- Last OnlineMar 6, 1:48 PM
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- BirthdayOct 11, 1987
- LocationToronto, Canada
- JoinedAug 19, 2007
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Dec 17, 2016
Bloodivores is a decent POS based on a Chinese manhua with superb art and animation.
While many people are quick to judge on calling this anime one of the worst creations and adaptations simply because of its source material (somewhat racial undertone, no?) and relatively unknown producer, I found the anime enjoyable at times.
Let's be frank, Bloodivores is a full-fledged, whole season anime production that is a Chinese-Japanese collaboration of many more projects, hopefully, to come. Outside of Art, Sound and Animation, the anime doesn't live up to any expectations and falls far short, of I think, even the suits at Haoliners. It really has a
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terrible story, with little to no character development that has led me to give this a 4 on the enjoyment scale and a 6 overall.
After the first episode, I did a bit of research on the source material to see how well it compares to the anime and based on several chapters, the manhua's story is at fault for the terrible story in the animation. There is no cohesion nor character build-up or back-story and anime actually tried to provide that with original content and pace. The story itself in both versions, while pretty much the same, is not original or bring something new that hasn't been seen before.
The one aspect of the manhua and the anime which has remained consistent is the Art. Surprisingly, it is equal if not better to the current art styles of the anime and manga industry. One would think because it is a manhua, the artist would put a Chinese spin similar to well-known manhua like Bowling King, but the artist took a different direction.
Due to the art style which caters favourably to both the Chinese and Japanese market, I believe Haoliners took on the project while Tencent (one of the largest Chinese investment companies that has a foot in everything from video games like League of Legends to social media and IM) marketed it to both the Chinese and Japanese anime industries.
Given the current state of the Japanese anime industry where studios are literally scrambling to find the next big thing, running out of original ideas and trying to avoid producing sequels and adapting bad manga (because some manga artists refuse to sell-out), we will be seeing more Chinese and Japanese collaborative works in the same vein as Bloodivores that will hopefully have better stories and characters. Bloodivores, I think is test-bed to better works from the Chinese anime industry and I really hope to see more.
P.S. I know they can produce quality anime as we've seen in their films, but we desperately need seasonal anime that can live up to those standards.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 31, 2013
"Kuiba" is the first of a *five-part* feature length film series that is about a powerful creature, Kuiba, who is reborn every set number of years to bring about destruction. On one side, we have people and their deities that try to kill him over and over again throughout the years before his incumbent revival, while on Kuiba's side, we have another group of people who worship him like a god, and because Kuiba once saved them, as you will see in the intro of the film. You could almost say, people who are outcasts from normal society are now part of the Kuiba-following clan.
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In one particular rebirth year, Kuiba narrowly escapes his assassination. As he has not grown to his true self, he appears as a baby boy, who we learn is named Manji. Although it is not mentioned, it appears Manji is raised by a couple that found him. Sadly, due to reasons we don't know, that couple have separated and Manji is primarily raised (now a young child) by his adoptive 'father'. His father's desire is to be a great warrior and passing everything he learns to his son in due time. When news breaks that 'Kuiba' is alive, Manji (not knowing he is Kuiba) and his father try to recruit into the army in order to battle Kuiba. Hereafter, we learn a number of things about Kuiba's past, his power, and the people around him. Although there are Sci-Fi elements, this is a Fantasy anime.
The story is actually very much an original and plays to the strength of Chinese history/mythology (Journey to the West). And yes, as you may have guessed it, Kuiba is a Chinese animation. Not Korean as another reviewer pointed out. *Keep note of this piece of information before proceeding to watching the film, especially the ending. The ending sadly is not satisfying because of the heavy build-up in the middle. But considering the fact that the director has purposely chosen to break the film into five-parts, it had to work one way or another and using a cliffhanger would have been displeasing. I actually appreciate what they have done. I would have wanted a bit more, but since I saw the second film days after the first, I am not depreciating the value (rating) of the film due to the ending.
