Blood+
| Blood+ | |
 The cover of volume 1 of the Blood+ DVDs released in Japan. | |
| Genre | Horror, Action, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Romance |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Jun'ichi Fujisaku |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Related | |
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Blood: The Last Vampire | |
Blood+ (BLOOD+ (ブラッドプラス), Buraddo Purasu, pronounced "Blood Plus") is a franchise based on the 2000 animated film, Blood: The Last Vampire[1] produced by Production I.G and Sony's anime production arm, Aniplex.
It premiered in Japan across Sony's anime satellite television network, Animax, as well as terrestrial networks such as MBS, TBS, RKB, and others from October 8, 2005, to September 23, 2006.
Blood+ was licensed for international distribution in numerous regions, including North America, by Sony's international film distribution arm, Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) .[2]
It premiered on Adult Swim on March 18, 2007 and airs at 12:30 AM (eastern) on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings. Season One concluded on September 22 with Season Two set to start on October 7. Additionally, from August 20 to September 21 Adult Swim aired reruns of the first 25 episodes at 12:30 AM (eastern) every weeknight as part of their nightly lineup. [3] The episodes rotate between TV-14 and TV-MA for strong violence.
Plot
Under the care of her adoptive family, Saya Otonashi has been living the life of an anemic and amnesiac, but otherwise ordinary schoolgirl. Saya’s happy life is shattered when she is attacked by a chiropteran, and learns that she is the only one who can defeat them. ("Chiroptera" is the name of the order of biological classification that contains bats, probably the reason for the vampiric creatures being called "Chiropterans".)
Armed with her sword, Saya embarks on a journey with her family, allies, and Chevalier, Haji, to rid the world of Chiropterans and rediscover her identity. The course of the journey reveals the background history of the chiropeterans and Saya's very deep past, which extends into the mid-19th century.
The series is initially set in present day (September 2005) Okinawa City (Koza), on Okinawa Island, near the US Kadena Air Base. In the course of the series, Saya visits locales across the world, while fighting enemy chiropterans and searching for her origins.
Characters
- Saya's Friends and Family
- The series revolves around Saya Otonashi, a seemingly ordinary high school student who lives with her adopted family and secretly guarded by her Chevalier, Haji (Hagi in the English translation). Her adopted father, George Miyagusuku, is a veteran of the Vietnam War and was entrusted with Saya by David's father. Her elder brother, Kai, was a star athlete, while her younger brother, Riku, is a kind and smart boy, though shy.
- Red Shield
- An organization formed to combat the Chiropterans, the Red Shield was founded by the descendants of Joel Goldschmidt, the man who originally found Saya and Diva. Most Red Shield members are survivors of Chiroptera attacks or have lost someone to Chiropterans, and all possess a trinket with an embedded Chiropteran crystal. The Red Shield's greatest enemy is Diva, and her Chevaliers. Red Shield is responsible for Saya's protection and well-being, using her as their key weapon against the Chiropterans.
- Cinq Flèches Group
- The Goldsmiths are a branch of the Goldschmidt family dedicated to protecting Diva; all their family members are Diva's Chevaliers. They control the Cinq Flèches Group, a powerful and influential conglomerate, with the ultimate goal of creating a world of Chiroptera for Diva's future. The family crest of five arrows (Cinq Flèches) and the names of the brothers are modeled after the family of Mayer Amschel Rothschild. One member of the Goldsmith family, Solomon, falls in love with Saya, and thus breaks ties with Diva, being the only Chevalier to do so.
- The Schiff
- An unstable balance between Chevaliers and Chiropterans, they are prototypes for the Corpse Corps, pseudo-Chevalier soldiers created from Diva's blood by a group of scientists under the sponsorship of Amshel Goldsmith in Khirbet. Although they have similar regenerative abilities, the Schiff eventually die from an attribute they call the “Thorn,” an affliction that causes their bodies to gradually crystallize. As imperfect beings, direct exposure to sunlight will cause them to spontaneously combust. Unable to attain Diva’s blood (the only supposed cure for the “Thorn”), they gradually die off, leaving Moses, Karman and Lulu. Karman gets infected with the Thorn, and Moses sacrifices himself with Karman and they die together, leaving Lulu as the last surviving Schiff at the end of the series.
- Diva
- Saya's twin sister is the story's main antagonist. She provides the Delta67 (derived from her blood) which is used to transform people into Chiropterans. When she was born she was kept in an isolated tower as part of an experiment. Because of that she hated Joel, such that when Saya freed her, she slaughtered him and the people at his birthday party. Her isolation left her childish and socially inept as well as ignorant of the moral ramifications of her actions.
Adaptations
Several novels, manga, and video games based off the anime were produced.
Kadokawa Shoten published two novels and three manga, several of which focus on events prior to the start of the anime.
- Novels
- Blood+ (Official adaptation)
- Blood+ Russian Rose
- Manga
- Blood+, official adaptation by Asuka Katsura (桂 明日香, Katsura Asuka) and serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace, consists of five volumes.
- Blood+ Adagio, by Kumiko Suekane and serialized in Beans Ace, (two volumes) and focuses on Saya and Haji's journey in Russia.
- Blood+ Yakō Jōshi, by Hirotaka Kisaragi and serialized in Ciel, (one volume) centers around Haji's past.
- Games
- Blood+: One Night Kiss a videogame for the PS2, directed by Goichi Suda and produced by Grasshopper Manufacture, introduces Aoyama, an original character to the game.
- Blood+: Souyoku no Battle Rondo, a title for the PS2, by Sony Computer Entertainment released in Japan on July 27, 2006. The game features an Active Demonstration System, the decisions you make in the action scene will lead you to different branches in the story. Saiya can perform air attacks, triangle jumps, and awakening attacks (which is when her true power awakens under certain conditions).
- Blood: The Last Vampire, also for the PS2 and based on the movie, contains over two hours of animation produced by Production I.G and has over 42 possible endings. A PSP version of the game was also made available.
Music
| # | Transcription/Translation | Performed by | Episodes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Aozora no Namida", 青空のナミダ (lit. Tears of the Blue Sky) | Hitomi Takahashi | 1-13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | "Season's Call" | Hyde | 14-25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | "Colors of the Heart" | UVERworld | 26-38 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | "Raion", 雷音 (lit. thunder sound) | Jinn | 39-50
SoundtracksBlood+ Original Soundrack 1
Blood+ Original Soundrack 2
Hagi Plays J.S. Bach
Hagi Plays Suite No. 5 in C minor for Solo Cello is the third soundtrack to Blood+. It is composed of several parts of J.S.Bach's Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor (BWV 1011) performed by Nobuo Furukawa (古川展生, Furukawa Nobuo). Bonus track remix by Yoshihiro Hanno (半野喜弘, Hanno Yoshihiro). Bonus DVD includes Hagi special episode and video featuring Nobuo Furukawa.
Blood+ Complete Best
Blood+ Complete Best is a compilation set that consists of an audio CD and a DVD, with the full versions of the series' theme songs as well as two tracks from the original soundtracks and eight videos of the full versions of opening and ending songs.
References
External links
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