudes decide to make a series out of this and the result is Blood+. The tale of an apparently normal high school girl forced to take part in a sinister conspiracy that aims to make humanity food for vampire-like freaks.
To make a long story short, the series has a very good concept and interesting characters but its presentation lacks the stuff that would make it great. Here are the reasons:
1) Long duration / Slow pacing. The show lasts twice as it should; it is 50 episodes long yet it might as well be only 26. The reason is simple, many episodes feel like minor side quests or filler missions that in the longrun only manage to hinder the progress of the main story with characters and storylines that lack excitement and tire the viewer.
2) Passive crybaby main character. Very few like such protagonists. A dynamic character would have done the same things in half the time instead of constantly doubting and holding back or crying in a corner. Although the basic motto of the series is to portrait a normal girl as she steadily becomes more decisive and active, it doesn’t change the fact that the main heroine is going around in circles. One moment she is trembling in fear, then she suddenly finds the strength to fight, then she reverts back to how she was… 20 times in a row. It gets REALLY bothersome. It is excused the first few times but when it keeps happening over and over, then it pisses you off.
3) Lack of focus on secondary characters. Saya and her nemesis get all the spotlight, leaving all the rest as almost unneeded background decorations. Although it is true that a great deal of characters are fleshed out throughout the series, none of them does something overly important to affect the story. Imagine an entire secret organization of supposed elite agents who in the entirety of the series didn’t manage to beat the weakest monster, while Saya an otherwise simple-minded schoolgirl has slain a mountain of brutes. Why were they in the story then? Just to pay her traveling tickets and giving her a quest list? Nice NPCs they were… Her family ain’t better either. Her step brothers keep interacting with her and are even willing to fight for her, but eventually don’t do anything to affect the battles or the result of all this mess. Do you know how irritating it is to have epic level fighters who do nothing while the rookie squire kills the dragon?
4) Boring battles. Although there is a lot of action in the anime and most problems end up being resolved through fighting, almost none of the numerous duels and spars are exiting. Saya will just use her super blood to instant-kill any monster she cuts with her sword, after a simplistic battle choreography. And if she gets injured in the progress? Big deal; she immediately heals like Wolverine. In the meantime, all the rest of the supernatural people around her will be flying and shooting and blowing stuff up, usually with zero importance to the plot. And as I said, elite agents are completely useless at beating even the weakest of foes. Where is the interest in all this?
5) Huge mystery build up / disappointing revelation. For most of the show Saya will have amnesia (which is a bad trope on its own but I felt generous enough not to make a different topic about it). She will keep traveling and fighting and investigating and having flashbacks in order to remember what had happened in her past. And we are kept teased with these vague images and hints and weird stuff, making us expect an amazing revelation. And when the revelation finally comes, you go all “WTF, after all this waiting that was all of it???” Seriously, the explanation of the grand mystery behind her past is simple as frakk, yet they make you think it will be something unimaginably epic.
6) Clean CGI. Although the animation is quite good and the sceneries are great to stare, the anime just doesn’t feel “dirty” enough. The textures on objects like clothing or rocks will look sparkling clean, even when they should be worn-out from weather, bloodshed, dust, mud or generally affected by their surrounds. Even the wind blowing on the characters’ faces will feel more like a fan. It is as if the entire thing was shot with a blue screen and thus feels fake. 3D effects weren’t as well developed back then, so everything feels more artificial than hand-drawn.
7) Ever-present school uniform. Saya wears one most of the times, even when she is not going to school. Pander the otakus too much and you end up making it look too ridiculous to care about her personal drama.
8 ) Red lips. Saya has them. ALL THE TIME! They stand out. She is the only one with so much RED. They are annoying…
That’s pretty much all of it. The finale may also feel corny as frakk, but I am generous again and leave that alone. Corny doesn’t mean bad; just unimaginative. It is otherwise good corn quality.
And now the few things I can praise:
1) Gore. Buckets of blood and some deviant things here and there.
2) Shadows. Good use of lighting by … not using it. Makes things pitch black and scary by being just black silhouettes with glowing red eyes.
3) Soundtrack. Exceptional use of violin and musical instruments; very good in building atmosphere. Too bad most of it gets wasted on a boring plot and silly story. And the lyrics are pop shitz. What in blazes is pop doing in a semi-horror anime? … Oh, right, it has a schoolgirl in it.
To make a long story short, the series has a very good concept and interesting characters but its presentation lacks the stuff that would make it great. Here are the reasons:
1) Long duration / Slow pacing. The show lasts twice as it should; it is 50 episodes long yet it might as well be only 26. The reason is simple, many episodes feel like minor side quests or filler missions that in the longrun only manage to hinder the progress of the main story with characters and storylines that lack excitement and tire the viewer.
2) Passive crybaby main character. Very few like such protagonists. A dynamic character would have done the same things in half the time instead of constantly doubting and holding back or crying in a corner. Although the basic motto of the series is to portrait a normal girl as she steadily becomes more decisive and active, it doesn’t change the fact that the main heroine is going around in circles. One moment she is trembling in fear, then she suddenly finds the strength to fight, then she reverts back to how she was… 20 times in a row. It gets REALLY bothersome. It is excused the first few times but when it keeps happening over and over, then it pisses you off.
3) Lack of focus on secondary characters. Saya and her nemesis get all the spotlight, leaving all the rest as almost unneeded background decorations. Although it is true that a great deal of characters are fleshed out throughout the series, none of them does something overly important to affect the story. Imagine an entire secret organization of supposed elite agents who in the entirety of the series didn’t manage to beat the weakest monster, while Saya an otherwise simple-minded schoolgirl has slain a mountain of brutes. Why were they in the story then? Just to pay her traveling tickets and giving her a quest list? Nice NPCs they were… Her family ain’t better either. Her step brothers keep interacting with her and are even willing to fight for her, but eventually don’t do anything to affect the battles or the result of all this mess. Do you know how irritating it is to have epic level fighters who do nothing while the rookie squire kills the dragon?
4) Boring battles. Although there is a lot of action in the anime and most problems end up being resolved through fighting, almost none of the numerous duels and spars are exiting. Saya will just use her super blood to instant-kill any monster she cuts with her sword, after a simplistic battle choreography. And if she gets injured in the progress? Big deal; she immediately heals like Wolverine. In the meantime, all the rest of the supernatural people around her will be flying and shooting and blowing stuff up, usually with zero importance to the plot. And as I said, elite agents are completely useless at beating even the weakest of foes. Where is the interest in all this?
5) Huge mystery build up / disappointing revelation. For most of the show Saya will have amnesia (which is a bad trope on its own but I felt generous enough not to make a different topic about it). She will keep traveling and fighting and investigating and having flashbacks in order to remember what had happened in her past. And we are kept teased with these vague images and hints and weird stuff, making us expect an amazing revelation. And when the revelation finally comes, you go all “WTF, after all this waiting that was all of it???” Seriously, the explanation of the grand mystery behind her past is simple as frakk, yet they make you think it will be something unimaginably epic.
