Blood+ Part 1 (ep.1-25)

 

 

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Vampires are usually portrayed as sexy mysterious people, or as bloodthirsty monsters. In "Blood+," you get two for the price of one.

While this is technically a spinoff of "Blood: The Last Vampire," this series stands easily on its own -- gallons of gore, taut action scenes, mystery, and a young vampire finding out the truth about the past she can't remember. And this boxed set -- containing the first half of the series -- is definitely worth getting.

Saya Otonashi is anemic, and she doesn't remember anything about her life before she was adopted by a kindly veteran, George, and his sons Kai and Riku. Other than that, she's a perfectly normal Okinawa schoolgirl. Then a monster -- a vampiric Chiropteran -- attacks her at her high school. She's saved by the mysterious Haji, who forces her to drink a little of his blood.

She destroys the monster in a matter of seconds -- unaware that her punky, overprotective brother Kai also saw the monster. And Saya's confusion only grows when she finds that George is discussing her mysterious past with a man named David, who is from a secret Chiropteran-fighting organization called Red Shield. When Saya's father is attacked and kidnapped, she, Kai and Haji all join the rescue effort.

And afterwards, they become a part of Red Shield, though Saya doesn't know why she is so vital to their mission. Her fight takes her across Vietnam and Russia, through bloodied jungles and Siberian wastelands -- and her own half-forgotten memories -- as David tries to track down a train car with someone called "Diva" inside. But then Saya is told the truth about her own nature -- and her relationship to the cruel Chiropteran queen, Diva....

While the original movie focused mainly on action, "Blood+" is more densely plotted, and more mysterious in its story. Primarily it's a horror/coming-of-age tale (with a bit of a love triangle), but there are also traces of mystery, comedy, horror and tragedy woven in here.

In fact, the writers juggle multiple storylines (including one about a reporter and a schoolgirl) with ease. They also spun up a rich, complex vampire mythology, with multiple vampire breeds -- the horrific bloodthirsty fiends, the sexy Chevaliers like Haji and Solomon, and the cruel, childish Diva. There's also the Schiff, hooded half-vampires who show up long enough to give Haji some new punctures, but don't yet have much effect on the storyline.

The animation is another exquisite part of the story -- detailed, realistic, and a bit gothic with all the shadows, pale light and old-world buildings. And there are some beautiful, striking images, like glowing blue roses, Saya's sword, and chateau ruins. But for all its beauty, "Blood+" is crammed with violence -- dismemberment, ripped-off faces, and buckets of blood from vampires and humans alike.

Saya can be a bit whiny, but her terror and confusion gradually iron out into a likable, somewhat tragic heroine. Haji takes awhile to be fleshed out, but he's a tragic, adoring character when he is, especially in the long flashbacks to his childhood and travels with Saya. And Crispin Freeman's vocals don't hurt the effect.

Kai is a particularly likable character, just because he's so normal -- an ordinary kid who is in over his head, and just trying to protect those he loves. All the supporting characters -- Riku, Julia, David and the cherubic Lewis -- are well-written. Even minor characters get plenty of detail, such as the Schiff and Diva's Chevaliers (particularly Solomon and the increasingly loopy Carl).

"Blood+: Part One" is a violent, bittersweet start to a brilliant series, as well as a great spin on typical vampire stories. It'll also leave you desperately wanting to know what happens next.

really good show, a lot of emotion and depth but also a lot of amazing action and visuals, a story you'll really care about and relates to real life really well even though the story is far beyond a normal persons reality, this contains the first 25 episodes of the series and part two is coming out sometime this october 2009 with the final 25 epesiodes, defenitely pick this one up!

I loved this series from beginning to end. The plot line is dense and has many turns and surprises, as well as amazing character development. It has it all- gore, blood, romance, teenage angst, and mystery; most of all, it was engaging and gripping for the ENTIRE 50 episodes (yes, 50). I would absolutely recommend this series to anyone who wants an original anime. Allot lots of time for this one- if I could, I would have watched it all in a day if I didn't have anything else to do!

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