Anime: Blood: The Last Vampire

As long as I watch anime, there're two things that never cease to amaze me:
- how a team of talented and experienced people with huge budget in their hands can still produce a terrible show;
- and how drastically the public reception of a certain anime may differ from one's personal impression of it.
Blood: The Last Vampire is a brilliant example of these paradoxes. First, let's examine some data concerning this anime:
- based on a screenplay by Kenji Kamiyama, director of Seirei no Moribito and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex;
- made by Production I.G, one of the most prominent anime studios;
- awarded the Grand Prize at Japan Media Arts Festival;
- finally, received very well by the audience in Japan & abroad with dozens of positive comments and reviews. Some even create a cult of this little movie and call it "the best vampire anime ever".
Hope, I haven't forgotten anything.
Now, when you know all that, imagine those multiple facepalms I had while watching this piece of "art". Believe it or not, this show is a total waste of time. The reason is simple: the movie delivers nothing except for animation, which is also not as top-notch as many people claim.

STORY
As you could've already heard or read from the synopsis, the story tells about Saya - the last true vampire who works for CIA, and how she and two of her colleagues head to an American base in Japan where vampires appeared and killed several people. The story takes place on Halloween, and there's a party in the school at the base. Vampires are there, and Saya must exterminate them. That's the premise, and while it may be not particularly mind-blowing, it still sounds not bad.
However, as the show goes on, you realize that the movie doesn't deliver in any aspect it possibly could:
- it has almost no action. Saya performs 4 kills for the whole movie, and each of them is executed with one slash of her katana. In other words, there're no actual fights in this show: 4 slashes of katana and one unimpressive chase is all the action you get here;
- it fails as thriller, because in order to thrill someone you need amazing and sudden plot twists; anime like Kaiji and Perfect Blue are great examples of that. However, the plot here is primitive and straightforward as much as it could possibly be;
- it fails as horror, because we see only one person getting killed by vampire for the whole movie. So, not only it's primitive and predictable when it comes to plot - even the shock factor is way too low to qualify for horror;
- it has almost no mystery, like searching for those vampires or figuring out who of these people are vampires. It takes very little time and doesn't count as any sort of investigation;
- it doesn't feature any interesting ideas or thought material, because the story is totally empty, shallow & predictable, as already mentioned above.
Besides, the movie feels torn out of context as it starts in the middle of nowhere and lacks any backstory to explain major plotholes, like why Saya works with humans, why she is the last real vampire, what the difference is between her and those vampires she annihilates, what those vampires tried to accomplish or, if they simply preyed on humans, why they had to infiltrate a military base instead of hunting in a city. Of course, one might say that the movie is a mere trailer for the Blood+ series and it doesn't have to explain everything, however: a) I can't recall a trailer getting festival prizes and a huge following; b) even the shortest story should have a proper beginning and conclusion, and not something starting and ending in the middle of nowhere.

On top of everything, the show is crowned with an ending scripted by Captain Obvious himself, where the major revelation and the only plot twist awaits us: the main character... turns out to be a vampire! However, even if you didn't read the synopsis and never heard of Blood+, Saya's nature is so blatantly hinted from the very beginning that you would understand it anyway long before the ending.
Overall, the anime creators' logic is a complete enigma to me, because I still struggle to understand how they planned to deliver anything with a story like that. What's even more enigmatic, plenty of reviewers call it "a classic action plot". In my opinion, "a classic action plot" sounds more like Ninja Scroll or Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust i.e. you get lots of exciting action and simple, comprehensible story with some drama and a bunch of crazy things thrown in for the additional effect. Here, the story is almost devoid of action, drama, mystery and other aspects that could possibly attract the viewer, and it has some major plotholes on top of that. Why do people like it? Again, that's a huge mystery to me.