6) Clean CGI. Although the animation is quite good and the sceneries are great to stare, the anime just doesn’t feel “dirty” enough. The textures on objects like clothing or rocks will look sparkling clean, even when they should be worn-out from weather, bloodshed, dust, mud or generally affected by their surrounds. Even the wind blowing on the characters’ faces will feel more like a fan. It is as if the entire thing was shot with a blue screen and thus feels fake. 3D effects weren’t as well developed back then, so everything feels more artificial than hand-drawn.
7) Ever-present school uniform. Saya wears one most of the times, even when she is not going to school. Pander the otakus too much and you end up making it look too ridiculous to care about her personal drama.
8 ) Red lips. Saya has them. ALL THE TIME! They stand out. She is the only one with so much RED. They are annoying…
That’s pretty much all of it. The finale may also feel corny as frakk, but I am generous again and leave that alone. Corny doesn’t mean bad; just unimaginative. It is otherwise good corn quality.
And now the few things I can praise:
1) Gore. Buckets of blood and some deviant things here and there.
2) Shadows. Good use of lighting by … not using it. Makes things pitch black and scary by being just black silhouettes with glowing red eyes.
3) Soundtrack. Exceptional use of violin and musical instruments; very good in building atmosphere. Too bad most of it gets wasted on a boring plot and silly story. And the lyrics are pop shitz. What in blazes is pop doing in a semi-horror anime? … Oh, right, it has a schoolgirl in it.
3. -
idoru2099
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
I finally updated this review after I`ve seen all 50 episodes.All of my previous thoughts about this anime remain the same, but I`ve decided to reduce "characters" and "enjoyment" by one ...
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- Unrated
30.10.2006 01:23 - direct link
(rs4083)
I finally updated this review after I've seen all 50 episodes.All of my previous thoughts about this anime remain the same, but I've decided to reduce "characters" and "enjoyment" by one point and I state why in the apropriate sections. My previous version of the review was based upon 39 episodes
Some General Notes
Blood+ is an anime that could be categorised in the horror/drama/action genre. Although there are many action scenes (at least one big action scene in every episode) and a lot of blood (naturally ) this anime cares more for the characters , the story and the atmosphere. So don't expect a real concentration on the battles, their main role is to help the plot evolve. Also the story isn't about Vampires as we know them by most popular fiction. The Chiropterans share some similarities but the whole approach is different and that's rather refreshing. The series is based on the cult short movie Blood:The Last Vampire , but you don't really have to see it, in order to watch blood+. There wasn't much story revealed in that movie, it just offered a nice ground for blood+ to stand on.
Ok , now it's time to go to a more detailed approach.
Animation
The animation is nice but nothing really special. The mood of the image goes along the mood of the story ,which is good, but generally neither the drawing or the animation is earth shattering. Some parts are really well made though, like the massacre in Vietnam at the beginning and the second intro of the series, which is exceptional from an artistic point of view. Also there were some very subtle(and very few) appearances of CGI graphics, which was rather nice since I really hate CGI that doesn't blend in with the rest of the animation. Maybe I'm a bit harsh with my rating here but since the artists haven't tried to give the series any special style in drawing and animation I won't give it a higher grade.
Sound
Up to episode 39 the series has offered 3 different opening and ending songs and they are of the usual Japan pop-rock style. Nothing special here either, none of them is especially bad or good, they're standard anime fare. The in-movie instrumental music however has it's good moments. The cello and other classical-oriented tunes add a lot to the atmosphere and give a somewhat "gothic" feeling when it's needed. A dark and melancholic series like Blood+ could use a more emotional and atmospheric soundtrack ,but since the producer's intention is for the anime to appeal to the teenage masses (and sell some soundtracks of course), it's easier for them to turn to jap-pop. As far as the voice acting is concerned, it's rather good. The actors have appropriate voices for their characters and get in their personalities.
Story
If you want a plot outline , read the presentation here in anidb. What I'll try to analyse here is how the story is delivered and if it's any good. Saya is living in her little paradise with a loving family and friends, but her past will come to haunt her, old memories will gradually return and her paradise will turn into a hell. As the story goes on you get bits and pieces and flashbacks that give you some clues ,but not the whole picture. This maintains the mystery and keeps the tension high as Saya is not only hunted by her foes but also by her memories. At episodes 21-23 there will be some great revelations. This may be a turn-off for some and a turn-on for others, it was the second for me. The explanations that were given were convincing and the new characters that appeared made the plot even more interesting.
About 10 episodes later things will change again drastically. This is my favourite part of the series since the mood gets a lot darker an the pace picks up. So generally there are a couple of twists and turns that keep your interest at high levels and the more the story evolves the more dark and desperate things get , leading to what will hopefully be a satisfying climax.
Character
Well, this is where this anime really shines. There are many interesting characters and their development is fluid as the story moves on. Of course Saya is the main character here and it's her feelings (love , hate, revenge) that shape most of the others. Something I really liked is that all of them are very real. You don't get to absolutely love or hate someone. Each has his dark and bright side and each one is fighting with his demons and his desires. You can understand and relate to most of the characters and that’s what made me love this series. There are many little changes in each character's personality as the story goes on , but at a certain point the events will force the leading characters to go through greater transformations. At this point their mentalities get very dark and desperate and this makes them even more charming.
[edit]
After I've watched all 50 episodes I decided to reduce characters rating from 10 to 9. This is done mainly because in the last part of the series there wasn't as much "characterisation" as i would like to see. I mainly feel that Diva's character should have gained more depth eventually but that didn't really happen.
Value
If we're talking about production and artistic value , blood+ has a lot in these departments. You generally get the feeling that the makers loved very much what they created. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this series can leave a huge impact on you , but surely it can become a little fixation for some and you'll definitely remember it for a long time. Now if you ask me if it's re-watchable I can't really say. Firstly because I haven't seen the ending yet and second because I personally almost never re-watch a series.
Enjoyment
I've really enjoyed blood+. I watched the first 35 episodes in 4 days, so you can tell that it definitely hooked me. You get to care a lot about most of the characters and you need to see just how things will evolve. I'm talking about enjoyment here and not fun. Have in mind that blood+ is very dark and melancholic at times, it's not really something that will cheer you up, but it will provoke many intense feelings and that's what makes it succesfull.
[edit]
After watching the whole series I've decided to reduce enjoyment from 9 to 8. I've done this change because of the ending. Don't get me wrong the ending is done pretty good and it manages to avoid the trap that many other animes have fallen in, in order to provide a very "unique" but ultimately silly ending. The problem here is that I was expecting a bigger climax in the end. It's not that I wasn't satisfyied by the ending , but the creators seem to have tried to satisfy everyone with this ending and so it was bound to lose some momentum...
