Ranked #372

Blood+

When i first started watching blood + i was amazed at how much i gradually began to get addicted to the storyline.
The characters all have various traits that are so different from one another so each handle situations differently, and the storyline helps you to understand those characters and also their backgrounds aswell as saya's history.
On the first look this would just be another supernatural gore flick for those who hadn't looked deeper into the meaning of the series. It is a truely moving storyline and to those who love action/heroics/love stories this is the series for you.
There is nothing i could put down about this anime because everything has been polished up to the best standards. The sounds also have a huge effect on how the emotions get put across with the music and intrumentals playing at just the right times to create that particular nerve wracking atmosphere.

highly recommended

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I chanced upon Blood+ while looking for new anime to watch, this is not an anime to be missed. Though I have watched countless of anime, this anime has one of the most lasting and strongest impression on me.

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Story
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In the beginning, the story is gritty and hard to watch as it lays down the foundation for the plot, but the pace quickens as it reaches the middle. While the story may be somewhat predictable, it manages to deliver the predictable plot in a refreshing way. 50 episodes may sound alot, however while watching it, it has managed to hold me on the edge of the seat to watch it right to the end. The story itself seems plain and nothing special, but it dives into the details making you to want more. The plot development was well done, leaving no loop holes to anyone to guess at. A well rounded development in both story and plot.

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Art
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Its art is better than the general anime. Yet while watching you may notice the intricate details that the artist has drawn in - the weapons, the scenery. The expressions of the characters have been drawn well.

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Sound
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The soundtrack of this anime is one of the most amazing ones I have heard. The essence of the scene captured perfectly. It was been able to convey the emotions of what one might feel in that situation without much support of the art. Moreover to listen to it on its on, despite not being much of a classical music fan, I have found it extremely enjoyable to listen to. Having said that, it was composed by Mark Mancina who is a Hollywood composer, having such an excellent soundtrack might not be such a surprise after all.

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Character
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Most animes lack proper character development, animes that have good character development are few and I am probably able to count on without them without using my toes. Blood+ however, specializes in this. Each character developed proper with an indepth view of his/her background and personality change. This makes its refreshing to watch.

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Value
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I seldom re-watch animes and animes rated 8 and above are too few to count. I have enjoyed Blood+ throughly despite having re-watched far too much (I think 10x times is a little too much too) read more

Blood+ is a story about a 'normal' highschool girl in Japan. Though since the small meeting of her and a man named Haji, her life has never been the same.
The story was wonderful. There were plenty of twists, and sudden turns that just turned out so well put. With every new small plot that leads up to the main plot, there were lots of things that happened, and with all those things, it made the story complete.
The art was okay. At first, it was great, but as the series progressed, it slowly gets worse. The sounds was just about the same. Sometimes you would realize that the suspense isn't quite what it could be, and the background music didn't help with that at it's full potential. The characters were amazing. They all had a story of their own, they all look far different from the other characters, and all had a personality of their own. I enjoyed this series a lot. I wish that it would go on, but it is already a very long series. Overall its great, and I highly recommend it. read more

Blood+. It has been a while since I saw it but now, after all this time, I feel I can really reflect on it. It's your typical vampire story with a twist. The beginning was extremely interesting, but after a while, it just got kinda boring, and in the end, I felt as if I had wasted a lot of my time. It could have ended a lot earlier instead of making it 50 episodes.

The emphasis is more on the characters than the action, and all the fights are pretty much the same. Nothing that would really amaze me. This would have been alright if it weren't for the fact that most of the characters were just annoying. I really couldn't stand Kai, especially considering how his relationship with Mao turned out. Saya was still unlikeable even after she seemed to have matured after the one year time skip. I really didn't enjoy Blood+. It had an interesting story, but it was brought down by poor execution and direction. read more

1 Word Review: Trainwreck

Full Review:

Story: 7/10
Blood+ essentially covers the conflict of Saya, her family and her chevalier versus the evil Diva and her chevaliers, along with a few human supporters. They fight and run around the world, trying to stop and kill Diva. It goes on for pretty much most of the series.

We do get some background on Saya and Diva, which I'll let you watch and figure out for yourself. I'm not going to spoil it for you. We get further background on all the characters, but its relatively minor and quite honestly a little boring.

The story is really all Blood+ has going for it, but then it doesn't even really succeed to some degrees.

Art: 6/10
I don't like it. Production I.G. has, for once, failed in my book and really dropped the ball on this one. It didn't have anything remarkable, remarkable action scenes and no really remarkable animation quality. It was truly quite drab and easily on of I.G.'s worst works in recent years. If you like good animation, steer clear!

Sound: 6/10
The OST was fine for the most part, but it just felt like I heard it before. I guess if I could coin a term, I'd say "cliched music". It just wasn't all that great. Out of the 4 Openings, I'd have to say they were all just equally bad or annoying. It's best to spare yourself, just skip the Opening songs. Also, the 4 Endings, were just as annoying as the 4 Openings. Avoid those pieces of trash as well. Don't say I didn't warn you of UGHness.