The art is heavily inspired from Japanese animation. In an interview, the producers have mentioned that they, Vasoon Animation, are trying to bring quality animations with inspiration from Japanese (particular for Kuiba) and American artistic styles. That said, however, there are inconsistencies in the animation and art throughout this film. Furthermore, the art has a distinctive Chinese feel, which is a good thing. For example, the main character, Manji, is clearly based on the monkey god and heavily inspired by the Journey to the West stories. You could make the argument that Manji looks very similar to Naruto from the Naruto anime, especially because both have whiskers, but considering how much of the story is based on the Journey to the West and/or other Chinese stories, I believe that debate falls short. Other characters also have distinctive feature that differs it from the typical Japanese animated art style. Once again, contrary to the other reviewer, I did not see any similarities between this and Dragonball. The art is very much similar to mainstream (21st century) Japanese anime. Nothing close to the 80s or Tezuka Osamu drawings.
There is nothing spectacular about the sound or music, but as this is only the first of five films, we have yet to hear the more emotion-evoking themes. The current music and sound works very well. The voice cast does too. I did not find any particular Chinese voice memorable, but overall the voices of the characters were chosen intelligently. Furthermore, I decided to watch the first film with the Japanese dubs as well. Here, we come to hear a lot of familiar voices. I believe, Manji, is voiced by Takeuchi Junko, known for her role as Naruto from the Naruto anime. However, I could be wrong with this assumption. I wouldn't be surprised if this was true because of how similar Manji and Naruto (original, young lad, pre-Shippuden series) are. The Japanese Manji is quite memorable. Once again, I did not find anything wrong with the choice of the Japanese voice casts either. There was no particular character who had an annoying voice which seems to be apparent in Japanese anime in recent years. The producers opted for a more serious anime with some comedic moments (usually portrayed in the art of the face and mouth).
The characters and character developments are fair; nothing unique, exciting or spectacular yet. Manji has not realise what he is. He does not even question why he goes into an uncontrollable, unconscious state. His father doesn't know about this (in the first film) either. I personally believe, Manji will not know until the fourth or fifth film where he has to make a choice that will question his own life and the people around him. I am not sure if it was the translations fault or if it was the directors decision, but we don't know the background of many characters we meet and become acquainted to. Characters that appear many times as flashbacks. Specifically, Manji's adoptive mother and the relationship between her and Manji's adoptive father. Manji's father calls her princess for some reason and that is not explained. This could be the fault of a poor translation, but we later see that she is a very important character in the film. Most likely coming from a noble and wealthy family. The character development of Manji's adoptive father is weak too. There is no clear reason how he came to be what he is and the life he is living nor why he left Manji's adoptive mother. It's almost a cliché story here where the father, perhaps from a poor family, had a relationship with a woman from a noble family, but due to family issues decided to separate while Manji went along with him. This relationship is so weakly executed that during a particular scene when Manji openly calls her 'mother', the surrounding people who know her as a noble doesn't question why he called her mother nor their relationship.
Nevertheless, overall, I enjoyed this anime very much. Due to loopholes in the story and some of the character developments, I gave it a par rating of 7 out of 10 (see my profile to understand the rubric of my ratings). If this had been a singular film of 2-hours with a justified ending, I would have easily given it an 8 or 9 out of 10. If you are not used to Chinese voice acting, I would highly suggest the Japanese. It is well worth it. I will not be reviewing the later films, but can tell you that the second film starts straight from the first. More characters are introduced and we get to know people from Kuiba's side of the spectrum (the Kuiba-following clan). If you want to find out what I gave the second film, check out my completed list. I tend to give very fair ratings to anime. I base my ratings predominantly on art style and animation (quality), emotion-evoking music, and enjoyment. Not so much character development or voice casts. However, if there is an annoying voice actor, I tend to avoid the anime altogether. If I review the anime, then I look at character development since most people find that important. Hence, why I did so here.
As a recommendation, I would suggest to wait for the English translation to the second film, fan-subs or official Blu-ray (comes with English subs and Japanese dubs), and then watch the first and second together. Watching the first without the second will quench your thirst for more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 27, 2009
Unlike negative reviewer(s), I found the Onegai Teacher manga absolutely fantastic. So great that I gave it, as you may or may not have noticed a 10/10 rating. For me the only other manga that accomplished this high rating was Air Gear, which has pretty much everything needed for a Shounen genred fan like me. So why did Onegai Teacher have such an impact on me when it's not even shounen? Well, here are the reasons, you don't have to believe me, but please do give a try to the manga and check it out.