[If you've read this review please tell me what you think. I'd like to hear your suggestions and comments wether they're positive or negative]
Some General Notes
Blood+ is an anime that could be categorised in the horror/drama/action genre. Although there are many action scenes (at least one big action scene in every episode) and a lot of blood (naturally ) this anime cares more for the characters , the story and the atmosphere. So don't expect a real concentration on the battles, their main role is to help the plot evolve. Also the story isn't about Vampires as we know them by most popular fiction. The Chiropterans share some similarities but the whole approach is different and that's rather refreshing. The series is based on the cult short movie Blood:The Last Vampire , but you don't really have to see it, in order to watch blood+. There wasn't much story revealed in that movie, it just offered a nice ground for blood+ to stand on.
Ok , now it's time to go to a more detailed approach.
Animation
The animation is nice but nothing really special. The mood of the image goes along the mood of the story ,which is good, but generally neither the drawing or the animation is earth shattering. Some parts are really well made though, like the massacre in Vietnam at the beginning and the second intro of the series, which is exceptional from an artistic point of view. Also there were some very subtle(and very few) appearances of CGI graphics, which was rather nice since I really hate CGI that doesn't blend in with the rest of the animation. Maybe I'm a bit harsh with my rating here but since the artists haven't tried to give the series any special style in drawing and animation I won't give it a higher grade.
Sound
Up to episode 39 the series has offered 3 different opening and ending songs and they are of the usual Japan pop-rock style. Nothing special here either, none of them is especially bad or good, they're standard anime fare. The in-movie instrumental music however has it's good moments. The cello and other classical-oriented tunes add a lot to the atmosphere and give a somewhat "gothic" feeling when it's needed. A dark and melancholic series like Blood+ could use a more emotional and atmospheric soundtrack ,but since the producer's intention is for the anime to appeal to the teenage masses (and sell some soundtracks of course), it's easier for them to turn to jap-pop. As far as the voice acting is concerned, it's rather good. The actors have appropriate voices for their characters and get in their personalities.
Story
If you want a plot outline , read the presentation here in anidb. What I'll try to analyse here is how the story is delivered and if it's any good. Saya is living in her little paradise with a loving family and friends, but her past will come to haunt her, old memories will gradually return and her paradise will turn into a hell. As the story goes on you get bits and pieces and flashbacks that give you some clues ,but not the whole picture. This maintains the mystery and keeps the tension high as Saya is not only hunted by her foes but also by her memories. At episodes 21-23 there will be some great revelations. This may be a turn-off for some and a turn-on for others, it was the second for me. The explanations that were given were convincing and the new characters that appeared made the plot even more interesting.
About 10 episodes later things will change again drastically. This is my favourite part of the series since the mood gets a lot darker an the pace picks up. So generally there are a couple of twists and turns that keep your interest at high levels and the more the story evolves the more dark and desperate things get , leading to what will hopefully be a satisfying climax.
Character
Well, this is where this anime really shines. There are many interesting characters and their development is fluid as the story moves on. Of course Saya is the main character here and it's her feelings (love , hate, revenge) that shape most of the others. Something I really liked is that all of them are very real. You don't get to absolutely love or hate someone. Each has his dark and bright side and each one is fighting with his demons and his desires. You can understand and relate to most of the characters and that’s what made me love this series. There are many little changes in each character's personality as the story goes on , but at a certain point the events will force the leading characters to go through greater transformations. At this point their mentalities get very dark and desperate and this makes them even more charming.
[edit]
After I've watched all 50 episodes I decided to reduce characters rating from 10 to 9. This is done mainly because in the last part of the series there wasn't as much "characterisation" as i would like to see. I mainly feel that Diva's character should have gained more depth eventually but that didn't really happen.
Value
If we're talking about production and artistic value , blood+ has a lot in these departments. You generally get the feeling that the makers loved very much what they created. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this series can leave a huge impact on you , but surely it can become a little fixation for some and you'll definitely remember it for a long time. Now if you ask me if it's re-watchable I can't really say. Firstly because I haven't seen the ending yet and second because I personally almost never re-watch a series.
Enjoyment
I've really enjoyed blood+. I watched the first 35 episodes in 4 days, so you can tell that it definitely hooked me. You get to care a lot about most of the characters and you need to see just how things will evolve. I'm talking about enjoyment here and not fun. Have in mind that blood+ is very dark and melancholic at times, it's not really something that will cheer you up, but it will provoke many intense feelings and that's what makes it succesfull.
[edit]
After watching the whole series I've decided to reduce enjoyment from 9 to 8. I've done this change because of the ending. Don't get me wrong the ending is done pretty good and it manages to avoid the trap that many other animes have fallen in, in order to provide a very "unique" but ultimately silly ending. The problem here is that I was expecting a bigger climax in the end. It's not that I wasn't satisfyied by the ending , but the creators seem to have tried to satisfy everyone with this ending and so it was bound to lose some momentum...
[If you've read this review please tell me what you think. I'd like to hear your suggestions and comments wether they're positive or negative]
4. -
lopsided
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Edit: Previously I had written a more negative review for Blood+, yet after having recently rewatched the entire series a 2nd time, my opinion on it has changed a bit and I am rewriting t...
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- Unrated
05.11.2007 06:37 - direct link
(rs4660)
Edit: Previously I had written a more negative review for Blood+, yet after having recently rewatched the entire series a 2nd time, my opinion on it has changed a bit and I am rewriting this review to reflect that.
From Production IG, Blood+ is a 50 episode anime loosely based around the original 45 minute BLood: The Last Vampire OVA. The director and others involved set out to make a series quite different from the OVA, so much so that comparisons are basically useless. Blood+ is a 50 episode series chronicling the main characters trek accross the world in pursuit of the menace known as Chyroptera, hideous monsters that feed off human blood. While one may expect the title of "Blood+" to imply the show is more focused as a gory action series, it is in fact more focused on the journey and lives of it's protagonists, their bonds as family and friends and their resolves. While Blood+ may have many other factors going for it, it's the journey that these characters go through and how they change that make it worth watching.
Animation:
The animation in Blood+ is overall decent, nothing spectacular. While Production IG has been responsible for uneven animation in many of it's series lately (see Chevalier for the latest), the fact that Blood+ is 50 episodes makes it probably one of it's more uneven. The whole of the series is mostly consistent, though with some obvious badly animated episodes here and there. Fight scenes are sometimes good looking, sometimes a bit too minimal, while you'd expect the action scenes to be all fantastically done considering that it is Production IG, the result is too uneven. Overall I was somewhat expecting better from the animation coming from IG, even if this was 50 episodes I thought we'd get at least a handfull of impressive looking episodes, but in the end it was essentially average from beginning to end. Solid but nothing special is the best way to describe the animation in Blood+. The original character designs for the series are quite good however, striking a fine balance between somewhat realistic, yet still unmistakenbly anime. They perfectly fit the modern day setting that the series has going for it.
However there is one place where the animation in blood+ really shines in Blood+ and that's in the 2nd and 3rd OPs. Wonderful animation, fantastic direction, absolute works of art. The 2nd and 3rd Openings of Blood+ are some of the best I've ever seen.
Sound:
The music in Blood+ is extremely good. Unlike almost any other anime, the music producers for Blood+ actually went to Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina, 2 composers normally associated with hollywood movies, to produce the music. Mancina as the composer and Zimmer as the producer. The quality is very high and obviously reminiscent of many hollywood productions. However the amount of music for a 50 episode series is not that large so there is a lot of repetition, most likely due to the expensive nature of hiring these particular two. But what is there is used to full effect in supporting the animation and is wonerful.
