DVD Review – Blood: The Last Vampire
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Studio: Production I.G. and Aniplex
Release Date: November 2000
Japan, 1966. A secret agency of the United States government is tracking down and killing vampiric creatures around the Yokota Air Force base. Bullets don’t kill these hideous monsters: like the vampires in I Am Legend, they need to suffer a major wound. So, the Americans seek the help of Sayu, a samurai-sword-wielding vampire girl.
Dressed in a Japanese highschool uniform (think ‘sailor’), this grim and ageless killer is enrolled in the base’s school to track down some shapeshifting ‘Chiroptera‘ …
Even though it’s under an hour long, Blood: The Last Vampire is a great anime feature. The thing you notice most about it is the amazing art for the backgrounds and character design. It has a gorgeous, sepia-tinged look to it, and a dramatic use of light and shadow that really makes the most of its mix of digital and traditional artwork.
Due to the film’s shortness (I believe it was intended to be part of a three-part series), there’s not much room for backstory or character development. But there is plenty of action, and an intriguing twist on vampire mythos in an unusual setting.
Some people seem not to like the way that Blood drops you in the middle of a story, and ends suddenly without much explanation. I question the intelligence of those people. I had no problem understanding what was happening, and didn’t find it confusing or disjointed. Anyway: be warned that it is fast-paced, and you might be confused.
I really enjoyed it: a pouty, elfin-looking vampire girl fighting monsters with a samurai sword in a Vietnam-war-era military base in Japan? Awesome! The problem is that it was so short, and it leaves you wanting more.
One aspect of the film that did annoy slightly me was the school nurse. She’s really just set up to be a victim, stumbling from crisis to crisis. The best thing about her was the way she looked as she frequently froze in jaw-dropped astonished horror, which had me laughing with delight.
My compliments to character designer Katsuya Terada. The nurse, Sayu, the monsters, all of them were realistic, expressive individuals.
Blood is a really cool and stylish anime, and it should be on your wish list if you’re into anime or vampires. Otherwise, I’d suggest maybe checking it out first as a rental to make sure you’d like it.
Following the success of this original, Blood has expanded as a franchise to include games, novels, manga and a TV series.
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