I'll start with some background on myself, in accordance to
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anime/manga: I like watching and lately, since 2008 reading those which have or are dramatic, particularly hentai manga's. The slow progressive start of the plot to the climax, and then the finale. This has to be very clear and thorough. Onegai Teacher manages to show it in manga form. The manga may not have various scenes provided in the anime, such as the beach arc and the parts which include the male Sensei (the guy who likes planes), but it surely doesn't lack nor stop to accomplish the drama which it intended to show and gain support of from the fans. And unlike the anime, it doesn't end in cliffhangers, as far as I can remember.
It doesn't stop there, there are other aspects which to me are better than the anime, it's supposedly based from. For example, puns. For someone who understands verbal Japanese quite well, especially when it comes to puns, the anime fell dearly short, the acting was weak, and when you would think they would put it up a notch, it failed. In the manga, however, those puns are clear and quite entertaining. My only disappointment if I had to say would be the lack of "echii-ness or nudity (like the anime ova)," although the drama does back that enough to not think about it. In the end, I nearly came to cry because of the way it ended, and probably would have if I was listening to a depressing tune of something. I would wish anime and manga companies make more dramatic stories like this, especially dealing with teacher/mother and son/student scenarios.
In short, taking MAL's system to mind, perfect for the story, perfect for characters, perfect for enjoyment, art could have been a little better, but for it's time it was the average, I guess. Overall? I stand by what I mentioned at the beginning.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 31, 2008
A mixture of the classical drama's incest manga have with the quality (art and animation) as the Bible Black Only series. Let me first talk about the quality (art and animation), it's so well done that I would have rated it higher than Bible Black Only, but since that was my favourite hentai, I can't really do that. Regardless, if you haven't seen that, this should be your delight - but first be warned it does include an incest storyline - unless that's what you like, like me. In my opinion, how well is the art and animation? Well, if I were to compare with
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normal anime, it would be like a mix of Dragonaut (art of characters) and Eureka Seven (animation).
Now onto the story (with the inclusion of sound). First, don't get fooled by the false information provided on this site about the story. It actually deals with the protagonist and his sister-in-law. The story is as dramatic as incest manga I've read in the past, and the sound is very consistent. It doesn't have over-the-top sound nor is very low-key. A right amount to keep you watching. I would have preffered if it was either a bit longer (more episodes) with more dramatic story or was just only 1 episode long with everything they cover in the OVA combined. It's really hard to explain the story without telling you a summary, so enjoy this on your own.
Lastly, I also would really like to see a sequel to this OVA, if possible. Though, I know it would be hard to continue where it was left off. But I would highly welcome more OVA of the same quality and dramatic story - like if the incest manga's I've read were to be animated. I also would highly recommend this OVA to anyone that likes the incest genre with intense drama about two people who "love" each other.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 23, 2008
This is my first time writing a review (on a place like this) but that doesn't mean its not worth taking regards from. H20 is not an average anime in terms of its story nor is it any good, that is why I've given it a poor rating because it plainly just is. I don't quite understand what "Sound" means, character voice? set sounds (e.g. the train, footsteps, etc), or the music? But if its all that, its pretty well made, especially for those "beat up" scenes which are quite traumatic to watch (if you're a weak person in heart). Art is particularly not something
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I like but its better than something that disgusts me - moe. I guess Character means their role and how each played theirs? As an anime thats traumatic from the beginning to the end, its one of the best I've seen and espect that sometmes in some Shounen anime I've seen in the past. Despite being a down right horrible anime, I did infact watch this (for the first time - without dropping it) to the very end. But I guess that itself didn't make me enjoy it, and so compared to other animes I have been watching during the time, it completely fails to entertain, and was just a mere "fill in." That is why I've given this anime for an overall value of 4/10. For it to get 5/10 it would have to make me cry (for its genre) which it failed to do, especially in the last episode where I nearly did. Sorry for being biased, but I hope this review helps if you're a big Shonen fan like me who likes to watch non-shounen (NANA, Clannad, etc) occasionally.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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