ANIMATION
No doubt, the quality of art and animation is great in many aspects: the camera angles are great, the light effects and reflections are well done, and the backgrounds are quite impressive too. However, things literally get ugly when it comes to characters: they have really ugly faces and move like robots, which looks awkward and simply off-putting. So, the quality of art and animation is awful when it comes characters, and great when it has to do with everything else.
Also, I can't help but mention the excessive amount of colour black in this anime: almost everything is black, from the backgrounds to characters' clothes and even lips. Perhaps, the creators thought the more black you use the more sinister the anime feels, yet it only turns out extremely gloomy and rather difficult to watch because sometimes you can't even tell what's going on the screen. So, the whole thing looks like another not very clever artistic decision.

SOUND
The problems continue in the sound section:
- first, the soundtrack is absolutely generic. You won't remember a single melody after watching;
- still, it could work if it created the right atmosphere and pushed your emotional buttons, but here comes the second problem: the soundtrack is muted for the most part, as if they refrain from using it. Consequently, the OST leaves no impression as it is generic and almost non-existent;
- on top of that, the movie features one of the worst examples of voice-acting I've ever heard: the speech is absolutely colourless and mechanic, devoid of semantic emphasis and pauses. It completely fails at conveying emotions, especially when the characters speak English. In fact, they sound almost like some translator program when you type in a text and push "Play". So, the characters not only move like robots, but also talk like them.

CHARACTERS
Perhaps, the weakest part of the movie:
- first, we have Saya, who is a pathetic attempt at creating a strong female lead: instead, they made her a cold ugly bitch acting rudely towards the people around. The only time she acts in a more or less humane way is in the end of the movie after she kills the last vampire. Before that, she evokes no sympathy at all;
- then, we have the school nurse who is a totally generic character yet she at least makes an impression of a human being;
- and then, we have all other people including Saya's companions who make an impression of nothing but talking dummies.
All in all, no personalities, no development and no backstory because the movie is torn out of context. Now, add the ugly character designs, robotic movements, colourless voice acting and incredibly primitive B-movie dialogues, and you'll get an awful characterization even for a 100% action flick.

OVERALL
This anime is so remarkably empty and flawed in every aspect that it hardly warrants any recommendation even to those who like B-movies and mindless action. In fact, I'm still wondering how a studio like Production I.G could've made something like that. Perhaps, the animators were replaced with zombies, monkeys or some computer generating random ideas, but we'll never know the truth. What I do know, however, is that I could recommend you some shows instead of this movie:
- those interested in vampires should check Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Kigeki;
- those looking for a dark thriller should look for Kaiji and Perfect Blue;
- and those who want some quality horror should try Berserk and Mononoke (not to be confused with Ghibli's Princess Mononoke which is also a great anime).

It is vitally important that you don't approach Blood: The Last Vampire with the wrong kind of expectations. No pilot should be regarded the same way as a feature. This OVA eventually spawns direct manga sequels and a TV series that takes place even further down the time line. If Blood wasn't such a tease, taunting us with tantalizing animation, voice work and scene direction, only to pull the rug from under us with a TV series that, when compared to what inspired it, is sickeningly close to generic and cliche in both plot and characters; if the spawn wasn't such a far cry from its parent, and we got more of what was promised from this pilot in Blood+, my opinion of it would be much higher. Without a satisfactory resolution, the incoherence of the cliffhangers are exacerbated. Without elaboration, the characters that showed moments of brilliance must be taken at face value instead.

Blood takes place in an American military base in Japan during the infancy of the Vietnam war. Saya is an American operative sent in to take out bat like beasts that can only be slain with melee weapons. It doesn't get more complicated than that, and really, it doesn't need to be. If not for a few superfluous scenes towards the end meant only to tease, it would have been a cohesive and satisfactory, albeit somewhat uninspired story. This is action centric after all, and plot complexities are anything but necessary. Blood+ changes the universe established in the OVA. It changes the characters, story, mythos, and rehauls the setting. As such, there is no conclusion to the cliffhanger elements in the ending since its sequel is an entirely separate entity. Questions of Saya's origins, her relationship with the bat beasts and her involvement in the War are posed as if they are supposed to be answered by some future work, but left open as they are, they just sour the beautiful climax the story provides.