The Opening and Ending songs are all good, and worth listening to. But for me the highlight was the 1st ending "Kataritsugu koto" by Chitose Hajime, which was just beautiful. One of the best EDs I'd heard recently. No complaints with the Voice Acting either, mostly established names so you know what to expect from their performances. Akiko Yajima is as lovely as always.
Story:
To make a short of summary, the basic gist of Blood+ is about Saya and her family and their trek accross countries hunting down the monsters known as Chyropteran. She is helped by the organization Red Shield and are set, no matter what, to eradicate the Chyropteran menace from earth. The story of Blood+ is spread out over 50 episodes, normally for the kind of plot that Blood+ has, 26 episodes should be more than enough, however the series makes full use of the year long format in order to craft its story as well as it can and really develop the characters. While slow to start, the slow plotting is assisted by the rather great character writing. You are willing to go through the slow progress of the story to see the way these characters were growing and how they would end up. Overall, the story is Blood+ is one that focuses not only on the present but on the past and many parts of the series will dwell on events of the past in order for the characters to again move foreward. Surprisingly there is also quite a bit of a political slant to the series as well, however what a viewer makes of it is entirely up to them, but the political opinions of the people making the show are quite clear. In any case, while the overall story is well plotted and executed, the real focus of the series is the character.
Characters:
For me, the high point of Blood+ was its characters. The majority of the characters go through quite a lot of chaneg and development over the 2 or so years that the series takes place over. Saya the main heroine must find her strength and confront and understand her past, as well as understanding her family. Her brother Kai also oes through fantastic development, maybe the most out of anyone as he struggles to find his own strength and purpose and how to take care of his brother and sister. While Saya, Kai and their other brother Riku may not be true blood relatives, their role as a true family is cemented many times, it is overall a very touching story about their family.
Most of the other characters are also well expanded upon and developped interstingly. Some a bit more obvious others while some in a bit more ironic fashion. The series' villains are also quite interesting and share great comple backstory and the shows main antagonist to Saya, Diva is also one of it's more interesting thanks to her origin and history.
Value and Enjoyment:
In terms of Value, Blood+ rates quite good. For a year long series it wonderfully displays how the characters change and grow over that time period and seeing the story play out is very satisfying. At the end you truly feel like you got to know it's characters and who they were, they made sitting through all 50 episodes worth it. The themes of the series, such as how family bonds aren't restricted to blood only and how to get past that, make it a relevant and mature story that can hit home for many people. The creators went at length to creating a well thought out series about people, society and growing up and that alone makes it worth watching. While slow paced, you will empathize with the characters and come to miss them when the story is over. A great work, perhaps I missed some of it's subtelty and detail the first time I watched it, but I am glad I gave it another chance and realised how truly good this series is. Highly Reccomended.
From Production IG, Blood+ is a 50 episode anime loosely based around the original 45 minute BLood: The Last Vampire OVA. The director and others involved set out to make a series quite different from the OVA, so much so that comparisons are basically useless. Blood+ is a 50 episode series chronicling the main characters trek accross the world in pursuit of the menace known as Chyroptera, hideous monsters that feed off human blood. While one may expect the title of "Blood+" to imply the show is more focused as a gory action series, it is in fact more focused on the journey and lives of it's protagonists, their bonds as family and friends and their resolves. While Blood+ may have many other factors going for it, it's the journey that these characters go through and how they change that make it worth watching.
Animation:
The animation in Blood+ is overall decent, nothing spectacular. While Production IG has been responsible for uneven animation in many of it's series lately (see Chevalier for the latest), the fact that Blood+ is 50 episodes makes it probably one of it's more uneven. The whole of the series is mostly consistent, though with some obvious badly animated episodes here and there. Fight scenes are sometimes good looking, sometimes a bit too minimal, while you'd expect the action scenes to be all fantastically done considering that it is Production IG, the result is too uneven. Overall I was somewhat expecting better from the animation coming from IG, even if this was 50 episodes I thought we'd get at least a handfull of impressive looking episodes, but in the end it was essentially average from beginning to end. Solid but nothing special is the best way to describe the animation in Blood+. The original character designs for the series are quite good however, striking a fine balance between somewhat realistic, yet still unmistakenbly anime. They perfectly fit the modern day setting that the series has going for it.
However there is one place where the animation in blood+ really shines in Blood+ and that's in the 2nd and 3rd OPs. Wonderful animation, fantastic direction, absolute works of art. The 2nd and 3rd Openings of Blood+ are some of the best I've ever seen.
Sound:
The music in Blood+ is extremely good. Unlike almost any other anime, the music producers for Blood+ actually went to Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina, 2 composers normally associated with hollywood movies, to produce the music. Mancina as the composer and Zimmer as the producer. The quality is very high and obviously reminiscent of many hollywood productions. However the amount of music for a 50 episode series is not that large so there is a lot of repetition, most likely due to the expensive nature of hiring these particular two. But what is there is used to full effect in supporting the animation and is wonerful.
The Opening and Ending songs are all good, and worth listening to. But for me the highlight was the 1st ending "Kataritsugu koto" by Chitose Hajime, which was just beautiful. One of the best EDs I'd heard recently. No complaints with the Voice Acting either, mostly established names so you know what to expect from their performances. Akiko Yajima is as lovely as always.
Story:
To make a short of summary, the basic gist of Blood+ is about Saya and her family and their trek accross countries hunting down the monsters known as Chyropteran. She is helped by the organization Red Shield and are set, no matter what, to eradicate the Chyropteran menace from earth. The story of Blood+ is spread out over 50 episodes, normally for the kind of plot that Blood+ has, 26 episodes should be more than enough, however the series makes full use of the year long format in order to craft its story as well as it can and really develop the characters. While slow to start, the slow plotting is assisted by the rather great character writing. You are willing to go through the slow progress of the story to see the way these characters were growing and how they would end up. Overall, the story is Blood+ is one that focuses not only on the present but on the past and many parts of the series will dwell on events of the past in order for the characters to again move foreward. Surprisingly there is also quite a bit of a political slant to the series as well, however what a viewer makes of it is entirely up to them, but the political opinions of the people making the show are quite clear. In any case, while the overall story is well plotted and executed, the real focus of the series is the character.
Characters:
For me, the high point of Blood+ was its characters. The majority of the characters go through quite a lot of chaneg and development over the 2 or so years that the series takes place over. Saya the main heroine must find her strength and confront and understand her past, as well as understanding her family. Her brother Kai also oes through fantastic development, maybe the most out of anyone as he struggles to find his own strength and purpose and how to take care of his brother and sister. While Saya, Kai and their other brother Riku may not be true blood relatives, their role as a true family is cemented many times, it is overall a very touching story about their family.
