Blood |
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When my friend obtained his copy of
Blood : The Last Vampire shortly before me, I decided to
watch a little bit of it prior to writing a review. Once
I got to the ten minute point, I decided to watch a
little more. Once I got to the twenty minute point, I
decided to watch a little more. Once I got to the thirty
minute point, I decided to watch a little more. Stop me
if this starts to get tedious. Anyhow, when I reached the
forty minute point, I found that the movie was over.
Short as it was, it was an entertaining ride that packed
quite a punch, but it wasn't a movie I thought much about
after it was all over. Vampires aren't a very original subject, and neither are vampire killers. I guess you can blame Bram Stoker for that. Blood is a movie that plays very much like 1998's Blade, about a vampire hunter who is part vampire(although this is just speculation in the case of Blood), hunting said vampires who have become a normal part of society. Although they both deal with the same supernatural subjects, Blade benefitted by having much more back story than the sparse amount we are given in Blood. Blood begins on a subway(an appropriate place for a horror movie, eh?), where our heroine, Saya, is riding alone with another man. Suddenly, she springs to life, killing the man by slicing him across his torso. The train stops, and Saya is confronted by two American agents. She seems to work for them, but her last mission didn't seem to be successful as the man she just killed wasn't a vampire at all. Saya receives her new mission, and is shipped off to her new location. Her new location is the Yokota Air Force Base in Japan, where she is to assimilate herself into the local high school as a student. Her mission is to find the vampires before they go into hibernation, and she really doesn't have to look far. Two of the three vampires are actually her classmates. Caught up in all of this horror is the school nurse, who seems to be the character most connected to the audience. After the vampires are discovered, the last half of the movie is entirely comprised of an elaborate action sequence. Overall, Blood : The Last Vampire feels like a thin story wrapped around a fat package of great animation. Many aspects of the back story are hinted at, but never fully developed. It's not the kind of intentional confusion caused by series like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain, two shows filled with deep thought-provoking plot elements. Rather, Blood seems to get most of its back story from throwaway lines that really don't matter in the long run. Who is Saya the last of? What is with her weird reaction to religion? Who or what are those American agents working for? I don't ask for a plot as deep as a TV series when it comes to an anime movie, but it seems like the writers just threw me a bone from time to time, as if to say, "Oooh. Isn't this mysterious?" Then again, maybe I'm complaining too much here. Blood has some brilliant animation, mostly thanks to the all-digital production. With a whole lot of help from Production I.G., Blood is one of the most brilliant, stunning pieces of Japanese animation I've ever seen. Coloring the cels with the use of computers leads to a faster production, and also a really unique, clean look that puts traditional painted cels to shame. The lighting is probably one of the things that makes Blood stand out from other animated movies. The whole thing is lit like a live action movie, with soft scenes in the autumn sunlight and gritty, dark scenes at night. The Halloween party scene is probably the one that seems to stand out the most. It just seems to glow. It's a case where you have to see it to actually get a true idea of what I'm talking about, but it is one of the best looking anime movies I've ever seen. Even though the movie is so short, there's no lack of great scenes. Even though vampires have been done to death, Blood manages to freshen things up in the slaying department. One of the best scenes has a bloody vampire battle set to big band music. Never thought I'd see that. Also of note is the scene at the Halloween party, where there's a vampire present and the only one who knows is the school nurse. It has that chaotic sort of frenzy where no one knows fantasy from reality and reminded me of the movie theater scene in Scream 2 in a way. While this movie is by no means something deep and introspective, where it really scores is in the "cool factor." While Manga has botched a few releases in the past, they seem to be getting back on track with their release of Blood. Coming from what I assume is a fully digital print, Blood is one of the best looking titles I've ever seen released on DVD. After a few years of suffering through technical glitches and poorly handled analog transfers, it was nice to watch something that made it worth paying over one-thousand dollars for video equipment. Everything is so crisp and clear, it's simply beyond words. Your opinion will differ than mine according to your setup, but I guarantee that you will be impressed. My speakers got a workout along with my video equipment. Blood has a very nice 5.1 audio mix, with deep bass and some excellent directional effects. I was even surprised to hear my rear speakers kick in during many scenes. The mix really immerses you into the chaotic setting of Blood, and I must say that I'm impressed. Also impressive is that there is no dub. American characters speak English, and Japanese characters speak Japanese. Even though this is a really practical(and logical) idea, it's something you don't see very often and added to the atmosphere. The dialogue in the movie is sparse, but the different languages give it flavor. The best extra on this disc has to be the making-of documentary. Long and involved, and a treat for someone like me who likes to see just how something like Blood is put together. Many aspects of the animation are explained, including the complicated lighting effects. Much like on the Gunsmith Cats DVD, these making-of specials are some of the best extras to be included, when they're available of course. Also included is the original trailer, and a nice photo gallery. Very nice extras, and much more than I expected. Blood is under an hour, but it's easy to watch, and re-watch. It's not long and involving, so it doesn't require much more than sitting back and absorbing the great animation. While I would've liked a little more story, I'm hoping they're saving it for the inevitable sequel. - Bob Mackey |
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