The climax receives little dramatic boost from the plot. It's simply the final showdown between Saya and the bat beasts. No personal conflicts brew between them; Saya is merely carrying out her mission throughout. It is not the setup, but the scene itself in its explosive drama that lets us know the OVA has come to its head. Close up camera angles accentuate the desperation, fear, and aggression in Saya's movements as well as her facial expressions. Cold and unfeeling as she is for the most part, glimpses of her humanity come through as she delivers a cut with her Katana, and the flash of killer intent washes over her face, or as she bangs on a door desperately for help. There is emotion in there after all, and it's expressed with such wonderful attention to detail. The way Saya brings her weight down with a Katana strike, lurching her shoulders forward, along with that ferocious facial expression she takes, communicates the sudden rush of aggression that feels so viscerally and satisfyingly violent. Her voice actress does a brilliant job screaming with all sorts of ferocity or fear, more convincing than any performance in an Anime action scene I've seen, and this further contributes to how engrossing the climax is. Blood's visuals aren't eye candy in a martial arts sense. There are no prolonged or flashy fight-like encounters. It's more a showcase of just how expressive and human animation can be in the context of action through attention to body mechanics, facial expressions and even camera angles. In this regard, Blood has no equal.

The voice work is impressive simply for being bilingual. Saya's voice actress is fluent in both English and Japanese. She does a fairly decent job for the most part, and an exceptional job at times. The same cannot be said of the majority of the English cast. With the exception of an old agent that seems to be Saya's guardian, whose performance is but mediocre, and Saya herself, the whole English track sounds like amateur hour at a recording studio. It's painfully bad. Worse-than-a-fandub bad.

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There are plenty of problems with this OVA. The story is unspectacular at best, incoherent at worst. Some of the English voices periodically break the engrossing realism. While we get a glimpse of Saya's very human soul through the action, her personality remains shallow and cliche. It's more or less solid despite its flaws up until the end of the climax though, so it's not hard to enjoy. As a stand alone work, it's fine, but as an example of the heights of drama animated action can reach, it should be remembered and admired.

Before watching this mini-movie one must understand that it is merely a "trailer" of sorts to showcase the abilities of the animators. The true result of their efforts is found in Blood+, the anime series released following the massive success of Blood: The Last Vampire in the U.S. and Japan.

Therefore, while Blood: The Last Vampire is a bit too short and may seem to lack critical background information needed for a true movie, if you take the movie for what it is, the result is truly amazing.

The combination of English and Japanese in the movie also provides for more realism as the story is meant to take place on an American army base. However, the voice actors/actresses, do a fairly poor job and speak incredibly slowly, especially the school nurse.

Also, the character depth of Saya, who at the beggining seems nothing more than a stereotypical ice cold vampire is shown in her ability to care about others, if only a bit, and her drive to kill the monsters also provides depth, while the ending leaves us to question whether or not Saya regrets doing what she is doing.

Again, while some may not like the lack of background or growth in the characters in this movie, I believe it only adds to the mystery surrounding Saya herself and creates a better and more intriguing atmosphere for this dark tale.

The plot focuses on Saya's quest to destroy the vampire-like monsters who are roaming the world: her quest takes her to an American military base in Japan, specifically a school on the base. This allows for an interesting dynamic as Saya hides as a student, with the school nurse attempting to befriend her.

Great animation, a deep and engaging main character, and interesting plot combine to make this movie a true masterpiece. Also, if you enjoy this movie I would reccomend its' semi-sequel, Blood+, which is a new version of the Blood storyline, including Saya. (Conversely, if you enjoyed Blood+, I would reccomend this movie). This is probably the best stand-alone anime movie out there, not including OVAs like Rurouni Kenshin.

Short, but sweet just the same.