Most of the other characters are also well expanded upon and developped interstingly. Some a bit more obvious others while some in a bit more ironic fashion. The series' villains are also quite interesting and share great comple backstory and the shows main antagonist to Saya, Diva is also one of it's more interesting thanks to her origin and history.
Value and Enjoyment:
In terms of Value, Blood+ rates quite good. For a year long series it wonderfully displays how the characters change and grow over that time period and seeing the story play out is very satisfying. At the end you truly feel like you got to know it's characters and who they were, they made sitting through all 50 episodes worth it. The themes of the series, such as how family bonds aren't restricted to blood only and how to get past that, make it a relevant and mature story that can hit home for many people. The creators went at length to creating a well thought out series about people, society and growing up and that alone makes it worth watching. While slow paced, you will empathize with the characters and come to miss them when the story is over. A great work, perhaps I missed some of it's subtelty and detail the first time I watched it, but I am glad I gave it another chance and realised how truly good this series is. Highly Reccomended.
5. -
hylarn
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Blood+ is an interesting series. It has possibly the single most unusual take on vampires I`ve ever seen, and has some moments of brilliance. It`s also twice as long as I`d like it to be, an...
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15.11.2007 08:25 - direct link
(rs5385)
Blood+ is an interesting series. It has possibly the single most unusual take on vampires I've ever seen, and has some moments of brilliance. It's also twice as long as I'd like it to be, and tends to focus on entirely the wrong things.
Animation:
Technically speaking, it's well animated. On the other hand, I really don't care for the art style, and the character design tends towards the boring. Probably helps to like males though, as there's considerably more bishounen than bishoujo.
On a semi-related note, the third opening is visually fantastic.
Sound:
The sound is larglely good. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone that likes the fourth opening, though.
Story:
The story irritates me. Not because it's bad, which it's not, but because it much more time dropping hints than actually telling you what's going on. The times where they actually tell you what's happening, it's largely irrelevant. There's a fair amount of mysteries remaining at the end.
Character:
Blood+ spends most of the time focusing on the characters. Unfortunately, it tends to focus on the wrong ones. More specifically, the protaganists and the bit parts. While my reasons for complaining about the series' tendency to spend a couple of episodes focusing on characters that never show up after that should be self-explanitory, I doubt my reasons for complaining about characterizing the leads are. It's fairly simple. Even though they spend most of the series talking, none of it actually matters to the plot. Despite all of the growth they're supposed to go through, none of their roles actually change.
Conversely, there are characters in other groups that go through massive role/loyalty changes, and they usually don't have much to justify it.
Animation:
Technically speaking, it's well animated. On the other hand, I really don't care for the art style, and the character design tends towards the boring. Probably helps to like males though, as there's considerably more bishounen than bishoujo.
On a semi-related note, the third opening is visually fantastic.
Sound:
The sound is larglely good. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone that likes the fourth opening, though.
Story:
The story irritates me. Not because it's bad, which it's not, but because it much more time dropping hints than actually telling you what's going on. The times where they actually tell you what's happening, it's largely irrelevant. There's a fair amount of mysteries remaining at the end.
Character:
Blood+ spends most of the time focusing on the characters. Unfortunately, it tends to focus on the wrong ones. More specifically, the protaganists and the bit parts. While my reasons for complaining about the series' tendency to spend a couple of episodes focusing on characters that never show up after that should be self-explanitory, I doubt my reasons for complaining about characterizing the leads are. It's fairly simple. Even though they spend most of the series talking, none of it actually matters to the plot. Despite all of the growth they're supposed to go through, none of their roles actually change.
Conversely, there are characters in other groups that go through massive role/loyalty changes, and they usually don't have much to justify it.
6. -
saya77
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Blood+ is a worthy sequel to the short movie Blood: The Last Vampire. This anime has just been completed by Shinsen Subs and it was a wild ride. Though Blood+ starts out slow in the first 2-...
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30.01.2007 20:00 - direct link
(rs4505)
Blood+ is a worthy sequel to the short movie Blood: The Last Vampire.
This anime has just been completed by Shinsen Subs and it was a wild ride. Though Blood+ starts out slow in the first 2-3 episodes, the pace really picks up after, and those first few episodes serve to help the watcher really start to care about the characters. By episode 5 or so, you will most likely be hooked on it.
The pace then does slow down a bit near the last 2/3s of the story, but it picks up again in the final 15 episodes or so. However, the ending was completely predictable and left many questions unanswered and was extremely open-ended. What exactly was Nathan? What was he doing at the end of the series? Why? We are left with many other questions, but those would probably be spoilers which I can't give away here.
Character development for the main character , Saya, and her family is emphasized in this series and one can really see the growth of the characters over time as Saya seeks to learn more about her past. We see Saya grow from a normal teenage girl and adapt into a world of darkness and violence where she is has resonsibilities and is depended upon by her siblings and peers. Later in the series, characters like Haji, Diva's chevaliers, Kai, David, and others are all very well developed and we can see the growth or change in each of them over the time of the series. David's struggles with his duty, Kai's struggle to keep Saya grounded by being her family, Haji's struggles to support Saya on her quest, are all given extensive screen time and development.
The animation is a solid, and the soundtrack is both memorable and powerful. I especially enjoy the fight scene animations between the different vampires and Saya. The animations for the vampires in their monster-form are all unique and play into the way they fight, and to some extent their personality.
Personally, I have watched the episodes repeatedly, and each time I watch an episode I gain some new perspective; as soon as this comes out in the U.S. I am planning to buy it.
I followed this anime from beggining to end as the fan sub groups translated it every week, and though I really enjoyed the series, the dissapointing and predictable ending sapped a bit of my enjoyment. Maybe in the future after a few rewatches I will change my mind, but going by my gut feeling after just watching the episode, I am dissapointed.
This anime has just been completed by Shinsen Subs and it was a wild ride. Though Blood+ starts out slow in the first 2-3 episodes, the pace really picks up after, and those first few episodes serve to help the watcher really start to care about the characters. By episode 5 or so, you will most likely be hooked on it.
The pace then does slow down a bit near the last 2/3s of the story, but it picks up again in the final 15 episodes or so. However, the ending was completely predictable and left many questions unanswered and was extremely open-ended. What exactly was Nathan? What was he doing at the end of the series? Why? We are left with many other questions, but those would probably be spoilers which I can't give away here.
Character development for the main character , Saya, and her family is emphasized in this series and one can really see the growth of the characters over time as Saya seeks to learn more about her past. We see Saya grow from a normal teenage girl and adapt into a world of darkness and violence where she is has resonsibilities and is depended upon by her siblings and peers. Later in the series, characters like Haji, Diva's chevaliers, Kai, David, and others are all very well developed and we can see the growth or change in each of them over the time of the series. David's struggles with his duty, Kai's struggle to keep Saya grounded by being her family, Haji's struggles to support Saya on her quest, are all given extensive screen time and development.
The animation is a solid, and the soundtrack is both memorable and powerful. I especially enjoy the fight scene animations between the different vampires and Saya. The animations for the vampires in their monster-form are all unique and play into the way they fight, and to some extent their personality.
