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Reviews
Blood+ (2005)
Blood:the Last Vampire this is not
Yes folks, somebody at Production IG had the great idea of turning Blood: the Last Vampire into a fullblown TV series. However, instead of maintaining the noirish horror/suspense feel of the OVA, Production IG has decided to give this version a more lighthearted, teener-friendly feel.
It's basically an alternate setting for the Blood franchise, as the backstory contradicts information presented in B:tLV. Instead of being a dark, brooding killer with an aversion to holy symbols and a disturbing sword-fetish, this Saya is an anemic, yet bubbly little teener with a serious bout of amnesia. Things change however, once the first Chiropteran steps in, and Saya is forced into the role of champion. In fact, the characterization stays throughout most of the series, even when she finally remembers her past.
And this is what is troubling with the anime. The main character, Saya, seem to have graduated from the Ikari Shinji School of Reluctant Heroism. Despite having vampire powers, she remains ineffectual throughout most of the series, to the point that she ends up endangering the lives of several allies. It was cool when Evangelion did it, but honestly, can we not have another procrastinating, guilt-ridden hero? It's becoming as old as my mother's sense of fashion.
Conversely, Kai, Saya's foster brother, acts more like the hero for any generic super-fantasy-martial-arts anime, without the super martial arts powers. He constantly spends his time getting into the line of fire, despite becoming aware early on that he's more likely to become bat-chow in the face of even the weakest Chiropteran.
Both these characters get a personality overhaul after episode 33, but by then it's too little, too late; you've already been subjected to 32 episodes of whining heroine and headstrong idiot.
Art-wise, the characters look good. Again, it's not the more photorealistic, noir look of B:tLV, but it's pretty nonetheless, maintaing the original's fusion of traditional cel-animation and CG work. The characters are mostly animated well, although some episodes have shoddy in-between work, resulting in choppy-looking animation.
The Japanese dub is passable, although there are a few times when the voice actors are not properly synched with the animation. What puts me off though is the fact that it has a multinational setting, but all the characters speak perfect Nihongo. Even in 19th century Russia. This tends to be jarring especially since the OVA used either bilingual seiyu or American voice actors when necessary.
Overall, it's a more kid friendly version of Blood the Last Vampire. So if you found the original too dark, and if you prefer your heroes weak and ineffectual, then this series is for you.
Speed Grapher (2005)
major plus points for plot and story, big minus for consistency
This was a series that got me hooked from the first episode. This dystopian vision of the future gave a very strong film noir feel, and presented characters that were not necessarily likable, but very human.
The first few episodes had very strong production values, and its animation and art is on par with the best the industry has to offer. Blood, guts, explosions and sex are depicted beautifully.
Which becomes a bit of a letdown the further you progress into the series, as inconsistencies with the animation become evident halfway through the series. Characters that were beautifully done in the first few episodes, such as Suitengu and Ginza, end up looking like stragglers from a really low-budget hentai production by towards the end of the series, both in terms of artwork and animation.
I watched this with the Japanese dub, which overall locks in well with the story and theme. There are several American characters here, particularly during flashbacks of Saiga's wartime career, and they all try to speak English with American accents. Conversely, Japanese characters who speak English, like Saiga, do so with very heavy Japanese accents, adding realism to the whole thing.
Again, the inconsistent production values mar this aspect of the anime, as they obviously hired Japanese seiyu, who end up straining with their pseudo-American accents. It would have been more immersive had they instead hired native English-speaking dubbers for the American characters. It also comes off as weird when African American characters end up sounding like old white guys.
Overall, stronger production values would've pushed this hardboiled anime to a 10.