Blood: The Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire Review

The opening scene is in a subway car with a young lady who doesn't seem any different than any other young lady; dark hair, dark eyes, and a heavy jacket. The only difference here is that this girl really isn't a normal girl, she's Saya, a mysterious young lady who's the last remaining "original".


Saya can pull off a mean mug with the best of them, it looks as though if she tried to smile it would be painful. She's rather small in frame but carries a big stick, a really sharp one called a Katana. For these reasons alone I wouldn't ever want to mess with her or even be caught in a dark alley alone while she's in a bad mood.


The vampires (vampiric demons known as Chiroptera) in this story are a bit different. Some how they know when she's around and she can sense them with her supernatural abilities, so every meeting ends up epic as they both seem to have a spidey-sense for each other, if you will.


Either way, the movie really takes off from the opening scene and keeps going with awesome visual detail and action. There are a few points where it seems to get slow but it's only for a brief moment and I think they did it to give you a bit of a break and to set up the awesome action sequences. The movie is just around an hour long so there's really no time to get bored.


This anime is heralded as being one of the most visually stunning of it's time, and it's true in my opinion. There's a mix of hand drawn animation with the help of computer aided design. You can really see this movie shine when watching it on a high-definition TV with an up-scaling DVD player.


I personally thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The only qualm I had about it was the length and lack of character development. I suppose the fast introduction of the few main characters aids in the mystery, but it doesn't help quench your thirst for knowing more about the story… and believe me, you'll want a few questions answered. There is a series named after the movie, but I'm not sure how it all ties in with it. I've yet to review it.


So, if you're up for a quick, bloody, and great horror anime that doesn't make you sit through a long and drawn out story then this is a great choice.





Voice Acting:

There's really not a lot of dialogue in this movie, but they did a pretty good job when there was. The acting is very convincing.


Visuals & Animation:

They'll blow you away. The animation is mixed in with some really awesome CG work. The shading mixed in the darkness really adds to the story and atmosphere. Top notch stuff here, hard to beat.


Story:

The only reason I couldn't give the story a higher score was because of the lack of character development and the length of the overall movie. Even though it could be just a part of the mystique of the movie itself, you really are left wanting more, and I never really decided if that's a good or bad thing.


Music & Sound:

The music and sound effects are done extremely well. They don't distract or take away from the anime at all. Everything sounds very natural and adds a lot to the overall feel of the genre. Besides, who doesn't love the sound of a Katana being ripped out of its sheath?


Voice Acting: 8/10
Visuals & Animation: 10/10
Story: 7/10
Music & Sound: 9/10
Overall: 9/10


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