Visuals:
Very nice blood-and-gore-galore visuals. Some of the backgrounds have been filled with such fine detail that it's sometimes a wonder if they are pictures or drawings. Early on, there is a small example of this with a scene showing a telephone filling the screen. When I first saw the movie I thought this was a real telephone. The animation of the characters is very fluid, and combined with the style of occasional 3D backgrounds with 2D objects, it works well. There is excellent detail and camera work (where it pans about whilst the action is ensuing), and the dark artwork is moody and atmospheric.

Sound:
The sound is top notch. There are excellent effects - with decent gunshots and twangs of swords - and also the splatter of bodies when required. The voice acting is great and emotional, and the musical score is befitting to the movie.

Story:
The story isn't really very original, and the anime is too short to really think too highly of it, but it's perfectly acceptable all the same. It has you intrigued from the outset, and never really lets go. The nature of the vampires and the way in which they stalk their prey is very engrossing and intense, with some pretty satisfying consequences and plot sequences. It's amusing to think that this feels like it should be a pilot of a series, when the series is now finally a reality.

Characters:
The characters aren't really very striking, but they do the job nicely. The lead heroine is a tad lacking in development, but with such a short running time once again, it isn't really possible to develop her character too much. After pondering over the characters in general, you realise that the characters aren't particularly toned down - they just aren't as exaggerated as in other movies. Lead character aside, Blood has taken a slightly more realistic and emotional approach to the key characters (especially the nurse) and just put them in this supernatural situation. They work well within their environment, but once again I reiterate that they aren't all that striking.

Value & Enjoyment:
This is definately an anime that I can watch over again - partially due to it being so short, and partially because it just looks so darn nice and has an intense atmosphere which builds well. I enjoyed it, and recommend it to those who a are looking to see something a bit creepy, scary, or bloody.

Man the animation in this SCREAMS bloody MURDER. This is so awesome to look at WOW!! I think this is one of the best anime movies out there and makes a great intro for other friends to the world of anime. If you want someone to know what anime is like this is the movie for you. I just wish it was longet and at least give us some answers to who or what exactly is Saya. This was a thrill ride all the way, the sound the vampires made was bone chilling and eerily realistic.

If there is a sequel that would give a better explanation of what went on, then this would be among the classics. Cause as of now when you watch this it's like watching something in the middle of a bigger more epic story!

The only series in which they manage to make a plotwise decently Japanese dubbed movie combined with a bad English dub in the same story.

The animation looks pretty good. It has a certain unique style which feels odd for people who are used to the happy-genki-colorful anime out there, but although the style is odd, it's still a good one. They manage to create the backgrounds in a way that they fit in with the characters and foreground, instead of just pasting it behind the main character.
The movie also comes with a very dark atmosphere, which fits the story very well and with the dark colors it emphasizes the darkness/grimness even more.

The sound is done well, same for the Japanese voices. Unfortunately, the English parts are done very poor, especially in the chasing scene. Suddenly they noticed they have to take the road to the left, so the main guy says "Turn left here!" but although anyone could understand that this is said as an order, or perhaps even a yell to the driver, the voiceactor for that person speaks that sentence as if he's a tourguide, which is pointing out the main attraction on the left side - which is definitely not the way to say such a sentence in such a situation.
Still - the movie is unique for its usage of both English and Japanese in the same movie. Half of the characters are speaking English while the other half are speaking Japanese. And although they used native English speakers for the English speaking characters, they are also as bad as we know them.

The story is simple, but okay. They don't make things too complicated, but instead of focusing on a real plot, they use a small plot and use lots of action and tensity in order to make this movie a good one. It gives an atmosphere of a horror-movie, combined with a lot of action at times, which is kind of okay, but nothing great.

The characters are done decently. They don't get a lot of development, but that's not necessary in this title. They're made to have fixed characters so they can focus on the action. But the characters are done nicely.

The anime is a nice one-shot movie, which doesn't take too long to watch, which means it's easy rewatchable and because of the lack of story/character development, it's also a title to rewatch with friends. Especially since it's a nice actionmovie without too much complications, it's an easy watch - also for non-otaku.