Personally, I have watched the episodes repeatedly, and each time I watch an episode I gain some new perspective; as soon as this comes out in the U.S. I am planning to buy it.
I followed this anime from beggining to end as the fan sub groups translated it every week, and though I really enjoyed the series, the dissapointing and predictable ending sapped a bit of my enjoyment. Maybe in the future after a few rewatches I will change my mind, but going by my gut feeling after just watching the episode, I am dissapointed.
7. -
_engoria
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Blood+ took me longer than usual for a 50 episode series. That is telling. I`ll try and keep this review short, since there are already plenty of reviews on this one. Art & Animation[/...
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17.04.2013 00:06 - direct link
(rs8975)
Blood+ took me longer than usual for a 50 episode series. That is telling. I'll try and keep this review short, since there are already plenty of reviews on this one.
Art & Animation
6.5/10 (rounded to 6)
it was merely "ok". for a vampire-themed anime I was expecting something a lot darker, but apart from a few gothic touches here and there and some occasionally good (but no better) backdrops, there was nothing special about both the quality or the artstyle of this anime.
Sound
7/10
BGMs were ok, Diva's singing was beautiful, there were several OPs and EDs, but they all remained in the realm of "horrible j-crap", so no surprises there. I watched dubbed version and the actors were doing their job pretty well, but again, no real standouts.
Story & Character
blood+ is a character-centric drama, don't let anything else fool you, the politics and the few bits of intrigue just make up the backdrop for the characters to act out their love, hate, friendship, whatever. it is kind of a downer, thus, for the story doesn't really go much anywhere. things are always conveniently happening for the right character to intervene in the right moment, just to move the plot relationships along. many of the setting details go on unexplained (even if it was suggested that there was supposedly some more details) mostly, so what you're left with is the cast and their dramatic relationships, nothing beyond that.
to top it off, this anime is slow as fuuuuuuck. I do enjoy moody animes, but since the art section was kinda meh, the moody bits aren't impressive, and most of the time they don't even have mood, they're just prolonged exposure shots showing somebody standing still with camera slowly moving away or something. seriously, if they cut out,say, half of the time wasted on these no-action shots, this anime would lose, like, at least 5 episodes of its length. make the plot go a bit faster, and we're down a 10 or perhaps even more.
so what about the characters, whose tragedies we must witness so slowly? are they worth our time?
well, depends. and it's a bad start of this paragraph for a character-centric anime. most of the characters do get some considerable backdrop, main characters do even get some character development, which is pretty cool, however very little of this feels as something exceptional or even interesting. for a vampire-themed anime, once again, there was just so little darkness, just plain' ol' shallow evil and good ol' love conquers all and good ol' strong friendly fat dude and good ol' ... well, I did like the characters, but they and their story remained firmly in the realm of "meh".
story 6/10, characters 6/10
value
little. there're better vampire-themed shows out there. there're better dramas out there. there're better 50 episode series out there. it's ok for a time waster, but it's of no consequential value.
5/10
enjoyment
I enjoyed it enough to watch it all, but there's little to take away from here. got some few emotional spikes here and there, but they were no more than small blips on a radar. 6/10
Art & Animation
6.5/10 (rounded to 6)
it was merely "ok". for a vampire-themed anime I was expecting something a lot darker, but apart from a few gothic touches here and there and some occasionally good (but no better) backdrops, there was nothing special about both the quality or the artstyle of this anime.
Sound
7/10
BGMs were ok, Diva's singing was beautiful, there were several OPs and EDs, but they all remained in the realm of "horrible j-crap", so no surprises there. I watched dubbed version and the actors were doing their job pretty well, but again, no real standouts.
Story & Character
blood+ is a character-centric drama, don't let anything else fool you, the politics and the few bits of intrigue just make up the backdrop for the characters to act out their love, hate, friendship, whatever. it is kind of a downer, thus, for the story doesn't really go much anywhere. things are always conveniently happening for the right character to intervene in the right moment, just to move the plot relationships along. many of the setting details go on unexplained (even if it was suggested that there was supposedly some more details) mostly, so what you're left with is the cast and their dramatic relationships, nothing beyond that.
to top it off, this anime is slow as fuuuuuuck. I do enjoy moody animes, but since the art section was kinda meh, the moody bits aren't impressive, and most of the time they don't even have mood, they're just prolonged exposure shots showing somebody standing still with camera slowly moving away or something. seriously, if they cut out,say, half of the time wasted on these no-action shots, this anime would lose, like, at least 5 episodes of its length. make the plot go a bit faster, and we're down a 10 or perhaps even more.
so what about the characters, whose tragedies we must witness so slowly? are they worth our time?
well, depends. and it's a bad start of this paragraph for a character-centric anime. most of the characters do get some considerable backdrop, main characters do even get some character development, which is pretty cool, however very little of this feels as something exceptional or even interesting. for a vampire-themed anime, once again, there was just so little darkness, just plain' ol' shallow evil and good ol' love conquers all and good ol' strong friendly fat dude and good ol' ... well, I did like the characters, but they and their story remained firmly in the realm of "meh".
story 6/10, characters 6/10
value
little. there're better vampire-themed shows out there. there're better dramas out there. there're better 50 episode series out there. it's ok for a time waster, but it's of no consequential value.
5/10
enjoyment
I enjoyed it enough to watch it all, but there's little to take away from here. got some few emotional spikes here and there, but they were no more than small blips on a radar. 6/10
8. -
irohma
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Review Blood+`s base idea is not something exactly promising. A young school girl, that is in fact a vampire, slashing monsters with a katana is something that would put anyone...
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22.03.2012 19:18 - direct link
(rs8516)
Review
Blood+'s base idea is not something exactly promising. A young school girl, that is in fact a vampire, slashing monsters with a katana is something that would put anyone in alert for B-movie danger. There are, however, far more than that. Blood+ has a deeper story than most would think, some charming characters and a very interesting take on vampires and our real world. While it has many flaws and lack a bit of addicting value for its first half, the show is very well executed and can please those who watch it expecting a more serious and complex shounen experience.
Blood+'s story starts with Saya, a young girl with an apparently ordinary life. She only has memories of her last year, but her past is fated to return when she is attacked by a vicious supernatural beast and saved by a gallant man named Hagi. From there she moves to uncover her past, find her true origins, what her enemies are, and to know more about the ancient struggle between Chiropterans and the Red Shield organization.
Comments
Blood+ was very refreshing as I watched it my first time a few years ago. When I've watched it again in 2009 and then again in 2011 the show proved to lose some impact, but still captured my respect. The whole thing together is good, with an interesting plot, some good characters, good fights, good twists, and so on. Sadly there are very rare elements that surpass being "good", but this means that below average elements are also as rare.
I can't see weak points in the show besides some badly used stereotypes (which are few enough) and the inconstant pace that creates some boring moments amidst the action and twists of the show. If the show had a better pace or if Saya evolved more clearly like some of the support cast, this could certainly become a huge show. It's only fair to say the producers failed to create an exceptional protagonist and that was a huge blow to the show.