Character: 3/10
There are only 3 characters I really had sympathy for in the end -- Riku, Lulu and Joel. Everyone else could've and should've died. I felt absolutely no sympathy for anyone but those 3. Saya was a whiney little you-know-what, Solomon, Kai and Hagi were freakin' tools, need I go on? I will. David was pretty useless, he was a human shield for most the series. Louis ate food for most of the series. DO I GO ON? Amshel, Nathan, Carl and James just sat around drinking wine for most of the series. Van was eating candy for half the series and talking in his accent like he's freaking... UGH. I hate all or most of the characters in Blood+, as you can see.

Enjoyment: 5/10
I didn't enjoy this for the most part, the staff loved to put random, needless fillers to kick it up to 50 episodes. Blood+ didn't need 50 episodes! They could fit all the series in about 36-38 episodes, not 50! Needless to say, Blood+ was a terrible chore to get through.

Overall: 6/10
It was a slow, painful trackwreck. Unappealing music, animation and characters were a combo like no other, which ultimately led Blood+ to a disaster. read more

The description of this show does not do it justice. I actually just finished watching the last episode this morning at 4:00am, after spending two days straight watching the whole series. I am not going to lie I knew about the series since it came out in 06 but I just never gave it the time of day because I thought it would be just a stupid vampire plot that was either endless or shallow. I was completely wrong, a friend who had watched it convinced me too, I admit the first 3 or 4 episodes seem painfully slow and way too soft for what a dark anime should be. It got interesting very quickly, and soon I could not stop watching, hence the reason I turned off my phone and locked my self up for the last couple days. The story as described is about a girl named saya fighting vampire like beings, but this is only a main theme to the plot. The real story is how Saya deals with being different and coming to except herself as she is and how she interacts with humans. The story is dark and like my other fav, code geass (also a bandai film), they are not afraid to kill main and lovable characters in order to progress the story line (I am trying not to spoil but I want to give you a good ideal of how dark this anime is). This anime is really about one girls hardships, feelings, and suffering. It will blow your mind and make you think in a different manner. read more

Very good story! Once I got started, I could hardly stop.
It is interesting to see the change the main character goes through, and it is a very interesting relationship she had to people around her.

At first, the story may seem confusing, but of course it all comes together as you get more and more into the story. You don't know more than Saya, which makes it easy to get as frustarated as her, making you want to find out which again makes you hang on to it.

I wasn't too impressed with the artwork, but it can be nice not to always look at the shiny, wild colored hair and eyes.
As it isn't really a comical anime, it does contain comedy, but none of the well-known extreme anime drawings with chibi figures. This makes the story more "serious", and is certainly a plus!
The art isn't too detailed though, and it's nothing spectacular, but definitely NOT bad! Depends on preferance.

The soundtrack is good, and it's impressing how different the tracks are made, though it's based on the same three or four melodies. Very well composed.

The characters are very deep, and you can sort of predict how they will react to different situations as yo get to know them. Tthe chracters are also very different, and all in all well made.

It has a good length - doesn't get boring or drawn out. Once you finish the anime, it makes you sad because you really want it to continue!
It also has an open ending, making YOU the boss of what is going to happen in the future, which is very nice.

I can ONLY recommend this anime; both if you're a guy or a girl, into romance or action - it really has it all. An anime I couldn't get my eyes off once I got started! read more

Main
When I watched the first couple episodes of Blood+, The first thing that came to mind was “What in the [beeeeeeeep] did they do to my show?” Anyone who has seen the original Blood knows what time it is....Blood was pretty hardcore, no bones about it! So my initial reaction to seeing this new Blood+ [and Saya] amongst all this peaceful scenery and at a regular school leading this idyllic home life complete with parent and siblings was a complete and utter shock to the system indeed. But then as this amazing story unfolds, I realized that this show way better than it seemed at first. Even if the art style is kind of shoujo, do NOT let that mislead you or dissuade your from watching this series!

Art-Style
Blood +, has VERY good animation...I'd even say it was excellent! There is extensive CG work used on this tries—rather tastefully I might add—for general vehicular movement such as cars, boats, helicopters etc. CG is also used for a lot of the architectural shots and camera pans like when character is running down or thru hallways of a building. A lot of the special FX used for the action scenes were CG, most notably would have to be FX used for when the SCHIFF members fought.
I don't know what more could be required from this show! There are a lot of exotic scenes as the character travel across Europe and Asia. There is a lot of attention to the artistic details in making each locale look authentic.
This show is a fantasy show but there are some very powerful imagery being used....with countless scenes that burn their way into your mind! Personally, I loved the battle on the train in Russia and that image of the lady jumping off the train at half speed.....is was very cool in that Matrix/Trinity kind of way. There were also some pretty unforgettable battle scenes!

Sound
I actually only liked the 3rd OP and ED songs and the art sequences that go with them. So for me this gets the lowest score. The Japanese voice cast did a great job, tho! I really appreciated their work.

