Blood+

This anime is one of the best ones that I have ever seen before in my life. The plot somehow manages to stay incredibly strong throughout all of the 50 episodes, showcasing many different types of characters, from the most comical to the most radically serious. The animation has a very unique style, which somewhat surprised me early on, but then I realized that it simply made the show more unique. What every viewer must realize first off is that this is NOT just an anime about vampires. The fact that the characters often require blood to survive is used as an effective plot device,but it is not the entire focus of the show. What this means is that it appeals to both those who love vampire animes and those who do not, creating, as a whole, an extremely balanced, well crafted anime. The anime will be a joy for anyone who watches it. The storyline ranges from romance, to comedy, to intrigue, to detailed pseudo-history, innocence and experience, violence and peace, and then circles around again to the vague but omnipresent romance that insinuates itself, not as the main focus, but as a continuing theme throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the anime, and I invite all who read this to do the same. Rating: 10/10

Note: If you found this review helpful (or not), leave me a PM or comment, and give me some constructive criticism! Post-note: All scores are compared to titles I have watched personally and represent the verbal "score" of that number, with a 7 meaning " Good". It is unrelated to the 1-10 grading that a lot of people seem to solely apply, without thinking of what it means. So. Blood+ Originally an offshoot of an earlier movie, Blood+ combines both existing elements present in anime and new ones, to create a somewhat unique shonen (yes, shonen, because that's what this is, don't be fooled by the R+ rating)title. The original premise, that of cute girl with big sword fighting large monsters has been done many times before, but it is the encompassing plot and character designs that make this title stand out. The fact that that the writers obviously wanted this series to stand out compared to a lot of other drab that comes out nowadays is evident. Sharp character designs (lack of moe characters) are the norm, and the plot line aims to be as realistic as possible, including many existing locations throughout the modern world. from Japan to Russia to France, it becomes evident that the animators have at least glanced at existing sceneries before sketching the locations where the story takes place. We can understand the actions of certain characters (if the motifs have been revealed), and often the distinction between good and evil becomes blurred, something which lacks in a lot of series nowadays, where differences are usually black and white, with not much repose in between. Then, you may ask " Why give it a 7?". First note that a 7 to me means " Good", it holds no numerical value. Blood+ is a good show, but it doesn't have any factors that make it stand out to the point where, maybe a year later, you think "wow, that was quite a memorable show". It is the same factor that makes it unique, that drags it down. The score is pulled down because of the lack of realism in a show that aims to include many elements pulled straight out of the 21st century world for the sake of appearing realistic and well thought through. There is a scene where a protagonist is being pursued. He flees into a park, filled with happy picnickers. He rests momentarily on a bench, when suddenly his pursuer appears again. He runs through the park, but to our surprise, all those picnickers have disappeared. Is the director implying that in the few seconds that the camera pans away, all those men and women decided to pack up and leave? This incident is not standalone, and quite often outsiders (to the plot) seem to act illogically, or simply disappear solely for the sake of furthering a plot line and making the actions of characters seem logical. Another small, annoying factor is that all characters seem to be able to speak to anyone on the globe. Now honestly, I don't believe that the entire world has started speaking Japanese overnight. This can be overlooked to a certain extent however, since such reasoning seems to be prevalent in many shonen titles. Another factor pulling down an otherwise very good show, is the seemingly low budget of Blood+. It affects many of the most dominant factors determining the success of a show, plot, animation and sound. Firstly, the plot seems to suffer because directors and producers felt it necessary to include a lot of tangents, which lead nowhere. The entire series could have been done in 3/4ths of the 50 episodes that it runs for or less. Secondly, the lack of CG animation and lanky movements at times takes away from a series that includes a lot of fight scenes. Although it does give it some sort of visual appeal, it would have been much better executed with a larger animation budget. Sound is another factor pulling it down. Although there are some good tracks in the OST, which are nice to the ear, the repetition and overuse of them is simply irritating, especially for a longer anime like Blood+. The OP and ED are of the common staple, including well known (at least, for us anime fans) J-Rock bands such as UVERworld and Hyde. Certainly not bad, but not very original either. Voice acting isn't terribly great either, although the actors can convey different emotions, it is not entirely convincing either. Lastly, personally I found the lack of a deeper " meaningful" plot line distasteful. Although certainly not needed, it would have brought the enjoyment factor up quite a bit. Simply following the story of the main protagonist, Saya, can be a bore at times, especially when it becomes overly melodramatic. Pushing my criticism aside, Blood+ certainly isn't a bad series. Even with these somewhat irritating flaws, it is still much better than a lot of Shonen titles nowadays, and for anyone simply wanting some enjoyment without a too much engrossing plot, i'd certainly recommend this. However, for anyone looking for something deeper, something with, say, moralistic or idealistic principles, i'd tell you to look further, because this wouldn't be for you. Recommended for: (more serious) Shonen fans, those looking for something different than average. Not recommended for: Fans of moe character designs, serious Seinen fans.