Those who are not vampire fans (like myself) can find a very good show if they surpass their hatred, but I think vampire fans will most likely hate the wildly different approach on vampires that makes them more like youkais and demons than blood-sucking creatures. Whatever you like, Blood+ is one of those show that has bits of everything in a good serious way and can please many even if it's not really extraordinary.
Blood+'s base idea is not something exactly promising. A young school girl, that is in fact a vampire, slashing monsters with a katana is something that would put anyone in alert for B-movie danger. There are, however, far more than that. Blood+ has a deeper story than most would think, some charming characters and a very interesting take on vampires and our real world. While it has many flaws and lack a bit of addicting value for its first half, the show is very well executed and can please those who watch it expecting a more serious and complex shounen experience.
Blood+'s story starts with Saya, a young girl with an apparently ordinary life. She only has memories of her last year, but her past is fated to return when she is attacked by a vicious supernatural beast and saved by a gallant man named Hagi. From there she moves to uncover her past, find her true origins, what her enemies are, and to know more about the ancient struggle between Chiropterans and the Red Shield organization.
- Weak Initial Impact - Complex and Deep Background
The premise is about a school girl slashing monsters with katanas, but Blood+ has a great depth in its plot and setting. Saya is in fact a vampire fighting a never-ending battle against her twin sister that have already lasted generations. This struggle takes place in a semi-realistic world, where the fight occurs in the shadows, mostly handled by the secret organization Red Shield, but also involving the army, government, powerful corporations, etc. Everything is given a slightly detailed background, creating room for nice bits of investigation, complexity, intrigues, and also giving a depth not expected from a show that starts with a high-schooler with a katana.
Different Vampires
The take on how vampire works here is somehow different, but quite interesting and original. It uses some of the known elements from vampires such as sucking blood and creating minions, but you don't see the dramatization on them, or anything that makes them look like "undead". This may displease those expecting traditional Dracula stuff and please those who dislike the ghotic take on vampires. Both sisters are surrounded by their selected minions (chevaliers), whom are infiltrated in the most important organizations for many years, and have their blood as mortal weapons against each other, thus the name of the show.
Shounen Fights, Intrigues, and Bishounens
The plot provides a good deal of dramatic moments besides fights, making intrigues and twists its main weapon to grab your attention besides the good fights and promises of some duels between the overpowerful chevaliers. The pace is not exactly consistent, rushing sometimes while taking careful steps at others, but as a whole is a good pace for a show with bits of drama and many bishounen characters surrounding the twins. It's perhaps too slow for those expecting more action and tension of a more typical shounen, but can suffice and please enough.
Saya & her bishounens
Saya, the protagonist, is perhaps the worst of the characters, as she is the very stereotypical school girl with hidden powers that fears to harm others or to accept her nature. The villain, however, can be very intriguing, being a typical mad girl but with some bursts of intelligence and tactical thinking slowly growing as the episodes progresses. The support cast succeeds in their mission when they play their roles, but there's too much wasted on making bishounens that many of them feel bland, especially Saya's chevalier, which at many times seems more like a walking convenient plot device than someone with a troubled past. Although he does grow throughout the episodes, the core of development here is left to Saya's family members and their changing view of the world as the chevaliers' fights become more and more intense.
It's one of a kind
I never saw anything exactly like Blood+. While using vampires is old-fashioned and the shounen-super power combats are not anything new, the take on these vampires and how they interact with the world is something extremely satisfying. The show, however, has a inconsistent pace with many episodes that would better if divided in two and others that could be done in 10 minutes, and because of that it looks harder to watch it a second time. The stereotypes are present, but they are never used in bad ways and most of the time make a good contribution to the show. A high production value, good soundtrack and the good setting makes Blood+ a show where you may find many more strong points than weakness.
It's can be exciting
All those fights between chevaliers are granted a boost as the stakes become higher, the human characters become more vulnerable, and the show smartly gives a dramatization before they happen. Treason, some light romance, and much more is fueled by outstanding soundtrack and themes. Production I.G also did a decent job when required, with a show that offers a fitting color palette, some intense action sequences, and an overall solid consistency. At many points, however, Blood+ can grow too quiet or there is an laziness in some movement scenes which can level down the experience, but not at a dangerous degree.
Comments
Blood+ was very refreshing as I watched it my first time a few years ago. When I've watched it again in 2009 and then again in 2011 the show proved to lose some impact, but still captured my respect. The whole thing together is good, with an interesting plot, some good characters, good fights, good twists, and so on. Sadly there are very rare elements that surpass being "good", but this means that below average elements are also as rare.
I can't see weak points in the show besides some badly used stereotypes (which are few enough) and the inconstant pace that creates some boring moments amidst the action and twists of the show. If the show had a better pace or if Saya evolved more clearly like some of the support cast, this could certainly become a huge show. It's only fair to say the producers failed to create an exceptional protagonist and that was a huge blow to the show.
Those who are not vampire fans (like myself) can find a very good show if they surpass their hatred, but I think vampire fans will most likely hate the wildly different approach on vampires that makes them more like youkais and demons than blood-sucking creatures. Whatever you like, Blood+ is one of those show that has bits of everything in a good serious way and can please many even if it's not really extraordinary.
9. -
leomiles
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
Blood: The Last Vampire was great anime. I`ve seen it for the first time at same time as Hellsing, and both of those animes were in same league for me - outstanding. So, when I laid my hands...
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04.09.2007 19:34 - direct link
(rs5073)
Blood: The Last Vampire was great anime. I've seen it for the first time at same time as Hellsing, and both of those animes were in same league for me - outstanding.
So, when I laid my hands on Blood+, I expected a great sequel: 50 episodes to go - it means either loads of action, either enough time skipping during the flow of time to see the characters growing old or at least getting more mature. Honestly, I expected to see Blood+ in style of Bleach or Hellsing.
Well, first 10 episodes were great: we see Saya as a schoolgirl(what is cliche, but still - it's anime, so there must be at least a glimpse of shool outfit),then we get to know her story as a sleeping vampire hunter as well we get introduced to all main characters of the Blood+.
But after watching to the middle I was already dissapointed, and in the end, I hated it. The reason is, that meanwhile individually taken plot, characters and music are good, the way everything is arranged is tragic. Pathetic character development is killing already not to strong plot,which is wrapped in loads of cliches and futile politizations. Trully great soundtrack is overused, because strongest themes are used in weak moments, making "dramatic" scenes to look pathetic. Summarizing I give it 3/10.
So, when I laid my hands on Blood+, I expected a great sequel: 50 episodes to go - it means either loads of action, either enough time skipping during the flow of time to see the characters growing old or at least getting more mature. Honestly, I expected to see Blood+ in style of Bleach or Hellsing.
Well, first 10 episodes were great: we see Saya as a schoolgirl(what is cliche, but still - it's anime, so there must be at least a glimpse of shool outfit),then we get to know her story as a sleeping vampire hunter as well we get introduced to all main characters of the Blood+.