Story
The biggest attribute and main seller for this series is it's story! Blood+ has a very solid and compelling storyline....in fact it is so compelling that once the ball gets rolling it's pretty hard to stop...there have been many a night that I had to forgo sleep because I stayed up watching this series and then still having to go to work the next day. But it's like a good book you can't put down!
The original Blood movie, though excellent in it own right, was very incomplete and left a lot of questions unanswered. The Blood + series did a great job filling in the holes and offered an intriguing story. At first I thought giving Saya a family and a “regular” life was a mistake but now I understand how vital it was to start the series the way it did...which made the show all the more riveting as Saya and her family evolve.

I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone, but I feel I must say that if you don't like characters dying off...then you need to factor this into your decision-making whether to watch this or not. Because if you're like me then you'll be sad [also if you do not like gore....there's lots!] In the anime world it's really not so surprising to see main characters die, but somehow I was still shocked......even when trivial side characters died, I was shocked and saddened. That's proof that this is as good show and how excellent the story was being told—If you can feel something for the death of a SUPPORTING character [forget about the main characters], then you have a good story on your hands!

Character
When I think about the characters of this series, I also wind up thinking about the characters from FullMetal Alchemist. There's no real explanation why I've linked these two sets of characters except in my minds eye, I do see a lot of similarities. For starters, this isn't just a cut and dry case of Good Guys v. Bad Guys. Sure, you may start out with one team versus another team but then you see all these smaller factions and third party forces popping out of the woodwork.....and before you know it the Good Guys may not necessarily be that good and the same goes for the bad guys.
Another reason why I may have linked the Blood + characters to the FMA characters might be because of the “super-powers” element. In FMA the “bad guys” all went under the umbrella term Homunculus but each of them had their unique powers tied to their personality; with Blood+ the bad guys are called Vampires [or Chiropetra—something or other] but they each had their own unique personalities and their own brand of super powers.

One final note about these characters, is that I see a certain level of sadness with all the characters, good or bad, they seem sad even when they're smiling....I don't really know why, but is was the same with the FMA characters too.

Worth it or NOT?
Hells yeah this is worth getting! read more

This is probably my favorite anime of all time. There was a nice blend of humor mixed in with plenty of supernatural drama and action. The story only gets better as the anime goes on, and the characters are all entrancing. It is not your normal vampire anime, but has a very unique view and intriguing plot that is believable. The only problem may be the English version of the anime. I find the voice actors completely off par with the Japanese voice actors, though I feel this way about most : ) The music is also amazing, with some great j-rock songs and an amazing song sung by the character Diva. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes darker, more serious anime with just enough humor that the drama is not overbearing. read more

When I saw about 15 episodes of Blood+, a friend asked me how was it. I said it was boring and dull, with some nice fighting scenes once in a while. After another 10-15 episodes, another friend asked me for my opinion on Blood+. I said it was one of the best anime series I saw this year. How do I feel after finishing the whole 50 chapters? Lets start from the beginning.

Blood+ revolves around a story of a "young" girl who is the only person on the planet able to fight vampire-like monsters, called Chiropterans, and wants to find out about her troubled past. But my biggest "wow" is not going to the plot (which sounds a little familiar to all of us). I have two big "wows," actually. One is for graphics and one is for sound. Beautifully pictured landscapes across the world, pleasant characters and intense, realistic fight scenes will give your eyes a definite present. And what better way to complete this piece of art than adding an elegant soundtrack (Haji playing J.S. Bach on his cello is now in my top 10 anime moments ever) which polishes the sophistication and intelligence of this series. These are the things that keep you loyal to Blood+ and gives you a feeling that it is not an ordinary story.

Of course, we have to be fair and talk a little about the downside of this series. Firstly, even if the story sounds kind of old, it is actually very complicated at times. You have to follow the conspiracies behind politics, the stories of Saya and other main characters, understand the importance of some individuals who don't really look important and so on. At one point I have to confess, I was tired of listening to story lines about Red Shield and Cinq Fleches organizations and all the problems they had when I just knew it was all about Saya, she is the one who can end this and she should be the main point of discussion. Therefore, prepare yourself for long conversations that could sometimes seem meaningless and if you are an "action guy/girl" you could be a bit disappointed.

So, what is my final judgment? Well, I said to myself earlier in the series that the ending will probably decide the true quality of Blood+. However, although it wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be, I can't say that it left me unsatisfied. Actually, for some reason, I felt that I respect this anime series even more than I did in the beginning (especially after I saw the movie that this series evolved from, yuck). Do I recommend Blood+? Absolutely. There will be at least few moments when you will adore the characters and enjoy the story that we sometimes fantasize of being a part of.


P.S. IF YOU DID NOT WATCHED BLOOD+ YET, DO NOT READ THIS!
A part of me is still screaming for an ending where Saya falls asleep at the last moment of the fight against Diva, leaving the world domination to the Chiropterans. Then waking up 30 years from that fight, reuniting with Haji and trying to clean up the twisted future from these monsters. Now, tell me, it is not your ideal ending! And what a sequel it would be! The studios should definitely let the fans of anime create endings sometimes. read more