I used to watch a fair amount of anime, but over the past few years, my interest in it had been gradually waning, partly because of the decreasing number of good shows being produced, and partly because of lack of time due to my heavy workload. However, this trend was reversed when I had the good fortune of coming across Blood+. I had never heard of it before, but the premise seemed interesting enough, though not particularly original or unique. I decided to give it a shot, expecting at least a decent and entertaining show but notmuch more than that. But what I got was much, much more I had dared to hoped for. What starts out as a fairly conventional storyline gradually unravels, revealing a vastly more complex and intricate narrative tapestry. Its deliberate pacing may be misconstrued by some as being "slow", but as the story progresses, all the puzzle pieces that are uncovered early on start to fall into place, and things that once seemed insignificant or nonsensical begin to make sense. As for the technical merits of this show, other people have already discussed its superb animation and hauntingly evocative soundtrack, so I won't go into too much detail on them. Suffice it to say that they complement the mood of the series exceptionally well. However, what really won me over was the exceptional character development displayed here. Without giving too much away, I can say that these characters actually felt like real, living, breathing people and not just 2-D images on the TV screen. They change and evolve as time goes by, and after a particular event occurs, don't be surprised if you find yourself regarding certain characters in a totally different light. To make a long story short, Blood+ is one of only a handful of shows that transcends the boundaries of its genre, and one of the best animes I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. In fact, it practically single-handedly revived my passion for anime and spurred me on to seek many other great shows, which I probably would not have bothered to watch otherwise. And that is probably the greatest compliment one can pay to any medium of entertainment.

When Blood+ came out back in 2005, it was one of the seasons most anticipated releases. The original work, Blood: The Last Vampire, screamed for a longer storyline that showed some development. And while Blood+ was to take place in a separate universe, if it managed to construct a decent story around the beautiful aesthetics of the film, then we would have had a definite winner. Sadly, Blood+ is, to put it bluntly, a bit of a mess. Blood+ starts off decent enough. Saya, our protagonist, is revealed to be the only one capable of killing the human killing, blood sucking chiropterans. Early on, abit os a standard "mysterious past" is established, although over the course of 50 episodes, it's never explained as well as it probably should have banned. Those hoping for a one woman show, like Blood: The Last Vampire, may also find it interesting that Blood+ sort of becomes a band of travelers movie with Saya's close friends, Riku and Kai, and her guardian of sort, the mysterious cello playing Hagi. One of the biggest problems of this show is that so many of its elements are very, very conventional. Saya is an amnesia sufferer who has "forgotten" about her past as a bloody killer. The American military is interfering in the role of vampires, which would have made for a decent little conspiracy story, if predictable, if it was fully explored. We are also treated to a bevy of corny "live your life for today" speeches from the likes of Saya's friends. It's all very standard fare. This wouldn't have been too bad, and would have been saved in part by the decently exciting action, if the series wasn't so arbitrary. New rules and twists are introduced haphazardly to the plot at seemingly unfit times. The Schiff, who are basically manufactured vampires, are tossed into the mix lazily, and their new set of rules and characters pops up and then is sort of left behind as the series progresses. This is how a lot of the second half of the show works. As Saya pursues Diva, the head honcho of the bad guys, all kinds of unexplored sub-plots are layered on; besides the aforementioned Schiff, we have some conflict between Diva's guardians (they're the bad guy equivalent of Hagi, basically), and political dealings with the American military, but they all feel terribly unimportant and underdeveloped, because the show ends up basically becoming one long, protracted chase scene, with Saya desperately trying to locate Diva and defeat her once and for all. This is extended by a relentless number of fight scenes that begin to lose their importance as we realize they are basically just delaying the final showdown. The show becomes simultaneously bogged down by the unneeded subplots, as well as too narrow-minded in how it chooses to be "mysterious" about all the characters and backgrounds. No, a show needn't spell out everything for the viewer, but we're never really given much to go on, if anything, from Saya, Hagi, and Diva and her cronies. Even as one of the antagonists essentially falls in love with Saya, it all feels very rushed and heavy-handed. While the pacing manages to keep the show watchable, it becomes so repetitive and predictable that it fails to stand out. The ending itself is something pretty much any viewer will be able to see from a mile away (and it has to do with another weird arbitrary rule that seems to be heaped on just to attempt to make it sad). Because of this, the emotional punch it is supposed to provide is more like an emotional feather dusting. There are some positives, the animation is good, even if it lacks the dark appeal of The Last Vampire. The various world locations we get to see manage to help keep things varied. Kai becomes an interesting character with a soft-side to go along with his rambunctious one, that we can really empathize with. The action is generally pretty exciting at first. But the show just wears out its welcome with the arbitrary introduction of new ideas and characters that are often abandoned simply to fit the plot. It makes you wonder why they were needed in the first place. Ultimately, this all leaves Blood+ as a watchable, but simplistic and by-the-numbers vampire flick. 3/10