But after watching to the middle I was already dissapointed, and in the end, I hated it. The reason is, that meanwhile individually taken plot, characters and music are good, the way everything is arranged is tragic. Pathetic character development is killing already not to strong plot,which is wrapped in loads of cliches and futile politizations. Trully great soundtrack is overused, because strongest themes are used in weak moments, making "dramatic" scenes to look pathetic. Summarizing I give it 3/10.
10. -
Recynon
Fujisaku Jun`ichi
Ishii Akiharu
(NOTE: I have seen up to 30 episodes of this anime) Don`t be fooled by the cover like I was; this is a straight-up shoujo dressed up as a vampire action series. It`s the worst kind of sh...
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23.06.2021 15:27 - direct link
(rs10802)
(NOTE: I have seen up to 30 episodes of this anime) Don't be fooled by the cover like I was; this is a straight-up shoujo dressed up as a vampire action series. It's the worst kind of shoujo at that--- the kind that makes every decision in order to create maximum drama rather than to tell a good story. In turn, my critique is going to sound especially harsh, because this is more than just about what a show succeeds or fails at doing--- this is about how nasty the intentions of the creators of this show are.
As such, this is going to sound more like a rant than a review, but only because there is literally nothing good I can say about this show outside of the technical aspects. Trust me, I really did try to hold onto the one thing in it that had some potential and figure out whether or not it worked, and this review is part of that attempt. Also, yes, this review is only for 30 episodes, but I believe the patterns I recognized in these 30 episodes extend throughout the show AND if 30 out of 50 episodes are trash, most of this criticism is relevant.
CharactersI'll start with the characters. None of the characters have any interesting personalities to speak of, which isn't always damning by itself. The show's overall tone or collective chemistry can make up for that if the characters and overall feel aren't archetypal, but that isn't the case here. Saya has no personality other than being demure, Kai is the redhaired boneheaded juvenile delinquent, and Riku is the cute innocent little brother. Meanwhile, the character dynamics are also typical anime high school fare. Hagi is the dark brooding bishounen that's forever by the poor girl's side because shoujo. He's bland as hell even after his backstory and you'll find the exact same character in Vampire Princess Miyu. You won't be watching the secondary characters for their personality either, but the show doesn't give us additional reasons to care about any of them. The primary villains lack enough personality or background for you to care about all the scenes with their internal scheming. Maybe in the next twenty episodes the show will devote time to flesh them out but the fact still remains that it introduces the politics first and the character investment later (which would work if we cared about the plot, which I'll get to later). There's an attempt to make sympathetic villains in the Schiff but since they're cold blooded murderers with little characterization/background up to this point it doesn't work.
Still, a show certainly has the right to flesh out the scheming of the villains. However, it adds two additional plot threads involving the secondary protagonists that in thirty episodes have added absolutely nothing to the plot or characterization outside of the viewer wanting to follow those characters in the first place (which I doubt, because again, we're not given enough personality or background to care). The show also has characters make dumb decisions in order to get those plot threads started in the first place, so it feels especially forced. Kai, Riku, Riku's girlfriend, and some random reporter all go to great lengths to involve themselves in what an extremely dangerous and creepy situation while they themselves are powerless in such a situation.
PlotThe main plot thread is not much better. The overall problem is that the show doesn't bother setting up the threat that's going to keep the tension high throughout the show. For half the show, all we know is that sometimes these things called chiropterans attack people, but we don't know the scale and it seems small scale. We don't know what potential threat the main villain poses; a scene establishing the power and destructiveness of Diva on a large scale could have been inserted early on in the show to keep the viewers scared of her return. Instead, for twenty five episodes we watch some German guy scheme behind the scenes and Red Shield uncovering some attempts to make chiropterans, but the question is why do we care? In fact, I didn't pay much attention to any of that and by episode 30 none of it mattered. The main point was very simple in that the main villain simply awoke, but we still have no idea about what her plans are and thus what threat she poses. Of course, you can argue that they will insert the point of tension later, but that's still 30 episodes with no tension. You can also argue that the mystery will keep viewers watching, but usually mysteries create tension because either the initial events are bizarre/intriguing enough for you to want to find out what happened and/or solving the mystery negates the big threat. Well, there's no big threat established here, and I don't find the events bizarre enough to warrant a mystery; monsters are attacking people to suck their blood for sustenance.
So if the plot isn't engaging, what about the character development? Since I've already discounted the majority of the supporting cast, the only potential source of interest on this front comes from Saya's development. In theory, Saya's character arc goes from a timid, PTSD-afflicted girl who longs for a family to a decisive, independent warrior who has made peace with her past trauma. I can't say Saya didn't get stronger at all, but let's just say her development is highly questionable. What complicates matters is the issue of PTSD and "realism". That is, if a character suffering from PTSD goes through many events that feel like they should change her for the better but don't, you can always make the reasonable defense that realistically speaking people don't move on from trauma easily. Because over the course of 30 episodes, Saya jumps back and forth between fighting and being too traumatized by her past to fight. Of course, it's obvious from all the illogical melodrama in the show that the writers aren't earnestly trying to tell the story of how Saya overcomes her trauma and gets stronger but are just trying to milk her for all her angst. But if you isolate Saya's arc, it's hard to attack it because of the aforementioned PTSD defense.
Now I will make a long list of all the illogical/pointless things the writers contrive for the sake of melodrama in order to justify the claims I made in the opening paragraph and to discuss Saya's arc in detail.
Besides her arc being very messy, Saya is too passive of a character. The plot happens to her instead of her driving the plot. Her constant self-blame, moping, and passiveness undermine the ability of the viewer to sympathize with Saya in her primary struggle because even if being traumatized is understandable, it makes her come off as a pushover who prefers to sulk instead of taking action to improve herself. Even in her action scenes, Saya is only able to deal with the low level grunt chiropterans and doesn't seem to stand a chance against any of the chevaliers which means in 30 episodes she wasn't able to accomplish much. In addition, Hagi bails her out half the time. While journeying to the Zoo, they're attacked by the Schiff and Saya hides under a rock while Hagi takes on 10 Schiff because apparently she hadn't had much to eat. Even in a non fight scene, Hagi has to carry her to make a simple jump, even though she supposedly has superhuman capabilities too. You know, when I watched Revolutionary Girl Utena, I had trouble with the analysis because I couldn't fathom that some women want to be damseled and saved by men. Yet here it is before my eyes; shoujo writers actually fantasize like this, so they write weak, tortured characters like Saya so they can be saved by the dark brooding bishounen in Hagi.
I promise you I'm not intentionally taking these out of context. I skimmed through the episodes I watched before I wrote this to make sure I wasn't missing anything. If you're a fan of the show and wish to defend it, by all means write an equally long post on my page explaining all of this.
But as it stands, it's clear to me that all these contrivances are all symptoms of the same flaw; the creators of the show are more concerned about creating melodrama than telling a good story. I've seen this all before at various levels in other media; in particular, if you watch Silent Mobius or Escaflowne you'll find the same patterns. This is one of those things that really grinds my gears because I am absolutely disgusted by people who revel in melodrama and intentionally write things to entertain you by putting your emotions on a see saw.
